Pensacola gunman got around a ban on foreigners buying guns KLFYby LISA MARIE PANE, Associated PressGenerally, foreigners are not allowed to buy guns in the United States. But there are exceptions written into federal law, which may explain how the Saudi flight student who shot three servicemen to death at the Pensacola naval base was able to purchase a weapon.For example, a foreigner who manages to obtain a state hunting license and can show proof of residency in that state can legally buy a gun.“It seems every day we find a new loophole,” said Adam Winkler, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law and an expert on gun laws and politics.Authorities have not disclosed precisely how 21-year-old Mohammed Alshamrani, a Royal Saudi Air Force officer undergoing months of flight training at the Florida military base, obtained the Glock 9 mm handgun he used in the...

Washington Examiner Last week's stabbing attack aside, British counterterrorism services are sighing with relief by Tom Rogan Last week's terrorist attack in London took two innocent lives. But British counterterrorism services will have breathed a sigh of relief that this latest attack again involved knives, and not firearms or explosives.Don't misunderstand me: Any successful terrorist attack is a cause for great lament. While the attacker was able to replicate the 2017 London Bridge terrorist attack, he inflicted fewer casualties and less terror on the British capital. Still, counterterrorism police and intelligence officers take their work personally, rightly viewing themselves as the shields for life against death. They will be saddened and frustrated by what has occurred.Even then, they must balance their personal sense of loss in one incident against the prospect of far greater casualties.When it comes to Britain, that prospect is hard to underestimate. After all, since the November...

What Does the New Counterterrorism Exercise Mean for the Quad? The recent development again put the minilateral arrangement in the headlines.By Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (“Quad”) between the U.S., Japan, India and Australia has often been questioned about its purpose and capacity. For critics, other than occasionally irritating Beijing, the Quad did not appear to have much purpose. And, at times, even these expressions of occasional irritation from China had been sufficient to send one or the other Quad countries into a funk.But in the last two years, the Quad has slowly become somewhat sturdier, with the level of interaction between the countries improving, and the members themselves becoming less skittish when Beijing criticizes the venture. Now, the Quad countries have taken a new step, holding a table-top counter-terrorism exercise together. What can we make of this?Details are skimpy. India has hosted the first counter-terrorism table-top exercise...

The Independent Tunnels, Knives And Riots: This Syrian Camp Holding Thousands Of Isis Wives Is At Breaking Point A Turkish invasion of northern Syria has led to a collapse in security at a camp holding the foreign wives of Isis fighters. by Richard Hall The quiet of Al Hol camp in the afternoon belies the trouble that lurks beneath the surface.  In an annex of this sprawling facility reserved for some 10,000 foreign wives and children of Isis fighters from around the world, a mutiny is brewing. Over the past few months, sharia courts have been set up by camp detainees still loyal to the terror group. There has been a spate of killings targeting those who do not abide by the laws set by those courts. Riots have broken out and guards have been attacked with knives. Nearly nine months after the defeat of the Isis caliphate, camp authorities...

Haaretz U.S. Releases First Photos Of 'Sophisticated Iranian Weapons' Seized En Route To Yemen 'Significant hoard' captured in the Arabian Sea is further proof of Tehran's efforts to inflame conflict in the region, top U.S. official says The U.S. State Department released Thursday photos of advanced missile parts believed to be linked to Iran from a boat stopped by the Navy in the Arabian Sea last month.At a press briefing, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said the parts seized on November 25 are likely further proof of Tehran's efforts to inflame conflict in the region."We interdicted a significant hoard of weapons and missile parts evidently of Iranian origin. The seizure includes sophisticated weapons," he said, adding that the vessel was reportedly heading to Yemen to deliver the weapons. Read more: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/u-s-releases-photos-of-sophisticated-iranian-weapons-seized-en-route-to-yemen-1.8228564...

Fox News New York City ISIS Supporter Seen As 'Ticking Time Bomb' Gets Decades In Prison By Bradford Betz A U.S. citizen who kept an Islamic State flag and a cache of weapons in his New York City apartment was sentenced Friday to 22 years in prison after pleading guilty to providing material support to the terrorist group, the Justice Department announced.Sajmir Alimehmeti, a 26-year-old Albanian turned U.S. citizen, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who called him a "ticking time bomb." He called the Bronx man's conduct "terrifying."In February 2018, Alimehmeti admitted providing material support to the group. Alimehmeti, a onetime plumbing assistant who had studied funeral services, was arrested in May 2016 on evidence assembled over eight months by two undercover New York City police officers and an undercover FBI employee posing as ISIS recruits. Read more: https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-york-city-isis-bronx-ticking-time-bomb-prison...

Official: Base shooter watched shooting videos before attack By BRENDAN FARRINGTON - AP PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — The Saudi student who fatally shot three sailors at a U.S. naval base in Florida hosted a dinner party earlier in the week where he and three others watched videos of mass shootings, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Saturday.Officials investigating the deadly attack were working Saturday to determine whether it was motivated by terrorism, while President Donald Trump indicated he would review policies governing foreign military training in the United States.The Navy on Saturday identified the three victims and hailed them as heroes for trying to stop the shooter and flagging down first responders after being shot.“The Sailors that lost their lives in the line of duty and showed exceptional heroism and bravery in the face of evil,” Capt. Tim Kinsella, the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Pensacola, said...

The Sun San Bernardino terrorist attack first responders reflect on where things are 4 years later By Richard K. De Atley Trauma impacts everyone. A tragedy like the San Bernardino mass shooting on Dec. 2, 2015 — four years ago today — sends ripples through communities, while bringing those who live and work there together.Events like dedications of memorial gardens and community vigils honor those who lost their lives that day, and for those who were first to the scene, every day becomes a day to advocate for change.“Trauma is the same. Emotionally you will have the similar increase of heart rate and sober sadness when you see people in agony. In that particular time, I felt the community in agony,” said Michael M. Neeki, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center trauma surgeon.Neeki, 55, has remained in contact with families of the victims and has attended dedications of several memorial gardens.The emotions...

Jerusalem Post Saudi national suspected in shooting incident at U.S. Navy base in Florida The first reports of an "active shooter" on the base came through to the Escambia County sheriff's office at about 6:51 a.m., officials said. By REUTERS The suspected shooter involved in a deadly incident on Friday at a major U.S. Navy base in Florida was believed to be a Saudi national in the United States for training, two U.S. defense officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Four people including the shooter were killed in the episode at Naval Air Station Pensacola, the Navy and local sheriff's office said, the second deadly shooting at a U.S. military installation this week. The first reports of an "active shooter" on the base came through to the Escambia County sheriff's office at about 6:51 a.m., officials said.A few minutes later, a sheriff's deputy fatally shot the shooter in a...

Fox News Iranian Missile Parts Headed To Yemen Captured By US Navy Warship, Officials Say By Morgan Phillips U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News on Wednesday that a U.S. Navy warship has intercepted a “significant cache” of what is thought to be missile parts from Iran headed to rebels in Yemen.This is the first time such high-level missile components have been seized en route to the four-year civil war in Yemen, officials said, where Iranians support the Houthi rebels. The U.S. has repeatedly accused Iran of smuggling arms to the rebels, who are battling the Yemeni government. A small Navy boat and a Coast Guard boarding team seized the weapons last Wednesday in the northern Arabian Sea. The weapons have been linked to Iran. The Yemeni civil war has been seen as a proxy conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and as a means to quell Iranian influence in the...

Asharq Al-Awsat Iranian Drones: New Terrorism Cairo - Emile Amin During the inauguration of the fourth year of the Saudi Shura Council, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, confirmed that, thanks to the military forces, the ballistic and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia did not impact development and the lives of the people. Rockets are well established and understood weapons, but it is the use of drones, a more novel tool, which is frightening. Drones, because they are relatively easy to build at a limited cost, are creating a kind of strategic imbalance in battlefields around the world. So how are we to characterize this distressing development? The threat of drones Several studies trace the origin of drones back to the First World War, when the English tried to fly them in an effort to reduce casualties. The Americans developed the aircraft further during the Second...

  FBI Offers $5 Million To Find US Citizen On Most Wanted Terrorist List by Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN)The State Department is offering $5 million for information that leads to the arrest of an American citizen on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist List. An indictment unsealed in federal court on Monday accuses Jehad Serwan Mostafa, 37, of providing material support to al-Shabaab, which the US has designated a terrorist organization for its activities to undermine the Somali government. "We believe this defendant is the highest-ranking U.S. citizen fighting overseas with a terrorist organization," US Attorney for the Southern District of California Robert Brewer said in a news release Monday. "Al-Shabaab's reign of terror threatens U.S. national security, our international allies and innocent civilians. Today we seek the public's assistance in capturing Mostafa and disrupting Al-Shabaab." Mostafa -- also known as "Ahmed Gurey," "Ahmed," "Anwar," "Abu Anwar al Muhajir," and "Abu...

  Voice Of America Terror Attack Has Britons Questioning De-Radicalization Effort By Jamie Dettmer LONDON - When Usman Khan left prison last December after serving half of a 16-year sentence for his part in a plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange, and for planning to establish a terror training camp in Pakistan, he was thought to be making good progress towards being de-radicalized and was seen as a poster boy for Britain’s rehabilitation programs.Cambridge University, which ran one of the programs Khan attended, was even considering offering him a place to study.But now following 28-year-old’s dramatic knife attack Friday on London Bridge during a university-sponsored justice event, which left two people dead and three seriously injured, the early release of convicted terrorists, as well as de-radicalization programs, are coming under immediate scrutiny amid accusations that militants are gaming the rehabilitation system and hoodwinking authorities.Some criminal justice experts say...

NBC News San Diego-Raised Man Now Leading Terrorists In Africa, Officials Say Jehad Serwan Mostafa plays a critical role in one of Africa's deadliest terror groups, federal authorities said.By Tim Stelloh A man raised in San Diego has become a leader of one of Africa’s deadliest terror groups and the highest-ranking U.S. citizen fighting with foreign terrorists, federal authorities said Monday. Prosecutors in California disclosed the allegations against Jehad Serwan Mostafa, 37, by unsealing an indictment accusing him of providing critical support to the East African terror group al-Shabab.Mostafa was indicted in 2009 on similar crimes, but he has remained at large — even after a $5 million reward for his arrest and conviction was offered, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said in a news release.The charges announced Monday allege that he now plays a critical role in al-Shabab, which promotes an Islamic state...

London Bridge terror: Picture emerges of attacker with Islamist hate preacher Anjem Choudary Convicted terrorist Usman Khan killed two University of Cambridge graduates before being shot dead by police. Sky News A picture has emerged of the convicted terrorist who killed two people at London Bridge posing with Islamist hate preacher Anjem Choudary.The photograph of Usman Khan was taken in March 2009 - three years before he was jailed for plotting to blow up the London Stock Exchange.Khan was known to have attended a series of protests held by al Muhajiroun - and the pair were photographed during a conference on sharia law organised by the now-banned extremist group. Last Friday, Khan stabbed 25-year-old Jack Merritt and 23-year-old Saskia Jones to death during a prisoner rehabilitation event. He was armed with two knives and a suicide vest, and was shot dead by specialist armed officers.The 28-year-old, who was wearing an...

Evening Standard ‘British IS children at risk of radicalisation’, says former MI6 counter-terrorism chief by Martin Bentham The repatriation of British children brought up under Islamic State rule in Syria must be sped up to prevent them becoming radicalised, a former MI6 head of counter-terrorism said today.Richard Barrett said that some potential child returnees would have to be accompanied by their mothers and that both could pose a potential security threat because of the extremism and trauma they had experienced. But he added that the problem would only get worse if it was ignored and would leave Britain and other countries facing a heightened threat when the youngsters grow up and move on.Mr Barrett’s comments follow the arrival last week of the first British orphans from Syria after a government decision to permit their return. Read more: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/british-is-children-at-risk-of-radicalisation-says-former-mi6-counterterrorism-chief-a4296971.html...

Jerusalem Post Hezbollah uses Germany to finance terrorism, weapons purchases Some 30 mosques and cultural centers in Germany have links to Hezbollah, according to a 2019 Hamburg intelligence agency report. By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL   The Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah uses a center in Berlin as well as other locations across Germany to recruit members and raise funds for terrorism and weapons purchases, according to a report by the Berlin-based Tagesspiegel newspaper. Tagesspiegel on Saturday published a detailed exposé on how the Lebanese terrorist organization uses Germany for “money generated” illicit activities and those funds are “used for arms purchases and for financing attacks.” According to the article, Hezbollah members “use Germany as a place for drug trafficking, trade in stolen cars and money laundering. The implications of the group for the drug business are well documented.” The report said that Hezbollah’s “main routes now move from South America to Africa into...

Former Secret Service Agent Explains How to Protect a President WIRED Former Secret Service Agent Jonathan Wackrow, now managing director at Teneo Risk, explains how the Service protects the President and other VIPs. Wackrow details the many steps required to ensure the safety of protectees, and describes how the Service has changed due to changing technology and lessons learned from historical events. Wackrow served in the Presidential Protection Division in Washington, DC, and managed numerous high-level security operations in the U.S. and abroad. ...

Honolulu Star Advertiser Dutch officials say 3 people, including children, injured in Hague stabbing attackBy Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands -  An assailant stabbed three people Friday night in a busy shopping district in the Netherlands, and police were searching for the suspect, authorities said.It was the second stabbing incident with multiple victims in a major European city today.Earlier today in London, a man wearing a fake explosive vest stabbed several people, killing two, before he was tackled by members of the public and then fatally shot by officers on London Bridge, authorities said. Police treated it as a terrorist attack.A Dutch police spokeswoman said it was too early to say whether a terror motive was to blame for the attack in The Hague.The victims were all minors. It was unclear whether any of their wounds were life-threatening or whether they might have been hurt when the crowds of holiday...

Newsweek Judge Warned London Bridge Attacker Should Not Be Freed From Prison in Earlier Terror Conviction By Jason Murdock he 28-year-old man responsible for the terror attack in London on Friday was previously described as a "serious jihadi" who posed significant public risk.Usman Khan, who was shot dead by armed police officers after launching a stabbing attack that resulted in at least two deaths, was one of nine men who were convicted back in 2012 of planning to attack the London Stock Exchange and building a terrorist training camp two years prior.At the time, Khan was sentenced to serve a minimum of eight years in prison. He was released on license in December 2018, the the London Metropolitan Police confirmed.During Khan's 2012 sentencing, the judge ruling over the case, Justice Wilkie, singled out Khan alongside two additional al-Qaeda inspired culprits, named Mohammed Shahjahan and Nazam Hussain.They were deemed by the...