Islamic terrorist suspect's sister killed by police in Florida
By SNEJANA FARBEROV FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
1 June 2020By SNEJANA FARBEROV FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
The sister of a recently arrested Florida terrorism suspect was shot and killed by police on Friday after being caught on video charging officers while armed with a butcher knife outside a government building.
Temple Terrace Police Chief Kenneth Albano said during a news conference that the officer-involved shooting occurred at the City Hall building.
Heba Momtaz Al-Azhari, 21, arrived at City Hall at around 1pm and asked for an officer's help, officials said. When a uniformed officer went outside and approached the woman, she charged at him with a knife.
Surveillance video captured the moment Heba Momtaz Al-Azhari, 21, allegedly tried to ambush a police officer outside the Temple Terrace, Florida, City Hall on Friday. video 0.04
Police say Al-Azhari asked for a police officer's help. When he approached her sitting on a bench, she pulled out a large butcher knife and charged him.
The deadly confrontation took place just days after Heba's brother, Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari, 23, was arrested on federal charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS.
According to the US Department of Justice, Muhammed admired Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen and allegedly told an informant he wanted to die like him after killing dozens of people.
Heba's older brother, Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari, a 23-year-old US citizen, 4last week was arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support or resources to ISIS
A uniformed officer comes up to the woman wearing traditional Muslim garb and a face mask. Moments later, she jumps to her feet brandishing a long knife in her hands and lunges at the cop, who draws back.
The woman pursues him, making thrusting and slashing motions with the knife, as if trying to stab the officer.
The 30-second video released by the police department ends with another officer pointing his gun at someone.
Multiple cops responded to the scene and fired at Al-Azhari, though Albano wouldn't say how many. The officer who was attacked sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Al-Azhari later died of her injuries at a hospital.
'It's a very traumatic thing for an officer to pull his weapon and much less take a life,' Albano said at the press conference. According to the chief, the officer repeatedly and loudly told Al-Azhari to drop the knife.
The chief did not say how many officers were involved, how many fired their weapons or how many times the woman was shot. The officer who was attacked did fire his weapon, Albano said.
An Al-Azhari family spokesperson told Spectrum Bay News 9 Heba was upset over her brother's arrest.
A federal criminal complaint released by the US Department of Justice charged Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari, a US citizen, with attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The charge carries a potential 20-year prison term.
A public defender listed in court records for Al-Azhari said the government's charges in the case unfairly attempt to portray him as a terrorist.
His sister's attempted murder of a police officer is not going to help with that line of defence.
'The allegations misunderstand both the law and the evidence,' said the public defender, Samuel Landes, in an emailed statement. 'I'm thankful that in this country everyone enjoys a presumption of innocence, and I look forward to Mr. Al-Azhari's day in court before a jury of his peers.'
An FBI affidavit says Al-Azhari was recorded as expressing admiration for Omar Mateen, the mass shooter who carried out a massacre at the Orlando Pulse nightclub in 2016 before being killed by police, and even drove there to scope out the location.
In a conversation with a confidential informant, the FBI says, Al-Azhari said 'that's how I want to die, to be honest.'
The informant then asked how many people Al-Azhari wanted to kill.
Al-Azhari allegedly scouted multiple locations in the Tampa Bay area to attack
'I don't want to take four or five, no. I want to take at least 50,' Al-Azhari replied on the recording, according to the affidavit. 'You know like, brother Omar Mateen in Orlando did. He took 49 with him.'
The affidavit also details how Al-Azhari negotiated with an undercover FBI employee to purchase a variety of guns and silencers, including an AK-47-style rifle. He was arrested Sunday after taking possession of weapons allegedly to be used in an attack.
'We are grateful for the hard work and swift action by our law enforcement partners and concerned citizens during this investigation,' said US Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez, whose district includes Tampa. 'Their coordination and cooperation in this matter allowed us to interrupt a serious threat, without harm to anyone.'
According to the 62-page FBI affidavit, Al-Azhari scouted a number of targets in the Tampa Bay region, including multiple beaches, Honeymoon Island State Park and even the Tampa FBI field office.
He also allegedly rehearsed what he would say when carrying out an attack, some of which was intercepted by electronic surveillance on May 16.
'Know America. Today is your emergency. Today we kill from you guys like you killed from us,' he is overheard saying, according to the affidavit. 'This is a revenge for Muslims.'
Court-ordered searches of Al-Azhari's iPhone also revealed numerous videos and extremist statements advocating jihad attributed to the Islamic State group. Another video, the FBI says, shows Al-Azhari in a facemask and pointing a gun at presumably someone on the floor.
'Hey you, get on the floor. Get on the floor now. Don't you move, don't you move, I'm telling you, I will kill you,' he says on the video.
Then, Al-Azhari looks into the camera and says: 'God willing, the exalted. This is revenge for my brothers Al Muwahideen [the monotheists] in Guantanamo in general, and for my brother [redacted] in particular. ...this is a revenge for all my Muslim brothers in Iraq and al-Sham [Syria] and everywhere.'
He then points the gun at what is presumed to be someone on the floor and says: 'those who were killed by the hands of those filthy crusaders.'
Al-Azhari had previously been convicted in Saudi Arabia in 2015 of terror-related crimes, including attempting to travel to Syria to participate in jihad and join a terrorist group along with two others, including his own father.
He served three years in prison in Saudi Arabia and then was deported back to the US, according to the FBI. He lived in California and since 2019 in the Tampa area.
A key to the case was an eBay transaction in which Al-Hazhari purchased weapons parts for $375 from someone in Texas.
The package was halted by the US Postal Service and eBay flagged the purchase. The seller then provided FBI agents with details about the deal and the Postal Service seized the package. According to the affidavit, FBI has been aware of Al-Azhari since at least May 2019.
On May 1, Al-Azhari was arrested for carrying a concealed firearm after allegedly making threats to harm his colleagues at Home Depot.
Prior to his arrest of the state charge, FBI agents interviewed some of his co-workers at the home improvement store, who expressed concern about statements that the suspect had made concerning Islam, guns and violence.
A supervisor told agents that when speaking about the September 11 attacks, Al-Azhari had said that he believed that Americans got what they deserved that day, according to the affidavit.
The same supervisors also allegedly overheard Al-Azhari speaking to other co-workers about jihad, saying that it involved 'defending Islam.'
Another colleague at the Home Depot had reported Al-Azhari to corporate security, claiming that he tried to convince his co-workers to convert to Islam, and that he 'spoke negatively and passionately about the United States and homosexuality.'
Al-Azhari was arrested on Sunday and was being held in the Pinellas County jail at the request of federal agents.
Temple Terrace, Fla
French forces kill leader of al-Qaida in North Africa
By Danielle Haynes
June 5 (UPI) -- French forces killed Abdelmalek Droukdel, the leader of al-Qaida in North Africa, France's Ministry of Defense said Friday.
Defense Minister Florence Parly said French armed forces killed Droukdel and "several of his close collaborators" during an operation Wednesday in Mali.
In addition to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, she said Droukdel led Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, a Sahel-based group that swore allegiance to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Parly announced that French forces also captured Mohamed el Mrabat, a leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara on May 19.
"I congratulate and thank all those who have enabled and carried out these daring operations," Parly said.
3 self-proclaimed members of the far-right 'boogaloo' movement were arrested on domestic terrorism charges for trying to spark violence during protests
Rosie Perper and Sonam Sheth Jun 3, 2020, 7:07 PM
A member of the far-right militia, Boogaloo Bois, walks next to protestors demonstrating outside Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Metro Division 2 just outside of downtown Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 29, 2020. LOGAN CYRUS/AFP via Getty Images
Three self-proclaimed members of the far-right "boogaloo" movement were held on domestic terrorism charges after federal prosecutors accused them of trying to spark violence during police brutality protests in Las Vegas.
The "boogaloo" movement was defined in the charging document as "a term used by extremists to signify coming civil war and/or fall of civilization." The three men previously served in the US Navy, Army, and Air Force, according to the filing.
Each defendant was charged with conspiracy to damage and destroy by using fire and explosives, and possession of an unregistered firearm.
According to the filing, the men in late May discussed "causing an incident to incite chaos and possibly a riot" in response to George Floyd's death.
There is more on this story at Business Insider.
‘His aim was to kill Muslims’: German law enforcers say they’ve prevented a Christchurch-style attack at home
German police have arrested a suspected right-wing extremist who was planning an attack on a mosque that would attract global media notoriety, much like last year’s deadly shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The 21-year-old man from Hildesheim, a town in northern Germany, was arrested on Saturday, the prosecutor’s office said. The law enforcers made their move against the wannabe terrorist after he revealed his plot “in an anonymous internet chat.”
The suspect had “for some time been considering the idea of committing an attack in which he wanted to kill numerous people in order to attract worldwide media attention,” the prosecutor said.
The man was aiming to carry out an atrocity similar to that perpetrated in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019. In that attack, a gunman shot 51 people dead after targeting two mosques.
“His aim was to kill Muslims,” the prosecutors pointed out.
Unspecified weapons allegedly intended to be used in the attack, as well as digital files of right-wing extremist content, were discovered at the home of the suspect. He now faces charges of threatening to commit criminal offences and financing terrorism through the purchase of arms.
National media reported that Hildesheim District Court initially rejected the application for the arrest warrant and the man was detained only after the General Prosecutor’s Office directed the judge in the nearby town of Luneburg to do so.
Germany has been rocked by several extreme right-wing attacks over the past year, and there has also been a grim toll of stabbings and rammings by radicalized Muslims.
In February, a far-right gunman opened fire on customers at a shisha bar in Hanau, near Frankfurt, killing nine. In October, two people died when a synagogue in Halle, outside Leipzig, was targeted, and a right-wing sympathizer was charged with the murder of pro-immigration politician Walter Lubcke last summer.
Syrian Army Repels Terrorist Attack in Idlib,
30 Militants Killed, Wounded
MIDDLE EAST, Sputnik08.06.2020
The town of Ariha in the southern countryside of Syria's Idlib province
Ceasefire violations have often been reported in Idlib province, where on 5 March, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a new ceasefire.
The Syrian Army has thwarted an attempt by terrorists to capture Tanjara in southern Idlib, the Russian Defence Ministry's centre for Syrian reconciliation said on Monday, adding that at least 30 militants were killed and wounded.
"On 8 June, militants from the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group attempted to seize the settlement of Tanjara in the southern part of the Idlib de-escalation zone", Rear Adm. Alexander Shcherbitskiy, the head of the centre for Syrian reconciliation said.
The militants broke through the defences and wedged into the battle formations of the Syrian army for 600 meters. However, the return fire of the aviation and artillery allowed to repel the attack, and the government forces regained positions on the front line of defence, he noted.
"The terrorists lost more than 30 people killed and wounded. Three pickups with heavy machine guns were destroyed", Shcherbitsky said.
Over the past day, the group's militants also shelled settlements in Idlib and Aleppo provinces five times, he said.
Numerous attacks have recently been conducted by militants from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group (formerly known as Al-Nusra Front*) in the Syrian provinces of Idlib and Latakia, the Russian military said earlier.
JMB terrorist arrested in West Bengal
Gourab Neto8 Jun 2020
Kolkata: The Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata Police nabbed another Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terrorist identified as Sheikh Rezaul alias Kiron From Dankuni on Monday morning. He will be produced at the Bankshall Court on Tuesday seeking police remand.
On May 29 morning STF had arrested a JMB member identified as Abdul Karim alias Boro Karim. He was the key person to set up and look after the Dhuliyan module of JMB and was also close to JMB Chief Salauddin.
Sources informed that after interrogating him, STF officials came to know about Rezaul is active in South Bengal. On the basis of the information, STF officials started gathering inputs and finally on Monday early morning came to know about Rezaul's hideout Dankuni bus stand. Later a team nabbed him from there and brought to STF police station.
STF officials claimed that Reazaul was wanted in a case which was registered during 2018. He is a key person of the terror outfit. Rezaul reportedly used to keep in touch with the senior JMB leaders and arrange meeting between the leaders and other members of the terror outfit. While doing so he came close to Salauddin who is still absconding. It is suspected that Rezaul may have been recruiting youths from Dankuni and other areas to set up a new module of JMB.
Ten Pakistanis among 93 terrorists killed in 2020
By Manu Pubby, ET
NEW DELHI:
Reversing setbacks in Kashmir, security forces have killed 93 terrorists in a string of successful operations this year as they scaled up joint operations and the army stepped up its anti-infiltration grid along the Line of Control (LoC).
In a span of 24 hours, two joint operations were carried out in Shopian that resulted in nine terrorists being killed, without any casualty suffered by security forces.
Official data reveals that out of the 93 terrorists killed this year, 35 belonged to the Hizbul Mujahidin, indicating that it is currently the most active group in Kashmir. Ten Pakistani terrorists have been eliminated this year, with the rest being local recruits.
Officials said there is clear intelligence that a large number of Pakistani terrorists are present in the valley, but these terrorists have been avoiding any exposure to security forces to avoid international glare.
303 YPG/PKK terrorists killed during counterterrorism operations in past 3 months
BY DAILY SABAH WITH AAISTANBUL WAR ON TERROR JUN 08, 2020
Turkey's security forces regularly conduct counterterrorism operations in the eastern and southeastern parts
of the country against the YPG/PKK terrorists. (DHA)
At least 303 PKK/YPG terrorists were killed and 177 arrested between March 1 and May 31, as the Turkish security forces dealt a major blow to the terrorist group, according to Anadolu Agency (AA).
Out of the 177 suspects, 81 high-ranking terrorists have been put under arrest.
The first operation that netted high-ranking members took place on March 9, when two PKK terrorists, both of whom have been a member of the PKK for over 20 years, were captured in eastern Turkey's Van.
The two terrorists were later identified as the bodyguards of the PKK heads, Murat Karayılan and Cemil Bayık. In their testimonies, they confessed that the PKK was in a panic mode thanks to Turkey's ongoing counterterrorism operations.
Turkish security forces regularly conduct counterterrorism operations in the eastern and southeastern provinces of Turkey where the PKK has attempted to establish a strong presence.
The forces have adopted "ending terrorism at its root" and "attack rather than defense" strategies for its operations across the country.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and European Union, has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women and children. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) also carries out cross-border operations in northern Iraq, a region where PKK terrorists have hideouts and bases where they carry out attacks on Turkey. The operations intensified in July 2018 and gradually became routine.
The operation in Van was followed by a subsequent operation in northern Iraq on March 10 where five PKK terrorists were killed.
High-ranking PKK terrorists targeted
On March 11, another high-ranking terrorist, who was on the Red Category of the Interior Ministry's Most Wanted list, surrendered to the security forces. After surrendering, thanks to the convincing activities of the security forces, Duygu Karayel, codenamed "Siya Munzur," was taken into custody in southeastern Turkey's Mardin.
The Interior Ministry's most wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red indicating the greatest threat to Turkey's national security, followed by blue, green, orange and gray.
There has also been a surge in the number of terrorists laying down arms and surrendering to Turkish security forces following these series of successful domestic and cross-border anti-terror operations. About 90 terrorists have so far surrendered to the forces since the beginning of this year
During another operation on March 9, Halide Tarı, codenamed "Ayten Amed," who was a part of the so-called top decision making organ of the women's branch of the PKK, was killed in northern Iraq.
It was confirmed after her killing that Tarı, who was wanted on charges of disrupting the unity and the territorial integrity of the state, has been a member of the terrorist group since the 1990s and was coordinating terrorist groups different branches in northern Iraq's Qandil mountains.
Another terrorist Nazife Bilen, who was also a part of the terrorist group's top decision making organ, was killed on March 30 in a joint operation by the Turkish intelligence and security forces. Later, the security forces reported that Bilen was the highest-ranking woman terrorist that has been killed so far.
On the last two days of April, seven terrorists, four of whom were in the Gray Category of the Most Wanted list, have been killed in the Kağızman district of eastern Turkey's Kars, one of the most critical points in the fight against terrorism.
On April 10, Mahmut Okay, another terrorist in the Orange Category and the so-called leader of PKK eastern Erzurum region was captured in the Varto district of eastern Turkey's Muş.
The PKK youth branch's so-called leader of the southeastern Cizre district, Resul Özdemir, codenamed "Zibo," on the other hand, was brought to Turkey from Sweden on April 22 thanks to coordinated efforts by the two countries' intelligence services. After returning to the country, Özdemir was arrested.
Month of May full of operations
The security forces also had a fast start in May by targeting the terrorist elements since the very beginning of the month. On May 1, one of the suspected perpetrators of the 2011 Ankara terrorist attack that killed five civilians, was captured and arrested in southeastern Turkey's Diyarbakır.
On May 6, five terrorists were killed in the Doğubeyazıt district of the eastern province of Ağrı. One of the killed terrorists was identified as Özer İnce, codenamed "Piro Serhat," who was in the gray category of the Most Wanted list, while another was the so-called leader for the Ağrı Mountain region, Nevzat Pirbudak.
These terrorists were also found to be the perpetrators of a terrorist attack in Doğubeyazıt on March 2 that killed two civilians.
In the Ovacık district of southeastern Tunceli province, three terrorists were killed on May 7, one of whom was identified as Mehmet Fatih Demir, codenamed "Mahsum," who was in the Gray Category of the Most Wanted list. He was one of the perpetrators of a terrorist attack that killed a gendarme commander in 2016.
At the end of the month, on May 30, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced that five terrorists have been killed in the southeastern province of Siirt, including the so-called leader for the Harekol Mountain region. "Harekol headquarters of the terrorist group has collapsed," the minister said.
In a similar statement on May 31, Soylu confirmed that three more terrorists were killed in the southeastern province of Bitlis, one of whom was the perpetrator of a terrorist attack that killed two gendarmerie commanders last year.
Some 122,054 operations, including 116,650 in rural areas, targeted PKK terrorists in 2019 alone and have successfully detained and killed top PKK figures.
According to the Interior Ministry, there were 835 to 1,995 PKK terrorists in January 2017, while the number dropped to between 1,100 and 1,200 by January 2018, 755 to 876 in January 2019 and under 500 in January 2020, equating to an 83% drop over four years and the lowest figures in three decades.
More importantly, while around 5,558 terrorists joined the PKK in 2014, this number fell to 130 in 2019 and to just 13 in the first five months of 2020, a whopping 70% drop year-on-year.
PKK continues to attack civilians
During this process, while the security forces were targeting the terrorists, the PKK continued its attacks not only toward the Turkish military but also on civilians.
In PKK attacks, nine security officers and 12 civilians have been killed while 13 security officers and a civilian have been injured.
One of the biggest terrorist attacks on civilians took place on May 14.
Workers of Vefa Social Support Group, which was formed to assist people during the pandemic, were attacked while returning from a quarantined neighborhood in Van's Özalp district. Two members of the group were killed in the attack.
According to a statement from the Van Municipality following the attack, the group was in the neighborhood to distribute aid. After their work was done in the region, they were attacked by terrorists using long-barrel weapons.
Vefa Social Support Groups were initially formed to respond to the needs of people older than 65 whose mobility has been restricted as part of coronavirus measures. Public workers, such as police, gendarmerie, security forces and personnel of Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), not only meet the needs of senior citizens but also provides protective equipment including masks, cologne, hand soap and disinfectants. The groups have been formed under the supervision of the district municipalities all over the country, and a call center has been established for people to obtain the group's services.
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