Ramadan comes to Paris

Paris. Muslim in a restaurant shouts "People can't eat because it's #Ramadan" and then smashes tables. pic.twitter.com/ooxoS2zAjw

— Pamela Moore (@Pamela_Moore13) May 27, 2017

Paris police shoot suspected suicide bomber after he attempted to attack police station

UPDATE: Muslim man who tried to enter #Paris police station shouted allah akbar & may have been wearing suicide belt https://t.co/62IjaZ3kbW

— Israel News Flash (@ILNewsFlash) January 7, 2016

(INN) Police in Paris shot dead a knife-wielding terrorist who attempted to storm a police station Thursday, on the first anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attack.

The man reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar," before attempting to barge into the station, prompting police to open fire.

According to initial reports from the scene the man was wearing what appears to be a suicide bomb belt.

Bomb disposal units arrived at the scene and shortly afterwards determined that the suicide belt was a fake.

"On Thursday morning, a man attempted to attack a policeman at the reception of the police station before being hit by shots from the police," said interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet.

Explosives experts were deployed to the scene in the multi-ethnic Goutte d'Or district, close to the Gare du Nord international station, the source added.

The attempted attack took place in the French capital's 18th district, just minutes after President Francois Hollande gave a speech marking the anniversary of the Islamic terror attacks, in which he announced measures to bolster security forces.

In a sombre speech at Paris police headquarters, Hollande hinted at intelligence failings that might have allowed attacks to take place, as he called for all branches of the security services to cooperate more closely.

"Faced with these adversaries, it is essential that every service - police, gendarmerie, intelligence, military - work in perfect harmony, with the greatest transparency, and that they share all the information at their disposal," the president said.

Many of the attackers in both January's rampage and the massacre in November were known to French security services, having either traveled abroad to fight with terrorists or been prevented from doing so.

Hollande said that since the attack on Charlie Hebdo, nearly 200 people in France had been placed under travel restrictions to prevent them joining up with ISIS in Syria or Iraq.

Among changes set to be introduced in the wake of the November attacks are new guidelines allowing police to keep their weapons even when off-duty.

The president also reiterated his pledge to boost the number of police and armed gendarmes by 5,000.

The speech will be followed by a concert on Sunday to mark the one million people who poured on to the streets of Paris on January 11, 2015, in an outpouring of support for freedom of expression in the wake of the deaths of Charlie Hebdo's best-known cartoonists.

Man shot dead by police in #Paris was carrying a mobile phone, Paper with the #ISIS flag & claim of responsibility. pic.twitter.com/N9eIOSCy1U

— Israel News Flash (@ILNewsFlash) January 7, 2016

Report: ISIS leader linked to Paris attacks 'mastermind' killed in Syria

Charaffe al Mouadan

(Daily Mail) An ISIS leader with direct links to the 'mastermind' behind the Paris terrorist attacks has been killed in a drone strike in Syria, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

Charaffe al Mouadan was killed in an U.S. airstrike on December 24, Baghdad-based US military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren confirmed today.

Frenchman Al Mouadan has been linked to Paris attack 'ringleader' Abdelhamid Abaaoud, and was reportedly plotting additional attacks when he was killed.

Abaaoud, 28, was killed in a police raid in north Paris days after the coordinated shootings and bombings in the French capital on November 13.

'He was a Syrian-based ISIL member with a direct link to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Paris attacks cell leader,' Warren said, adding that he 'was actively planning additional attacks against the West.'

The news comes just one day after it was announced that Iraqi troops had retaken the key city of Ramadi from ISIS, the latest in a number of losses in Syria and Iraq for the jihadists.

More...

Report: Third Paris stadium suicide bomber identified as refugee who came via Greece

[#AppelàTémoins] La #PJ cherche à identifier le 3ème auteur d'un des attentats du 13/11 #StadeDeFrance #ParisAttacks pic.twitter.com/TZxieSUlyY

— Police Nationale (@PNationale) November 22, 2015

(RT) The third suicide bomber who blew himself up outside of Paris’ Stade de France stadium last week has been identified by BBC as a man who arrived at the Greek island of Leros together with another attacker called Ahmad al Mohammad.

French police released a photo of the third Stade de France suicide bomber earlier on Sunday, seeking help in identifying the individual.

The BBC looked at the arrival papers of a man called M al Mahmod, who arrived at the Island of Leros on October 3, and discovered that the picture is identical to the photo released by the French police.

Mahmod entered the EU along with another attacker supposedly named Ahmad al Mohammad, whose Syrian passport was found near the site of the attack.

Mahmod left Leros accompanied by al Mohammad and other Syrian refugees.

Authorities missed many 'red flags' before Paris shootings

God forbid we see this headline here, but after years of Obama and Clinton, it seems sadly inevitable... #ObamaFail https://t.co/nC8JiDfwx6

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) November 22, 2015

PARIS (Reuters) - There were multiple chances to stop the men who attacked Paris.

In January, Turkish authorities detained one of the suicide bombers at Turkey's border and deported him to Belgium. Brahim Abdeslam, Turkish authorities told Belgian police at the time, had been "radicalized" and was suspected of wanting to join Islamic State in Syria, a Turkish security source told Reuters.

Yet during questioning in Belgium, Abdeslam denied any involvement with militants and was set free. So was his brother Salah – a decision that Belgian authorities say was based on scant evidence that either man had terrorist intentions.

On Nov. 13, Abdeslam blew himself up at Le Comptoir Voltaire bar in Paris, killing himself and wounding one other. Salah is also a suspect in the attacks, claimed by the Islamic State, and is now on the run.

In France, an "S" (State Security) file for people suspected of being a threat to national security had been issued on Ismail Omar Mostefai, who would detonate his explosive vest inside Paris' Bataclan concert hall. Mostefai, a Frenchman of Algerian descent, was placed on the list in 2010, French police sources say.

Turkish police also considered him a terror suspect with links to Islamic State. Ankara wrote to Paris about him in December 2014 and in June this year, a senior Turkish government official said. The warning went unheeded. Paris answered last week, after the attacks.

A fourth attacker missed at least four weekly check-ins with French police in 2013, before authorities issued an arrest warrant for him. By that time he had left the country.

On any one of these occasions, police, intelligence and security services had an opportunity to detain at least some of the men who launched the attacks.

That they did not, helps explain how a group of Islamist militants was able to organize even as they moved freely among countries within the open borders of Europe's passport-free Schengen area and beyond.

Taken one by one, each misstep has its own explanation, security services say. They attribute the lapses in communication, inability to keep track of suspected militants and failure to act on intelligence, to a lack of resources in some countries and a surge in the number of would-be jihadis.

But a close examination by Reuters of a series of missed red flags and miscommunications culminating in France's biggest atrocity since World War Two puts on stark display the mounting difficulties faced by anti-terrorism units across Europe and their future ability to keep the continent safe.

"We're in a situation where the services are overrun. They expect something to happen, but don't know where," said Nathalie Goulet, who heads up the French Senate's investigation committee into jihadi networks.

Many point to Belgium as a weak link in European security.

"They simply don't have the same means as Britain's MI5 or the DGSI (French intelligence agency)," said Louis Caprioli, a former head of the DST, France's former anti-terrorism unit.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel defended his country's security services and praised them for doing "a difficult and tough job." French President Francois Hollande also praised his country's security services, who hunted down and shot dead the man they identified as the ringleader, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, five days after the attacks.

Europol, the European Union's police agency, says it has been feeding information to the Belgian and French authorities but acknowledges that some member states are better at sharing information than others.

More...

Suspected mastermind of Paris attacks Abdelhamid Abaaoud killed in police raid - prosecutor

PARIS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The suspected mastermind of the attacks that killed 129 in Paris was among those killed in a police raid in a suburb of the French capital on Wednesday, the Paris prosecutor said in a statement on Thursday.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a 28-year-old Belgian militant, who had boasted of mounting attacks in Europe for the Islamic State, was accused of orchestrating Friday's coordinated bombings and shootings.

Police originally thought he was in Syria, but their investigations led them to a house in the Paris suburb of St. Denis and heavily armed officers stormed the building before dawn, triggering a massive firefight and multiple explosions.

"Abdel Hamid Abaaoud has just been formally identified, after comparing fingerprints, as having been killed during the (police) raid," the statement said. "It was the body we had discovered in the building, riddled with bullets."

French raid flat in search of mastermind behind Paris terrorist attack, woman utters 'Help me ' to police, blows herself up

(Paris) At 0430 local time (0330 GMT), French security forces launched an operation on a flat in the Saint Denis part of the city in search of the people behind Friday's attack. A woman 'with long blonde hair' is said to have fired an AK-47 at police before blowing herself up as a assault squad first stormed the apartment block. As she tried to kill police officers, a rooftop sniper shot dead another terror suspect through a window. Police said that five people in the flat and apartment block were taken alive and arrested while two others, including the flat's owner, were held 'nearby'. At least five police officers were injured in the ferocious gunfight, including one shot in the foot, seen being carried from the scene. The terrorists also gunned down a seven-year-old sniffer dog called Diesel sent into the block to look for booby traps.

Fox News' Bill Hemmer unloads on Obama after he calls ISIS Paris attacks as 'a setback', admits he has no strategy

(INN) US President Barack Obama's reaction to the terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday have come under some scrutiny from right-wing and conservative pundits.

In a press conference immediately after the attacks for example, some critics attacked him for not referring at all to the extremist Islamic ideology behind those believed to be responsible.

But it was the President's speech at the G20 Summit in Turkey yesterday which proved too much for Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer, who issued this scathing indictment of Obama's address, particularly of his use of the word "setback" to describe the attacks:

In his remarks from Paris, where he was reporting on the aftermath of the attacks by ISIS terrorists, a grim-faced, visibly irritated Hemmer began: "If you were waiting to hear a US President say, ‘I feel your pain’ or if you were waiting to hear a US President say, ‘It’s them or us,’ that is not what you just heard."

"President Obama called the attacks here in Paris a 'setback' at one point," he continued. "He was asked is it time to change his strategy - more or less he said no. 'Have you underestimated the abilities of ISIS?' More or less he said no. 'Do you understand how to defeat ISIS?' His response: 'This is a variation of the same question.'"

Obama's full speech at the G20 Summit can be viewed below:

Palestinians in Gaza praise ISIS attacks in Paris

ISIS affiliate in #Gaza, Al-Nusrat Al-Maqdisia releases report praising #ParisAttacks. @AAhronheim pic.twitter.com/rD1vEuaqg8

— Jewish Feed (@JewishFeed) November 15, 2015

ISIS releases video "Pour Allah on veut mourir" with photos of the Paris attacks and more threats

BREAKING NEWS: ISIS releases video "Pour Allah on veut mourir." With photos of the #ParisAttacks & more threats. pic.twitter.com/h5ldL5wUhb

— Jewish Feed (@JewishFeed) November 15, 2015

Shocking photo: Dozens dead in massive bloodbath in Paris theater, moments after the deadly terror attack

SHOCKING PHOTO - FRANCE: Dozens dead in massive bloodbath in Paris theater, moments after the deadly terror attack. pic.twitter.com/x2Ve6eOgFd

— Israel News Feed (@IsraelHatzolah) November 15, 2015

Death toll in Paris attacks rises to 132 after three more victims die in hospital

BREAKING: Death toll in #ParisAttacks rises to 132 after three die in hospital. pic.twitter.com/3iIghfrHGD

— Israel News Flash (@ILNewsFlash) November 15, 2015

Seven Paris attacks terror suspects arrested in Belgium after house raids

(Daily Star) A number of people linked to a terror cell have been detained after house searches took place in the Molenbeek district of Brussels.

Two of the seven dead terrorists were French men living in the Belgian capital - with one residing in Molenbeek.

The region is said to be a hub for religious extremism.

"There have been five arrests made linked to the attacks in Paris," said mayor Francoise Schepmans.

Reports of the sixth and seventh arrests emerged minutes later.

Armed cops swooped yesterday afternoon after being led to the area by a parking ticket found inside a hire car used by the extremists in Paris.

The VW Polo with Belgian plates was spotted near the Bataclan theatre on Friday night - where 89 Eagles of Death Metal fans were slaughtered.

Officers tracked the car and intercepted it as it crossed France into Belgium, with three people inside the vehicle arrested.

It comes as a second terrorist behind the Paris atrocities has been named as 25-year-old Syrian refugee, Ahmed Almuhamed, according to reports.

Almuhamed’s passport is said to have been found at the Stade de France after the horror unfolded on Friday, according to Serbian media.

He is alleged to have blown himself up at the Bataclan concert hall, where at least 89 people were murdered.

Almuhamed is said to have been rescued from a doomed dinghy before crossing into Europe as an asylum seeker, according to officials.

He arrived with another bomber on the Greek island of Leros on October 3, reports Serbian newspaper Blic.

Almuhamed is said to have travelled from Macedonia to Serbia on October 7 before heading for France.

The two men are said to be among eight terrorists, one as young as 15.

Syrian and Egyptian passports were found on the bodies of two of the Paris attackers.

More...

French police named 'eighth gunman' as Abdeslam Salah and issue international arrest warrant

SHARE: French police issue warrant for terror suspect Abdeslam Salah - "individual is dangerous. Do not approach". pic.twitter.com/xSJXXww0UN

— Israel News Flash (@ILNewsFlash) November 15, 2015

(The Independent) Thousands of soldiers have been deployed to the streets of Paris on Sunday morning as investigators continue the hunt for answers after the deadliest night of violence in France since the Second World War.

Attacks by seven gunmen on Friday night killed at least 129 people, with more than 350 others injured and 99 of them in a critical condition.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said three groups of attackers, including seven suicide bombers wearing identical vests containing the explosive TATP, carried out the attacks that began as Parisians enjoyed a night out Friday.

The attack has been claimed by the Isis militant group, and has sparked conditions of heightened security across the Western world.

Report: One of the Paris ISIS bombers was rescued from a thinking Muslim migrant boat

SAVED TO KILL: According to Greek media, 1 of the #ParisAttacks #ISIS bombers was rescued off a sinking migrant boat pic.twitter.com/XizCuHHEIO

— Israel News Flash (@ILNewsFlash) November 15, 2015

BREAKING NEWS - GREECE: Government sources say a second suspected Paris terrorist is very likely to have passed through Greece.

— Israel News Feed (@IsraelHatzolah) November 14, 2015

Polish, Slovakia say will not accept Muslim migrants after Paris attacks

Polish and Slovak officials put the kibosh on EU Muslim migrant relocation plan after Paris attacks. EU officials pretend terror attack was no big deal and Europe should proceed with the absorbing the Muslim tsunami.

(Reuters) European Union countries should not give in to base reactions of rejecting refugees after the Paris attacks because the shooters were criminals, not asylum seekers, European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday.

Top Polish and Slovak officials have poured cold water on the EU refugee relocation plan right after the attacks late on Friday that killed 129 people, saying the violence underlined the concerns of Europeans about taking in Muslim refugees.

"We should not mix the different categories of people coming to Europe," Juncker told a news conference on the sidelines of a G20 summit of world leaders in the Turkish coastal province of Antalya.

One of the attackers in Paris has been identified as having entered the EU through the Greek island of Leros on Oct. 3, 2015, with other refugees. On entering, he was identified and fingerprinted according to EU rules.

"The one responsible for the attacks in Paris... he is a criminal and not a refugee and not an asylum seeker," Juncker said.

"I would invite those in Europe who try to change the migration agenda we have adopted -- I would like to remind them to be serious about this and not to give in to these basic reactions that I do not like," Juncker said.

Poland's new Europe minister Konrad Szymanski said on Saturday his incoming government did not agree with Poland's commitment to accept its share of an EU-wide relocation of immigrants, and now, "in the face of the tragic acts in Paris, we do not see the political possibilities to implement (this)."

On Saturday Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said: "We have been saying that there are enormous security risks linked to migration. Hopefully, some people will open their eyes now."

But Juncker said there was no need to change Europe's plan to relocate 160,000 refugees around Europe, as agreed earlier.

More...

One of the ISIS suicide bombers in Paris identified as Syrian "refugee" who entered Europe through Greece in October

• Three of eight Paris attackers were from Brussels, police believe
• Statement claiming to be from Islamic State says France is ‘key target’
• Attacks were retaliation for France’s bombing in Syria, Isis says
• 127 died in attacks, Hollande says; 200 more were injured, 99 critically

Syrian passport found on Paris attacker's body belonged to refugee who passed through Greece

The holder of a Syrian passport found near the body of one of the gunmen who died in Friday night’s attacks in Paris passed though Greece in October, a Greek minister told Reuters.

“The holder of the passport passed through the island of Leros on 3 October 2015, where he was identified according to EU rules,” said Nikos Toscas, Greece’s deputy minister in charge of policing.

A Greek police source told Reuters that European countries had been asked to check the passport holder to see if they had been registered.

While this heavily implies that one of the gunman came into Europe along with refugees, Syrian passports are known to be valuable currency amongst those trying to enter Europe, and it is not yet confirmed whether the holder of the passport is indeed the perpetrator.

Three other jiahdists shared an apartment on Brussels:

Three of the eight attackers who killed 127 people in Paris on Friday night are believed to have come from the Brussels neighbourhood raided by police this afternoon.

French media reports that three attackers were from the Molenbeek neighbourhood, where police are currently carrying out raids.

RTL reports that the country’s federal prosecutor will make a statement this evening.