Latest news with #IslamicState-inspired
Hindustan Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
FATF report flags misuse of digital platforms in terror attacks
NEW DELHI: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Tuesday warned about the use of e-commerce platforms and virtual private networks (VPNs) by terrorists to procure explosives or arrange funds, citing the example of the February 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing and April 2022 Gorakhnath temple terror attack. A flag with the logo of the Financial Action Task Force, FATF, waves in the wind next to the German national falg during a meeting of the task force at the Congress Center in Berlin, Germany.(AP) In its latest report titled 'Comprehensive update on terrorist financing risks', the multilateral financial watchdog said it has received inputs from delegations and publicly available sources regarding state sponsorship of terrorism, including by groups designated by the United Nations. The FATF didn't specifically name any country. However, India has repeatedly asserted at international forums that Pakistan openly supports UN-listed terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). Citing the 2019 Pulwama suicide attack that killed 40 Indian troopers as a case study for misuse of e-commerce platforms for terror financing, the report said: 'Investigations revealed the cross-border management of a large quantity of explosives into India. Notably, a key component of the improvised explosive device used in the attack - aluminium powder - was procured through the EPOM [e-commerce platform and online marketplace] Amazon. This material was used to enhance the impact of the blast.' To be sure, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had said in its Pulwama attack charge sheet that one of the accused, Waiz-ul-Islam, a resident of Srinagar, had helped the main planner Umar Farooq in procuring explosives from Amazon. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in the terror attack on February 14, 2019, triggering the Indian Air Force (IAF)'s air strike on a JeM terror camp deep inside Pakistan 12 days later. This resulted in a dogfight between combat jets of the two nations on February 27. 'The possibility that States may choose to provide financial or other forms of support to organisations that engage in terrorist acts is a longstanding terror financing threat to international peace and security, as well as to the stability of regional financial and political systems,' the report said. 'Moreover, it undermines the effectiveness of FATF activities that are intended to support governments in adopting best practices to detect, deter and otherwise disrupt terror financing,' it said, adding that support by states was provided in the form of direct financial support, logistical and material support, of the provision of training. On the use of online payment service and VPNs by terrorists, the FATF report referred to the April 3, 2022 attack on security personnel at Gorakhnath temple by an Islamic State-inspired terrorist, Murtaza Abbasi. 'The financial investigation revealed that individual A transferred INR 669,841 (USD 7,685) via PayPal to foreign countries in support of ISIL, using international third party transactions and using VPN services to obscure the IP address,' the report said. 'The forensic report revealed that the accused had been using a VPN for calling, chatting, and downloading to evade detection. Further financial scrutiny uncovered that the accused had made a payment to a VPN provider through his bank account to secure these services,' the report said. 'A comprehensive analysis of the accused's PayPal transactions, obtained via email, indicated that approximately forty-four international third-party transactions totaling ₹669,841 (approximately USD 7,736) had been made to foreign accounts. Additionally, the accused received funds from a foreign account through PayPal. The investigation also uncovered that the accused had sent money to multiple individuals identified as ISIL followers in the foreign jurisdictions to support terror activities,' it said. The global watchdog had last month condemned the April 22 Pahalgam attack, saying it could not have occurred without money and means to move funds between terrorist supporters, which Indian officials described as an important first direct statement by the FATF. 'Terrorist attacks kill, maim and inspire fear around the world. The FATF notes with grave concern and condemns the brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025. This, and other recent attacks, could not occur without money and the means to move funds between terrorist supporters,' the statement by FATF said.
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New Straits Times
04-07-2025
- New Straits Times
News@9: Today's top headlines - July 4, 2025 [WATCH]
Good evening. You're watching News@9. Here are today's biggest stories. IS-linked cell dismantled Police say up to 150 Bangladeshi nationals were involved in an Islamic State-inspired group operating in Malaysia, with those deeply involved to face charges under the Security Offences Act. Drug-laced cigarettes busted A couple running a meth-laced cigarette syndicate from their rented home has been arrested, with RM2 million worth of drugs and equipment seized. KLIA aerotrain halted KLIA's aerotrain service was suspended today after a drainage pump failure caused water to flood the tunnel, with operations resuming only after tracks were cleared. Cemetery rape case A 25-year-old man pleaded guilty to raping and sodomising an Australian woman at a cemetery in Penang, admitting he threatened her with scissors during the assault. That's it for News@9. Keywords: Court Rape Cemetery Islamic State Nst Klia Bangladeshi Aerotrain Malaysia News News@9
New Straits Times
30-06-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Bangladeshis linked to Islamic State movement detained under Sosma
KUALA LUMPUR: Several Bangladeshis linked to an Islamic State-inspired militant group have been detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma). Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail said some of those detained have already been deported. "Some of them have been detained under Sosma, while others have since been deported. "There are several others who are still being detained to facilitate further investigations," he told reporters after witnessing the handing over of duties ceremony for the Federal Crime Investigation Department director today.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ex-Michigan National Guard member accused of planning ISIS-inspired attack at Army base
May 14 (UPI) -- A former member of Michigan's Army National Guard has been charged with planning to carry out an Islamic State-inspired mass attack Tuesday on a U.S. Army facility near Detroit, though it was thwarted, according to court records released Wednesday. The Justice Department said Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, was arrested Tuesday. He is facing charges of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and distributing information related to a destructive device at the Detroit Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command, or TACOM, in Warren. It is known as the Detroit Arsenal, TACOM's headquarters manages U.S. Army's ground and support systems enterprise and the Army's related industrial base capabilities. It was the first manufacturing plant for mass production of tanks in the United States in 1941. In April, he communicated with two people "purporting to be fellow ISIS supporters but instead they were undercover law enforcement officers, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday. Said told them he had devised and formulated plans to conduct a mass shooting at the Army base. The undercover officers said Said and others intended to carry out Said's plan at the direction of ISIS. Said's details of the attack plan were: armor-piercing ammunition and magazines for the attack, a drone flying over TACOM to conduct operational reconnaissance, undercover employees trained on firearms and the construction of Molotov cocktails to use in the attack, how to enter TACOM and which building to target. Screenshots from videos in which Said allegedly pledged loyalty to the leader of ISIS and in front of an ISIS flag were included in the complaint. On Tuesday, the scheduled day of the attack, Said was arrested after he traveled near TACOM and launched his drone in support of the attack plan, the FBI alleges. He was to make a court appearance Wednesday in the Eastern District of Michigan. The U.S. Attorney's Office wants Said held in pretrial detention because of his danger to the community and a risk he will flee. In September 2022, the Melvindale resident enlisted in the Michigan Army National Guard. He attended basic training at Fort Moore in Georgia, according to the complaint. After completing training, he reported to Michigan Army National Guard Taylor Armory and was discharged in December 2024, according to the complaint. The reason for his discharge wasn't listed in the complaint. "This defendant is charged with planning a deadly attack on a U.S. military base here at home for ISIS," Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, said in a statement. "Thanks to the tireless efforts of law enforcement, we foiled the attack before lives were lost. We will not hesitate to bring the full force of the Department to find and prosecute those who seek to harm our men and women in the military and to protect all Americans." He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for each charge. "ISIS is a brutal terrorist organization which seeks to kill Americans," U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. for the Eastern District of Michigan, said in a statement. "Helping ISIS or any other terrorist organization prepare or carry out acts of violence is not only a reprehensible crime -- it is a threat to our entire nation and way of life. Our office will not tolerate such crimes or threats, and we will use the full weight of the law against anyone who engages in terrorism." The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the case. Brig. Gen. Rhett R. Cox, the commanding general of Army Counterintelligence Command, said in a statement: "The arrest of this former soldier is a sobering reminder of the importance of our counterintelligence efforts to identify and disrupt those who would seek to harm our nation. "We urge all soldiers to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to their chain of command, as the safety and security of our Army and our nation depends on our collective efforts to prevent insider threats."
The Hindu
21-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Vatican declares 167 victims of IS-inspired bombings in Sri Lanka witnesses of faith
Sri Lanka's Catholic church says the Vatican has named 167 of its faithful killed in Islamic State-inspired suicide bombings six years ago as witnesses of faith. Hundreds, including Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic religious figures, attended a vigil on Monday (April 21, 2025) in memory of the victims at the church of St. Anthony, targeted in the attacks. Gunman fires at Sri Lanka church ahead of Easter bombings anniversary Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, told the attendees Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican, has included the names of 167 Catholics who died in the bombings in the churches of St. Anthony in Colombo and St. Sebastian in Negombo 'in the catalogue of the witnesses of the faith in its order book, considering the context of their heroism.' He said they were chosen 'due to violent opposition to their faith motivated by odium fidei,' the hate of the faith.' Cardinal Ranjith also said seven victims of other faiths were 'respectfully remembered.' Witnesses of faith are those who sacrificed their lives for their belief. Sri Lanka orders new probe into Easter Sunday bombings Pope Francis formalised in 2023 a new category of recognition by the church of people who lost their lives while professing the Catholic faith and created a special Vatican commission to catalogue their cases. The commission, based in the Vatican's saint-making office, has gathered hundreds of cases, with a view to highlighting them alongside officially recognised martyrs of the church, who are on the path to possible beatification or sainthood. More than 260 people, including 42 foreigners, were killed in the near-simultaneous bombings during Easter Sunday at three tourist hotels and three churches, two Catholic and one Protestant, on April 21, 2019. The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has demanded further probing in the attacks, particularly after British television Channel 4 interviewed a man who said that he arranged a meeting between a local IS-inspired group, National Thowheed Jamath, and a top state intelligence official to hatch a plot to create insecurity in Sri Lanka and enable former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to win the Presidential election later that year.
