Armoured & Luxury
Chauffeur Driven Cars

The US-led coalition against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) says it has killed up to 150 militants in air strikes on a headquarters in Syria.

A statement said the strikes took place on Saturday near al-Shafah, in the Middle Euphrates river valley in the south-eastern province of Deir al-Zour.

A combination of intelligence and continuous target observation ensured no civilians were harmed, it added. There was no confirmation of the attack from IS or its supporters.

The coalition says the group has lost 98% of the territory that it seized across Iraq and Syria in 2014, when it proclaimed the creation of a « caliphate ».

IS now controls only small pockets of land in Syria, including a part of the Euphrates valley, where it is under attack by a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as well as Syrian pro-government forces supported by Russia and Iran.

The coalition statement said the « precision strikes » on the IS headquarters and command-and-control centre near al-Shafah came after an extensive intelligence operation that included SDF fighters assisting in target observation.

Read More

A reporter who tried to give evidence to police about the 1974 Guildford pub bombings was « threatened » by officers, his father has told a coroner.

Charles King, whose son Rob, then 20, was among the first on the scene, has provided a statement to the coroner for a pre-inquest review later this year.

He said his son was held by police after he raised concerns about an alibi for one of the wrongly jailed Guildford Four and apparent police inaccuracies. Rob King died in 2000 at the age of 46.

Two IRA bombs went off in Guildford pubs on 5 October 1974, killing five and injuring 65.

The Guildford Four – Gerry Conlon, Paul Hill, Patrick Armstrong and Carole Richardson – served 15 years before their release in what was seen as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British legal history.

Read More

A major cyber attack on the UK is a case of « when, not if », says the head of the National Cyber Security Centre.

Speaking to the Guardian, Ciaran Martin said the country had been lucky to avoid a « category one » attack – targeting infrastructure like energy companies and financial services. But Mr Martin said the UK was increasing its defence capabilities. His comments came after Gen Sir Nick Carter called for more defence spending to tackle the threat.

The head of the British Army said the UK needed to protect itself from « cyber-warfare » from Russia.

Mr Martin told the paper: « I think it is a matter of when, not if and we will be fortunate to come to the end of the decade without having a category one attack. »

He also warned that whilst he had not seen any successful attempts to interfere with the UK’s democratic process, there may have been intelligence-gathering taking place for possible future attacks.

Read More

A man accused of driving a van into a crowd of people near two mosques in north London wanted to kill as many Muslims as possible, a court has heard.

Darren Osborne, 48, is accused of driving into a crowd of worshippers in Finsbury Park, killing Makram Ali, 51, and injuring nine others last year.

He targeted the crowd because they were Muslims, having grown angry at rising terrorism, Woolwich Crown Court heard. Mr Osborne from Cardiff, denies charges of murder and attempted murder.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC said Mr Osborne had driven a Luton box van from Cardiff to London the day before the alleged attack. He then deliberately targeted crowds in Finsbury Park at about 00:15 BST on 19 June, he added.

The area was busy with worshippers attending Ramadan night prayers at the time, Mr Rees told the court. Mr Osborne was seeking « to kill someone merely because of their religion », he added.

Mr Rees told the court the alleged attack was « particularly horrific » because the group Mr Osborne is accused of driving into had gathered in the street to help Mr Ali, who had collapsed minutes earlier.

Read More

Britain’s armed forces risk falling behind Russia without more investment, the head of the Army will say.

General Sir Nick Carter will say the Army’s ability to respond to threats « will be eroded if we don’t keep up with our adversaries ». The speech – approved by Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson – comes amid speculation of potential defence cuts.

The warning comes after Russia practised simulated attacks across northern Europe.

In the speech, which will take place at the Royal United Services Institute on Monday, Gen Carter will highlight Russia’s new cyber warfare capabilities.

The Russian army conducted large scale military exercises last year, including simulated attacks across northern Europe, from Kaliningrad to Lithuania.

Gen Carter will also highlight the Russian army’s long-range missile strike capability. While Russian forces were intervening in Syria, 26 missiles were deployed from a 1,500km (930 mile) range. He will add that Russia is building an increasingly aggressive expeditionary force, which already boasts capabilities the Army would struggle to match. Potential military threats to the UK « are now on Europe’s doorstep, » Gen Carter will say.

Read More