The Australian Resurgent ISIS Launches 260 Attacks During Ramadan Islamic State has waged its deadliest campaign in Iraq for nearly two years, raising fears that jihadists are staging a resurgence. By David Rose Islamic State has waged its deadliest terrorism campaign in Iraq for nearly two years, raising fears jihadists are staging a resurgence. In the past month, since the start of Ramadan, Islamic State (also known as ISIS) has claimed responsibility for more than 260 attacks across Iraq, allegedly killing or wounding 426 people. The attacks form part of the group’s self-proclaimed “battle of attrition” campaign, which also has inspired violence by Islamic State branches in Syria, Egypt, Nigeria, Niger, Congo and Mozambique in recent weeks. The US-led military coalition and local security forces say they have mounted a counter-offensive that resulted in the killing of two senior Islamic State leaders in Syria last week. However, the rise in...

GRIST Where There’s Smoke …Coronavirus is coming for wildland firefighters. They’re not ready.By Zoya Teirstein News on climate in the time of coronavirus As you read this, thousands of wildland firefighters, the men (and some women) who protect property and ecosystems from burning to a crisp, are getting ready for a busy season of brutal work. All of the steps government and health officials have advised Americans to take to avoid the novel coronavirus — stay home as much as possible, social distance from others, wear a mask — are completely at odds with the norms these firefighters live by. In their world, putting on a face covering isn’t worth the hassle, and toughing it out is a way of life.Wildland firefighting crews are different from the firefighters who work at your local fire department — the ones who might show up at your house if you call 911. Wildland...

The Jerusalem Post Islamic State Says It Was Behind Blast In Southern Libya The blast targeted a security point at the entrance to Taraghin, 780 km (590 miles) south of Tripoli, but did not cause any casualties, a resident said. By REUTERS Islamic State said on Monday it was behind a blast in a small town in southern Libya on Saturday, the militant group's first attack in the country for at least a year. The blast targeted a security point at the entrance to Taraghin, 780 km (590 miles) south of Tripoli, but did not cause any casualties, a resident said.Read More Related ArticlesA local military commander, Abdesselam Shanqala, said the explosives were concealed in a vehicle belonging to the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) and there were no casualties. An LNA military source said Islamic State was growing more active in the south after the arrest of one of...

The Denver Post Denver Police Department will test gunshot detection system Wednesday By Noelle Phillips Those who live, work or socialize in downtown Denver or the Capitol Hill neighborhood might hear gunfire Wednesday night as the Denver Police Department tests its gunshot detection system.Police officers will fire weapons between 4 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., according to a police department news release. The gunshot detection system, known as Shot Spotter, uses acoustic sensors to detect when a gun is fired and pinpoints a location for those shots. That data is sent to 911 dispatchers and patrol officers, who can respond more quickly to potentially save victims and find shooters and evidence at the scene.The live-fire tests calibrate the system. Bullets will be fired into a trap, and there is no danger to the public. Read more: https://www.denverpost.com/2020/05/26/denver-police-department-gunshot-detection-shot-spotter/...

Massive Memorial Day Crowd Descends On Daytona Beach, 6 People Hurt In Shooting DAYTONA BEACH (CBSMiami) – Social distancing was tough to find in Daytona Beach over the weekend as massive crowds were spotted and six people were hurt in a shooting.Police were caught by surprise after hundreds of people celebrated in the streets, blocked traffic and ignored social distancing restrictions imposed by the state to combat the coronavirus pandemic, authorities said Sunday.Police helicopter video captured more than 200 people crowded onto a beachside street where men were throwing money from a car and blocking traffic. Images show the group scattering when officers arrived, but another large group then gathered around a different vehicle. Shortly after, there was a shooting that sent half a dozen people to the hospital.The event, called Orlando Invades Daytona was scheduled but then canceled by promoters at the request of the police department, Daytona Beach...

Daytona 24/7 Two terror-related shootings at naval bases in the last six months raise concernsby KRISTINE FRAZAO, Sinclair Broadcast Group WASHINGTON (SBG) – The shooting at a naval base in Corpus Christi, Texas started and ended at the base's entrance Thursday, but it left some bigger questions about why here and why now.Following the incident, during a news conference, we learned the following:“We have determined that the incident this morning at the naval air station Corpus Christi is terrorism-related,” said Leah Greeves, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent for Corpus Christi FBI.The FBI also said it found terror-related communications on the electronic devices of Adam Alsalhi, a U.S. resident originally from Syria.Authorities are now drawing some connections between this incident and one last year at a Navy base in Pensacola, Florida, following some new evidence showing the extent to which that that one was also terror-related. Read more: https://dayton247now.com/news/coronavirus/two-terror-related-shootings-at-naval-bases-in-the-last-six-months-raise-concerns...

  AL.comMemorial Day 2020: Best quotes, remembrances to honor those who died for freedom By Leada Gore Memorial Day, observed the last Monday in May, honors the men and women who died in service to their country.The day traces its roots to the period after the Civil War when the head of an organization of Union veterans established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to mark the graves of the war dead with flowers. The day of May 30 was selected. Other cities around the country, both Union and Confederate, held similar observances. ... “Memorial Day isn't just about honoring veterans, its honoring those who lost their lives. Veterans had the fortune of coming home. For us, that's a reminder of when we come home we still have a responsibility to serve. It's a continuation of service that honors our country and those who fell defending it.” -...

TSA considering temperature checks and thermal imaging, acting Homeland Security secretary says The agency unveiled new rules Thursday, but additional health checks could be on the way.Dallas Morning News By Kyle ArnoldAfter TSA rolled out a series of new measures Thursday to encourage social distancing and stop the spread of COVID-19, Acting U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf said the agency is considering checking temperatures and thermal imaging to help screen for the virus.Wolf, a Plano native who toured Alliance Airport in Fort Worth for a look at shipping infrastructure, said it is a possibility that passengers will be screened for elevated temperatures before they board planes.“We’re looking at temperature checks, thermal imaging and other technologies to see what we can do to provide some layer of security,” Wolf said Thursday. Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2020/05/21/tsa-considering-temperature-checks-and-thermal-imaging-acting-homeland-security-secretary-says/...

Daily Sabah French Daesh Terror Suspects Escape YPG-Controlled Jails In Syria by Daily Sabah with AFP Thirteen female suspected Daesh militants from France have escaped from YPG/PKK-controlled prisons in northern Syria, a Paris-based anti-terror monitor said Wednesday.They included Hayat Boumedienne, the wanted partner of Amedy Coulibaly, who was one of the perpetrators of the January 2015 terrorist attacks in France, the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism (CAT) told Agence France-Presse (AFP).The 13, who were mainly held in the Al-Hol and Ain-Issa camps, accounted for about a tenth of all French Daesh militant women held in Syria, said Jean-Charles Brisard, one of the co-founders of CAT.He told AFP the women's escape showed the "inability" of local authorities to guarantee the detention of foreign terrorists. Read more: https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/french-daesh-terror-suspects-escape-ypg-controlled-jails-in-syria/news...

NBC News Shooting at air station in Corpus Christi, Texas, was 'terrorism related,' FBI says The shooter at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi was killed at the scene, and the victim is expected to survive. By Minyvonne Burke and Courtney KubeA gunman opened fire Thursday at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, wounding at least one security force member in a "terrorism related" attack, authorities said.The coastal base in Nueces County, Texas, about 140 miles southeast of San Antonio, was on lockdown after security responded to a report of an active shooter around 6:15 a.m.The shooter was initially said to have been "neutralized," the base said in a Facebook post, before FBI agents confirmed that he had been fatally shot at the scene.The injured security force member is in good condition and expected to survive.Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/naval-air-station-corpus-christi-texas-lockdown-amid-report-active-n1211901...

The Jerusalem Post Iraqi Security Services Arrest ISIS Leader - Report According to the British intelligence agencies, he was appointed leader hours after al-Baghdadi's assassination during a special operation held by US special forces. By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, MAARIV ONLINE ISIS operative,Abdulnasser al-Qirdash, Isis operative and part of ISIS's Delegated Committee was handed over to Iraqi security forces by Syrian and US officials on Wednesday. Over the course of the past few months, various reports have been published with regard to the identity of the ISIS leader. In January, the Guardian reported that his name was Amir Muhammad Sa'id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla. The report relied on sources from two foreign intelligence agencies, where it was discovered that he is one of the founders of the organization. In March 2020, the US National Archives and Federal Register released a statement signed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo listing Malwa's many other pseudonyms,...

Fox 10 Phoenix By Matt Rodewald , Anita Roman , FOX 10 Staff and Associated Pres GLENDALE, Ariz. - Officials with the Glendale Police Department say a suspect is in custody after a shooting at the Westgate Entertainment District left three people injured Wednesday night.According to a tweet made by police on its verified Twitter page, the shooting happened in the Westgate area, and members of the public were advised to avoid the area. According to Glendale Police officials, calls came in at around 7:25 p.m. of an active shooting situation at Westgate. The shooting, according to officials, left three people injured. Following the shooting, police and federal agents launched a search of what's believed to be the suspect's home near 85th Avenue and Northern.Police provided an update on Thursday morning, saying one victim is in critical condition, a second has non-life threatening injuries, and a third was not hospitalized.The...

Senate confirms Ratcliffe as next director of national intelligenceBy Brooke Singman The Senate on Thursday voted to confirm Rep. John Ratcliffe as the next director of national intelligence.Ratcliffe, R-Texas, was approved on a 49-44 vote. The installment comes as the intelligence community once again finds itself in the middle of a political firestorm, over whether Trump associates were improperly "unmasked" in intelligence reports during the latter days of the Obama administration.Ratcliffe's nomination was voted out of the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this week on a party-line vote of 8-7, reflecting lingering partisan tensions over the post.“The DNI’s role is crucial to our national security, and I look forward to working with Director Ratcliffe as he oversees the efforts of our nation’s 17 intelligence agencies," acting Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a statement Thursday. "In a time when the threats to our nation are many and varied,...

Report: Iraq arrests possible new leader of Islamic Statei24NEWS Mixed reports on arrest of Abdul Nasser Qardash, said to be senior leader with IS overseeing its last battlesThe Iraqi intelligence has arrested Abdul Nasser Qardash, a possible heir to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi at the helm of the Islamic State terrorist group, Sky News Arabia reported late Wednesday.The reports are citing the Iraqi News Agency as the first one to break the news, with a security source telling the agency that Qardash is a senior leader within the group, which he joined at the time of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the founder of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which would later turn into the IS.Other reports, however, suggest that the person in question has in fact been arrested last year and has now been handed to the Iraqi authorities. The real current IS leader, they clarify, is Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. Read more: https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/1590003161-report-iraq-arrests-new-leader-of-islamic-state...

The Guardian UK Government's New Counter-Terrorism Bill: The Key Measures From new sentencing regimes to tougher tools for monitoring suspects The government has unveiled a new counter-terrorism bill. Here are some of the key measures to be introduced in the legislation: New sentencing regime Terrorism offenders will be sentenced under the following terms: A life sentence – where the offender spends a minimum period or “tariff” before being considered for release by the Parole Board. The offender may never be released. If released, offenders will spend the rest of their life on licence and can be recalled to custody. Serious terrorist sentence – a new term for the most dangerous offenders, where there is a likelihood of multiple deaths, which carries a minimum 14-year sentence with an extended licence period of seven to 25 years. An extended determinate sentence (EDS) – if this is handed out when the offence carries...

Firefighters battling 100-acre wildfire in Ocean County By Katie Kausch | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comFirefighters continue to work extinguish a 100-acre forest fire in Manchester Township Sunday afternoon, state officials said.The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is battling the blaze south of Roosevelt City in the township, off Route 539, state Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Caryn Shinske saidThe fire started early Sunday morning and was still not contained by late afternoon, Shinske said. There is no threat to local homes or businesses, and no evacuations were necessary, Shinske said. Nearby residents were warned about the fire in a police alert sent out mid-morning.More information was not immediately available Sunday afternoon. Read more: https://www.nj.com/ocean/2020/05/firefighters-battling-100-acre-wildfire-in-ocean-county.html...

MSN During this pandemic, protect our protectors: What we owe law enforcement during the coronavirus crisis by Nita Lowey, José Serrano 9/11. Superstorm Sandy. And, now, coronavirus.Through it all, we have seen firsthand heroism of law enforcement in protecting our communities and saving lives.As these men and women continue balancing public health and public safety, the federal government must provide them significant resources to do their jobs safely and effectively while confronting coronavirus.As chairs of the House Appropriations Committee and its Subcommittee on Commerce-Justice-Science, we are on the frontlines of the fight in Congress to make these investments as part of a strong federal, state and local response to coronavirus.Since March, Congress has provided $850 million in criminal justice assistance to states and local governments for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other needs. Additionally, we have provided $100 million to meet needs in the federal prison system, which faces rising...

The National by Nicky Harley Exclusive: Experts issue warning that terrorist groups are using cryptocurrency for laundering Fears Missing ISIS Millions Are Hidden In Cryptocurrency Ready For Use As War Chest ISIS is using cryptocurrency platforms to conceal donations and get around financial security measures, experts have revealed after a surge in advertising for donations.They fear the terrorist group’s missing $300 million (Dh1.1 billion) war chest could have been transferred into a digital currency to hide it from the authorities.Last year ISIS used cryptocurrency to fund the Easter Sunday terrorist attack in Sri Lanka, which killed more than 250 people when suicide bombers attacked churches and hotels in quick succession. Read more: https://www.thenational.ae/world/fears-missing-isis-millions-are-hidden-in-cryptocurrency-ready-for-use-as-war-chest-1.1021275...

Free antibody testing for health care workers, first responders launched Monday SILive.com By Sydney Kashiwagi NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Free coronavirus antibody testing for first responders launched Monday after weeks of delay.The city plans to test 140,000 health care workers and first responders for four weeks as part of a partnership with the federal government. The testing will be available at hospitals, firehouses, police stations and corrections facilities.The latest testing is part of a city initiative to test 280,000 New Yorkers for antibodies through June.Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the testing in late April and said it was set to launch in early May, however, the antibody testing did not begin until Monday.Read more: https://www.silive.com/coronavirus/2020/05/free-antibody-testing-for-health-care-workers-first-responders-launched-monday.html...

Saudi pilot who killed US Navy sailors on FL base was Al Qaeda terrorist and spent years planning American Military News by  Laura Widener The Royal Saudi Air Force member behind the December 2019 shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola had “significant ties” to the terror group Al Qaeda for years before conducting the deadly attack that killed three victims and injured eight others.During a Monday morning press conference, Attorney General Bill Barr said Mohammed Alshamrani’s phones “contained information previously unknown to us that definitively establishes Alshamrani’s significant ties to Al Qaeda and the Arabian Peninsula not only before the attack, but before he even arrived in the United States.”Alshamrani’s two iPhones were recently unlocked by federal technicians after months of attempts and refusals from Apple to assist in the process. Barr said that the recently obtained information from Alshamrani’s phones has led to counterterrorism operations against one of Alshamrani’s...