Iraq And Kurdish Forces Clash Over Kirkuk Province

October 16, 2017 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Clashes have been reported between Iraqi and Kurdish forces after Baghdad sent troops towards disputed areas held by the Kurds in Kirkuk province.

State TV said government forces had taken control of some areas, including oil fields, "without fighting". But Kurdish officials denied this. An exchange of artillery fire is said to have occurred south of Kirkuk city.

German Police Under Spotlight After Berlin Christmas Market Attack

October 13, 2017 / By Armoured Cars / In security

An investigation into last year's deadly attack on a Christmas market in Berlin has revealed "gross mistakes" by German police and security services.

The report commissioned by Berlin's state senate says police missed several chances to arrest and deport Anis Amri, a Tunisian behind the attack. It says Amri - who was a known Islamist threat - could have been held on drugs charges before the 19 December attack. He drove a lorry into the crowded market, killing 12 people.

Dozens Of Inmates Involved In Violet Disturbance At HMP Long Lartin

October 12, 2017 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Staff were attacked with pool balls during a disturbance at a high-security prison.

A total of 81 inmates at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire became violent, forcing staff to retreat, a source said. By 04:30 BST the disturbance was resolved with no injuries.

Ten "Tornado teams" of riot officers had been sent to the prison on Wednesday. Eighteen prisoners have since been moved to other jails.

US Drone Strike Kills UK IS Recruiter Sally Jones

October 12, 2017 / By Armoured Cars / In security

British IS recruiter Sally-Anne Jones was reportedly killed in a US drone strike in Syria in June.

Jones, from Chatham in Kent, joined so-called Islamic State after converting to Islam and travelling to Syria in 2013. Her death was first reported by The Sun.

Jones had been a useful propaganda agent for IS on social media and her death would be "significant".

Whitehall officials have declined to comment publicly. However, they have not denied the story, and US sources are confident she was killed in an unmanned drone strike in June, our correspondent added.

Prison Riot In Mexico Leaves Several Dead

October 11, 2017 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Thirteen people have been killed in a riot at a Mexican jail, authorities in the northern state of Nuevo Leon say.

Eight others were severely injured in the disturbance at Cadereyta prison. Local media report that 250 inmates battled security forces.

A spokesman for the state government said lethal force had been used to regain full control of the facility. It is the latest in a string of bloody clashes in Mexico's jails, which are often dominated by drugs gangs.

US Bombers Fly Over Korean Peninsula

October 11, 2017 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The US has conducted a joint military exercise with South Korea, flying two strategic bombers over the Korean peninsula.

The B-1B combat bombers were joined by two South Korean F-15K fighter jets, and carried out air-to-ground missile drills off South Korean waters. It comes amid heightened tensions with North Korea over its nuclear programme.

Pyongyang conducted its sixth nuclear test, and launched two missiles over Japan, in recent months.

North Korean Hackers Steal South Korea Military Documents

October 10, 2017 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Hackers from North Korea are reported to have stolen a large cache of military documents from South Korea, including a plan to assassinate North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un.

Rhee Cheol-hee, a South Korean lawmaker, said the information was from his country's defence ministry.

The compromised documents include wartime contingency plans drawn up by the US and South Korea. They also include reports to the allies' senior commanders.

The South Korean defence ministry has so far refused to comment about the allegation.

Boko Haram Trial Begins In Nigeria

October 9, 2017 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The first in a series of trials of more than 6,600 people, accused of being members of militant Islamist group Boko Haram, has opened in Nigeria.

The trials are being held in secret by civilian court judges at a military facility in north-central Kainji town.

Rights activists say they are concerned about the lack of transparency in what has been described as the biggest terrorism trials in Nigeria's history.

Some 20,000 people have been killed in Boko Haram's eight-year insurgency. Only nine people have been convicted so far of being involved in the rebellion.

Twelve Arrested On Suspicion Of Importing Drugs & Firearms Into UK

October 9, 2017 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A Border Force officer is among 12 people arrested by police investigating a group suspected of importing drugs and firearms into the UK.

The officer, 36 and from Dover, was detained by French police near Calais with three other British nationals. All four remain in custody.

Eleven firearms, 74lb (34kg) of cocaine and 16lb (7kg) of heroin were seized.

Birmingham Man Receives Life Sentence For Bomb Plotting

October 9, 2017 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A man who planned to bomb a railway line with a device made from fairy lights and a pressure cooker has been jailed for life.

Zahid Hussain, 29, from Birmingham, filled the appliance with 1.6kg of shrapnel and made "improvised igniters" from the festive decorations.

Hussain became radicalised reading books and websites in his bedroom.

He was convicted of preparing for an act of terrorism in May and sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on Monday. His trial was told he wrongly believed his non-viable pressure cooker "bomb" was capable of causing devastation.