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Crash In Melbourne Not Terror Related Police Report

The man who deliberately drove a car into a crowd in Melbourne is a drug user with mental health issues but no known terrorism links, police say.

The Australian citizen of Afghan descent was taken into custody after a struggle at the scene of the incident. The car the 32-year-old was driving hit a number of pedestrians on Flinders Street, a busy junction in the centre of the city, said Victoria Police.

Fourteen people have been injured, with several in a critical condition.

A second man, 24, was arrested after being seen filming the incident. He had a bag of knives with him, police added. “It is now believed he had no links to the incident, however he is still assisting police with enquiries,” they said.

The driver was arrested by an off-duty police officer. Police say he was the only person in the car. The officer sustained shoulder and hand injuries during the arrest and was taken to hospital. The driver was also taken to hospital, under police guard.

The white SUV struck pedestrians just after 16:30 local time (05:30 GMT).

Witness Jim Stoupas, who runs a business nearby, said: “It just barrelled through a completely full intersection of pedestrians. There was no attempt to brake, no attempt to swerve.”

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Counter Terror Police Continue Property Searches

Counter-terror police have resumed searches of two properties after they foiled an alleged Islamist terror plot that may have happened at Christmas.

Armed officers and an Army bomb disposal squad were involved in raids on five properties in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire on Tuesday.

Four men arrested under the Terrorism Act remain in custody. Searches at scenes in Burngreave, Sheffield, and at a house in Chesterfield are under way.

A 31-year-old man was arrested after the bomb squad cordoned off a street in Chesterfield. Three other men aged 22, 36 and 41 were arrested in the Burngreave and Meersbrook areas of Sheffield.

The cordon around one of the properties – the Fatima Community Centre on Brunswick Road in Burngreave – was extended on Tuesday afternoon and the bomb disposal unit attended.

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Huddersfield Man Receives 10 Years For Terror Offences

The brother of a suicide bomber killed in Iraq has been jailed for 10 years for terror offences.

Dentistry student Mohammed Awan, from Huddersfield, was sentenced after being found guilty of preparing for terrorist acts and possessing material likely to be useful to a terrorist. The 24-year-old was jailed for 10 years and ordered him to serve three years extended licence on his release. Awan’s brother Rizwan Awan killed 30 people in a bomb blast in Iraq in 2016.

Mohammed Awan was arrested by anti-terror police in June after purchasing 500 ball bearings online. During raids on his family home in Rudding Street, Huddersfield, and a flat in Dun Street, Sheffield, officers recovered a “significant volume” of extremist material, including advice on how to be a “sleeper cell” in the West.

Police also seized 11 mobile phones, 16 USB memory sticks and seven computers. One memory stick contained a 36-minute video of a senior al Qaida leader calling on young Muslims to join so-called Islamic State (IS) and featured graphic footage of how to kill and kidnap victims.

On a mobile phone, officers found images of the Boston Marathon bombing and a man wearing an orange jumpsuit about to be executed.

Missile Intercepted Near Riyadh

The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen’s Houthi rebels says it has intercepted a ballistic missile near Riyadh, Saudi state media report.

Witnesses in the Saudi capital posted videos on social media showing a cloud of smoke in the air and there were no immediate reports of any damage.

The Houthi movement’s al-Masirah TV said rebel fighters had fired a Burkan-2 missile at the Yamama Palace.

Last month, a similar missile came close to hitting Riyadh’s airport.

Saudi Arabia and the US have accused Iran of supplying the Houthis with the missile.

Iran has denied arming the Houthi movement, which has been fighting a war against Yemen’s government and the Saudi-led coalition since 2015.

Man Arrested After Security Alert At RAF Mildenhall

A man remains in custody following an alert at a US Air Force base in Suffolk during which shots were fired.

The 44-year-man British man is being questioned over criminal trespass, after a car went through through a military checkpoint at RAF Mildenhall.

The base was temporarily put into lockdown as Suffolk police responded to reports of what they called a “significant incident”. RAF Mildenhall said the base had returned to “normal operations”.

Suffolk Police said Monday’s incident was being treated as trespass, not terrorism. An internal inquiry by the US airbase into why guns were discharged will be held, said police.

Officers were notified about a breach of security at about 13:40 GMT. Supt Kim Warner, from Suffolk Police, said the man, who suffered cuts and bruises, was arrested after a “short pursuit” and his vehicle was stopped by US security services. He said: “Shots were fired by US security, I don’t know how many, but I do know that shots were fired. “It would be fair to say some of the minor injuries were probably as a result of him being apprehended.”

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