Man Stabbed In Neck At Regent's Park Mosque

February 21, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a stabbing inside a central London mosque.

The victim, in his 70s, was injured in an attack at London Central Mosque, near Regent's Park, which police are not treating as terror-related. He was taken to hospital by paramedics where his condition has been assessed as non-life threatening.

A 29-year-old man was apprehended by worshippers who broke from prayer to restrain him until police arrived.

Gunman Kills Nine Dead In German Shootings

February 20, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A gunman opened fire on two shisha bars in the western German city of Hanau, killing at least eight people and injuring several others, police say.

The shootings took place around 22:00 (21:00 GMT) on Wednesday. In both places the clientele were reported to have been predominantly Kurdish.

The suspect then fled to his home where he was later found dead along with the body of a second person. The motive for the attacks is unclear. An investigation is ongoing.

Police Warn Of Bomb Threat To Sinn Fein Members

February 19, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Sinn Féin's deputy leader Michelle O'Neill has said police have told her dissident republicans are planning a bomb attack on a party member's car.

It comes six days after the deputy first minister said she and party colleague Gerry Kelly were threatened.

Mr Kelly said on Tuesday that he had been checking under his car for a bomb "for a considerable period of time". "There's adults in our house now with children and I told them to be very careful," said the North Belfast MLA.

Erdogan Threatens 'Imminent' Turkish Operation In Syria

February 19, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Turkey's president says it is "only a matter of time" before it launches an operation to stop a Syrian army assault on opposition-held Idlib province.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned in a speech that he was determined to transform the border area into a safe place "at any cost".

Syria's government and its ally Russia have rejected his demand to pull back to ceasefire lines agreed in 2018.

Twelve Arrested In Germany For Planning Massacres

February 17, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Members of a far-right group arrested in Germany were planning attacks on mosques, politicians and asylums seekers, local media report.

The 12, allegedly belonging to Der harte Kern (The Hard Core), were detained on Friday. Another man believed to be a part of the group is still on the run, according to newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

Germany has seen a rise in support for the far right, especially in the country's formerly-communist east.

Gunmen Storm Court In Honduras To Free Gang Leader

February 14, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Heavily armed men dressed in military fatigues and police uniforms stormed a court building in north-west Honduras and freed a senior leader of the powerful MS-13 gang, officials say.

Alexander Mendoza, known as "El Porky", had just arrived for a trial hearing in El Progreso, escorted by security forces, when the attack took place.At least four officers were killed and three others were wounded.

MS-13 is one of the most violent criminal groups in Central America.

Ex-Russian Prison Officer Shoots Himself In Court

February 13, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A former Russian prison service official has killed himself in court after he was sentenced to three years in jail, Russian media report.

Viktor Sviridov was at one time the head of the federal prison service's motor transport department. He was convicted of extorting 10m roubles (£121,000; $155,000) from the service's former deputy director.

Moments after the judge ordered he be taken into custody, Sviridov shot himself in the head.

A court spokeswoman quoted on Russian news site RBC says he is thought to have brought the gun into the court himself.

Two People Stabbed In Manchester City Centre

February 10, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Two people have been stabbed in Manchester city centre.

Officers were called to reports of an assault near Morrisons supermarket in Piccadilly Gardens at 12:10 GMT.

One man has been taken to hospital with injuries not thought to be life threatening and another was treated at the scene for minor injuries, a police spokesperson said. The force added it was thought to be a "targeted attack" and there was no threat to the wider community. No arrests have yet been made.

Soldiers Killed By Gunman In Afghanistan

February 10, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Two US troops as well as an Afghan soldier have been killed in an attack in eastern Afghanistan.

Nine people were injured in the attack in Nangarhar province on Saturday.

"Reports indicate an individual in an Afghan uniform opened fire on the combined US and Afghan force with a machine gun," US military spokesman Col Sonny Leggett said.

Some 13,000 US troops remain in Afghanistan after the US intervention to oust the Taliban in 2001.

"We are still collecting information, and the cause or motive behind the attack is unknown at this time," Col Leggett said in a statement.

Leader Of Al-Qaeda Killed By US Strike

February 7, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The United States has killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), President Donald Trump said.

Qasim al-Raymi, who has led the jihadist group since 2015, was killed in a US operation in Yemen, the White House said.

The jihadist leader had been linked to a series of attacks on Western interests in the 2000s. He took over the leadership after his predecessor was killed by a US drone strike.

AQAP was formed in 2009 from two regional offshoots of Al-Qaeda in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, with the goal of toppling US-backed governments and eliminating all Western influence in the region.