Military Personnel Arrive In Salisbury To Help Investigate Russian Spy Poisoning

March 9, 2018 / By Armoured Cars / In security

About 180 military personnel have been deployed to Salisbury to help in the investigation into the attempted murder of an ex-Russian spy and his daughter.

The military personnel - drawn mostly from the Army, but also from the Royal Marines and RAF - are experts in chemical warfare and decontamination.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia collapsed on Sunday afternoon after being exposed to a nerve agent. Home Secretary Amber Rudd has described the attack as "outrageous".

Four People Injured In Austria After Knife Attack

March 8, 2018 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Police in Austria say a 23-year-old man has admitted carrying out knife attacks in Vienna which left four people seriously injured on Wednesday evening.

The man, an Afghan national, has denied a political motive for the attacks.

Three members of the same family were hurt in the first attack at Nestroyplatz at 19:45 (18:45 GMT) and an unrelated man, 20, was stabbed nearby around half an hour later. The suspect reportedly told police he had been in a "bad, aggressive mood".

Nerve Agent Used To Poison Former Russian Colonel

March 8, 2018 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The attempted murder of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, using a nerve agent was a "brazen and reckless attack", Amber Rudd has said.

Mr Skripal and his daughter are still critically ill after being found collapsed on a bench in Salisbury city centre on Sunday. Counter-terrorism officers are working to find the origin of the nerve agent.

A police officer, who was in intensive care, is now "stable and conscious", Wiltshire's chief constable said.

Addressing the House of Commons, the home secretary said the attack was "attempted murder in the most cruel and public way".

Parsons Green Bombing Case Continues

March 7, 2018 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A bomb designed to cause "carnage" and planted on a London Underground train was made with materials sourced from Asda and Aldi a court has heard.

An Old Bailey jury heard commuters faced "a furnace engulfed in flames" when the device exploded at Parsons Green during London's rush hour.

Iraqi asylum seeker Ahmed Hassan, 18, is accused of planting the bomb on the District Line on 15 September, 2017. He denies attempted murder and causing an explosion likely to endanger life.

The court heard that Mr Hassan originally told police he was responsible for the bomb.

Suspected Chlorine Attack In Eastern Ghouta

March 6, 2018 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Medics in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area of Syria say they have been treating people with breathing problems after a suspected chlorine attack.

The reports follow government air strikes and shelling just hours after the last UN aid envoy left the enclave following a supposed five-hour truce.

Syria denied allegations it had carried out the attack, dismissing them as an act of desperation by Western powers. Russia meanwhile has offered rebels safe passage out of the area.

Former Russian Agent And His Daughter Critical After Being Found Unconscious

March 6, 2018 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The UK would respond "robustly" to any evidence of Russian involvement in the collapse of former spy Sergei Skripal, Boris Johnson has said.

Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, in her 30s, are critically ill in hospital after being found unconscious in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

The foreign secretary said he was not pointing fingers at this stage, but described Russia as "a malign and disruptive force". Russia has denied any involvement.

Man Shoots Himself Outside White House

March 5, 2018 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A man has shot and killed himself outside the White House in Washington, the Secret Service says.

It said the man approached the White House's fence on Pennsylvania Avenue just before noon local time (17:00GMT) before taking out a handgun and firing several shots. No one else was injured, according to police.

President Donald Trump was not at the White House, but at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

The man was in a large crowd when he fired the gun, the Washington Post reports, citing witnesses.

Seventeen Year Old Cardiff Boy Jailed On Terror Charges

March 5, 2018 / By Armoured Cars / In security

As a white, British A-level student, the 17-year-old boy on trial for plotting mass murder in Cardiff did "not look like how you expected a terrorist to look," the jury was told.

But over the course of his nine-day trial at Birmingham Crown Court, they learned Lloyd Gunton had become radicalised online and was planning a "lone wolf" attack in the name of Islam.

Attack Unfolds Near The French Embassy In Ouagadougou

March 2, 2018 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Gunfire and an explosion have been heard near the army headquarters and the French embassy in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou.

Witnesses have reported seeing armed men getting out of a car and opening fire. Pictures from the scene showed a cloud of black smoke rising into the sky. It is not yet clear who is behind the attack.

"An attack is under way," the French ambassador tweeted.

The national police have issued a statement saying special forces are in action.

Turkish Soldiers Killed And Injured In Northern Syria

March 2, 2018 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Eight Turkish soldiers have been killed in fighting in the north Syrian region of Afrin, the military says.

Another 13 were injured in the clashes on Thursday, with several said to be in a critical condition.

It is one of the bloodiest days for Turkish troops since they began a major offensive against Kurdish fighters in Afrin in January.

Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Council is due to debate the situation in Syria's besieged Eastern Ghouta area.