ISIS urge UK Jihadists carry out attacks during holidays

[Anthea]

Security chiefs believe Jihadists plotting UK chemical attack
and could launch chlorine bomb on the London Underground

Terror chiefs warned that a chemical weapons attack is 'more likely than not'

The assessment follows 'chatter' between ISIS senior figures was intercepted

Islamic State has been inspired by the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal

Terror chiefs believe a devastating chemical weapons attack in Britain is now ‘more likely than not’, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The chilling assessment follows the interception of ‘chatter’ between senior figures in Islamic State (IS). The terror group has been inspired by the poisoning of former KGB agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, by Russian agents in March.

Before the novichok attack in Salisbury, the Government’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) put the risk of a chemical weapons strike by jihadis at 25 per cent.

Security sources say that has now surged to more than 50 per cent. There are particular fears over the potential for a chlorine bomb to be detonated on the London Underground. The threat is considered so severe that terror chiefs secretly met with emergency services bosses a fortnight ago to ‘war game’ their response to such an atrocity.

Teams, including officers from the Met Police’s Emergency Preparedness Operational Command Unit (CO3) and officials from the London Mayor’s office, were faced with a scenario of simultaneous attacks at Oxford Street and Waterloo Underground stations by terrorists carrying chlorine bombs hidden in rucksacks.

When such devices are triggered, the relatively harmless liquid chlorine becomes a deadly vapour that mixes with fluid in the lungs and eyes of victims to form corrosive hydrochloric acid. The gas would be particularly dangerous in confined and densely packed Underground stations, especially for children and the elderly.

The recent simulation involved commuters being killed as the chlorine gas swept through trains and along platforms. Many more ‘died’ as terrified passengers fought to escape. It was concluded that up to 100 lives could be lost in such an attack, with hundreds more injured.

A security source involved in the exercise said: ‘The chlorine vapour would be very localised and would last a few minutes before it evaporated. While fatal, the stampede to get out of the Tube station would cost far more lives than the chemical. That’s why it is important to educate people about the threat of these weapons. The more they know, the less inclined they’ll be to panic.’

Last night, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, an expert on chemical weapons, said IS bomb-makers in Syria had already developed the necessary skills to make such devices and could pass such expertise to extremists in Britain.

He said: ‘These tactics have been morbidly successful for IS in the Syria war zone, while the nerve-agent attack in Salisbury has shown that just a tiny amount of a chemical can have a huge impact.’

Responding to The Mail on Sunday’s exclusive report, Security Minister Ben Wallace said last night: ‘I have consistently warned that a chemical attack in the UK is getting more likely. We have well-tested plans to respond to an attack and minimise the impact, should an incident occur.’

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... itain.html

Media scare-mongering increases racial tension

[Anthea]

UK cities at risk of ISIS terror attacks - Interpol issues jihad WARNING

BRITISH cities could be targeted in a fresh wave of deadly terror attacks as jailed jihadists are released from prison and battle-hardened ISIS fighters make their way home from Middle Eastern war zones, Interpol’s top official has warned

Jürgen Stock said terrorist sympathisers handed two to five year jailed terms would soon be coming to the end of their sentences and could pose a new threat across Europe once freed. The Interpol general secretary said: “We could soon be facing a second wave of other ISIS-linked or radicalised individuals that you might call ISIS 2.0. “A lot of these are suspected terrorists or those who are linked to terrorist groups as supporters who are facing maybe two to five years in jail."

Mr Stock continued: “Because they were not convicted of a concrete terrorist attack but only support for terrorist activities, their sentences are perhaps not so heavy.

“In many parts of the world, in Europe but also Asia, this generation of early supporters will be released in the next couple of years, and they may again be part of a terrorist group or those supporting terrorist activities.

“We know that radicalisation takes place in prison and the very recent attack in Strasbourg, France, is another example.”

Europe has suffered a spate of deadly Islamist-linked terror attacks since 2014 with ISIS extremists killing hundreds in atrocities in cities such as London, Manchester, Paris, Nice, Berlin, Brussels and Barcelona.

British security chiefs say the threat to the UK from international terrorism remains "severe", meaning an attack is highly likely.

Mr Stock said Interpol had created a database of about 45,000 suspected foreign jihadists but said many were taking indirect routes back to Europe from Syria or Iraq and tracking them was a challenge for police and security agencies.

He said: “The so-called returnees are still a concern for many member countries.

“Many of those who left, for instance from Europe or Asia, have not yet returned. Some of them have been killed on the battlefield but some of them are missing.

“The security agencies are concerned about when they are coming back because most of them are battle hardened, they are trained and they are internationally connected.

“Remember, fighters from more than 100 countries went to the conflict zones.

“This was a huge opportunity to network on an international level, and of course these contacts still exist and we shouldn’t forget that.

“With ISIS defeated geographically, these individuals will either try to move to other areas of conflict in south-east Asia, or Africa, or remain in Europe to carry out attacks.

“ISIS still poses a threat but more as an underground operation and organisation.

“As we have seen with major terrorist attacks in Europe, many will attempt to use fake documents and that’s the point where Interpol comes into play.

“We know in many of the cases terrorists or supporters are using multiple identities. These people are using fake identities, fake ID documents, and this poses a challenge to the law enforcement agencies.

“We have seen time and time again that it can take just one piece of information to connect the dots and identify previously unseen links. Information shared by Interpol about foreign fighters has already led to successful prosecutions in Europe.

“We’re building a global early-warning system against terrorist activity and terrorist movement. We are helping dismantle terrorist activity and the same applies for other areas like organised crime and cybercrime. By making sure this information is available at the frontlines of policing.”

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/10614 ... -jihadists

[Anthea]

ISIS urge British extremists to carry out 'horror
and misery' UK attack during festive season

Islamic State jihadists yesterday used encrypted apps to urge extremists in Britain to carry out a knife attack in Westminster during the festive season

They told members of closed groups on the encrypted Telegram messaging app to bring 'horror and misery' to non-believers over the New Year, it can be revealed.

One image circulated showed a crowd of people outside Big Ben watching fireworks with a man carrying a bloodied knife. There was also a splatter of blood over the image of Parliament.

In Arabic and also translated in English, it read: 'Hunt them O Muwahid (a believer in Allah).'

It had chilling echoes of the Westminster terror attack in March 2017 when Briton Khalid Masood drove a car into pedestrians before fatally stabbing an unarmed police officer.

In a separate document posted on the app, known for its use by terrorists, IS extremists explained in graphic detail who to target with a knife.

The terror manual suggested targeting a 'drunken kafir (non-believer)' or someone 'in an alley close a night club or another place of debauchery'.

'It may also help to carry a baton or some kind of concealable blunt object, such as a baseball bat, to strike the victim's head', it said.

This would immobilise him 'before cutting his throat or stabbing him in other lethal areas to finish him off', it recommended.

The call to inflict bloodshed in Europe has significantly increased in recent days, with the group appearing to have a 'new energy', according to intelligence experts.

The documents were circulated in closed groups on Telegram and intercepted by cyber intelligence company Global Intelligence Insight.

They said most of the accounts are managed by individuals with extensive operational experience, both in recruitment and radicalisation.

'According to our analysis we have been seeing a growing increase in the level of threat that has been used,' a spokesman for the company said.

There were also threats against the US, France, Italy and Spain in numerous languages including in Arabic, English and Russian.

Some of the Telegram groups have hundreds of members, others with just a few which are used for 'operational tasking'.

They are also actively pushing and circulating old terror manuals from Rumiyah Magazine.

These are urging extremists to inflict mass casualties with vans such as the one used in the London Bridge attack.

Vasco Amador, CEO of GGII, who intercepted the terrorists communications, said: 'They are putting a lot of effort into increasing their online reach in order to stimulate terror attacks and recent trends in activity are greater than we have seen for some time.

'There are thousands of people interacting in theses communications channels all over the world and it is clear there are British supporters in there as well.'

Philip Ingram MBE, a former Colonel in British military intelligence and chairman of GII, said there was a seeming 'new energy' in IS's online radicalisation efforts.

He said: 'The volume of information that is circulating about how to carry out attacks, where to acquire weapons, how to manufacture explosives, how to maintain security, is huge.

'Extremist terrorism has not gone and the threats to Europe and the UK through 2019 will remain extremely high.'

IS has nearly been defeated militarily in Syria and Iraq but many have fled to countries such as Afghanistan.

There are fears battle-hardened jihadists could also try to return to the UK.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ation.html