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Tag: Islamic State

  • Westminster man pleads guilty to federal terrorism charge

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    A Westminster man accused of trying to travel overseas to join the Islamic State group pleaded guilty to one count of providing financing for terrorism in federal court, according to court records.

    Humzah Mashkoor, 20, was arrested by FBI agents at Denver International Airport in December 2023 after more than a year of communicating with undercover investigators about his plans.

    Federal officials said Mashkoor was planning to travel to the Middle East to join the group as a fighter and wanted to give them money and recruit others to join the group.

    Mashkoor’s attorneys have described the federal agency’s actions in the case as “appalling,” according to reporting from The Intercept. Mashkoor is diagnosed with autism and was not capable of carrying out the plans he discussed with them, starting when he was 16 years old, his attorneys told the outlet in January 2024.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado declined to comment on the claims.

    Mashkoor faces up to five years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release under the plea agreement filed Jan. 30.

    His sentencing hearing is set for April 2.

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  • US launches new retaliatory strikes against ISIS in Syria after deadly ambush

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    The U.S. has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.The large-scale strikes, conducted by the U.S. alongside partner forces, occurred around 12:30 p.m. ET, according to U.S. Central Command. The strikes hit multiple Islamic State targets across Syria.Video above: U.S. airstrikes target ISIS militants in NigeriaSaturday’s strikes are part of a broader operation that is part of President Donald Trump’s response to the deadly ISIS attack that killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter, in Palmyra last month.”Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday.The administration is calling the response to the Palmyra attacks Operation Hawkeye Strike. Both Torres-Tovar and Howard were members of the Iowa National Guard.It launched Dec. 19 with another large-scale strike that hit 70 targets across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.

    WASHINGTON —

    The U.S. has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.

    The large-scale strikes, conducted by the U.S. alongside partner forces, occurred around 12:30 p.m. ET, according to U.S. Central Command. The strikes hit multiple Islamic State targets across Syria.

    Video above: U.S. airstrikes target ISIS militants in Nigeria

    Saturday’s strikes are part of a broader operation that is part of President Donald Trump’s response to the deadly ISIS attack that killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter, in Palmyra last month.

    “Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday.

    The administration is calling the response to the Palmyra attacks Operation Hawkeye Strike. Both Torres-Tovar and Howard were members of the Iowa National Guard.

    It launched Dec. 19 with another large-scale strike that hit 70 targets across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.

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  • Israel-backed Gaza militias tout themselves as part of any post-conflict solution

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    AMMAN, Jordan — When Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire earlier this year, it brought into question the fate of militias Israel cultivated during the devastating two-year war as an alternative ruling force in Gaza. Many expected that Hamas — still the dominant force in the Strip — would hunt them down.

    Instead, Israel has shifted the militias to the half of Gaza from which it has yet to withdraw, east of the so-called Yellow Line, the military boundary which divides Gaza in two. In the Israeli-controlled half, five factions, still supported by Israel with arms and aid, have established what are essentially tiny fiefdoms, even as they continue to wage a harassment campaign across the Yellow Line to stop Hamas from reasserting its rule.

    For its part, Israel wants to use the factions as local proxies to secure parts of the enclave under its control, ensure they’re free of any hostile groups, then set up humanitarian distribution points to keep residents there.

    “The objective,” according to a June report on Israeli-supported militias in Gaza from the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, “is to sever Hamas’s access to both the local population and to the incoming humanitarian aid.”

    But the militias, which first arose as criminal gangs exploiting the security vacuum during the war and include members with questionable links to Islamic State, have larger plans: They tout themselves as an integral part of any post-conflict plan.

    “After two years of destruction by Hamas, we are the nucleus of a new Gaza, one which will provide a dignified life for Gazan citizens,” said Hussam Al-Astal, the head of one faction called Strike Force Against Terror and which controls a mostly depopulated village southwest of the southern Gazan city of Khan Yunis. He said Israel is working with five different factions operating across the Israeli-controlled parts of the enclave.

    He added that he has hundreds of militiamen under his command, contradicting observers who put the total number of fighters across the five groups at around 200.

    “Israel is now looking for a peace partner in Gaza,” Al-Astal said. “That’s what we will be.”

    The largest of the factions working with Israel is the so-called Popular Forces, which was led until recently by Yasser Abu Shabab, a 32-year-old clansman who was imprisoned twice by Hamas before the war on charges of drug trafficking; and known to have ties to Islamic State in neighboring Sinai. He escaped from a Hamas prison during the war.

    Abu Shabab, who was regularly accused by humanitarian groups of looting aid trucks, was assassinated this month by disgruntled members of his militia, according to a statement from Abu Shabab’s clan.

    He was soon replaced by his deputy, Ghassan Al-Duhini, 39, a no less controversial figure who once served as a security officer with the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, then left it to join Jaysh al-Islam, a Gaza-based armed faction that pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2015.

    Al-Duhini reportedly coordinated smuggling with militant groups in Sinai. He too was arrested twice by Hamas before the war and escaped when it began.

    Since the ceasefire, Israel has been working through the Popular Forces as its proxy in Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip which was all but destroyed during the war, razed by Israeli forces.

    The city now lies mostly empty. But the U.S.-led Civilian-Military Coordination Center (the body supposed to monitor the ceasefire, coordinate aid deliveries and start reconstruction in the enclave) is considering Rafah as a pilot for a Hamas-free, so-called “alternative safe community” of some 10,000 to 15,000 people, according to a U.N. official and an aid worker who refused to be named to be able to speak freely.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Mar-a-Lago on Monday, where he met with President Trump and a raft of U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with whom Netanyahu said on X he had “a great meeting.”

    Netanyahu was discussing the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for an interim authority to govern the Gaza, along with an International Stabilization Force that would deploy in Israel’s stead. Both points are problematic for Israel, which has been reluctant to continue on to the second phase without seeing Hamas disarm.

    Plans call for Gaza to be governed by a Trump-led Board of Peace, which would also oversee rebuilding the Strip for its 2.1 million people.

    During a news conference ahead of his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump pointed to the Israeli leader and said he was “looking forward” to the start of reconstruction.

    “We’ve already started certain things, we’re doing things for sanitary and others,” Trump said. “But Gaza is a tough place, it’s truly a tough neighborhood.”

    Reconstruction is likely to start in Rafah, said the unnamed aid worker, which would mean “the U.S. will be cooperating with an ISIS-aligned security force,” using an abbreviation for Islamic State.

    Of Al-Duhini, the aid worker said, “There are so many other, better partners in Gaza than this guy.”

    In a recent propaganda video released by the Popular Forces group, Al-Duhini is shown addressing a group of gunmen, telling them they are working as part of the Trump-led Board of Peace and the International Stabilization Force, which are meant to monitor the ceasefire.

    “We will sweep through Rafah one grain of a sand at a time,” he says, to remove “terrorism” and allow civilians to return to the area. “We want to establish a safe community.”

    What that has meant in practice, according to analysts and people living in areas under the Popular Forces’ control, is a heavy security hand, with militiamen regularly confiscating and inspecting people’s phones, preventing them from communicating with anyone in Hamas-controlled areas, and searching homes.

    “They’re treating them like prisoners,” said Muhammad Shehada, a Gaza expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He added that Israel had given the factions capture-or-kill lists for various Hamas members in Gaza and was supervising interrogations.

    Meanwhile, the militias have also conducted hit-and-run operations against Hamas operatives, killing a number of them when the opportunity arises; the Popular Forces said in June they had killed 50 Hamas members.

    On Monday, Hamas confirmed the death of a number of its top commanders in strikes by Israel during the last year.

    The leaders killed included Muhammad Sinwar, head of its military wing the Qassam Brigade, the head of manufacturing and chief of staff. Also killed was Abu Ubaida, the masked spokesman last seen in a September speech; the group identified him as Huthaifa Al-Kahlout. Israel previously disclosed his identity in 2023.

    The groups have also acted on Israel’s behalf: Last week, a faction called the Popular Defense Army, based near Gaza City, shot at homes in a neighborhood east of the city, forcing residents to leave. Observers said this was aimed at allowing Israel to shift the Yellow Line westward. (The Yellow Line’s location was specified during the ceasefire, but Israel has continued to shift it westward.)

    According to Al-Astal, of the group Strike Force Against Terror, the five militias plan to unite their efforts soon with the establishment of a military council, which he says could act as a transitional government for the moment Hamas falls. He said international recognition would help.

    There are indications of support beyond Israel. Popular Forces’ fighters have appeared with vehicles with markings from the United Arab Emirates, and some of the factions claim they are affiliated peripherally with the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority denied any links.

    “We’re hoping to have better things coming, and that our presence will expand,” Al-Astal said. He added that once this happens, he expects people in Hamas-held areas to shift to eastward to the militias’ control.

    “I’m telling you, if the way before them was open, there wouldn’t be a single person left in those parts of Gaza under Hamas except for just a few Hamas fighters,” he said.

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  • What to know about the militants targeted by US airstrikes in northwest Nigeria

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    The United States airstrikes that targeted Islamic State group militants in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday marked a major escalation in an offensive that the West African’s overstretched military has struggled with for years.U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that the “powerful and deadly” strikes in the state of Sokoto were carried out against IS gunmen who were “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.” Residents and security analysts have said Nigeria’s security crisis affects both Christians, predominant in the south, and Muslims, who are the majority in the north.Nigeria, which is battling multiple armed groups, said the U.S. strikes were part of an exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination between the two countries.The Associated Press could not confirm the extent of the strikes’ impact. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a post on X about the airstrikes, said: “More to come…”The militants targeted by US airstrikesThe armed groups in Africa’s most populous country include at least two affiliated with IS, an offshoot of the Boko Haram extremist group known as the Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast, and the lesser-known Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), known locally as Lakurawa, and prominent in the northwest.Although officials did not say exactly which group was targeted, security analysts said the target, if indeed against IS militants, was likely members of Lakurawa, which became more lethal in border states like Sokoto and Kebbi in the last year, often targeting remote communities and security forces.The Nigerian military has said in the past that the group has roots in neighboring Niger and that it became more active in Nigeria’s border communities following a 2023 military coup. That coup resulted in fractured relations between Nigeria and Niger, and affected their multinational military operations along the porous border. Militants torment villagersMultiple analysts have said Lakurawa has been active in northwest Nigeria since around 2017, when it was invited by traditional authorities in Sokoto to protect their communities from bandit groups.The militants, however, “overstayed their welcome, clashing with some of the community leaders … and enforcing a harsh interpretation of Sharia law that alienated much of the rural population,” according to James Barnett, an Africa researcher with the Washington-based Hudson Institute.”Communities now openly say that Lakurawa are more oppressive and dangerous than the bandits they claim to protect them from,” according to Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security researcher with Good Governance Africa.Lakurawa controls territories in Sokoto and Kebbi states, and has become known for killings, kidnapping, rape and armed robbery, Samuel said.But some of the attacks blamed on Lakurawa are by the Islamic State Sahel Province, which has expanded from Niger’s Dosso region to northwestern Nigeria, according to the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.”ISSP has maintained a low profile, operating covertly to infiltrate and entrench itself along the Niger-Nigeria border, and is now also expanding its operations toward the Beninese border,” the project said in a recent report.Security threats are deep-rooted in social issuesThe security woes are more of a governance problem than a military one.Motives for attacks differ, but the gangs are often driven by the near absence of a state and security presence in conflict hot spots, making recruitment easy. Those hot spots, data show, have some of the country’s highest levels of poverty, hunger and lack of jobs.Nigeria’s Minister of Defense Christopher Musa once said that military action is only 30% of what is needed to fix the country’s security crisis, while the remaining 70% depends on good governance.”The absence of the state in remote communities is making it easy for non-state actors to come in and present themselves to the people as the best alternative government,” said Samuel.US strikes seen as crucial support for Nigeria’s militaryThursday’s U.S. strikes are widely seen by experts as crucial help for Nigeria’s security forces, which are often overstretched and outgunned as they fight multiple security crises across different regions.In states like Sokoto, the military often carries out airstrikes targeting militant hideouts and Nigeria has embarked on mass recruitment of security forces. But analysts say military operations targeting the gangs are not usually sustained and the militants easily move on motorcycles to new locations through vast forests that connect several states in the north.They also often use hostages — including schoolchildren — as cover, making airstrikes difficult.

    The United States airstrikes that targeted Islamic State group militants in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday marked a major escalation in an offensive that the West African’s overstretched military has struggled with for years.

    U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that the “powerful and deadly” strikes in the state of Sokoto were carried out against IS gunmen who were “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.” Residents and security analysts have said Nigeria’s security crisis affects both Christians, predominant in the south, and Muslims, who are the majority in the north.

    Nigeria, which is battling multiple armed groups, said the U.S. strikes were part of an exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination between the two countries.

    The Associated Press could not confirm the extent of the strikes’ impact. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a post on X about the airstrikes, said: “More to come…”

    The militants targeted by US airstrikes

    The armed groups in Africa’s most populous country include at least two affiliated with IS, an offshoot of the Boko Haram extremist group known as the Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast, and the lesser-known Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), known locally as Lakurawa, and prominent in the northwest.

    Although officials did not say exactly which group was targeted, security analysts said the target, if indeed against IS militants, was likely members of Lakurawa, which became more lethal in border states like Sokoto and Kebbi in the last year, often targeting remote communities and security forces.

    The Nigerian military has said in the past that the group has roots in neighboring Niger and that it became more active in Nigeria’s border communities following a 2023 military coup. That coup resulted in fractured relations between Nigeria and Niger, and affected their multinational military operations along the porous border.

    Militants torment villagers

    Multiple analysts have said Lakurawa has been active in northwest Nigeria since around 2017, when it was invited by traditional authorities in Sokoto to protect their communities from bandit groups.

    The militants, however, “overstayed their welcome, clashing with some of the community leaders … and enforcing a harsh interpretation of Sharia law that alienated much of the rural population,” according to James Barnett, an Africa researcher with the Washington-based Hudson Institute.

    “Communities now openly say that Lakurawa are more oppressive and dangerous than the bandits they claim to protect them from,” according to Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security researcher with Good Governance Africa.

    Lakurawa controls territories in Sokoto and Kebbi states, and has become known for killings, kidnapping, rape and armed robbery, Samuel said.

    But some of the attacks blamed on Lakurawa are by the Islamic State Sahel Province, which has expanded from Niger’s Dosso region to northwestern Nigeria, according to the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

    “ISSP has maintained a low profile, operating covertly to infiltrate and entrench itself along the Niger-Nigeria border, and is now also expanding its operations toward the Beninese border,” the project said in a recent report.

    Security threats are deep-rooted in social issues

    The security woes are more of a governance problem than a military one.

    Motives for attacks differ, but the gangs are often driven by the near absence of a state and security presence in conflict hot spots, making recruitment easy. Those hot spots, data show, have some of the country’s highest levels of poverty, hunger and lack of jobs.

    Nigeria’s Minister of Defense Christopher Musa once said that military action is only 30% of what is needed to fix the country’s security crisis, while the remaining 70% depends on good governance.

    “The absence of the state in remote communities is making it easy for non-state actors to come in and present themselves to the people as the best alternative government,” said Samuel.

    US strikes seen as crucial support for Nigeria’s military

    Thursday’s U.S. strikes are widely seen by experts as crucial help for Nigeria’s security forces, which are often overstretched and outgunned as they fight multiple security crises across different regions.

    In states like Sokoto, the military often carries out airstrikes targeting militant hideouts and Nigeria has embarked on mass recruitment of security forces. But analysts say military operations targeting the gangs are not usually sustained and the militants easily move on motorcycles to new locations through vast forests that connect several states in the north.

    They also often use hostages — including schoolchildren — as cover, making airstrikes difficult.

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  • ‘Very serious retaliation’: U.S. strikes ISIS targets in Syria

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    ‘Very serious retaliation’: U.S. strikes ISIS targets in Syria

    The Trump administration launched more than 70 strikes against ISIS targets in Syria on Friday, responding to an ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter last week.

    Updated: 6:44 AM PST Dec 20, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    The Trump administration struck more than 70 ISIS targets in Syria on Friday, according to the Pentagon, in retaliation for a deadly attack on U.S. and Syrian forces last week.On Friday evening, President Donald Trump told a crowd in North Carolina, “Just 2 hours ago, we hit the ISIS thugs in Syria who were trying to regroup after their decimation by the Trump administration 5 years ago. We hit them hard.”Trump further described the operation as successful and precise. In a social media post ahead of his speech, he called it a “very serious retaliation.” That sentiment was echoed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, also known as the secretary of war, in another post. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said. The strikes were in response to an ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter last weekend. The president blamed the attack on a member of the Islamic State, although the group has not claimed responsibility. Trump said the U.S. retaliation was fully supported by Syria’s new leader, who has overseen warming relations with the West since the fall of the Assad regime last year. Following the U.S. strikes, Syria’s foreign ministry reiterated its commitment to fighting ISIS and underscored the need to strengthen international cooperation to combat terrorism.In a recent national security strategy document, the Trump administration argued that the days in which the Middle East dominated American foreign policy are over. The administration has sought to build ties with countries like Syria, including in the counterterrorism space, but contends that the threats can be contained “without decades of fruitless ‘nation-building’ wars.” The Trump administration is instead looking to focus closer to home, shifting military resources away from the Middle East and towards South America, as tensions mount with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Asked if the Trump administration would rule out regime change in Venezuela, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in an interview Friday, “The president has spoken about his concerns when it comes to the illegitimate regime in Venezuela, his concerns about the gangs we have seen come from Venezuela, the concerns about the narcotrafficking that we’ve also seen.”

    WASHINGTON —

    The Trump administration struck more than 70 ISIS targets in Syria on Friday, according to the Pentagon, in retaliation for a deadly attack on U.S. and Syrian forces last week.

    On Friday evening, President Donald Trump told a crowd in North Carolina, “Just 2 hours ago, we hit the ISIS thugs in Syria who were trying to regroup after their decimation by the Trump administration 5 years ago. We hit them hard.”

    Trump further described the operation as successful and precise. In a social media post ahead of his speech, he called it a “very serious retaliation.”

    That sentiment was echoed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, also known as the secretary of war, in another post.

    “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said.

    The strikes were in response to an ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter last weekend. The president blamed the attack on a member of the Islamic State, although the group has not claimed responsibility.

    Trump said the U.S. retaliation was fully supported by Syria’s new leader, who has overseen warming relations with the West since the fall of the Assad regime last year.

    Following the U.S. strikes, Syria’s foreign ministry reiterated its commitment to fighting ISIS and underscored the need to strengthen international cooperation to combat terrorism.

    In a recent national security strategy document, the Trump administration argued that the days in which the Middle East dominated American foreign policy are over. The administration has sought to build ties with countries like Syria, including in the counterterrorism space, but contends that the threats can be contained “without decades of fruitless ‘nation-building’ wars.”

    The Trump administration is instead looking to focus closer to home, shifting military resources away from the Middle East and towards South America, as tensions mount with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

    Asked if the Trump administration would rule out regime change in Venezuela, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in an interview Friday, “The president has spoken about his concerns when it comes to the illegitimate regime in Venezuela, his concerns about the gangs we have seen come from Venezuela, the concerns about the narcotrafficking that we’ve also seen.”

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  • Multiple People Arrested In Michigan For Alleged Halloween Weekend Attack Plot

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    DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Multiple people who had been allegedly plotting a violent attack over the Halloween weekend were arrested Friday in Michigan, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post.

    The law enforcement effort was focused on suburban Detroit. Patel said more information would be released later.

    Investigators believe the plot was inspired by Islamic State extremism and are investigating whether those in custody were potentially radicalized online, according to two people briefed on the investigation who could not publicly discuss details. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

    FBI and state police vehicles were in a neighborhood near Fordson High School in Dearborn. People wearing shirts marked FBI walked in and out of a house, including one person who collected paper bags and other items from an evidence truck.

    This morning the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested multiple subjects in Michigan who were allegedly plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend. More details to come. Thanks to the men and women of FBI and law enforcement everywhere standing guard 24/7…

    — FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 31, 2025

    Police in Inkster, another suburb, said FBI personnel were at a storage facility there.

    “There is no current threat to public safety,” said Jordan Hall, an FBI spokesperson in Detroit, who declined further comment.

    The investigation involved discussion in an online chatroom involving at least some of the suspects who were taken into custody, people familiar with the investigation told AP. The group had discussed carrying out an attack around Halloween, referring to “pumpkin day,” according to one of the people. The other person briefed on the investigation confirmed that there had been a “pumpkin” reference.

    🚨 The FBI stopped a potential terrorist attack in Michigan before it could unfold.

    Thanks to swift action and coordination with our partners, a violent plot tied to international terrorism was disrupted.

    This is what defending the homeland looks like — vigilance saves lives. pic.twitter.com/r5rkvF5b0D

    — FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 31, 2025

    It wasn’t immediately clear if the group had the means to carry out an attack, but the reference to Halloween prompted the FBI to make arrests Friday, one of the people said.

    Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said on X that she was briefed by Patel. She said she was grateful for “swift action” but offered no details.

    Residents in the Dearborn neighborhood watched as investigators worked at the house.

    “It’s really scary because we have a lot of relatives around this neighborhood,” said Fatima Saleh, who was next door.

    Separately, in May, the FBI said it arrested a man who had spent months planning an attack against a U.S. Army site in suburban Detroit on behalf of the Islamic State group. The man, Ammar Said, didn’t know that his supposed allies in the alleged plot were undercover FBI employees.

    Said remains in custody, charged with attempting to provide support to a terrorist organization. The criminal complaint was replaced in September with a criminal “information” document, signaling that a plea agreement could be possible in the months ahead.

    Associated Press writers Mike Balsamo, Sarah Brumfield and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington, and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.

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  • Russian detains suspects after deadly Moscow concert hall attack that killed 115 people

    Russian detains suspects after deadly Moscow concert hall attack that killed 115 people

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    Russian authorities detained 11 people, state media reported Saturday, after gunmen stormed a concert hall in Moscow in a grisly attack that left at least 115 people dead.Related video above: Russia presidential election explainer Russia’s Investigative Committee said four of those detained were directly involved in the attack that left the sprawling shopping mall and music venue smoldering with a collapsed roof.Russian agencies appeared to suggest the attack was linked to Ukraine even though the Islamic State group claimed responsibility in a statement. A U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press that U.S. agencies had confirmed that that group was responsible for the attack.The four suspects were stopped in the Bryansk region of western Russia, “not far from the border with Ukraine,” Russia’s Investigative Committee said. They planned to cross the border into Ukraine and “had contacts” there, state news agency Tass said, citing Russia’s FSB. The head of the FSB briefed President Vladimir Putin on the arrests on Saturday, according to Tass.Images shared by Russian state media Saturday showed a fleet of emergency vehicles still gathered outside the ruins of Crocus City Hall, a shopping mall and music venue with a capacity of more than 6,000 people in Krasnogorsk, on Moscow’s western edge.Friday’s attack came just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on power in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide. The attack was the deadliest in Russia in years and came as the country’s fight in Ukraine dragged into a third year.Videos posted online showed gunmen in the venue shooting civilians at point-blank range. The roof of the theatre, where crowds had gathered Friday for a performance by the Russian rock band Picnic, collapsed in the early hours of Saturday morning as firefighters spent hours fighting a fire that erupted during the attack.Four of those detained were directly involved in the attack, Tass said.The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on affiliated social media channels, although neither the Kremlin nor Russian security services have officially assigned blame for the attack.In a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency, the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan said it had attacked a large gathering of “Christians” in Krasnogorsk. It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the claim.However, a U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press that U.S. intelligence agencies had confirmed that IS was responsible for the attack.The official said U.S. intelligence agencies had gathered information in recent weeks that the IS branch was planning an attack in Moscow, and that U.S. officials had privately shared the intelligence earlier this month with Russian officials.The official was briefed on the matter but was not authorized to publicly discuss the intelligence information and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.Messages of outrage, shock and support for those affected have since streamed in from around the world.On Friday, the U.N. Security Council condemned “the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack” and underlined the need for the perpetrators to be held accountable. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the terrorist attack “in the strongest possible terms,” his spokesman said.Meanwhile, in Moscow itself, hundreds of people stood in line Saturday morning to donate blood and plasma, Russia’s health ministry said.Putin, who extended his grip on Russia for another six years in this week’s presidential vote after a sweeping crackdown on dissent, had publicly denounced the Western warnings of a potential terrorist attack as an attempt to intimidate Russians. “All that resembles open blackmail and an attempt to frighten and destabilize our society,” he said earlier this week.In October 2015, a bomb planted by the Islamic State downed a Russian passenger plane over Sinai, killing all 224 people on board, most of them Russian vacation-goers returning from Egypt. The group, which operates mainly in Syria and Iraq but also in Afghanistan and Africa, also has claimed several attacks in Russia’s volatile Caucasus and other regions in the past years. It recruited fighters from Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.___Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report.

    MOSCOW (AP) —

    Russian authorities detained 11 people, state media reported Saturday, after gunmen stormed a concert hall in Moscow in a grisly attack that left at least 115 people dead.

    Related video above: Russia presidential election explainer

    Russia’s Investigative Committee said four of those detained were directly involved in the attack that left the sprawling shopping mall and music venue smoldering with a collapsed roof.

    Russian agencies appeared to suggest the attack was linked to Ukraine even though the Islamic State group claimed responsibility in a statement. A U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press that U.S. agencies had confirmed that that group was responsible for the attack.

    The four suspects were stopped in the Bryansk region of western Russia, “not far from the border with Ukraine,” Russia’s Investigative Committee said. They planned to cross the border into Ukraine and “had contacts” there, state news agency Tass said, citing Russia’s FSB. The head of the FSB briefed President Vladimir Putin on the arrests on Saturday, according to Tass.

    Images shared by Russian state media Saturday showed a fleet of emergency vehicles still gathered outside the ruins of Crocus City Hall, a shopping mall and music venue with a capacity of more than 6,000 people in Krasnogorsk, on Moscow’s western edge.

    Friday’s attack came just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on power in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide. The attack was the deadliest in Russia in years and came as the country’s fight in Ukraine dragged into a third year.

    Videos posted online showed gunmen in the venue shooting civilians at point-blank range. The roof of the theatre, where crowds had gathered Friday for a performance by the Russian rock band Picnic, collapsed in the early hours of Saturday morning as firefighters spent hours fighting a fire that erupted during the attack.

    Four of those detained were directly involved in the attack, Tass said.

    The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on affiliated social media channels, although neither the Kremlin nor Russian security services have officially assigned blame for the attack.

    In a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency, the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan said it had attacked a large gathering of “Christians” in Krasnogorsk. It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the claim.

    However, a U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press that U.S. intelligence agencies had confirmed that IS was responsible for the attack.

    The official said U.S. intelligence agencies had gathered information in recent weeks that the IS branch was planning an attack in Moscow, and that U.S. officials had privately shared the intelligence earlier this month with Russian officials.

    The official was briefed on the matter but was not authorized to publicly discuss the intelligence information and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

    Messages of outrage, shock and support for those affected have since streamed in from around the world.

    On Friday, the U.N. Security Council condemned “the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack” and underlined the need for the perpetrators to be held accountable. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the terrorist attack “in the strongest possible terms,” his spokesman said.

    Meanwhile, in Moscow itself, hundreds of people stood in line Saturday morning to donate blood and plasma, Russia’s health ministry said.

    Putin, who extended his grip on Russia for another six years in this week’s presidential vote after a sweeping crackdown on dissent, had publicly denounced the Western warnings of a potential terrorist attack as an attempt to intimidate Russians. “All that resembles open blackmail and an attempt to frighten and destabilize our society,” he said earlier this week.

    In October 2015, a bomb planted by the Islamic State downed a Russian passenger plane over Sinai, killing all 224 people on board, most of them Russian vacation-goers returning from Egypt. The group, which operates mainly in Syria and Iraq but also in Afghanistan and Africa, also has claimed several attacks in Russia’s volatile Caucasus and other regions in the past years. It recruited fighters from Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report.

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  • Mass. marijuana shops pay towns hefty fees. Why that might change. – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Mass. marijuana shops pay towns hefty fees. Why that might change. – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    … Monday. 
    Under current state law, marijuana establishments must pay a community … the costs imposed by the marijuana establishment.  
    “Reasonably related” means there … offset the operation of a marijuana establishment. Those costs could include …

    Original Author Link click here to read complete story..

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    MMP News Author

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  • Protecting Journalists Is Protecting Freedom Of Expression For All

    Protecting Journalists Is Protecting Freedom Of Expression For All

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    In October 2022, the European Parliament published its commissioned study concerning safety of journalists and media freedom globally which found the progressive erosion of media freedom around the world. The study concluded that “impunity remains unacceptably high, with most cases of killings remaining unresolved. Imprisonments are on the rise, while online spaces are becoming increasingly hostile and replete with gender-based hate speech.”

    The study cited data collected by the Committee to Protect Journalists indicating that a majority of killings between 2012 and 2021 occurred in 11 countries, including Syria (137 killings), Iraq (39), Somalia (35), Mexico (33), Afghanistan (31), India (27), Pakistan (22), Brazil (21), Yemen (19), Philippines (16) and Bangladesh (11). The study found that a majority of fatalities was due to journalists being killed by way of reprisal for their work, while some were killed in a battlefield or in a military context. “Among those killed because of their work, 28.8% were working on political journalism, 23.8% were war reporters, 15.8% were human rights reporters, while 10.7% were investigating crime and 9.6% corruption cases.”

    Such killings are met with glaring impunity. The report refers to a data collected by the Committee to Protect Journalists which states that “from 224 cases of complete impunity during 2012-2021, 185 (82.6%) were recorded in 12 countries (…): Mexico (26 cases); Somalia (25); Syria (22); India (21); Afghanistan (17); Iraq (17); Philippines (14); Brazil (14); Pakistan (12); Bangladesh (7); South Sudan (5); and the Russian Federation (5).”

    Apart from such targeted killings, journalists are also subjected to imprisonments and other methods to use and abuse law to silence journalists. In 2021 only, the Committee to Protect Journalists recorded 293 cases of imprisonment. The mostly used charges in such cases included: “accusations of anti-state activities dominate (61.5%), ‘no charge’ (14.8 %), retaliatory action (11.7 %), false news (7 %) and defamation (3 %).”

    Other abuses of journalists include kidnappings and enforced disappearances. According to Reporters Without Borders, in 2021, at least 65 journalists and media workers were held hostage. Most hostage takings occurred in three countries: Syria (44); Iraq (11); and Yemen (9). One journalist was abducted in Mali. The Islamic State was responsible for 28 abductions, the Houthis in Yemen for 8 cases and the Syrian Jihadi group for 7 cases. According to Reporters Without Borders, 46 journalists disappeared between 2003 and 2021. The Committee to Protect Journalists recorded 69 journalist disappearances between 2002-2021 with Mexico topping the list with 15 cases (followed by Syria (10), Iraq (9) and Russia (7)).

    Such targeting of journalists requires comprehensive responses.

    On November 2, the U.N. marks the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, a day that the U.N. General Assembly established to urge states to “prevent violence against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, speedy and effective investigations into all alleged violence against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction and to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice and ensure that victims have access to appropriate remedies.” It calls upon member states to promote a safe environment, accommodating journalists in their work through legislative measures, raising awareness, carrying out adequate investigations, monitoring and reporting attacks committed against journalists, and by publicly condemning attacks.

    2022 also marks the 10th anniversary of the U.N. Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, the first concerted effort within the U.N. to address attacks and impunity of crimes against journalists.

    However, despite some steps done in this direction, it is clear that the promises to provide better protection for journalists is still unfulfilled. Unfortunately, as in many cases, state actors are the perpetrators of such attacks against journalists, there is little, if any, hope that the situation will ever be addressed. However, protecting journalists we must as protecting journalists is protecting freedom of expression for all.

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    Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Contributor

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