NEW NPSA MITIGATION OF TERRORIST THREATS AT VENUES DURING INGRESS AND EGRESS GUIDANCE
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Summer 2024 Terrorism Assessment and Digest from CIS Security. This is a key moment ahead of the Summer to reflect on events and developments over the previous Spring months, and to understand the changing dynamics of the present, emerging, changed and likely terrorism risks and threats set to define the rest of 2024.
This assessment period continues to be dominated by the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas brought about by the murderous Hamas terrorist attacks into Israeli territory on October 7th 2023.
Significantly, the last declared terrorist attack perpetrated in the UK, is also the first UK terrorist murder directly inspired by events in Gaza just a week after the attack on Israel.
The assessment brings into sharp focus global issues, geopolitical events and conflicts now playing out in terrorist and hostile state threats in the UK. These provide ongoing risks to government, national security, business, communities and infrastructure.
There is clear evidence of a number of incidents and arrests relating to Russian hostile state activity being conducted in the UK, Poland and France. It is centred on Russian targeting of support and capabilities being provided to Ukraine.
The period assessed has further evidence of hostile Chinese activity and influence in the UK and increased hostile Iranian state activity targeting potentially lethal violence against an Iranian journalist opposed to their regime living in the UK.
International events are concerning. There is an increase in Islamist terrorism plots and arrests in Europe. The summer Olympics and Euro 2024 are possible targets; however, there is also evidence of attacks and plots against the Jewish / Israeli community and places of worship. The last fatal Islamist attack occurred in Germany with a responding police officer stabbed by a perpetrator targeting and attacking a Right-Wing anti-Muslim Politician preparing a town square rally.
The British spring and summer are populated by predictable large sporting events, gatherings, holidays, festivals and crowds in public spaces that provide terrorists with a target rich environment. The latest advice from the National Protective Security Agency for protecting people, events and preparing your organisation to respond is outlined at the end of this assessment. As others relax and enjoy the Summer, security needs be more vigilant and effective to keep people and places safe.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the mass shooting and arson attack at a concert hall near Moscow that killed at least 139 people. U.S. officials have said they had intelligence indicating it was the Afghan branch of ISIS called the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), that was responsible.
IS-K takes its name from an old Persian term for the region, Khorasan, that included parts of Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, as well as areas of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Its propaganda, translated into regional languages as well as English, vows to establish a caliphate spanning that area. The group was previously identified as the terrorist group that carried out the Kabul airport suicide bombing attack in 2021 during the evacuation from Afghanistan. That attack killed at least 183 people including 13 members of the US Military.
The IS-K attack on the Crocus Concert Hall attack in Russia and their recent targeted murder of Western tourists visiting Afghanistan is significant and shows the intention and capability of IS-K to now directly mount deadly terrorist attacks outside of Afghanistan with a motivation to strike at Western and Russian targets. This provides evidence this branch is now capable of operations far from its bases in the borderlands of Afghanistan.
Political tension and violence remain elevated, active and a live threat in the US, Europe and UK with democratic elections currently under way and over the next few months. There is a likelihood and realistic possibility of a range of political violence events occurring during this period.
The UK has had two Elected Members of Parliament, Jo Cox and Sir David Amess murdered by terrorists in the last 8 years. The perpetrators were motivated by Extreme Right Wing and Islamic terrorist beliefs and grievances. Election security advice is available on the National Protective Security Agency (NPSA) website. The main Party Leaders and prominent Ministers receive police protection in the UK, and politicians, parties and election officials have received election security advice. A terrorist attack remains likely and is a realistic possibility during the UK Election period.
Currently during the European Elections, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot several times as he greeted supporters and the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is said to have been left shocked and suffering whiplash after being struck by a man while walking in the centre of Copenhagen on 07/06/24. A number of German political leaders have been attacked in recent days.
The UK and European elections present an opportunity for white supremacists, anarchists and Islamist extremists to find common cause in their opposition to democratic governments and liberal democracy with nations.
An emerging threat is evident in Germany being targeted by an Anarchist / Eco Terrorist attack against a Tesler Gigafactory. Production was halted for a week following a simple arson attack against cables at a nearby electricity sub-station. Tesla says total cost of the incident could come to several hundred million euros. Tesla shares fell by 4.6pc in New York following the attack. The attack demonstrates the vulnerability of infrastructure and is evidence of an emerging threat against the provision of “green energy” solutions based upon extractive resources required for battery production.
The increasing military responses by the US, UK and other coalition allies necessary to protect shipping lanes and global trade from the Houthi missile attacks is part of a wider regional conflict with the hostile state of Iran. It also risks drawing the US, UK and other Western powers into wider Middle East conflict.
This assessment period shows how events elsewhere and other emerging threats can have an immediate ripple impact and presence in the UK and in particular London, bringing accompanying threats of terrorism, political violence, conflict, hatred and protest.
This assessment covers updates on:
X THE UK NATIONAL TERRORISM THREAT LEVEL
X OVERVIEW - TERRORISM IN THE UK
X CASE STUDY – HARTLEPOOL TERRORISM MURDER WAS INSPIRED BY EVENTS IN GAZA
X INCREASES IN LATEST TERRORISM ARREST FIGURES
X NORTHERN IRELAND TERRORISM THREAT LEVEL REDUCED
X INTERNATIONAL INCIDENTS & EVENTS OF NOTE
X PROSCRIPTION OF TERRORGRAM COLLECTIVE
X EVOLVING RISK AREA – ANARCHISM / ECO TERRORISM
X RECENT UK COUNTER TERRORISM PROTECTIVE SECURITY OPERATIONS & CRIMINAL JUSTICE CASES
X COUNTER TERRORISM POLICING APPEAL FOR INFORMATION FOLLOWING SECOND ARREST IN SRI LANKA WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATION
X NEW NPSA - MITIGATION OF TERRORIST THREATS AT VENUES DURING INGRESS AND EGRESS GUIDANCE
X NPSA ANNOUNCEMENT: SECURITY CONTROL ROOM COURSES – RESPONDING TO TERRORIST INCIDENTS
X RELEVANT NPSA GUIDANCE FOR SUMMER 2024
Information Cut off: 07/06/2024
Assessment of UK Terrorism Threat and the National Terrorism Threat
Level:
Assessment of UK Terrorism Threat and the National Terrorism Threat Level:
The UK National Terrorism Threat Level remains at SUBSTANTIAL meaning an attack is likely and remains a strong possibility.
An attack in the UK can occur anywhere, anytime, in any community or place and is likely to occur with little or no warning.
for more information.
The UK continues to face a threat from Islamic Terrorism, Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism (ERWT) and, to a lesser extent, Left-Wing, Anarchist and Single-Issue Terrorism (LASIT). The single national threat level includes all these terrorist types whether threatened by a group or individuals.
Terrorism threat levels within Northern Ireland are set separately. The Current Northern Ireland Related Terrorism in Northern Ireland was lowered on MI5 has lowered on 6 March from “SEVERE”, meaning an attack is highly likely to “SUBSTANTIAL”, meaning an attack is likely.
It is highly likely that in the short term the ongoing Israel-Hamas war will continue to act as a driver of UK terrorism. Individuals could be motivated into extremist thinking, inspired and radicalised into carrying out violent acts of terror in the UK in response to the current conflict.
The last officially declared terrorist attack in the UK was inspired by the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Ahmed Ali Alid (01/01/79) was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court on 17/05/2024 after being found guilty, at a trial in April, of the stabbing attack and murder of Terence Carney a vulnerable 70-year-old man out for a walk, and the attempted murder of a 32-yearold man on Sunday, October 15, 2023 just 8 days after the HAMAS terrorist assault on Israel. He was also found guilty of two offences of Assaulting an Emergency Worker after attacking two police officers while in custody.
At the sentencing hearing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb declared that the attacks were an act of terrorism.
This case is significant as it has the status as being the last fatal terrorist attack perpetrated in the UK, and is the first UK terrorist murder that is directly inspired by HAMAS and the events in Gaza.
The Israel - Hamas conflict continues to have the potential to accelerate, increase and intensify the terrorist threat in the UK.
Increases in the UK National Terrorism Threat level due to the Israel-Hamas conflict are likely to be event driven as a response to a UK based attack, the disruption of a UK plot, or in response to attacks elsewhere or on the basis of assessed intelligence.
The potential of a wider conflict in the Middle East with increased Western or Israeli military responses could also motivate individuals to conduct terrorist attacks in the UK.
The UK has previously experienced an increased number of Islamist Terror attacks and disrupted plots inspired by the increase in attacks in Europe and elsewhere.
Islamist terrorism remains the most significant terrorism threat to the UK and current conflicts are likely to embolden and motivate people to commit acts of terrorism.
The Joint Threat Assessment Centre (JTAC) branch of The Security Service MI5 keeps the UK National Terrorism Threat level under constant review to ensure that it remains appropriate.
An essential and necessary part of the National Threat Level Assessment is whether the current threats are under control, managed or mitigated by the security agencies, counter terrorism and policing capabilities.
MI5 is responsible for setting the threat level from Northern Irish Related Terrorism NIRT in Northern Ireland.
The UK National Terrorist Threat level is set independently of Government by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre JTAC, based within the MI5 Security Service in London. In setting the threat level JTAC considers:
X Available Intelligence
X Terrorist Capability
X Terrorist Intentions
X Timescale
The terrorist threat to the UK primarily comes from self-initiated terrorists (S-ITs) who are unpredictable and difficult to detect. They are highly likely to use low sophistication methodologies in their attacks against people, in particular using bladed and blunt force weapons including vehicles. These methods remain the most frequent and likely forms of terrorist attack in the UK.
Recent attacks such as at London Bridge in 2017 had an unused capability of the terrorist use of fire as a weapon FAW with a number of Molotov Cocktails, cans of petrol and a blow torch being found in the van used to run down pedestrians. The October 2022 attack on the Western Jetfoil Immigration Centre in Dover featured the use of 3 thrown crude incendiary devices.
Although the predominant threat to the UK is from self-initiated terrorists who are inspired to act by terrorist ideology rather than through direction or support from groups overseas, groups such as Al Qaeda and Islamic State almost certainly retain the intent to direct or enable attacks against the West including the UK.
The use of IEDs and firearms is less likely; but as seen in the Liverpool Hospital bomb attack in November 2021, the Manchester Arena attack and the train at Parsons Green both in 2017, it continues to be a possible and used attack method in the UK. The manufacture of IEDs represents a higher level of complexity in planning, resourcing and capability in delivering lethal attacks.
The difficulties terrorists have in obtaining firearms and the quantities of ammunition required for an attack is a limiting factor within the UK. There is an increase and presence in reported plots and trial evidence of the use of 3D printers to construct firearms and their constituent parts.
The threat from terrorism was not diminished during COVID-19 lockdowns and the Pandemic restrictions on our society. There is now evidence of increased online radicalisation in individuals over the periods of isolation and lockdown in the last four years.
Worryingly, the number of children being arrested for terrorism offences is increasing at an unprecedented rate. The increase in the number of those aged 18 years or younger being arrested for terrorism-related offences has resulted from the continued proliferation of easily accessible extremist content online.
The threat of terrorism has not gone away and attacks remain a likely event.
It is likely there will be event and attack-driven increases in the Terrorism Threat Level in the remainder of 2024. 3D printers being used to construct firearms and their constituent parts.
OVERVIEW - TERRORISM IN THE UK
Understanding the terrorist threat facing us and the context behind the UK Threat Levels is key to ensuring protective security measures and mitigations are proportionate, effective, and responsive. This is evidence of a sustained, expanding and changing terrorism threat in the UK where future attacks are now officially assessed as likely:
X The UK National Terrorism Threat Level is SUBSTANTIAL, meaning an attack is likely
X The last confirmed terrorist attack in the UK was in October 2023 in Hartlepool
X In 2017 a series of five terrorist attacks in the UK saw 36 people murdered and nearly 300 injured in unconnected attacks.
X The UK has suffered subsequent lethal terrorist attacks in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023
X Since 2013, 46 people have been murdered by terrorists in the UK and well over 300 injured
X 16 people have been murdered by terrorists in London in the last 8 years
X It is almost certain Islamic Terrorism remains the principal terrorism threat to the UK in 2024
X It is assessed as highly likely Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism is a significant threat in the UK in 2024
X The UK Security Services and Counter Terrorism Policing reported to have disrupted 39 late-stage attack plots between January 2017 and June 2023
X There have been 20 officially declared terrorist attacks in the UK since June 2013
X There were 219 arrests for terrorism-related activity in the year ending 31 December 2023, 52 more than in the year ending 31 December 2022
X Of the 219 arrests made in 2023, 61 (28%) resulted in a charge, with 57 suspects facing prosecution over terrorism related offences
X 42 children were arrested, the highest number since records began in 2002. This is evidencing an increasing number of younger people are becoming radicalised
X In the year ending 31 December 2023, 65 persons were tried at court for terrorismrelated offences, 7 more than in the year ending 31 December 2022.
X Of the 65 persons tried for terrorism-related offences, 61 were convicted (94%)
X As of 31 December 2023, there were 244 persons in custody for terrorism-connected offences in Great Britain, 18 more than in the year ending 31 December 2022
X Of those in custody, the majority (65%) were categorised as holding Islamist-extremist views; a further 26% were categorised as holding Extreme right-wing ideologies and 9% were categorised as holding other ideologies
X There are over 800 live terrorism investigations conducted by Counter Terrorism Policing
X 53% of current terrorism investigations are in London
X 2 Elected Members of Parliament, Jo Cox and Sir David Amess were murdered by terrorists in the last 8 years
UK Terrorism – Most likely forms of Attack
CASE STUDY – HARTLEPOOL
TERRORISM MURDER
WAS INSPIRED BY EVENTS IN GAZA
A terrorist who randomly murdered a 70-year-old man in the street and attempted to murder a second person was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 44 years and 152 days.
Ahmed Ali Alid (01/01/79) was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court on 17/05/2024 after being found guilty, at a trial in April, of the Murder of Terence Carney, and the Attempted Murder of 32-year-old man Javed Nouri on Sunday, October 15, 2023. He was also found guilty of two offences of Assaulting an Emergency Worker after attacking two police officers while in custody.
At the sentencing hearing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb declared that the attacks were an act of terrorism.
This case is significant as it has the status as being the last fatal terrorist attack perpetrated in the UK, and is the first UK terrorist murder that is directly motivated and inspired by the events in Gaza.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley is Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East who led the investigation, said:
“In this case it was appropriate that the decision to declare this horrific incident as an act of terrorism was made once all the evidence had been heard by the court.
“The defendant had expressed, during the time of his arrest and whilst in custody, that his actions were inspired by the Israel-Hamas conflict. He appeared to have developed a fixation with the events there.
“International conflicts can create a mix of outrage, grief and grievance which has the potential to galvanise those with an extremist or potentially extremist mind-set to take action. Sadly, as we have seen in this case, it can have devastating consequences.
“Nothing can justify the actions of the defendant that day. I have no doubt that the bravery of the Cleveland officers involved in the initial response prevented further harm or loss of life that morning. Today’s sentence reflects the shocking and horrendous nature of the crimes this man has committed.
“I again wish to pass on our deepest sympathies to Mr Carney’s family. Throughout the months following the incident, and during the trial, they have shown great dignity. We ask that their wishes are respected, and they are given the time to grieve in private.”
IMAGE: CTPNE
Background
Ahmed Ali Alid 45, a Moroccan, claimed asylum in the UK in 2020 after arriving in the UK illegally and lived with three other asylum seekers at a Home Office approved hostel on Hartlepool’s Wharton Terrace. Previously he had failed to find refuge in at least eight other European countries before travelling to the UK from the Netherlands.
But more than three years later, as his application was still being assessed by the Home Office, and in October last year, just days after the Hamas assault against Israel, he launched his own terror attack on UK soil.
After repeatedly stabbing Christian convert Mr Nouri in his hostel bedroom, he went out into the street and murdered Mr Carney.
On Nov 3, three weeks after the murder, the Home Office formally rejected Alid’s asylum application.
Prosecutors said Alid followed an “extreme interpretation of Islam” and had issues with his housemate, Iranian-national Javed Nouri, 31, who had converted to Christianity.
The court was told Alid was a patisserie chef who ran a coffee and pastry shop in Algeria but left in 2007, moving around Europe before arriving in the UK illegally in 2020 via a ferry from Amsterdam.
The trial heard the first victim Mr Nouri had complained to housing managers and the police about Alid, who had taken to carrying a knife and was making regular threats.
Two days before the attacks, Cleveland Police had attended, but took no action as no crime had been committed.
Attack
Det Ch Supt James Dunkerley from Terrorism
Policing North East (CTPNE) described the attack as a “violent rampage” and “He was hell-bent on violence that day.”
Alid used a kitchen knife during the attacks.
The court heard Alid at 5am first forced his way into housemate Mr Nouri’s room and stabbed him multiple times with a kitchen knife while shouting “Allahu Akbar”, meaning “God is greatest”. Alid tried to murder Javed Nouri as he slept because he regarded him as an “apostate” for converting from Islam to Christianity.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said Alid had waited to assault Mr Nouri when he was “asleep and vulnerable,” and that “the life he had started to build in this country was shattered by what happened”.
He then went into the street and in nearby Raby Road encountered Terence Carney aged 70 on an early morning walk, killing him by stabbing him multiple times.
Alid approaching Mr Carney while carrying a 20cm knife and shouting “Allahu Akbar”.
He then attacked the unarmed elderly man who was unable to defend himself.
Jurors were shown CCTV of Alid confronting Mr Carney, chasing him a short distance and stabbing him. Doorbell camera footage showed Mr Carney cry out “no, no” as he was stabbed by Alid.
The prosecutor described the deliberate targeting of Mr Carney’s body repeatedly with the knife before Alid walked off, leaving his victim for dead. One wound had fatally penetrated his heart. Mr Carney was described as an elderly man who struggled to walk. He sustained six stab wounds and died of “massive internal bleeding”.
IMAGE: CTPNE
IMAGE: CTPNE
Police responding to a 999 call about the Wharton Terrace attack found Mr Carney lying in the street, where he was pronounced dead.
Alid was arrested by armed police a short distance away.
Ahmed Alid was surrounded and captured by armed police on York Road, after murdering Terence Carney. He had a knife in his waist band.
At the end of his interview at Middlesbrough Police Station, Alid verbally abused the Tunisian interpreter, became more agitated and then lunged at the two female detectives questioning him. During the struggle with the officers, one pressed a panic button that did not work.
The situation was so frightening, Alid’s own solicitor rang 999 to ask for help, before other officers were able to force entry into the room and subdue him.
Motivation / Declaration of Terrorist Act
Mr Nouri said Alid was watching “terrorist news” after the Hamas attack on Israel.
During Alid’s trial, jurors heard his housemates noticed he had watched a lot of coverage of the Hamas attacks on Israel and began carrying a knife.
The housemates stated Alid laughed and praised Allah when he heard Hamas had killed women and children.
Alid, who followed an extreme version of Islam, told police the attacks were in protest against the Israel and Gaza conflict.
He spoke through an Arabic interpreter during the trial and had admitted stabbing the two men but denied he had intended to kill or cause really serious harm.
IMAGE: CTPNE
IMAGE: Counter Terrorism North East
IMAGE: Hartlepool Mail
The judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, said: “The murder of Terence Carney was a terrorist act in which you hoped to influence the British government.”
“You attacked and murdered Terrance Carney in a terrorist act. You intended it as revenge for the actions of a foreign country, Israel, and to intimidate and influence the British government in its international relations.”
“You hoped to frighten the British people and undermine the freedoms they enjoy.”
“Those who genuinely seek refuge in this country will embrace the values we hold dear. These values include respect for the dignity of each person as an individual, with freedom to choose their political opinion without intimidation, and whether to observe a particular faith without fear or oppression.”
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb passes sentence at Teesside Crown Court on May 17, 2024
Det Ch Supt James Dunkerley stated “His extremist views had fuelled him so much that he wanted to cause harm to anybody he could, in retribution to what he was seeing on his online media on events happening in Gaza.”
“He was telling everybody on arrest, and in custody, what his intentions were – that he wanted to go out and kill more people”.
In a holding cell at Middlesbrough police station after his arrest, Alid launched into a speech in Arabic saying that “Allah willing, Gaza would return to be an Arab country” and how he would have continued his “raid” if his hands had not been injured.
Alid, who strongly disapproved of his housemate Mr Nouri’s conversion to Christianity, said God was “displeased” with those who went astray.
During his police interview Alid said he launched his attacks because “Israel had killed innocent children”. Alid said he blamed Mr Carney for the attack and said he felt the elderly man was responsible for Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Jonathan Sandiford KC, prosecuting, told the court during the trial: “In other words, he said he had committed the attempted murder of Javed Nouri and the murder of Mr Carney in revenge for what he believed to be the killing of children by Israel.”
“He swore by Allah that if he had had a machine gun and more weapons, he would have killed more victims.”
Alid said Zionists had “killed more people” than he had, adding: “Zionists must go because they are killing innocent people”.
He justified his attack saying the United Kingdom was liable for what was happening in Palestine.
Alid showed no signs of genuine remorse or pity towards his victims or regret for the outcome, the court heard.
Psychosis and any other serious mental illness have been excluded as factors in the attack, the court heard.
There was a diagnosis is of a minor mental illness called an adjustment disorder which would have impacted on the defendant’s judgement.
Sentence
Alid was found guilty by the jury on all charges. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for each of the offences. He was sentenced to 44 years and 152 days imprisonment. He must serve every day. After that time has passed the Parole Board will decide whether he can be safely released. It is possible he will not be released even then.
Impact
In a victim impact statement released after the verdict, Mr Carney’s family said: “For us, things will never be the same again.”
Mr Carney was a beloved husband, father and grandfather, his grieving family has said.
Patricia Carney, Mr Carney’s widow, said her husband went out walking early every morning because he enjoyed the peace and quiet on the streets.
Flowers in Hartlepool following the attacks in October last year.
Credit: ITV Tyne Tees
The family thanked a number of people, especially Mr Nouri and two other men who gave evidence, Ariyan Karimi and Mohammed Karimi.
“What they themselves endured that night was truly horrific, they believed they too were going to die.
“Despite this, they fully assisted the police with their enquiries and gave their evidence in court, which is testament to their characters.
“These three men were the voice of our loved one, when he was unable to speak out for himself. For this we will forever be grateful to them.”
Mr Nouri, 31, said that since the attack he did not “trust anyone or anything” and “all thoughts and feelings I had of being in a safe country have gone”.
His victim impact statement added: “I would expect to be arrested and killed in my home country for converting to Christianity but I did not expect to be attacked in my sleep here.
“How is it possible for someone to destroy someone’s life because of his religion?”
Statement from Matt Jukes on behalf of Counter Terrorism Policing:
Matt Jukes, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing
My thoughts, and those of everyone at Counter Terrorism Policing, are with the family and friends of Mr Carney. I know that today, much like every day since his death, will have been incredibly difficult for his loved ones; they have had to face the devastating loss of a much a loved husband, father, and grandfather.
They have asked for privacy so that they can grieve as a family, and I would ask everyone to please respect that wish.
I also want to acknowledge the impact of these events on Mr Javad Nouri, the other victim of that day’s violence.
The attack on Sunday 15th October last year was violent and cowardly. Mr Carney had no chance, or time, to defend himself and the perpetrator of this attack admitted after his arrest, that he would not have been his only victim that day had he been able to continue his attack.
I therefore want to also praise the swift and brave actions taken by officers from Cleveland Police, Mr Nouri and the other occupants of the property who ensured the perpetrator did not claim any more lives.
This awful incident took place just one week after the 7th October terrorist attack on Israel and before the full-scale conflict that has since unfolded in the
Middle East. It is now evident, and as made clear by the judge, that Ahmed Alid’s existing extremist mind set and hatred accelerated over that week.
He was galvanised by international events and therefore felt justified to commit such a heinous attack. We have seen similar terrorist acts by individuals across Europe in recent months, and amongst our current casework, there are investigations into comparable risks that we continue to pursue alongside our partners.
When we disrupt terrorist planning –as we do month-in, month-out – we’re constantly learning lessons. And when terrorist attacks take place, we look even harder to understand where the potential to detect and disrupt future attackers lies.
This will remain a partnership with local policing and critically, with the public. We have received extraordinary levels of contact from the public since October last year on issues from objectionable material online to family members who are worried that a loved one is going down a dangerous path.
Officers and staff from Counter Terrorism Policing are working around the clock with MI5, and other partners, to intervene against a range of threats. From sophisticated international plots to the volatile behaviour of lone actors. Days like today steel us to continue that work with determination.
INCREASES IN LATEST TERRORISM ARREST FIGURES
The latest release of Home Office figures in respect of terrorism arrests and operation of police terrorism powers under TACT 2000 for the calendar year of 2023 shows concerning increases.
Terrorism arrests increased by a third in the first rise since 2017 and the figures contain a record high for the number of 42 children under 17 arrested.
Arrests:
There were 219 arrests for terrorism-related activity in the year ending 31 December 2023, 52 more than in the year ending 31 December 2022 when 167 arrests were made (a rise of 31%), and the highest number of terrorism-related arrests in a year since the year ending 31 December 2019. This is the first year since year ending 31 December 2017 where arrests have increased compared to the previous year.
Of the 219 arrests made in 2023, 61 (28%) resulted in a charge, with 57 suspects facing prosecution over terrorism related offences.
Arrests for terrorist-related activity, by legislation, years ending 31 December 2002 to 31 December 2023:
Source: CTPHQ
Children under 17 terror arrests
Just under 1 in 5 terrorist arrests last year were of children under 17. This is alarming evidence that radicalisation is increasing as teenage terrorism arrests increase to record numbers.
Home Office figures showed that 42 children were arrested, the highest number since records began in 2002. This is also an increase of a third on 2022’s figure of 32 and double the number three years ago.
Jonathan Hall KC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation stated the increase could be linked to “isolated” teenagers being radicalised in “malign online spaces”.
As a result of this Counter Terrorism Policing are once again appealing to the public to take action and report any concerns they have about family and friends who are being radicalised by harmful content.
Acting Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing Richard Smith, said:
Met Police Commander Richard Smith briefing media / CTP
Acting Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism
Policing Richard Smith, said:
“We take no pleasure from the increasing numbers of young people we’re seeing in our investigations and casework.
“Whilst our role is to stop anyone – no matter their age – committing terrorism offences or planning to cause harm to the public, it is truly shocking that almost one in every five of our arrests involves a young person.
“For several years now, we have warned about the risk of children and young people who are becoming involved in terrorism-related activity and the statistics released yesterday reaffirm our concerns.
“Young people susceptible to radicalisation need protection and support to prevent them being drawn into terrorism. I implore parents and guardians to pay close attention to the young people in their lives and look out for the signs that they may be viewing, sharing or even creating terrorist content.”
NORTHERN IRELAND TERRORISM THREAT LEVEL REDUCED
On 6th March 2024 the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland the Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris provided a statement on the change to the Northern Ireland-related Terrorism threat level:
MI5 has lowered the Northern Irelandrelated Terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland (NI) from “SEVERE”, meaning an attack is highly likely to “SUBSTANTIAL”, meaning an attack is likely.
The decision to change the threat level is taken by MI5, independently of Ministers.
This is a systematic, comprehensive and rigorous process, based on the very latest intelligence and analysis of factors which drive the threat.
The fact that the threat level is being lowered is testament to the tremendous efforts of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and MI5 to tackle Northern Ireland related terrorism.
This positive step reflects the commitment of communities from across Northern Ireland to build a safer place to live and work.
As ever, the public should remain vigilant and report any concerns they may have to the police. There remains a small group of people determined to destabilise the political settlement in Northern Ireland through acts of terrorism.
The Government, police and intelligence agencies will continue to work tirelessly to address the threat posed by terrorism in all its forms. The threat level will be kept under constant review.
The Chief Constable of the PSNI made the following statement following the threat announcement:
Welcoming the reduction of the Northern Ireland Related Terrorism threat level, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: “Today the threat level has been reduced from severe to substantial by MI5, following a regular review. The independent assessment means the threat has moved from an attack is ‘highly likely’ to an attack is ‘likely’.
“I welcome this reduction and its significance for our communities, for police officers and staff and our partners. It is testament to all of our collective longterm efforts, in particular the community, in achieving the kind of society that we all want and deserve.
“Over recent years we have successfully prevented attacks and investigated and pursued groups, such as the New IRA, who don’t care about placing our communities at significant risk through their reckless attempts to kill police officers.
“It is sad that there is still a small group of people within our society who are intent on causing harm and dragging Northern Ireland back to the past. No-one wants this and we will continue to pursue anyone involved and bring them before the courts in order to make our communities safer.
“It’s just over one year since the cowardly attempted murder of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell. Our officers will continue to relentlessly pursue those responsible for this most vicious act, seeking to bring all who have played any part before the courts.
“Following the reduction in the threat level the public won’t see an immediate change in how we deliver policing and our priority will remain the same, to deliver a visible, accessible and responsive community focused policing service to keep people safe.”
CIS Threat Assessment Comments:
It should be noted the Northern Ireland Related Terrorism (NIRT) threat within Northern Ireland continues to emanate from Dissident Republican groups who seek to undertake National Security attacks on individuals and locations that they see as representative of the British state, most recently, primarily police, prison officers and court buildings.
The Dissident Republican threat primarily comes from the new Irish Republican Army (New IRA) who were last responsible for a national security attack in February 2023 with the attempted murder by shooting of off duty DCI Jon Caldwell at a youth football session.
IMAGE: PA MEDIA
IMAGE: PSNI
INTERNATIONAL INCIDENTS & EVENTS OF NOTE
Since the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East on 7th October 2023, terrorist actors have continued to demonstrate the intent and capability to conduct attacks across Western Europe in 2024.
These events are being attributed by the authorities to both Islamic State, Hamas terrorist actors, a linked Palestine terror organisation Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and individuals inspired to become malignant actors due to the wider Israeli – Hamas war. The attacks and events in Israel / Gaza have led to France, Denmark and other European countries increasing their terrorism threat levels.
An incident in Sweden at an Israeli armaments contractor under investigation raises suspicions of the involvement of hostile Iranian state activity in the placing of an explosive device at the location.
There appears to be an increase in the number and tempo of ISIS inspired plots and arrests being made in Europe, Turkey and elsewhere such as Australia and the USA.
A recent escalation is the firearms attack on the US Embassy in Lebanon on 5 June by a gunman wearing a shirt with “ISIS” and “Islamic State” printed on it.
The IS – K attack on the Crocus Concert Hall attack in Russia and the attacks on Western tourists are significant and show the intention and capability of IS-K to now directly mount significant and deadly terrorist attacks outside of Afghanistan with a motivation to strike at Western tourists in Afghanistan.
The Polish Prime Minister has very publicly stated Russia is behind acts of state-directed acts of sabotage on Polish territory. The French Security Service have arrested a Russian man preparing an explosive device intending to strike at businesses connected with war support for Ukraine.
Terrorism Assessment & Digest. Summer and Spring 2024
terrorist attacks outside of Afghanistan with a motivation to strike at Western tourists in Afghanistan. The Polish Prime Minister has very publicly stated Russia is behind acts of state -directed acts of sabotage on Polish territory. The French Security Service have arrested a Russian man preparing an explosive device intending to strike at businesses connected with war support for Ukraine.
INTERNATIONAL INCIDENTS
SPAIN
23/01/24 Student successfully built a “Mother of Satan” Bomb and planned to attack his school in Andalucia.
Spain's high court ordered that a 17 -year -old student suspected of having links to the Islamic State and of planning to attack his high school be held on remand at a youth detention centre for at least six months.
The student, a Syrian national, was arrested in the southern town of Montellano near Seville, and has been charged with belonging to a terrorist organisation and possessing explosives.
Image: The Olive Press
Jose Luis de Castro, the judge in charge of the court's section for minors, said in his order that "these felonies of enormous gravity" justified the pre-trial detention.
There is "solid evidence" that the suspect obtained various substances used for homemade explosives, as well as manuals for their manufacture, the judge said, adding that the suspect had also pledged loyalty to Islamic State on social media.
Police moved in when the boy had tested the explosives in a field and sent a message on WhatsApp saying “Tomorrow ’s the big day.”
TURKEY 13/02/24 Turkish counter-terrorism police investigating the Islamic State have detained a Russian citizen working at a nuclear power plant under construction on Turkey's southern coast, security sources said.
The suspect was caught working under a fake identity at the $20billion Akkuyu nuclear plant, which is being built by Russian conglomerate Rosatom in the Mediterranean province of Mersin, the sources added.
IMAGE: TRACWATCH
This is the fifth (suspected) Islamic State lone -wolf attack in Europe in the last six months, not to mention the countless arrests made in which concrete plans to target Christmas markets and Infidels were stopped by Authorities.
There is "solid evidence" that the suspect obtained various substances used for homemade explosives, as well as manuals for their manufacture, the judge said, adding that the suspect had also pledged loyalty to Islamic State on social media.
Police moved in when the boy had tested the explosives in a field and sent a message on WhatsApp saying “Tomorrow ’s the big day.”
TURKEY 13/02/24 Turkish counter-terrorism police investigating the Islamic State have detained a Russian citizen working at a nuclear power plant under construction on Turkey's southern coast, security sources said.
GREECE
The suspect was caught working under a fake identity at the $20billion Akkuyu nuclear plant, which is being built by Russian conglomerate Rosatom in the Mediterranean province of Mersin, the sources added.
01/03/24 A 32-year-old Iraqi man stabbed a 22-year-old woman in the back with a knife at the junction of Ermou and Fokionos Streets in Central Athens, Greece.
This is the fifth (suspected) Islamic State lone -wolf attack in Europe in the last six months, not to mention the countless arrests made in which concrete plans to target Christmas markets and Infidels were stopped by Authorities.
Zurich
LINKED TO ISRAEL / GAZA CONFLICT
03/03/24 Teen suspect in stabbing of Jewish man in Zurich expressed solidarity with Islamic State group
Swiss police say the 15 -year-old suspect in the stabbing of an Orthodox Jewish man in Zurich over the weekend had appeared in a video expressing solidarity with the banned Islamic State group, and called himself a “soldier” in its self -described caliphate.
Zurich cantonal police security chief Mario Fehr told reporters that authorities were investigating whether the teen, who was not identified, had acted alone or as part of a group. Officials said the suspect was a Swiss national.
“He refers to the IS (Islamic State), describes himself as a soldier of the caliphate,” Fehr said of the video that authorities had authenticated. He denounced the stabbing Saturday as a “terrorist” and “antisemitic” attack. The suspect was arrested at the scene.
SWITZERLAND
03/03/24 Teen suspect in stabbing of Jewish man in Zurich expressed solidarity with Islamic State group
ISLAMIC TERRORISM
Montellano
IMAGE: TRACWATCH
SWITZERLAND
IMAGE: TRACWATCH
ISLAMIC TERRORISM
RUSSIA Kaluga
In one video, the suspect referred to the attack in Arabic and called for a “battle against the Jews,” Fehr said. Authorities said the 50-yearold victim was critically injured but his life was no longer in danger.
07/03/24 Russian FSB operatives were alerted of the presence of an Islamic State cell, operating in the Kaluga region, approximately 95 km from Moscow.
Local people had reported suspicious individuals. Following a raid on a private house, several militants were apprehended (the video released by the FSB features two killed perpetrators). Among the items seized by the FSB were weapons, knives, ammunition, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), maps, extremist literature, laptops, and a significant amount of cash.
According to FSB investigators, the extremists were plotting an armed attack on Jewish worshippers in one of Moscow’s synagogues. A map pinpointing the intended target location was discovered during the raid. There are at least five synagogues in Moscow. H owever, it is unclear which one was on the radar of the jihadists. ISLAMIC TERRORISM
LINKED TO ISRAEL / GAZA CONFLICT
FRANCE
Paris – Notre Dame
08/03/24 An Egyptian man associated with the Islamic State was reportedly arrested in France while allegedly plotting an attack on the NotreDame Cathedral in Paris.
Agents with France's General Directorate of Internal Security arrested the suspect, a man in his early 60s, on March 5
He was indicted on the charge of "criminal terrorist association" and put in pre-trial detention on March 8
The suspect allegedly planned violent acts against Christian buildings and was seen visiting Catholic community locations multiple times
"We have never foiled so many attacks in France," French Interior
Minister Gerald Darmanin told broadcaster France 2. He went on the state: "The Islamic State is the author of the last eight foiled attacks in France. We foil a lot of attacks, one every two months."
11/03/24 Italian police have arrested three Palestinians based in central Italy who they said were planning attacks in an unspecified country, a police statement said.
The three men living in L’Aquila had set up a cell linked to the AlAqsa Martyrs Brigades.
ISLAMIC TERRORISM
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is an armed group that is linked to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the European Union and the United States.
Police said the three Palestinians had been charged with criminal conspiracy for terrorism purposes or subversion of the democratic order, which carries jail terms of up to 15 years.
"The suspects engaged in proselytism, propaganda and planned attacks, including suicide attacks, against civilian and military targets on foreign territory," police said.
One of the three men is wanted by Israel . An Italian court is examining an extradition request for him . Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi hailed the arrest of "three dangerous terrorists"
There was no immediate comment by the Al -Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
21/03/24 The threat of terrorism in Denmark and against its interests abroad has risen because of Israel's war against Hamas militants in Gaza and a series of Koran burnings in Denmark last year, the Danish security and intelligence service PET said on Thursday.
The PET rated the overall threat level at 4 out of 5, but said the risks within that level had increased.
"The conflict between Israel and a number of militant groups is of course of concern to many people, including in Denmark," PET said in a statement.
"The conflict also contains a significant potential for radicalisation and mobilisation, which can potentially activate actors for spontaneous or planned reactions in Denmark, including terrorist attacks."
Anti-Islam activists last year damaged several copies of the Koran in Denmark and also in neighbouring Sweden, two of the most liberal countries in the world, which have allowed trenchant criticism of religion in the name of free speech.
Sweden raised its terrorism alert to the second highest level, saying it had thwarted attacks after the Koran burnings and other acts against Islam's holiest text that triggered threats from jihadists.
Denmark's parliament in December passed a law making it illegal to burn the Koran in public places, seeking to defuse tensions with Muslim countries
22/03/24 At approximately 19:40, four Islamic State Khorasan IS -K terrorists entered the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow, and conducted a Maurading Firearms and Fire as a Weapon attack .
The terrorists targeted an estimated 6,000 people at a rock concert and set fire to the venue. The roof of the concert hall later collapsed. Reporting suggests that there were at least 139 fatalities and more than 100 others were injured.
IMAGE: FSB
IMAGE: GETTY
LINKED TO ISRAELI HAMAS WAR
DENMARK
RUSSIA
Crocus City Hall
4 men were later arrested in the Bryansk region of Russia, around 14 hours after the attack. On 25 March 2024, three out of the four suspects pleaded guilty to terror offences in a Russian court. Seven additional individuals have reportedly been arrested.
On 22 March 2024, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq news agency. Visual evidence posted by Islamic State includes graphic first-person videos of the attack and a photo of what it claimed to be the four attackers. The US had p reviously warned Moscow of a possible “extremist” plot in Russia “to target large gatherings in Moscow”.
FRANCE 24/03/24 On 24 March 2024, France raised its terror alert to the highest level and later announced an increase in the number of soldiers for its “Operation Sentinelle” unit, which deals with handling terrorist threats.
An extra 4,000 members of the military would be put on standby for the Sentinelle division, on top of the 3,000 military staff already on deployment for Sentinelle, which guards sites such as railway stations, places of worship, schools and theatres across the country.
France is hosting the Olympics later in the Summer and has commenced a series of Counter Terrorism Exercises to prepare the delivery of safety and security plans for the event.
Conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine as well as a threat of Islamist militant attacks have led France to raise its security alert to its highest level.
The French government has asked about 45 foreign countries to contribute several thousand extra military, police and civilian personnel to help safeguard the Paris Olympics this summer.
TURKEY 26/03/24 Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Turkey had detained 147 people suspected of having ties to Islamic State in operations across 33 provinces. He revealed this was a country -wide operation against people suspected of links to Islamic State.
When police arrived they concluded that the drunken man's gun was in fact a toy. However, they noticed several suspicious items in his apartment and immediately called in a bomb squad and explosivessniffing dogs, they discovering what appeared to be a detonationready explosive device during a search of his apartment.
Some 50 apartments were evacuated for the duration of the search.
Experts continue to assess the threat potential posed by the device. The case has been turned over to the Saxony -Anhalt State Criminal Office (LKA) for further investigation.
08/04/24 Italian police arrested a man from Tajikistan wanted for terrorismrelated crimes and suspected of being an active member of the Islamic State militant group, a police statement said.
The man, described as a fugitive targeted by an international arrest warrant, was stopped after landing at Rome's Fiumicino airport from Eindhoven in the Netherlands. He was identified only by his initials, "S.I.".
Italian authorities did not make any reference to Russia and to last month's deadly attack on a concert hall outside Moscow, for which several Tajiks living in Russia have been arrested.
The police statement did not say which country had issued the warrant for him. It said the suspect used several fake identities, including from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine.
Of note: Turkey also reportedly confirmed that the four Russian attack suspects had visited Turkey weeks before the Moscow attack.
07/04/24 Police in the eastern city of Halle have charged a 36 -year -old with illegal use of explosives.
On Saturday, shortly before noon, police were called to the man's residence when neighbours reported that he was yelling racist threats at passers-by from his window while waving a gun around, as well as having threatened to bomb foreign-looking neighbours.
The statement also said the man was born in 1992 and had enrolled in 2014 as a foreign fighter for the Islamic State in Syria. ISLAMIC TERRORISM
09/04/24 An 18-year-old man accused of planning to attack churches in a northern Idaho city in support of the Islamic State group has pleaded not guilty to a federal terrorism charge.
IMAGE: AP
Alexander Mercurio appeared in Idaho’s U.S. District Court and pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempting to provide material ISLAMIC TERRORISM
IMAGES: REUTERS
IMAGE: Jens Schlueter / Getty Images
ITALY
Rome
support to a designated foreign terror organi sation, the Coeur d’Alene Press reported.
Prosecutors say he planned to use a metal pipe, butane fuel, a machete and, if he could get them, his father’s guns in the attack. Mercurio was arrested Saturday, the day before investigators believe he planned to attack people attending a church near his Coeur d’Alene home.
According to authorities, Mercurio adopted the Muslim faith against his Christian parents’ wishes and had been communicating for two years with FBI informants posing as Islamic State group supporters.
Mercurio told one informant he intended to incapacitate his father with the pipe, handcuff him and steal his guns and a car to carry out his plan, according to an FBI agent’s sworn statement in the case.
His father’s guns included rifles, handguns and ammunition that were locked in a closet, but Mercurio planned to attack with the pipe, fire and knives if he couldn’t get the firearms, alleged the sworn statement by FBI task force officer John Taylor II.
After attacking the church, Mercurio told the informant he planned to attack others in town before being killed in an act of martyrdom, according to the statement.
Mercurio told a confidential informant that he first connected with the Islamic State group during the start of the COVID -19 pandemic, when schools were closed, Taylor said, and investigators later found files on his school-issued laptop detailing the grou p’s extremist ideology.
GERMANY 12/04/24 German authorities said that four people had been arrested for allegedly plotting attacks against churches and the police. German media reported that the teenagers “glorified Islamic State” and had “declared themselves ready” to carry out attacks. Security sources have linked them to IS-K.
AUSTRALIA Westfield Bondi Junction
13/04/24 A man conducted a marauding Bladed Weapons attack at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney, Australia.
IMAGE: ROHAN ANDERSON /BBC
At around 3:30pm, Joel Cauchi (40) attacked several people inside the Westfield Bondi Junction mall with a knife. He caused the death of five, one man (security guard) and four women, and wound several others, among them a nine-month-old baby with his mother. He was neutralised by a lone female police officer.
Mr. Cauchi was an English tutor from Toowoomba, Queensland who had been in Sydney a month before his rampage which clearly
DELIBERATE TARGETING OF WOMEN VICTIMS –POSSIBLE
focused on attacking women. Cauchi's parents confirmed that he was desperate for a girlfriend.
While authorities emphasized that the attack was not linked to terrorism, they attributed it to Cauchi's mental illness.
It appears that Cauchi's actions bear the hallmarks of misogyny and align closely with the ideology of the 'Incel' movement (Involuntarily Celibate).
Incel ideology harbors extreme misogyny, viewing women as inferior and attributing blame to feminism for societal issues, including the perceived decline of traditional relationships. Incels often express resentment towards women and may resort to violence as a means of expressing their frustrations and sense of entitlement.
This incident underscores the alarming trend of Incels turning to realworld violence fueled by their toxic beliefs.
IMAGE: REUTERS
On 15 April 2024, a teenager conducted a Bladed Weapons attack at a Sydney Church. The perpetrator targeted a bishop, a priest, and churchgoers during Mass at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd Church. At least four people were injured, in addition to the perpetrator who was later arrested.
Australian police stated that the attack was religiously motivated and the perpetrator is charged with “committing a terrorist act”.
The teen spoke in Arabic about the Prophet Muhammad being insulted after he stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and the Rev. Isaac Royel during Monday night’s Assyrian Orthodox service. He was overpowered by parishioners, sustaining severe hand injuries.
The incident was captured on a church livestream, accessible publicly online.
Police said on 25/04/24 they charged five teenager associates of the perpetrator with terrorism-related offences in investigations following the stabbing. The charges include possessing violent extremist material, conspiring to prepare for a terrorist act and carrying a knife in public.
24/04/24
French anti-terrorism authorities have arrested a 16 -year-old youth after he said on social media that he wanted to die a martyr at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, a spokesperson said on Wednesday
"He was arrested after he publicly announced on social media that he planned to create an explosive belt to become a martyr," she said, ISLAMIC TERRORISM
AUSTRALIA Sydney 15/04/24
ISLAMIC TERRORISM
FRANCE
OLYMPICS
adding that an investigation was underway into whether he had genuine intentions to commit a terrorist act.
05/05/24 Australian police shot dead a boy after he stabbed a man in Western Australia's capital Perth, in an attack authorities said indicated terrorism.
There were signs the 16-year-old, armed with a kitchen knife, had been radicalised online, state authorities said, adding they received calls from concerned members of the local Muslim community before the attack, which occurred late on Saturday night.
The attack, in the suburb of Willetton, had "hallmarks" of terrorism police said.
"At this stage it appears that he acted solely and alone," Western Australia Premier Roger Cook told a televised press conference in the state capital Perth, regarding the attacker.
The victim, stabbed in the back, was stable in hospital, authorities said.
17/05/24 French police have shot and killed an armed suspect outside of a synagogue, the interior minister has said.
Police were called at around 06:45 after smoke was seen rising from the synagogue. The attacker climbed on a large waste bin and threw a petrol bomb through a small window, setting the synagogue alight.
Two police officers reached the scene fast, after the man was spotted on security cameras. The suspect was on the roof of the synagogue when they arrived, according to prosecutors. After threatening the pair he threw a chisel at them before jumping down to the ground, brandishing a 25cm (10in) knife, he ran towards one police officer, shouting abuse and threatening him with a knife. The officer warned him to stop but he continued. The officer then shot him five times, hitting him four times. The man died a t the scene.
The interior ministry said the attacker was Algerian and was not known to police or flagged as an extremist suspect. In 2022 he had asked for a permit to be in France as a foreigner seeking medical treatment. This request was turned down and an appeal was rejected. The man was subject to an order to be expelled from France.
Tensions have grown in France over the Israel -Gaza war. The number of antisemitic acts has surged in the country, which has the largest Jewish and Muslim populations in western Europe.
AFGHANISTAN
Bamiyan
17/05/24 The Islamic State IS -K group has claimed responsibility for an attack on foreigners in central Afghanistan last week in which three Spanish citizens and three Afghans were killed.
Seven people were wounded in the attack on Friday in on Bamiyan province, a major tourist area, according to Abdul Mateen Qani, a spokesman for the interior minister. He said seven suspects were arrested at the scene.
On May 19, 2024, the Islamic State's (ISIS) official A'maq News Agency published a statement reporting that according to "security sources," on May 17, ISIS operatives assaulted a tourist bus in the city of Bamyan in central Afghanistan with machine guns, killing and wounding seven "Christians" and about five Shi'ite Hazaras. It stated: “The attack was in response to the ISIS leaders’ directions to target citizens of the European Union wherever they are found,” it said.
SUSPECTED ISLAMIC TERRORISM
LINKED TO ISRAELI HAMAS WAR
Spain’s Foreign Ministry said three Spaniards died and at least one more had been wounded. Preliminary reports indicate that the killed included Spanish citizens and the injured Australian, Norwegian and a Lithuanian.
It is noteworthy that this attack was carried out on the directive of IS leadership to target citizens of coalition countries wherever they may be. It is possible that the Islamic State’s External Operations Branch, better known as The Emni, was involved in plan ning this attack and possibly indicates that this incident will mark the first of many attacks on foreign nationals, extending beyond Afghanistan to all affiliated branches of the Islamic State.
19/05/24 A schoolgirl has planned a terrorist knife and axe attack on passersby in Austria where police found ISIS propaganda and execution videos in a search of her home.
The 14-year -old girl from Montenegro had planned to carry out the attack on 'infidels' or non-believers on one of the biggest squares in the city of Graz, according to local media.
Austrian police tracked the girl down after they received a tip from a European security agency regarding her alarming social media activities.
During a search of the girl's home, investigators found ISIS propaganda and numbers videos of combat and executions on several data carriers.
ISLAMIC TERRORISM FRANCE
Rouen
LINKED TO ISRAELI HAMAS WAR
IMAGE: REUTERS
AMAQ
AUSTRIA
Graz
Seized social media chats revealed that the teenager planned a terror attack at Jakominiplatz in Graz, for which she had already prepared weapons like an axe and a knife as well as special clothing.
POLAND 21/05/24 Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told broadcaster TVN24 that Poland had arrested nine people in connection with acts of sabotage committed on the orders of Russian services.
He said the crimes incidents included "beatings, arson and attempted arson".
"Our services are working really efficiently when it comes to attempts at sabotage in Poland and neighbouring countries," he said, mentioning Latvia and Lithuania as countries affected.
He said that investigators were looking into whether Russia was involved in a huge fire in a shopping centre in Warsaw this month.
Tusk said earlier this month Poland would allocate an additional 100 million zlotys ($26 million) to its intelligence services due to the threat from Russia.
Poland is in a prime position for Russian interference as it serves as a hub for supplies to Ukraine. Other allies have also been impacted by Russian interference including Lithuania, Latvia, and potentially Sweden. RUSSIAN HOSTILE STATE ACTIVITY
24/05/24 A man has been detained on suspicion of planning an attack on the Olympic torch relay in Bordeaux, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has said.
Prosecutors said the suspect had written a disturbing message that "could correspond to glorifying crime". He also referred to a previous mass killing in the US, they added.
The Olympic flame arrived in Marseille earlier this month, ahead of the Paris Games, which start on 26 July.
The Olympic flame was due to arrive in Bordeaux late on Thursday afternoon, after a day of events marking its passage through the surrounding area.
Bordeaux prosecutor Frédérique Porterie said an investigation had been launched in response to an online message that referred to the killing of six people in their late teens and early 20s exactly 10 years ago in Isla Vista, California.
CNews said a post on the suspect's profile referred to Isla Vista killer Elliot Rodger, who had a deep loathing of women. His attacks inspired people online who identified as being " involuntarily celibate" - or INCELS.
"Initial investigations revealed the individual's interest in the Incel movement."
He was also described as "psychologically highly fragile".
29/05/24
The man was driving a 2011 white Crown Victoria and making a turn onto East 55th Street in front of the Mesivta Nachlas Yakov School when he suddenly veered toward students dressed in Orthodox clothing, according to the NYPD and video footage.
He then drove around the block and back toward the school this time targeting two more students standing outside and a rabbi. “I’m gonna kill all the Jews,” the driver allegedly shouted, according to police.
The victims managed to find safety in the building, which also has dorms, the clip shows. No one was hurt in the attack, police said. Authorities listed five victims in the case: a trio of 18 -year -olds, a 41year-old man and a 44-year-old man.
IMAGE: Shomrim Flatbush / NY Post
Police and sources identified the alleged attacker as 58 -year-old Asghar Ali, a Pakistani immigrant livery cab driver with a history of mental illness. He was arrested nearby.
The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the case, and detectives were interviewing the driver.
31/05/24
A 29-year-old German police officer has died of injuries suffered during a knife attack that left five other people injured in the central square of Mannheim, officials stated.
The officer was stabbed several times in the head and neck by a 25year-old immigrant from Afghanistan and underwent emergency surgery after the attack, officials said. The officer was placed in an artificial coma but succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
IMAGE: REUTERS
IMAGE: PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP
MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
USA Brooklyn
LINKED TO ISRAELI HAMAS WAR
HAMAS WAR
GERMANY
Mannheim
ISLAMIC TERRORISM
The attack took place during a Pax Europa rally event, an organisation which describes itself as informing the public about the dangers posed by the “increasing spread and influence of political Islam.” One of the people injured was anti -Islam activist, Michael Stürzenberger
The incident was caught on a YouTube livestream and showed the attacker stabbing a man in the leg and face, and then a police officer who went to help. The officer subsequently succumbed to his injuries after being stabbed in the back and head
The attacker was shot and injured by another police officer. The attacker has been identified as Sulaiman Ataee, 25, who immigrated to Germany from Afghanistan in 2014 when he was just 15. He lived with his German wife and their two children, aged almost 1 and 3.
According to Bild, Michael Stürzenberger is the author of an Islamophobic blog, as well as a member of the BPE, an organisation which says it stands against the "Islamisation" of Germany. Investigations continue.
31/05/24 Police in France arrested a teenager suspected of plotting an "Islamist -style" attack on a soccer stadium during the 2024 Paris Olympics, officials announced.
The interior minister said it had thwarted a plot targeting the Games, which start in eight weeks as France is on its highest threat alert level.
The man is accused of planning a ‘’violent action’’ on behalf of the Islamic State group’s jihadist ideology, the national counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said in a statement Friday. The man, who was not identified, is behind held in custody pending further investigation.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a statement that members of the General Directorate of Internal Security arrested an 18 -yearold man from Chechnya on May 22 on suspicion of being behind a plan to attack Olympic soccer events that will be held in the southern city of Saint-Etienne.
He stated the suspect was "inspired by the Islamist" ideology and wanted "to die and become a martyr".
According to the initial investigation, the man was preparing an attack targeting the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint -Etienne that will host several soccer matches during the Summer Games. The planned attack was to target spectators and police forces, t he statement said.
03/06/24 A suspicious device was found at the site of Israeli military contractor Elbit Systems and was removed for further analysis.
TO ISRAELI
Swedish police say suspected explosive was found outside the offices of Elbit Systems, known for its unmanned aerial systems and was likely intended to target the company. It was safely removed.
Police spokesman August Brandt says no arrests had been made and the object was still being analysed. “It is of course not unlikely that it’s directed at this company,” Brandt says, adding that police were not ruling anything out.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, several incidents apparently targeting Israeli interests in Sweden have been reported.
The Swedish intelligence agency SAPO said that Iran was recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to commit “acts of violence” against Israeli and other interests in Sweden .
04/06/24 A politician from the far -right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was stabbed by a suspect wielding a box cutter in Mannheim in the country’s southwest, according to police.
The attack comes amid a string of violent attacks on politicians in Germany that has sparked a national debate over rising political violence and the increasingly raw domestic political climate.
The alleged attacker had torn down and damaged several election campaign posters before a local AfD politician “pursued the suspect and apprehended him,” according to a police statement.
The male suspect, 25, then allegedly injured the politician with a box cutter.
The victim was identified as 62-year-old Heinrich Koch, a local candidate for the municipal council. His injuries are not lifethreatening, according to police.
A local AfD spokesperson described the suspect as a left -wing extremist, but police did not confirm that claim. Law enforcement said the suspect showed “clear indications of mental illness” and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
Image: Bernard Zimiok Murdered: Officer Rouven
SWEDEN
Gothenburg
LINKED
HAMAS WAR
GERMANY
Mannhein
05/06/24
A terrorist wearing a shirt with “ISIS” and “Islamic State” printed on it was shot by security personnel after he discharged an unknown type of firearm towards the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon
At 8:34 a.m. local time, small arms fire was reported in the vicinity of the entrance to the U.S. Embassy. Local Lebanese and US forces responded. “Our facility and our team are safe. Investigations are underway, and we are in close contact with host country law enforcement.," an embassy representative said on X.
Diplomatic sources stated that the ambassador, Lisa Johnson, was not in the country at the time of the occurrence.
One of the U.S. guards was reported to have suffered injuries during the 30-minute altercation. The Lebanese Army identified the alleged perpetrator as a Syrian national, who was taken into custody and hospitalized after the incident.
Lebanese Special Forces EPA - EFE
In an additional statement, Lebanon’s military confirmed that they had arrested five individuals that they believed were associated with the gunman after they raided homes in Majdal Anjar and Suweiri.
Paris – Charles de Gaulle Airport Hotel
06/06/24
An Investigation has been launched in France after a Ukrainianborn Russian national reportedly detonated explosives in a hotel room near Paris, suffering severe burns in the process.
Sources from France’s National Anti -Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) said the incident occurred in a hotel in Roissy -en-France, located 15 miles northeast of downtown Paris.
At the scene of the explosion police found a severely burned man, who was later identified as a 26-year -old from the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Most of the Donbas region has been under Russian military occupation since 2014.
The man is reportedly a Russian soldier and speaker and holds both Ukrainian and Russian nationalities. His is understood to have fought with the Russian army in Ukraine over the last few months. He is currently in hospital receiving treatment for severe burns, and is formally under arrest.
The PNAT and the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), France’s counterterrorism and counterespionage agency, are investigating the suspect’s background and activities. According to media reports, the suspect’s hotel room contained “substances and materials intended for the manufacture of explosive devices”. A number of guns and forged passports were also found in the room.
He has claimed to investigators that he had built homemade batteries for mobile phones when one of them exploded as he
RUSSIAN HOSTILE STATE ACTIVITY
prepared devices. The blast caused him to suffer serious burns to the face and arm.
Despite his injuries, he is cooperating with agents from the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) – France’s equivalent of MI5.
Nobody else was injured in the blast, and the B&B Hotel, which has more than 200 rooms, was evacuated and then closed.
Multiple security sources have confirmed that traces of TATP were found in his hotel room, together with batteries and barbecue lighters in plastic packages.
He arrived in France very recently, and was travelling on both Russian and Ukrainian passports, while also carrying passports from other countries.
There are indications that he was producing improvised bombs in order to target companies supplying weapons to Ukraine .
The explosive device found in the hotel /IMAGE: TELEGRAPH
According to Ministry of Defence figures, France has supplied more than £2 billion-worth of military hardware to Ukraine, including antitank and missile systems.
The suspect is said to have arrived in France “very recently”
The man’s arrest follows Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, warning of Moscow -run agents plotting atrocities in Europe
In May, nine people were arrested in Poland for allegedly preparing acts of sabotage in EU member states.
In the UK several arrests and charges have now been made in respect of hostile Russian state operations in 2024.
ENDS
PROSCRIPTION OF TERRORGRAM COLLECTIVE
On 26th April 2024 the UK Government has proscribed the Terrorgram Collective to be a terrorist organisation.
Proscription under UK law means that it is a criminal offence to belong to, invite support for, or in certain circumstances, display articles associated with the network. Certain proscription offences can be punishable by up to 14 years in prison and/or an unlimited fine.
The Terrorgram Collective is an online network of neo-fascist terrorists who produce and disseminate violent propaganda to encourage those who consume its content to engage in terrorist activity.
The UK is the first country to proscribe this organisation, demonstrating the government’s commitment to tackle Extreme Right-Wing terrorism and online radicalisation in all forms. It also showcases the ability of the proscription tool to be applied to an online terrorist network, and is the first time it has been used in this way.
Whilst Islamist-inspired terrorism continues to represent the greatest terrorist threat to UK interests, the threat from Extreme-Right Wing Terrorism is growing and evolving, particularly through the radicalisation of increasingly younger individuals from dangerous online content.
Proscription provides Counter Terrorism Policing the power to compel tech companies and social media platforms to remove or block the organisation’s online content for UK users, which is now classified as illegal.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said:
“The Terrorgram collective spreads vile propaganda and aims to radicalise young people to conduct heinous terrorist acts. This is why we are outlawing membership or support for the group – we will not tolerate the promotion or encouragement of terrorism in the United Kingdom.”
Following an internal review, the term ‘Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism’ was adopted as the umbrella term to make it clear that those who hold mainstream right-wing views will not be in scope of any action by counter-terrorism authorities.
The Terrorgram Collective glorify attacks committed by neo-fascist terrorists, who they consider to be ‘saints,’ and encourage replication of such heinous attacks including by disseminating instructional material to help others prepare to commit acts of terrorism.
In addition to the proscription offences, several other Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) offences continue to apply to terrorist offending online. For example, section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 makes it a criminal offence for a person to collect or possess information, or to view it online, which is likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing for acts of terrorism.
The Terrorgram collective is the 6th extreme right-wing group to be proscribed, standing alongside 75 groups proscribed for extreme Islamist or other ideologies, and 14 Northern Ireland-related groups. It also subscribes to militant accelerationist and neo-fascist ideologies, notably pursuing the collapse of the Western world and a ‘Race War’ through violent acts of terrorism, and often seeks to target young individuals to adopt their ideology.
They have previously published propaganda material designed to incite violence against ethnic and religious communities, with calls for antisemitic violence. Their propaganda also contains violent narratives
that glorified the perpetrator of the 2022 Slovakia attack at a LGBTQ+ nightclub shooting, which resulted in the death of 2 people, who credited Terrorgram and its publications in his manifesto.
It is also illegal under Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006 to disseminate terrorist publications including circulating, selling, or transmitting a terrorist publication online.
EVOLVING RISK AREA – ANARCHISM / ECO TERRORISM
Anarchists of the ‘Vulkangruppe’ (Volcano Group) committed sabotage & arson of the electricity pylons supplying the Tesla Gigafactory in Grünau, BerlinBrandenburg, Germany.
Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke called the attack an act of terrorism, which means federal prosecutors are expected to lead the investigation.
Production ceased at the site for a week due to the major power outage caused by the use of incendiary devices on a nearby pylon. Tesla workers left the site as the company announced an unplanned shutdown.
Tesla’s Gigafactory outside of Berlin was temporarily shut down on 5th March after an arson attack on a power substation supplying electricity to Europe’s largest electric car factory. The left-wing extremist group ‘Vulkangruppe’ claimed responsibility in a 2700-word letter, citing Elon Musk’s “techno-fascist” policies as their primary motivation: “Together we are bringing Tesla to its knees. Switch off for Tesla,” the letter added. “We therefore lit a beacon against capitalism, patriarchy, colonialism and Tesla.”
The target was the overhead line of a high-voltage pylon in the connection to the underground cables at the waterproof cable sleeves, aiming to short-circuit the six 110 kV cables in it. To do this, they opened the shaft to the cable sleeves, set fire to power lines that were sticking out and, in combination with water, created a short circuit. At the same time, they started a fire using car tyres to weaken the steel structure and cause the mast to become unstable.
Previously anarchists have declared Tesla to be one of their most important enemies, as Tesla represents the ideology of green capitalism and the pursuit of global and colonial destruction. They accuse Telsa of using valuable resources from all over the world while fraudulently portraying electric motors as an environmentally friendly choice. Lithium and cobalt, two essential raw minerals for electric vehicle batteries, are harvested in exploitative and harmful ways in Latin America or Africa.
The attack came as environmental activists have been protesting in a forest near the plant, against plans by Tesla to expand. Dozens of activists have put up tents and built treehouses.
The attack highlights an escalating leftwing threat posed by Anarchists, not limited to Germany; it’s a concern across Europe and in regions of North and South America.
This evolving threat, when combined with the readily accessible knowledge about key infrastructure targets, such as railway cable shafts, electricity pylons, and power plants, presents a substantial security risk moving forward.
Tesla says the total cost of the incident could come to several hundred million euros. Andre Thierig, who manages the plant, said the damages would be in the “high, nine-figure area”. Tesla shares fell by 4.6pc in New York.
Vulkangruppe has previously claimed responsibility for a fire near the factory in 2021, while the plant was being set up. At the time it said: “Tesla is neither green, ecological nor social. Our fire stands against the lie of the green automobile.”
Tesla has been seeking permission to double the capacity of the Berlin gigafactory, allowing it to produce 1m cars a year, but has faced growing opposition over working conditions and the impact on the local countryside.
Image: Filip Singer / EPA-EFE
Image: Getty / Bloomberg
Image: Patrick Pleul/dpa/picture alliance
Image: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
and Iran
• Evidence of the danger of insider threats within organisations
• Growing numbers of threats from individuals of mixed motivations with unclear ideologies and often with mental health and neurodiverse vulnerabilities
Recent published UK Counter Terrorism activity and evidence from Court Trials demonstrates:
X The global reach and impact of terrorist activity in the UK
X The complex, diverse and fragmented terrorist threat within the UK from a number of different terrorism threat actors
X The number of disrupted plots and level of activity undertaken by the police and security service continues to demonstrate the effectiveness of their efforts to keep us safe
X Terrorism remains one of the most direct and immediate risks to UK National Security
X The rapid growth in numbers of counter terrorism arrests and now convictions linked to the Israeli-Hamas conflict
X An increasing number of arrests and charges using new legislation for hostile state activity being directed and conducted against individuals and infrastructure in the UK by Russia, China and Iran
X Evidence of the danger of insider threats within organisations
X Growing numbers of threats from individuals of mixed motivations with unclear ideologies and often with mental health and neurodiverse vulnerabilities
X Rise in hate-based offending centred on INCEL culture
• Rise in hate-based offending centred on INCEL culture
02/02/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION
Following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE), Charles Cannon from Highfield Avenue, Aldershot was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court to 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.
He was convicted of:
• 7 counts of possession of documents containing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Cannon was stopped at Luton Airport on 21 August 2020 and a number of documents and images were found on his laptop and phone of an extreme right -wing nature along with homemade explosive manuals.
Detectives found he had joined a number of chat channels which contained extreme right-wing material and showed he had an interest in Nazism and had made comments online about stabbing asylum seekers and advocated "racial holy war”.
05/02/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION
Following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) a 16-year-old boy from Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, has been convicted of terrorism offences at Kingston Crown Court.
The boy was charged with
• preparation of terrorist acts under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act on 17 July 2022.
• three counts of dissemination of terrorist publications under Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006 and
• having an article with a blade or point in a public place, contrary to Section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
The boy, who cannot be named or identified for legal reasons, was arrested on 11 July 2022 He was planning to attack people he believed had insulted Islam. He was found with a knife in his possession when he was arrested.
The boy also shared terrorist publications with others, the ideology of which was influenced by ISIS. He had an Islamist Terrorism ideology.
Head of CTPSE, Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright said:
“Today is not a day for celebration. There can never be satisfaction when a child so young is convicted of such serious offences.
“In this case, unfortunately we found someone who had been radicalised by Daesh propaganda into believing it was acceptable to hurt innocent people.
The boy is due to be sentenced.
08/02/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION
Following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW), Kieran Turner a 37-year-old man has been jailed for 2 years and 8 months followed by a period of 12 months on extended licence.
In court he described himself as “British Army veteran English Nationalist”. He previously entered guilty pleas to the following charges:
• 1 count of Encouragement of Terrorism contrary to Section 1, Terrorism Act 2006
• 2 counts of dissemination of terrorist publications contrary to Section 2, Terrorism Act 2006
• 7 counts of Stirring up Racial Hatred by Publishing Written Material, contrary to Section 19 (1) Public Order Act 1986
12/02/24 TERRORISM CHARGES
CTPNW / GMP
CTPNW Detectives investigated Turner due to his online activity, he was using media platforms such as “GAB” to post anti -Semitic and racist views. Among numerous postings, Turner showed support for extreme right wing proscribed terrorist groups National Action and the Sonnenkrieg Division, wh ile also glorifying previous terrorist attacks.
Substantial evidence was gathered linking him to online posts over a period in excess of 18 months that were encouraging others to commit acts of terrorism and were likely to stir up racial hatred. He also provided access to and disseminated footage of Ter rorist attacks.
He reposted images of the New Zealand Christchurch Mosque terror attack in 2019, reposted the terrorist mass murderer’s manifesto and attempted to share live-streamed video footage taken by the perpetrator.
The court heard Turner had 773 followers on his publicly accessible account and he in turn followed 213 users. He used the platform to share and re-share material which expressed “virulent” misogynistic, homophobic and transphobic views, as well as displaying extreme racism, Islamophobia and “deep hostility” towards Jewish people.
Turner commented on the murder of Jo Cox MP in June 2016 stating the number of members of Parliament and "Britain needs 650 Thomas Mairs" in reference to her terrorist murderer.
Counter-terrorism officers have charged a second teenager in the West Midlands as part of an ongoing investigation.
Shaan Farooq, aged 18 from Birmingham, was charged on 26 January with one count of possessing terrorism material and three counts of distributing terrorism material.
He appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court on 13 February. Farooq was arrested in August last year alongside Amir El -Harith, aged 19 and from Smethwick, on suspicion of terrorism offences. ISLAMIC
12/02/24 NOTABLE CONVICTION
Nicholas Rees has been sentenced to six years in prison after revealing that he wanted to attend his university “in full militarystyle get -up to shoot everyone for the lols”.
Rees was found guilty of making and having an explosive substance and possession of a bladed article.
Reporting suggests that Rees is an admirer of the controversial social media personality, Andrew Tate, and showed resentment towards women.
According to the prosecutor, Rees had grown increasingly resentful of other students at his university, females, his doctors, people in authority, and the police. In a phone conversation with a West Yorkshire Police Detective Constable, Rees said he would give officers “three warnings to leave him alone or in self -defence he would use weapons”.
When Rees was arrested, he was found lying next to a firearm on his bed. The prosecutor stated that the items found incl uded a starting pistol, ammunition, and chemicals including sulphur, magnesium, iron oxide, and a copper pipe, were “mainly to attack students on campus or the police”, and that by February 2023, he had been seen carrying a firearm in the communal areas of university halls and visiting shooting clubs.
Psychiatric evidence concluded Rees has a mixed personality disorder, ADHD, and “mental and behavioural disorders due to multiple drug misuse”.
Rees was not convicted of any terrorism offences, most likely due to a lack of evidence of intent to advance a political, religious, racial, or ideological cause by conducting an attack, as well as the evident mental health issues of the individual.
His Honour Judge Khan KC jailed Rees for six years and told him: "What you did was acquire explosive substances and other chemicals with a view to cause harm to others."
VULNERABILITY PRESENT BUT NO IDEOLOGY OR TERRORISM RISK
INDENTIFIED
MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
BEHAVIOURAL DISORDERS
13/02/24 TERRORISM CONVICTIONS
LINKED TO ISRAEL / GAZA CONFLICT
Three people accused of displaying images of paragliders at a proPalestinian march have escaped jail after being found guilty of showing support for a terrorist group - HAMAS.
Heba Alhayek, 29, and Pauline Ankunda, 26, and Noimutu Olayinka Taiwo, 27, were handed 12-month conditional discharges at Westminster Magistrates' Court, after Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram said he had "decided not to punish" them.
The trio stood trial following widespread condemnation when their images were spread on social media after the demonstration in October.
ISLAMIC TERRORISM
LINKED TO ISRAEL / GAZA CONFLICT
Image:
During the trial, the prosecution was able to prove that the three women were acting deliberately, and knew they were wearing or displaying the images at the protest in support of HAMAS.
14/02/24 TERRORISM INVESTIGATION
A man from Bury has been charged as part of an ongoing investigation led by Counter Terrorism Policing North West CTPNW.
Muhammad Zakir Arif has been charged with:
• 1 count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, contrary to Section 47 Offences Against the Person Act 1861;
• 1 count of strangulation or suffocation, contrary to Section 75A(1)(a) and (5) Serious Crime Act 2015;
• 2 counts of possession of a bladed article in a public place, contrary to Section 139(1) and (6) Criminal Justice Act 1988; and
• 2 counts of breaching a Section 49 RIPA Court Order.
15/02/24 TERRORISM CHARGES
17/02/24 TERRORISM ARREST LINKED TO
20/02/24
A teenage boy from North London has been charged with four terrorism offences, as part of a SO15 investigation into the sharing of extremist material online.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, was charged with:
• 2 counts of dissemination of terrorist publications (contrary to section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006);
• Inviting another to provide money for use in acts of terrorism (contrary to section 15 of the Terrorism Act 2000); and
• Possessing a document likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism (contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000).
The boy appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 27 February. He was originally arrested in November 2023.
Metropolitan Police report a number of arrests at the Pro -Palestine Demo in London.
One arrest of an individual was made for showing support for a terrorist organisation on a placard.
CONVICTION A man with two previous terror -related convictions has been jailed for posting extremist content online . In July 2022, Shafi Saleem, 34 (03.03.89), of east London, posted Daesh propaganda footage on one of his private social media feeds of a series of suicide bombings. ISLAMIC TERRORISM ISIS
Officers were able to obtain proof of this post and following further investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, Saleem was arrested on 14 February 2023 at Heathrow Airport as he landed back in the UK on a flight from Pakistan. He was charged the following day.
Saleem was found guilty of dissemination of a terrorist publication (under Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006) on Tuesday, 20 February, following a trial at the Old Bailey.
Saleem previously pleaded guilty to breach of a part 4 notification requirement under the Counter Terrorism Act 2008 (relating to his being in possession of an additional/unregistered SIM card), and using threatening words to cause alarm (section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986), which relates to his behaviour towards officers when he was arrested.
He will be sentenced at a later date.
Saleem was previously jailed in February 2018 for two years for encouragement of terrorism after posting images and messages promoting Daesh on social media. He was released from prison in February 2019, and was on probation licence and subject to a 10 -yea r Part 4 Notification Order.
In December 2020, Saleem was jailed for 10 months for breaching this Part 4 Order.
20/02/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION Two Islamist extremists have been sentenced today at the Old Bailey for terrorist offences.
Al-Arfat Hassan, 21, from Enfield, was sentenced to a seven -year extended sentence with at least five years in prison for possessing chemicals for a terrorist purpose.
A youth, 17, from Leeds was sentenced to two -and-a-half years in prison for failure to disclose his knowledge relating to the terrorist activities of Hassan. Both were also convicted of possession of an Islamic State video.
Al-Arfat Hassan, bought the chemicals which can be used to make explosives, two knives and a sword and posed with them in a video, talking about looking good for his "final moments". He was caught when police stopped him at Heathrow Airport.
The 17-year-old boy who Hassan had never met in person admitted possessing a bomb-making video. He also failed to tell the police about Hassan’s terrorist activities despite being fully aware of
IMAGE: CPS
IMAGES: Metropolitan Police
ISLAMIC TERRORISM
Hassan’s intentions as evidenced by text messages and voice notes shared between them.
IMAGE: METROPOLITAN POLICE
They both viewed the Islamic State propaganda video which provided detailed instructions on manufacturing explosives, a bomb and killing people with knives.
Al-Arfat Hassan [DOB: 6/12/2002] of Enfield was convicted of:
• Possessing articles for terrorist purpose, contrary to section 57(1) of the Terrorism Act 2020, between 17 Jan 2022 and 4 March 2022 had an amount of hydrogen peroxide in circumstances which give rise to a reasonable suspicion his possession was for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism.
• Possessing information, contrary to section 58(1)(b) of the Terrorism Act 2000, between 11 January 2022 and 27 Feb 2022
Youth [DOB: 16/10/2006] of Leeds admitted:
• Failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 38B (1)b of the Terrorism Act 2000.
• Possessing a document or record containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, between 31 December 2021 and 1 Feb 2022.
The CPS presented evidence that Hassan and the youth were dedicated to Islamic State inspired extremist beliefs. This included showing the jury a video of Hassan where he held a samurai sword and exchanged messages with another person stating he was prepared for martyrdom.
He bought knives and purchased chemicals online that he intended to use to construct an improvised explosive device. One of the knives was of the same type used to carry out an execution featured in the Islamic State instructional video he and the youth ha d viewed.
He also created drill music videos with lyrics referring to Alan Henning, a British man taken hostage and killed by Islamic State, and James Foley, a US journalist captured and killed in Syria.
Hassan and the youth also downloaded a substantial amount of Islamic State video content that glorified terrorism.
In relation to the youth, the jury was shown evidence that he bought a knife and tried to purchase other knives, in addition to exchanging almost daily extremist messages and graphics over a number of months with Hassan.
21/02/24 TERRORISM ARREST
1992 MURDER OF RUC OFFICER
Detectives from Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Legacy Investigation Branch, investigating the murder of Constable Colleen McMurray and the attempted murder of her colleague in a mortar attack in Newry in 1992, have today made an arrest.
The 59-year-old man was arrested under the Terrorism Act at Birmingham Airport, with the assistance of Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands, and will be transported to Northern Ireland for questioning in the Serious Crime Suite at Musgrave Police Station.
23/02/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION
Jacob Graham, 20, from Norris Green in Liverpool appeared at Manchester Crown Court he was convicted of the following offences following a 5-week trial:
• Preparation of terrorist acts, contrary to section 5(1)(b) of the Terrorism Act 2006
• 2 counts of dissemination of terrorist publications, contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006
• 4 counts of possession of material likely to be useful to a terrorist, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000
The Left-wing anarchist wanted to kill at least 50 politicians and government officials “to stand up for working classes”, a court heard.
The 19-year-old was said to be motivated by a “hatred and contempt” for the Government, which he believed “oppressed working people”.
Graham, who described himself online as “Destro” or “Destro the Destroyer”, modelled himself on Ted Kaczynski, the American terrorist known as the Unabomber, the court heard.
He wrote a document called “My Plan” in which he said he wanted to kill at least 50 people by attacking government buildings and politicians’ houses. The letter outlined his intention to “commit
LASIT
LEFT-WING, ANARCHIST & SINGLE ISSUE TERRORISM
IMAGE: METROPOLITAN POLICE
Constable Colleen McMurray / Family Handout
NORTHERN
CTP
mass murder on those who think it is OK to hide their wrongdoings behind money and power”.
Police found an array of items designed to cause harm in Graham's possession. Images: CTP
Graham sent numerous manuals and gave instructions on weapons, explosives and poisons.
Jacob Graham came to the attention of Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW) during an investigation into purchases of chemicals that could have been used to make explosives.
Annabel Darlow, KC, prosecuting, told the court: “He was motivated by a hatred and contempt for the Government, whom he perceived as tyrannical, oppressive of those he termed ‘working class’ people and whom he also appeared to blame for much that was unsatisfactory in his own life.”
In his videos, he spoke of a “judgment day” and “standing up for working-class people”.
The court heard he had also become enraged at the “destruction of forests, global warming and climate change”.
He acquired a large number of instructions needed to construct bombs, firearms and ammunition and sourced and obtained chemicals as well as a 3D printer.
After he was arrested, police found a number of chemicals, each of which could be used as ingredients in various explosive mixtures, jurors heard.
The 3D printer had the potential to be used to print parts of homemade firearms, including the FGC -9 MKII carbine.
He wrote a guide titled the “Freedom Encyclopaedia” which was dedicated to “misfits, social nobodies, Anarchists, Terrorists (future and present) who want to fight for freedom… against the Government”.
26/02/24 TERRORISM SECURITY ALERT
PIPE BOMB FOUND
The guide, written between September and December 2022, explains in detail how to make weapons, explosives, fuses, pipe bombs, gunpowder, and nail and car bombs.
The court heard Graham was not about to commit a terror attack but was preparing to act or assist others to commit terrorism.
He was sentenced to 13 years in prison and ordered to serve five years on license upon his release.
A security alert in the Dungiven area, which began on Saturday 24th February, has now ended and all previously closed roads now reopened.
Area Commander for Causeway Coast and Glens, Superintendent Mark Roberts said officers had recovered a viable pipe bomb type device. It was made safe and was removed for further forensic examination.
A call was received using a recognised code word claiming that there had been an attack on our officers and two devices left at the junction of the Curragh Road with Garvagh Road and the Old Foreglen Road.
27/02/24 TERRORISM CHARGES
Three men charged with ‘Right -wing’ terrorism planned to attack an Islamic centre. They are accused of making a 3D firearm and joining a neo-Nazi chat group in which they identified potential targets .
They are alleged members of an extreme far -Right organisation named Einsatz 14 the court heard. Brogan Stewart, 24, Marco Pitzettu, 24, and Christopher Ringrose, 33, are charged with engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism.
Westminster Magistrates Court heard that the men were alleged to have joined an extreme Right -wing chat forum on the Telegram messaging platform.
The group are alleged to have obtained extreme Right -wing ideological texts, material containing instructions on how to manufacture a 3D-printed firearm, and distributed other information on firearms and ammunition.
They were also accused of manufacturing an FGC 9 semi -automatic firearm and to have identified potential locations and targets for attack.
Prosecutor Mark Luckett said: “Counter-terrorism policing identified a number of chat forums on the social media platform Telegram.
“One particular group, titled Einsatz 14 Group, was considered to be significant because it included the sharing of extreme Right -wing propaganda and documents providing plans and advice on the creation of weapons and training.”
He said the group had been created in January 2024 following the formation of a number of other extreme -Right groups on the Telegram platform that the defendants were also allegedly members of. EXTREME RIGHT WING TERRORISM
EINSATZ 14 GROUP
27/02/24 ESPIONAGE CHARGES
SUSPECTED RUSSIAN
HOSTILE STATE ACTIVITY
He added: “It is believed this group was created with the sole aim of sharing terrorist publications, providing advice on military training and weaponry with the aim of preparing an act of terrorism.”
Mr Luckett said that earlier this month, they allegedly discussed a plan to target an Islamic education centre in Leeds as well as human targets in the area.
The court heard that at Mr Ringrose’s home address, a “3D printer, a 3D copy of an FGC-9 semi-automatic firearm and instructional material for other 3D firearms were recovered”.
They will next appear in court at the Old Bailey
Nick Price, Head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “The CPS has authorised a charge of conspiracy to conduct espionage against a sixth person suspected of spying for Russia.
SUSPECTED RUSSIAN HOSTILE STATE ACTIVITY
“Tihomir Ivanchev, 38, will be charged with conspiring to obtain, collect, record, publish or communicate documents or information which might be or was intended to be directly or indirectly useful for a purpose prejudicial to the safety and interest of th e state.
“On September 21, 2023, Orlin Roussev, 46, Bizer Dzhambazov, 42, Katrin Ivanova, 32, Ivan Stoyanov, 32, and Vanya Gaberova, 29, were charged with conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy for a purpose preju dicial to the safety and interest of the state between 30 August 2020 and 8 February 2023.
“The charges follow an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command.
The trial is listed for 28 October 2024 at the Central Criminal Court.
All six defendants are Bulgarian nationals.
01/03/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION
BREACH OF NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Mohammed Salah Uddin 38 from Hartlepool, has been sentenced to a 15-month custodial sentence at the Central Criminal Court today for:
• 5 breaches of his Part 4 Notification requirements, one contrary to Section 47, and four contrary to Section 48 of the CounterTerrorism Act 2008.
• He will also serve 12 months on licence.
Uddin was arrested in February 2023 on suspicion of breaching his notification requirements, after failing to notify police of phone numbers and email addresses he was using. He was recalled to prison shortly after arrest following an investigation led by Counter Terrorism Policing North East.
In July 2023, Uddin was charged with five breaches of his Part 4 Notification requirements, and he pleaded guilty to all offences.
Samuel Melia, 34, was found guilty earlier this year of inciting racial hatred after a series of "stickering" incidents between 2019 and
RIGHT WING EXTREMISM
2021. The far-right activist has been jailed after a judge branded him an "antisemite" with "Nazi sympathies".
Court.
Melia was the head of the Telegram Messenger group Hundred Handers, a social media channel that generated racist and antiimmigration stickers that were printed off and displayed in public places.
The court also heard much of the material Hundred Handers published was "xenophobic, nationalistic and vitriolic".
Judge Bayliss said: "For the first time since the 1930s, a real risk of gross, potentially violent, antisemitism is becoming normalised on our streets.
After police arrested Melia in April 2021, they searched his house and found a label printer and stickers with anti -immigration messages.
The court previously heard the Hundred Handers Telegram channel had more than 3,500 subscribers and an anti -immigration sticker was even placed on the door of an MP's constituency office. It was also said that media reports of the "stickering" linked to th e group "extended from Cornwall to Northern Ireland".
The judge told Melia: "I am quite sure that your mindset is that of a racist and a white supremacist. "You hold Nazi sympathies and you are an antisemite."
ISLAMIC TERRORISM
RIGHT WING
06/03/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION BREACH OF NOTIFICATION
ORDER
Melia, who was also found guilty of encouraging racially -aggravated criminal damage, was sentenced to two years for each charge to run concurrently. He must serve up to half his sentence in custody before being released on licence.
A convicted terrorist has been found guilty of breaching a notification order following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE).
On Monday at the Central Criminal Court, Iftikar Ali 25, of Totteridge Drive, High Wycombe was found guilty of three breaches of a Part 4 Terrorist Notification Order, under Section 54 of the Counter Terrorism Act 2008.
Ali failed to notify police of financial information, namely a cryptocurrency account and two email addresses which were the conditions of his notification order. He had been arrested on 21 June 2022 and was subsequently charged on 26 September 2022.
Counter Terrorism Policing North East Melia, from Pudsey in West Yorkshire, was sentenced to two years in prison at Leeds Crown
06/03/24 TERRORISM THREAT LEVEL CHANGE
MI5 has lowered the Northern Ireland -related Terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland (NI) from “SEVERE”, meaning an attack is highly likely to “SUBSTANTIAL”, meaning an attack is likely.
MI5 had raised the threat level for the region to "severe" about a year ago, following attacks on police officers and weeks ahead of celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of a peace deal that largely ended three decades of violence.
The decision to change the threat level is taken by MI5, independently of government ministers.
08/03/24 TERRORISM CHARGES
LINKED TO ISRAEL-HAMAS CONFLICT
Detectives from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command have charged a man in relation to social media posts, which allegedly show support for the proscribed terrorist group Hamas.
The posts were flagged to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) in late October 2023 via a public referral. They were assessed by specialist officers, who determined the posts could be in breach of terrorism laws. Detectives in the Counter Terrorism Command a man in west London on 17 November 2023 in connection with the investigation.
Muhammad Abu Jweid, (29.12.85) of Ealing, W5, was charged with:
NORTHERM IRELAND RELATED TERRORISM NIRT
11/03/24 TERRORISM PROCEEDINGS AT COURT
15/03/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION
Hossain came to the reception area and Medlock told him he planned to kill him because the firm had helped immigrants come to the United Kingdom, the court heard.
He denies charges of making a threat to kill Hossain and the preparation of terrorist acts. The Jury was subsequently dismissed by the Judge on a legal issue. A new trial date awaits.
Harry Parris, 22, posted pictures, videos and comments online glorifying Nazis and calling for the extermination of Jews has been jailed for two years and nine months.
CONFLICT
• 2 counts of expressing an opinion or belief in support of a proscribed organisation – namely Hamas – contrary to section 12 (1A) of the Terrorism Act, 2000. ISLAMIC TERRORISM
Neo-Nazi planned to kill London solicitor in terror plot to intimidate immigrants. Cavan Medlock, 31, from Harrow, appeared at Kingston crown court on Monday charged with preparation of terrorist acts and threats to kill the lawyer, Toufique Hossain.
The court heard that Medlock arrived at the offices of Duncan Lewis solicitors in Harrow shortly before 5pm on 7 September 2020. He was wearing black gloves with reinforced knuckle pads and was carrying a rucksack containing a black combat knife with a six -inch blade, a pair of handcuffs and rolls of packaging gaffer tape.
He also carried two large flags, one a Nazi swastika flag and the other a flag of the former confederate states of America.
Timothy Cray KC, prosecuting, told the court that staff grabbed hold of Medlock and managed to disarm him, kicking the knife away before restraining him.
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Parris, 22, of Bittaford near Plymouth in Devon, admitted : • four offences of posting the material and encouraging terrorism on Telegram and Bit Chute between 2019 and 2021.
• six offences of having documents likely to be useful to a person preparing acts of terrorism.
Winchester Crown Court heard he became exposed to extremist views during the Covid-19 pandemic.
While sentencing Parris, Judge Jane Miller KC said the defendant, who had been diagnosed with ADHD, had become isolated during the pandemic and had joined an extreme right -wing organisation.
He also joined Telegram online messaging groups "dedicated to promoting neo-Nazi content and sharing incitements to violence".
Parris had also become the administrator of a Telegram channel which the judge said included posts that were "explicitly racist and some of which could be seen as a direct call for action".
She added: "You insulted many sections of society including Jews, Christians, black people, Africans, gypsies, and those from east Asia.
"You glorified the Nazis suggesting all Jews and gypsies should be exterminated." Parris also posted an image of himself doing the Nazi salute as well as other posts with offensive slogans.
Parris was sentenced to serve a further year on licence at the completion of his custodial sentence.
A mother and daughter who sent money to a relative who had joined Daesh in Syria have been jailed, following investigation by specialist Counter Terrorism officers at the Met.
Stella Oyella, 53 (06.04.70), and Vanessa Atim, 32 (11.07.91) both from east London, arranged for more than £1,800 to be sent to Joseph Ogaba, who in 2014 left the UK to join Daesh.
IMAGE: MET POLICE
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In July 2022, Syrian authorities reported that Ogaba had died whilst in prison, following his capture by Syrian Defence Forces.
Investigators were able to prove that Oyella and Atim knew that the cash was supporting Ogaba’s terrorist activities, and the evidence collected showed how they went to great efforts lengths to cover their tracks, sending the money through contacts in Ugan da and the Middle East.
Atim and Oyella were convicted of terrorist fundraising after a complex investigation led by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, with support from Syrian authorities.
Oyella was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and Atim was jailed for three years and nine months.
A 15-year-old from Stockon-on-Tees appeared before Westminster Youth Court where he pleaded guilty to ten offences. The charges follow an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East into suspected extreme right-wing terrorism:
• Five offences under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 –Collect or makes a record of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism
• Three offences under Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006 –Dissemination of terrorist publications
• One offence under Section 1 Criminal Damage Act 1971 –Criminal Damage
• One offence under Section 30 Crime and Disorder Act 1988 –Racially Aggravated Criminal Damage
The teenager was arrested in December 2023 as part of a pre-planned intelligence led operation and further arrested in January 2024. He will be sentenced at a later date.
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Reporting restrictions on Charlton’s identity were lifted by the Judge at today’s hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, following an application by the media. The other offences related to making and possessing indecent images of children.
Detectives from the Terrorism Investigation Unit, investigating a report that a number of masked and armed men entered licensed premises in Dungiven on Friday, 19th January, have made a third arrest.
A 17-year-old male, was arrested under the Terrorism Act in the Claudy area. He has been taken to the Serious Crime Suite at Musgrave Police Station for questioning.
27/03/24 UK SANCTIONS PUT IN PLACE USING COUNTER TERRORISM POWERS LINKED TO ISRAELI HAMAS WAR
Britain has sanctioned two individuals for providing financial support to a media network which the government said supports the Palestinian Hamas militant group and promotes terrorism.
HM Treasury said in a statement on Wednesday that Aozma Sultana and Mustafa Ayash were sanctioned under domestic counterterrorism powers and both would be subject to a full asset freeze for supporting Gaza Now, a media network.
The United States also on Wednesday imposed sanctions on what it described as a fund-raising network aligned with the Hamas, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
Britain banned Hamas in 2021 and under the Terrorism Act, anyone expressing support for the group, flying its flag or arranging meetings for the organisation would be in breach of the law.
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22/03/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION
Vincent Charlton a 17 -year-old from Gateshead has today been sentenced to 28 months imprisonment and one-year extended licence after pleading guilty to seven offences, including five under the Terrorism Act.
He will be subject to a 10-year terrorist notification order, Criminal Behaviour Order and will be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.
Using online channels, Charlton uploaded and shared bomb -making manuals which included a guide on how to build a pipe bomb.
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29/03/24 SUSPECTED IRANIAN HOSTILE STATE ACTIVITY
Counter Terrorism detectives are investigating after a journalist working for a Persian language media organisation was stabbed in Wimbledon, London on Friday amid fears he had been targeted because of his job, police said.
Britain's National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said the victim was prominent British -based Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati, who hosts a show on the Persian language television news network Iran International which is critical of Iran's government.
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In January, Britain imposed sanctions on Iranian officials it said were involved in threats to kill journalists on British soil. Those officials
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Atim & Oyella. IMAGES: Metropolitan Police
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were members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Unit 840, which an investigation by ITV news in Britain said was involved in plots to assassinate two television presenters from Iran International in the UK.
Counter Terrorism Police on Tuesday said three suspects believed to be involved in the stabbing of a journalist working for a Persian language media organisation in London last week left the country within hours of the attack.
"Detectives have established the victim was approached by two men in a residential street and attacked. The suspects fled the scene in a vehicle driven by a third male," London's Metropolitan Police (the Met) said in a statement.
The victim in his 30s sustained an injury to his leg in the attack in Wimbledon, southwest London, on Friday afternoon. Police said he has since been discharged from hospital.
Police said that after abandoning the vehicle, the suspects travelled directly to Heathrow Airport and left the United Kingdom a few hours after the attack.
The incident was being investigated by counter -terrorism detectives because the victim was a journalist at a Persian language media organisation based in Britain, and previous threats had been directed towards this group of journalists, the Met said.
British police and security officials have increasingly warned about Iran's growing use of criminal proxies to carry out attacks abroad.
They say there have been more than 15 direct threats to kill or kidnap dissidents or political opponents which were linked to the Iranian state apparatus over the last two years.
03/04/24 TERRORISM ARREST & CHARGES
A teenager has appeared at Westminster Magistrates court accused of plotting a Satanic terror attack against a homeless person.
Cameron Finnegan, 18, was arrested last month following an investigation by detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE).
The defendant, from Horsham in West Sussex, is accused of membership of an extremist Right-wing Satanic online organisation called 764, which has alleged links to a Nazi occult group known as the Order of Nine Angels (ONA).
The ONA was founded in the UK in the 1970s and has links to Nazism, starting its calendar from the birth of Adolf Hitler. The groups have been linked to several terror investigations in Britain and the United States and allegedly promote murder, sexual abuse, self -harm, and terrorism.
When he was arrested, he was in possession of a terrorist “kill guide” and was plotting to attack a homeless person who was living in a tent. He was charged with:
• one count of preparation of terrorist acts,
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LINKED TO ISRAELI HAMAS WAR
• one count of possessing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, and
• one count of possessing indecent images of a child.
A 23-year-old man from Leeds has been given a 16-week custodial sentence, suspended for two years, today for demonstrating support for the proscribed organisation Hamas. He will also be subject to a rehabilitation requirement for 35 days and 100 hours of community service.
Ozain Ibn Yousef (26/12/2000), of Mexborough Place, admitted publishing pro-Hamas content on his X account in October and November last year. This included posting images of armed soldiers wearing Hamas headbands, in addition to sharing Hamas led videos.
Ibn Yousef was arrested on November 24, 2024, as part of an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East.
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At Sheffield Crown Court, Colin McNeil pleaded guilty to four counts of distributing a terrorist publication with the intention of encouraging acts of terrorism.
He provided a service, in the form of an online website, that facilitated others to obtain terrorist publications and by doing so committed four dissemination offences contrary to Section 2(2)(d) Terrorism Act 2006.
He will be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, July 5 2024.
The website was deliberately, and very publicly, unmoderated with McNeil admitting in a police interview that he knew the site had been ‘swamped’ by material supporting extreme right -wing ideologies.
Specialist High Tech Investigators identified that McNeil showed admiration for terrorist publications shared on his website and also used the platform to express his own racist and extreme right -wing views. A number of likeminded convicted international terrorists also used the website to further their ideologies.
A 16-year-old boy has been jailed for seven years for plotting a terror attack after researching the Isle of Wight Festival as a potential target. The teenager from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was planning to attack people he believed had insulted Islam.
The jury at Kingston Crown Court also found him guilty of three counts of dissemination of terrorist publications and having a bladed article in a public place.
The trial heard the FBI discovered messages relating to an alleged attack that was due to take place in July 2022.
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The Crown Prosecutor stated he had developed an "Islamic extremist mindset" in late 2021 and repeatedly researched the Isle of Wight Festival in June 2022.
He also looked up weapons, vehicles and stab vests, and obtained a knife by July 2022.
After dismissing the festival as a target because he did not have a car or other vehicle, the youth drew up plans to stab people who worked with him at a specialist education provider, the court heard previously.
The teenager converted to Islam in late 2021, and five tutors who worked with him became concerned about his developing beliefs.
Terrorism officers arrested the teenager on 11 July 2022, and found he was carrying a knife and notes detailing his plot.
Ian Davidson, a convicted terrorist has today been sentenced to 44 months in custody for failing to comply with a notification order, drugs offences, and possessing indecent images.
CTP
Ian DAVISON, AKA Ian DELENEY (24/04/1968) of Longhirst, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to the following offences in 2023:
• Five counts of failing to comply with requirements under his 10year Part 4 Notification order, contrary to the Counter Terrorism Act 2008
• Produce a Class B drug (Cannabis), contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
• Possess with intent to supply a Class B drug (Cannabis), contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
As part of a separate investigation led by Cleveland Police, the 55year-old was also convicted of three counts of indecent images of children, contrary to the Protection of Children Act 1978, and one count of possession of prohibited images of a child, co ntrary to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. He is now a registered sex offender and will be subject to a 10-Year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
In May 2010, DAVISON was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for producing a chemical weapon, preparing acts of terrorism, three counts of possessing material useful to commit acts of terror and one count of possessing a prohibited weapon. When arrested in 2009, searches at his home address found he had manufactured Ricin, which was found in a jar in his kitchen.
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Sara El-Houssein, 23, of North West London was charged with publishing an image of an article in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse a reasonable suspicion that she was a supporter of a proscribed terroris t organisation HAMAS, contrary to section 13(1A) of the Terrorism Act 2000.
On 17 October 2023, a public referral was made into the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU), highlighting posts linked to a social media account that were allegedly showing support towards Hamas.
Further enquiries were carried out to identify the user behind the account, which led officers to arresting a then 22 -year-old woman from north west London on 2 November 2023.
A Suffolk man has been jailed for terrorism offences, after he sent hoax packages containing white powder and letters to primary schools, shopping centres and businesses, telling recipients to ‘run’.
Gary Preston, 64, from Haverhill, was sentenced to nine -and-a-half years’ after previously admitting 21 charges relating to packages sent between September and October 2013.
An investigation led by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) found that he had targeted educational facilities, airports, shopping centres and local authorities, by sending letters containing an undisclosed white powder.
Several of the packages also included ‘warning’ notes telling the reader to run or hold their breath. Recipients were located across the UK, including addresses in Essex, London, South Wales, Surrey and Yorkshire. The substance was later found to be talcum powder and no medical ill-effects were caused.
Despite continued attempts to identify the sender, investigators had been unable to establish Preston as the main suspect until his DNA was matched to some of the packages following his arrest for a separate offence in July 2020.
As detectives continued their enquiries, Preston’s fingerprints were also then found to match those on another of the packages, with further specialist analysis of the letters also indicating his involvement.
Despite claiming he could not recall the incidents, in August 2023 he was convicted of 21 counts of sending a substance and note with the intention of inducing a belief that it is likely to be noxious, contrary to section 114 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act (2000).
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18/04/24 TERRORISM ARRESTS
HISTORIC MURDER OF POLICE OFFICER
At a Woolwich Crown Court hearing, he was sentenced for terrorism offences as well as an indecent assault at knifepoint against a woman in Rainham, Essex, in 1988.
Three men have been arrested in connection with the murder of police officer John Haggan 30 years ago.
Constable Haggan, 33, who was known as Jackie, was shot while out with his wife and friends at Dunmore Greyhound Stadium in Alexandra Park Avenue in Belfast on 10 March 1994.
The men all in their 50s have been arrested at addresses in Belfast and the Newtownabbey area on suspicion of murder and membership of a proscribed organisation.
20/04/24 TERRORISM ARREST & CHARGES
Humberside Man Charged with Encouraging Terrorism and Disseminating Terrorist Publications.
Mohammed Mahfuz Ahmad, 25 of Crowhill Avenue, Cleethorpes was arrested as part of an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East. He was charged to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court with:
• 2 Counts of Disseminating a Terrorist Publication contrary to section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006
• 1 Count of Encouraging Terrorism, contrary to section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006
22/04/22 OFFICIAL SECRETS ACTS CHARGES
Counter Terrorism Policing charged two men with spying for China, including one reported to have worked as a researcher in Britain's parliament for a prominent lawmaker in the governing Conservative Party.
The two men, aged 32 and 29, were charged with providing prejudicial information to China in breach of the Official Secrets Act.
"This has been an extremely complex investigation into what are very serious allegations," said Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Counter Terrorism Command at the Metropolitan Police.
One of the men was named by police on Monday as Christopher Cash.
In September, the Sunday Times reported that Cash had been arrested for spying while working as a researcher in parliament for Conservative lawmaker Alicia Kearns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. A Christopher Cash was listed on parliamentary documents from early 2023 as working for Kearns.
The government also said in September Chinese spies were targeting British officials in sensitive positions in politics, defence and business as part of an increasingly sophisticated spying operation to gain access to secrets.
23/04/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION
A man has been convicted for breaching the terms of his Terrorism Notification Order following an investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.
Muhammad Abid, 33 (16.08.90) of Newham, was found guilty at the Old Bailey, of two breaches of a Part 4 Notification Order under the Counter Terrorism Act, 2008.
IMAGE: Metropolitan Police SO15
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The breaches relate to Abid failing to notify officers about a bank account he had opened, and of a vehicle that had been de -registered from his possession.
Abid was made subject to the notification order as a result of a previous investigation by the Counter Terrorism Command. Abid was convicted in January 2018 of failing to disclose information about an act of terrorism that he was aware of, contrary to sect ion 38 of the Terrorism Act, 2000.
He was sentenced to four years and three months’ imprisonment in relation to that matter, and as part of his sentence, was made subject to Part 4 Notification requirements for ten years.
Abid was charged in August 2023, with the alleged breaches and subsequently convicted as above.
Abid was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey at a later date.
A man who shared propaganda glorifying ISIS and acts of terrorism on social media has been found guilty of terrorism offences following an investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.
Image: Metropolitan Police
Hamza Alam, 22 (27.07.01), of Romford, east London, insisted he was an ‘online librarian’ when interviewed by police, after he was arrested in June 2022 by counter terrorism detectives investigating an online messaging channel.
Devices seized by officers provided evidence that Alam, who went by the acronym ‘H’, was an administrator on a Telegram channel, and had shared terrorist publications that encouraged Jihad.
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24/04/24 FIREARM RECOVERED
Specialist officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command also identified further content on Alam’s social media channels that glorified Daesh fighters and the preparation and commission of terrorist acts. Alam was found guilty by a jury on:
• three counts of disseminating terrorist publications at Woolwich Crown Court.
• One count of encouraging terrorism, relating to statements made on social media that directly encouraged the preparation, and instigation of terrorist acts.
Alam is due to be sentenced on Friday, 21 June at Woolwich Crown Court.
Detectives from the Police Service's Terrorism Investigation Unit (TIU) have recovered a suspected firearm in Ardmore in Derry/Londonderry today.
Image: PSNI
During a search in the Rushall Road area, the suspected firearm was located in the vicinity of a graveyard. Enquiries continue, and the suspected firearm will now be the subject of forensic testing.
25/04/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION
An investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command has led to the conviction of a woman who did not alert police about a potential terrorist plot of which she was aware. Tasnia Ahmed, 21, of east London was found guilty of two counts of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism to the police, contrary to section 38B of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Counter Terrorism detectives first identified Ahmed had committed potential offences as they were investigating Al Arfat Hassan. Hassan was sentenced in February this year after being convicted of collecting information likely to be useful for terrorism (u nder Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000), and possession of chemicals for terrorism purposes (under Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000).
During the course of their investigation into Hassan, officers found thousands of messages between him and a woman, whom they came to identify as Ahmed. Within the messages dating from November 2021 – March 2022 officers found clear evidence that Hassan ha d revealed his desire and intention to carry out acts of terrorism and that the pair had discussed his extremist views and intentions. ISLAMIC TERRORISM
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But instead of alerting police about the potential terrorist threatwhich is required under law -officers found messages where Ahmed appeared to encourage him further.
Iftikhar Ali, of Totteridge Drive, High Wycombe was sentenced to two years and nine months’ imprisonment.
The 26-year -old was found guilty of four breaches of a Part 4 Terrorist Notification Order, under Section 54 of the Counter Terrorism Act 2008 in March 2024. This relates to his previous conviction and repeated breaching of imposed Terrorist Notification Orders.
He is a convicted terrorist has been previously found guilty of failing to notify police of financial information, namely a cryptocurrency account and two email addresses which were the conditions of his notification order.
26/04/24 NATIONAL SECURITY ACT CHARGES
RUSSIAN HOSITLE STATE ACTIVITY
WAGNER GROUP IN UK
A British man accused of being a Wagner Group spy for Russia allegedly recruited two men to burn down a building in London linked to Ukraine.
Dylan James Earl, 20, from Leicestershire, appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court allegedly worked for Kremlin and ‘hired men to burn commercial premises’
CREDIT: Jamie Lorriman for the Daily Telegraph
Dmitrijus Paulauska, 22, was charged with having information about terrorist acts in the case of Dylan James Earl, a British man accused of spying for Russia
The CPS said Earl was accused of “targeting businesses which were linked to Ukraine in order to benefit the Russian state”.
It is claimed that between Dec 20 2021 and April 18 2024 he agreed to “undertake fraudulent activity, research and reconnaissance of targets” and attempted to “recruit individuals to assist with such activity, intending that conduct to materially assist a foreign intelligence service carrying out UK-related activities”.
Both of the businesses targeted are owned by a British -Ukrainian businessman, Mykhaylo Prykhodko, also known as Mikhail Boikov, and his wife Jelena Boikova.
The Wagner Group is a mercenary group set up by the Kremlin in 2014 is a Proscribed Terrorist Organisation under UK TACT Laws.
Earl is also accused of arson and preparing for an act that would endanger “the life of a person or an act creating a serious risk to the health or safety of the public in the United Kingdom”.
The investigation is related to a fire that broke out on an industrial estate on Staffa Road in Leyton in March 2024, which the prosecution said was started using an accelerant such as petrol .
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Eight fire engines and 60 firefighters were called out to the blaze.
The charges do not specify who owns the businesses that were targeted – but Companies House records show they are two Ukrainian parcel delivery services: Oddisey and Meest UK.
The CPS said it was the first time they had charged individuals with offences under new legislation created by the National Security Act 2023.
Judge Daniel Sternberg initially put reporting restrictions in place to prevent the identification of Mr Earl, his co -accused, and the details of their alleged crimes.
Those have now been lifted and it can be reported that two other men, Paul English, 60, and Nii Kojo Mensah, 21, have been charged with aggravated arson in relation to the case.
David Cawthorne, prosecuting, said Mr English had been recruited by Mr Earl, along with two other men, to participate in an attack on the building.
The court was told there was “no suggestion at this point in time” that Mr Mensah and Mr English knew why the property was being targeted. Mr Cawthorne said the men allegedly committed the crime “because they were willing to engage in a serious criminal enterprise for financial gain”.
Mr English, Mr Mensah and Mr Earl were remanded in custody ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing at the Old Bailey .
Two other men charged appeared at Westminster yesterday. Jake Reeves, 22, is charged with agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service as well as aggravated arson. Dmitrijus Paulauska, 22, is charged with having information abo ut terrorist acts.
Janet Newbold, for the prosecution, said of Mr Reeves’s alleged offences: “This arson was an organised and planned attack in return for a substantial payment.”
Mr Paulauska was granted conditional bail, and will join Mr Reeves at the Old Bailey next month, along with the three other defendants.
Dmitrijus Paulauska (left) is charged with having information about terrorist acts, while Jake Reeves is charged with agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service as well as aggravated arson CREDIT: Elizabeth Cook/pa
The court heard that Mr Paulauska, of Croydon, was a third -year aircraft engineering student at Kingston University, and that he has a pilot’s licence and undertakes weekly work experience at Biggin Hill Airport.
Nick Price, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “Dylan Earl, 20, is alleged to have engaged in conduct targeting businesses which were linked to Ukraine in order to benefit the Russian state.
“Included in the alleged activity was involvement in the planning of an arson attack on a Ukrainian -linked commercial property in March 2024.”
Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, which is leading the investigation, said: “This is a highly significant moment and investigation for us.
“It is the first time we have arrested and charged anyone using the powers and legislation brought in under the National Security Act.”
26/04/24 PROSCRIPTION OF TERRORIST ORGANISATION
The UK is the first country in the world to proscribe the Terrorgram collective as a terrorist organisation and the group is the first online terrorist network to be proscribed in the UK.
The Terrorgram collective is an online Extreme Right -Wing network of individuals who produce and disseminate violent propaganda to encourage those who consume its content to engage in terrorist activity.
The collective promotes the collapse of the Western world and a “Race War” through violent acts of terrorism, glorifying previous Extreme Right-Wing terrorist attacks and targeting young individuals to adopt their ideology.
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CREDIT: Facebook
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01/05/24 TERRORISM ARREST &
The collective was previously credited by the perpetrator of the 2022 Slovakia attack at an LGBTQ+ nightclub shooting and is composed of individuals adhering to neo -fascist and militant accelerationist ideologies.
A teenager who shared extreme right -wing videos, possessed bomb instruction manuals and plans for an attack on a synagogue has been found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of terrorism offences.
Mason Reynolds, 19, from Brighton who held neo -Nazi views and praised attacks by far-right terrorists, faced one charge of possession of an article connected with the preparation of an act of terrorism.
Following a police search of his home, various devices were found which had been used to store or share material, including an iPhone and USB drives. He created a note detailing a plan to attack a Synagogue in Hove.
He was also found to be the administrator of a Telegram channel which shared far right extremist, antisemitic and racist views, as well as manuals on bomb building and how to 3D print firearms.
Reynolds had previously pleaded guilty to five offences of possessing information which may be useful to a terrorist and five offences of disseminating terrorist publications.
A West Yorkshire Police Officer has been charged and pleaded guilty to a terrorism offence for publishing an image in support of Hamas, a group banned in Britain as a terrorist organisation.
Constable Mohammed Adil admitted two counts of publishing an image in support of banned organisation Hamas. The image featured a Hamas fighter wearing a Hamas headband.
Adil, from Bradford in northern England, was arrested last November and charged following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement. The inquiries had focused on messages shared on WhatsApp.
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He was charged with two counts of publishing an image in support of a proscribed organisation, specifically Hamas, contrary to section 13 of the Terrorism Act The offences are alleged to have taken place in October and November 2023.
Adil, was suspended from his job with West Yorkshire Police
He was sentenced to an 18-month Community Order at Westminster Magistrates Court. The Community Order includes up to 35 days of rehabilitation activity requirement and 160 hours of unpaid work.
In court it transpired ADIL was reported by his police colleagues which led to his prompt arrest The investigation looked at ADIL’s search, message and image history over several years, dating back to before he joined West Yorkshire Police. This investigation led to the two terrorism charges relating to two pro Hamas images he posted on WhatsApp which were both reported by his police colleagues.
Adrian Monk, 33, from Derbyshire has been jailed for five years and 2 months at Birmingham Crown Court for extreme right wing terrorism offences after admitting he possessed several terrorist documents.
He was charged after detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands CTU executed a Warrant at his former home in Rugeley, Staffordshire where the documents were seized.
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Monk was charged with:
• 10 offences of possession of a document containing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism – Contrary to Section 58 Terrorism Act 2000.
13/05/24 NATIONAL SECURITY ACT CHARGES
Three people have been charged with offences under the National Security Act as part of an investigation led by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command with support from colleagues in Counter Terrorism Policing in the North East and South East.
Heathrow Border Force officer, ex -Royal Marine and retired Hong Kong cop are charged with spying for Hong Kong on dissidents of the regime in landmark UK case
The three men have each been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 3(1) and (9) of the National Security Act 2023 and also with foreign interference, contrary to section 13(2) and (7) of the National Security Act 2023. The foreign intelligence service to which the above charges relate is that of Hong Kong.
The three men charged are:
[A] Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, (17.06.85) of Staines-upon-Thames
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[B] Matthew Trickett, 37, (15.02.87) of Maidenhead; and [J] Chung Biu Yuen, 63, (2.06.60) of Hackney.
All three will appeared in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 13 May.
Two men charged with planning to attack and kill members of the Jewish community, members of law enforcement and the military with automatic weapons (Machine Guns) in northwest England, a London court heard.
Walid Saadaoui, 36, and Amar Hussein, 50, were charged earlier this month with the preparation of terrorist acts between December 2023 and May this year, involving the purchase of firearms, conducting reconnaissance and making attack plans.
"They planned to conduct an ISIS inspired terrorist attack in the UK during which it is alleged they intended causing multiple fatalities using automatic weapons," prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward told a hearing at London's Old Bailey court.
A third man, Walid Saadaoui's younger brother Bilel, 35, has also been charged with failing to disclose information about an act of terrorism.
They are remanded in custody to stand trial later in November 2024.
14/05/24 TERRORISM CONVICTIONS
A Mother has been found guilty at Leeds Crown Court of two counts of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism. She is now facing jail for failing to tell police about son's involvement in plot to bomb Central London . She has been bailed pending sentencing.
14/05/24 TERRORISM ARREST FOLLOWING PUBLIC REFERRAL LINKED TO ISRAEL-HAMAS CONFLICT
Nabeela Anjum (19/04/1976) from Roundhay , Leeds was charged with two offences of Failing to Disclose Information about Acts of Terrorism to the police contrary to S38B of the Terrorism Act 2000.
She was charged after police produced a chronological timeline of WhatsApp messages and calls evidencing that she had failed to disclose information relating to a terror attack.
She was aware that her teenage son, Sameer ANJUM, had become radicalised, held extremist Islamist beliefs and was viewing terrorist propaganda. He was also in contact with a London based individual, who had obtained chemicals which he intended to use to construct a bomb. Nabeela, was aware of this information and failed to disclose this to the police.
The London based nominal, Al Arfat HASSAN, appeared at The Old Bailey on November 10, 2023 and, after an investigation by the Met Police, pleaded guilty to having 500ml of Acetone and 750 ml Hydrogen Peroxide articles in his possession for a purpose connected with an act of terrorism (contrary to S57 of the Terrorism Act 2000).
Nabeela’s son, Sameer, was also prosecuted, and given a custodial sentence, for not disclosing to the police Al Arfat HASSAN’s terrorist intentions relating to the chemicals.
Nabeela Anjum failed to tell police about what she knew of her son Sameer Anjum's cooperation with another terrorist. He supplied Al Arfat Hassan with an ISIS video which taught extremists how to manufacture a homemade bomb and how to murder a live prisoner with a knife.
A man has been arrested as part of an investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command into online posts related to proscribed terrorist group Hamas.
On 29 April, police received a public referral in relation to online posts allegedly showing support for Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation. The matter was referred to specialist officers in the national Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit to assess the posts and it was then passed to detectives within the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command for further investigation.
A 47-year -old man was subsequently arrested in south west London on suspicion of showing support to a terrorist organisation, contrary to section 12 of the Terrorism Act, 2000. Enquiries remain ongoing.
16/05/24 TERRORISM ARRESTS & CHARGES
A man and woman, both aged 40, have been charged with attempting to make explosives under suspicious circumstances and possessing firearms and ammunition in suspicious circumstances.
IMAGE: DAILY TELEGRAPH
Police in Fairclough Street, Wigan, after cordons were put up in four locations (Image: BBC)
Image: Sameer Anjum posted videos to TikTok in front of a black jihadi flag
ISLAMIC TERRORISM
SUPPORT FOR HAMAS IN ONLINE POSTS
16/05/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION
The arrests and charges follow a proactive search of a house in the Holylands area of south Belfast by detectives from Musgrave when a number of items were seized.
The man and woman are due to appear before Belfast Magistrates' Court.
An investigation into a man who described a mass killer as a ‘hero’ and shared harrowing footage of a terrorist attack has led to him being convicted of encouragement of terrorism.
Edward Griffiths sent videos to people of the terrorist attack, which was committed at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in March 2019 and resulted in the killing of 51 people, stating he would “love” to do what the perpetrator of the attacks did. G riffiths also stated that he would “like” to go on a killing spree and talked about different people he would like to kill and various weapons. He was found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court of:
• one count of encouragement of terrorism
• two counts of dissemination of a terrorist publication
He has been remanded into custody and is due to be sentenced later.
17/05/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION
TERRORIST MURDER
LINKED TO ISRAEL-HAMAS CONFLICT
A Moroccan man who stabbed a passing pensioner to death on a British street in what he later told police was revenge for Israeli action in Gaza was jailed for at least 45 years on Friday, with the judge calling the murder an act of terrorism.
IMAGE: CTPNE
Ahmed Alid, 45, who had sought asylum in Britain, killed his 70 -yearold victim after approaching him from behind on a road in Hartlepool, northeast England, in the early hours of Oct. 15 last year, having previously attacked his Muslim housemate who had converted to Christianity.
After his arrest, he told detectives he had committed the acts because of the conflict in Gaza and said he would have killed more people if he had been able to, prosecutors said.
This case is significant as it is the first terrorist murder in the UK since October 2022 and the first connected to the Israel – Hamas war
NORTHERN IRELAND RELATED TERRORISM NIRT
EXTREME RIGHT-WING TERRORISM
ISLAMIC TERRORISM
LINKED TO ISRAEL-HAMAS CONFLICT
21/05/24 EXPLOSIVE DEVICES & CHEMICAL POISON CHARGES
Harry Whittaker from Bedfordshire has been charged with several offences following and investigation by the Met's Counter Terrorism Command:
• 4 counts of possessing an explosive substance for unlawful purpose - Contrary to section 4 (1) Explosive Substances Act 1883 SUSPECTED EXTREME RIGHT-WING TERRORISM
22/05/24 TERRORISM ARREST & CHARGES
• 1 count of a member of public possessing a regulated substance without licence Contrary to section 3 Poisons Act 1972.
An investigation was launched when items, including a number of suspicious substances, were found at a residential address in Caddington.
Because of the nature of the items found, the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command was informed at that time, although the initial investigation remained with Bedfordshire Police.
Prosecutor Sally-Anne Russell told Westminster magistrates’ court: “The initial investigations started on April 18. This was when the defendant called an ambulance service reporting breathing difficulty.
“He said that he had been handling chemicals and provided a list of 27 chemicals.”
Ms Russell said police had searched the shed on May 6 and it is alleged they discovered a large number of chemicals, including a metal canister bearing the label “potassium cyanide extreme danger”.
District Judge John Zani remanded Whittaker into custody at the hearing on Tuesday and said all five charges would be tried at Southwark Crown Court, on June 18.
Two men have been charged & remanded in custody charged with possessing an AK 47 assault rifle police believe is connected to the New IRA.
Patrick James Collett (56), of Rossnagalliagh, and Martin Burke (59) of Lone Moor Gardens, both in Derry, appeared by videolink charged with possessing ‘a Romanian AKM fully automatic assault rifle’ a magazine and 7 rounds of ammunition with intent to endanger life on May 21.
They were further charged with possessing the same items in suspicious circumstances on the same date.
Derry Magistrates Court heard that around 5.30pm Collett was observed parking a black car owned and registered to him outside Burke’s address. He was seen to enter the house and emerged a few minutes later wearing a glove and carrying a plastic bag which he placed in the boot of the car.
The officer said that a short time later Collett was stopped at the junction of Bishop Street and Foyle Road and a black bin bag containing the items was found inside the plastic bag.
The gun was said to have been in good condition and ready for use. A prosecutor said police believe the weapon was being moved on behalf of the New IRA.
The court heard that the “risks are present, the risks are grave and they cannot be managed by conditions.”
Both defendants are due to return to court on 13/06/24
'Terrorist gun attack' plot in Scotland has been reve aled in National Crime Agency (NCA) report. The counter terrorism investigation titled Operation Ferulic focussed on Edinburgh between October 2023 and March 2024.
Apparent preparations for a terrorist gun attack plot in Scotland were investigated in a major multi-agency police operation in a report published by the NCA the force revealed how it deployed specialist resources to help Police Scotland.
The NCA said the investigation, which was led by Police Scotland, centred on “the apparent preparation for a firearms attack in the Edinburgh area”.
The NCA provided forensic clinical psychologists, behavioural investigative advisors, a crime investigation support officer and interview advisors over several meetings.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "On 10 August, 2023, a 16 -yearold youth was arrested and charged in connection with an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 and a breach of the peace.
"They appeared at Livingston Sheriff Court on 27 October 2023."
MOTIVE AWAITS
Phillips allegedly offered to provide logistical support to a foreign intelligence service, including booking a hotel and buying a mobile phone on behalf of a foreign intelligence service, as well as setting up a mobile phone “so that it was available to b e used by a foreign intelligence service”.
Judge Daniel Sternberg denied Phillips bail and ordered him to appear at the Old Bailey on June 14.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said:
“The arrest is not connected to any other recent charges or investigations linked to NSA offences, and there is not believed to be any threat to the wider public in connection with this matter.”
24/05/24 TERRORISM CHARGES A man has been charged with terrorism offences linked to his travel to Syria, following an investigation by the Met's Counter Terrorism Command.
Isa Giga was charged with:
• the intention of committing acts of terrorism, engaged in conduct in preparation for giving effect to his intention, namely travelled to Syria to fight for the ‘Jaysh Al Fath’ groups, contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act, 2006.
The 31-year -old was arrested as he arrived into London on a flight from Turkey.
24/05/24 TERRORISM ARREST A 14-year -old boy has been arrested in London over a terrorism offence. Police have said the investigation, led by the Met's counter terrorism command, is related to extreme right -wing terrorist material.
The teenager was arrested on Wednesday at a west London address on suspicion of possessing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. He was later released on bail pending further inquiries.
31/05/24 TERRORISM CONVICTION
23/05/24 NATIONAL SECURITY ACT INVESTIGATION & CHARGES
Howard Michael Phillips from Harlow 64, has been charged with spying with an offence contrary to section 3 of the National Security Act relating to Russia.
The court heard that Phillips, is charged with “acquiring and retaining personal contact details of a Member of Parliament” and “disclosing personal contact details and information relating to a Member of Parliament to a foreign intelligence service”.
He is also accused of applying for jobs with the Home Office’s Border Force Agency and applying for security clearance.
RUSSIAN HOSTILE STATE ACTIVITY IN UK
Nottinghamshire man jailed for breaching terrorism Notification Order. Adeel Ulhaq 29, formerly of the Sutton in Ashfield area, was jailed in February 2016 for six years, for assisting the teen to travel to Syria and join ISIS, as well as for funding terrorism.
ISLAMIC TERRORISM
Jaysh Al Fath (Army of Conquest – A jihadist alliance of rebel groups in Syria)
IMAGE: BBC
These offences were contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006 (TACT 2006) and Section 17 of Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT 2000).
As part of his sentence, upon release from prison, Ulhaq was subject to a number of restrictions, under a Part 4 Terrorist Notification Order. This included telling police when he came into possession of a new phone number, email address, or bank account.
In November 2023, it was discovered he had failed to declare email addresses, telephone numbers and bank accounts, and he was charged with seven counts of Section 54(1)(a) of the Counter Terrorism Act 2008 – Failure without reasonable excuse to comply with notification of changes.
Ulhaq had been released from prison in April 2018. Just three days later, he was recalled to prison due to a breach of one of his parole licence conditions.
He was released again in May 2019, and as part of this, will continue to be subject to notification requirements until 2 April 2034.
Examination of Ulhaq’s undeclared digital devices showed research into arms and ammunition, extremist groups, military training, policing, and the Prevent program.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court he was jailed for 33 months, having pleaded guilty to five breaches of his part IV notification requirements.
02/05/24 TERRORISM ARREST A teenager has been arrested at Gatwick Airport on suspicion of a terrorism offence.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command stopped the 17-year-old under the Terrorism Act 2000 on Sunday as he returned to the UK. Police examined his phone and he was subsequently arrested on suspicion of dissemination of terrorist material.
The investigation relates to extreme Islamist -related material, according to police.
06/06/24
Police are carrying out searches in County Antrim, as part of an investigation into the activities of the New IRA.
Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Terrorism Investigation Unit are searching the Slievenaghy Road in Rasharkin.
One of the searches is in a wooded area along the road. The Army is using metal detectors and is digging in spots. A search dog is also on site. Another search was carried out earlier this morning in the Garvagh Road.
COUNTER TERRORISM POLICING APPEAL FOR INFORMATION
FOLLOWING SECOND ARREST IN SRI LANKA WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATION
Counter Terrorism detectives investigating allegations of war crimes linked to the Sri Lankan civil war in the early 2000s are appealing for anyone who might have information that could assist their investigation to contact police. The appeal comes after a second UK-based person was arrested as part of the ongoing Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) investigation into this matter.
Commander Dominic Murphy said:
“We know that these crimes have a lasting and significant impact on victims and witnesses and we’ve now made two arrests as part of this investigation. This is a sign of the progress being made by officers, who are looking into these extremely serious crimes.
“As in all serious cases, we need as much eye-witness testimony as possible to continue to build the case. We know that there are people with information about these incidents during the civil war in Sri Lanka who have not yet come forward. We would urge those people to contact police – we will support you, and your information will be treated in the strictest confidence.”
Officers are eager to hear from anyone who may have first-hand information that could assist with the investigation – particularly those who lived in Sri Lanka in the early 2000s, or who had relatives or friends living in Sri Lanka at that time, and have since emigrated.
To provide information, email the War Crimes Team directly via: SO15Mailbox. WarCrimesTeam@met.police.uk.
Alternatively, call police in confidence on +44 (0)800 789 321.
A man in his 60s was arrested at an address in south London on 21 November 2023, on suspicion of an offence under Section 51 of the International Criminal Court Act, 2001. He was released from police custody and remains on bail. This arrest relates to alleged crimes committed during a political rally in Jaffna in late 2001, during which two people were killed.
It followed an arrest in February 2022, when police arrested a 48-year-old man on suspicion of the same offence. This was in connection with the murder of journalist Mylvaganam Nimalarajan who was killed in 2000. That person was released under investigation, with enquiries ongoing.
Both incidents were part of a referral made in 2017 to the Counter Terrorism Policing War Crimes team, which is hosted by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command and the investigation remains ongoing.
NEW NPSA MITIGATION OF TERRORIST THREATS AT VENUES DURING INGRESS AND EGRESS GUIDANCE
Crowds can become targets of terrorist attacks, especially during events at popular venues. This can include stadiums, concert venues, exhibition centres, theatres, nightclubs, shopping malls, theme parks and temporary sites or single events such as festivals. The entry and exit points are particularly vulnerable because the start and finish times of events are usually predictable, as are the locations in the vicinity of the venue where there will be increased crowds due to people entering and leaving.
In the case of both ingress and egress from a venue, the problem centres around the congregation of people who are vulnerable to attack in areas where there are limited safety and security measures in place. This is particularly relevant in areas that may be outside the direct control of the venue. Keeping people safe during the ingress and egress phase of a venue’s operation is a security challenge. Add to that the complications of long queues, checking tickets, bag searches, etc, and the need to identify the vulnerabilities and control or manage the risks becomes clear. Being prepared is key to combating any threat. Hostile actors may identify the entry and exit points at a venue as ‘soft targets’ if security is poorly developed.
NPSA has produced new guidance that helps to highlight the main security concerns and provides various strategies to reduce the risks. The key is to: understand the potential threats, identify vulnerabilities during entry and exit times, mitigate the risk, and finally – record, test, review and revise the plans and procedures. The profile of the audience, location of the venue, the space available, the landscaping around the area – are just some of the factors that need to be considered when devising a plan. The NPSA guidance provides pointers to help keep people safe and secure, from basic changes to the venue operation, through to more complex security led design approaches.
This NPSA guidance is about planning and preparation to make sure people visiting venues and attending events remain safe, especially during ingress and egress, which are particularly vulnerable to attacks.
The guidance outlines potential vulnerabilities during ingress and egress and then provides a scalable approach to security regimes, from a basic design to more complex solutions. It covers:
X Crowding during ingress and egress
X Key components of reducing risk
X Understanding potential threats
X Identifying vulnerabilities during ingress and egress
X Control measures to be considered when looking to reduce risk
X The importance of recording security processes, testing, reviewing and revising
X Through an example, shows how control measures may be applied at a venue
The guidance can be applied to any venue where crowds are likely to form, ranging from stadia, concert venues and exhibition centres through to nightclubs, shopping malls and even temporary sites that are set up for short periods such as festivals.
NPSA ANNOUNCEMENT: SECURITY CONTROL ROOM COURSES –RESPONDING TO TERRORIST INCIDENTS
Spaces are available on the Security Control Room (SCR) operators course for July and August.
The course is specially designed for operators who work in security control rooms within national infrastructure sites, academia, government, local authorities and crowded places/public premises and events. It is also valuable for those directly responsible for the SCR operators. The course features new immersive exercises in relation to our recently published Mitigation of Terrorist Threats at Venues during Ingress and Egress guidance.
A full list of dates are available on the SCR Course website.
On 7th May 2024, the NPSA released a video to highlight the experiences of those who have attended the security control (SCR) operators course and managers course. The video, along with additional guidance, can be found on the responding to terrorist incidents - security control room (SCR) operators page:
The Responding to Terrorist Incidents – Security Control Room (SCR) Operators course was designed after deficiencies in organisational preparedness to attacks were identified in post incident reviews, exercises and simulations.
The course is specifically designed for operators who work in security control rooms within national infrastructure sites, academia, government and crowded places/ public premises and events. It is also valuable for those directly responsible for the SCR operators.
The course offers world-first immersive exercises that simulate multiple terrorist incident scenarios, enabling delegates to practice decision-making in real-time, as if in a real control room and covers:
X Attack timelines
X Preparedness
X Detecting an Attack
X Command and Control
The five-day SCR Operators course hosts a small number of delegates at a time (maximum 24) to enable delegates to get the most out of the experience, supported by expert trainers.
The one-day Managers Course is for managers or individuals with overall responsibility for Security Control Rooms and incident management.
Research has identified that most deaths and injuries occur within the first few minutes of a terrorist incident. The research has also shown that the performance of the SCR can be improved by following the guidance developed by NPSA.
SECURITY CONTROL ROOM OPERATORS COURSE
The Security Control Room Operators (SCR) course has been designed by NPSA to focus on the roles and responsibilities of operators working within a security control room to enhance their knowledge and readiness to deal with a terrorist incident. The course is specifically designed for SCR operators who work within national infrastructure sites, academia, government and crowded places/public premises and events. It is also valuable for those directly responsible for the SCR operators.
The 5-day course is a mixture of presentations, workshops and immersive exercises in which delegates will work and learn alongside their peers from other venues and organisations.
This impactful learning experience will provide practical skills required to effectively respond to a terrorist incident.
As the course is currently funded by NPSA there is no fee to attend. Delegates’ organisations are responsible for any travel and accommodation required.
For more information and course dates click HERE.
SECURITY CONTROL ROOM MANAGERS COURSE
The one-day Managers Course is for managers or individuals with overall responsibility for Security Control Rooms and incident management.
The course is designed following NPSA guidance related to terrorist incidents. Research has identified that most deaths and injuries occur within the first few minutes of a terrorist incident. The research has also shown that the performance of the SCR can be improved by following the guidance developed by NPSA.
As the course is funded by NPSA there is no fee to attend. Delegates’ organisations are responsible for any travel and accommodation required. For more information and course dates click HERE
All courses will be run from a venue in the Bedfordshire area.
RELEVANT NPSA GUIDANCE FOR SUMMER 2024:
Marauding Terrorist Attacks
NPSA and NaCTSO have developed a series of guides to help your organisation assess the risk and implement a range of protective security mitigations. These guides are based on analysis and learning from MTAs that have taken place, live simulations of attacks and exercises and feedback undertaken with businesses.
Responding to Terrorist Incidents – Developing Effective Command and Control
This guidance provides information on how to prepare those working in an SCR for dealing with a terrorist incident. It is focused on the period where an attack has been discovered and the immediate aftermath of the attack (i.e. Incident Response and Incident Management).
Video Surveillance, Access Control, Detection & Control Rooms
Physical security technologies often converge into a security control room and, while individual technologies may be working, the control room may not be effectively using this information.
This link gives information on these technologies along with guidance on the effective running of a Security Control Room.
First Aid - The role of Security Control Rooms during a terrorist attack
This Supplementary Guidance provides information on how the delivery of effective command and control during a terrorist attack can save lives through the identification and treatment of those with life threatening injuries. It is intended for general Security Control Rooms (SCR) who do not have a trained medical professionals located in the SCR who can co-ordinate the first aid response before the arrival of emergency services.
Marshall Kent is the former senior police lead for Counter Terrorism Protective Security Operations in the Metropolitan Police Specialist Operations Counter Terrorism Command and a Counter Terrorism Security Coordinator at New Scotland Yard. Marshall Kent Consulting delivers Counter Terrorism and Security solutions. With extensive strategic, tactical, operational and senior level experience within policing, counter terrorism, government, business, the Royal Household and corporate sectors, clients receive the best and proportionate advice on how to protect, prepare and react to critical risks, threats and events.
