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  • ISIS Terrorist Murdered French Police Commander & Wife In Front Of 3 Year Old Son, Act Streamed Live On FB

    ISIS Terrorist Murdered French Police Commander & Wife In Front Of 3 Year Old Son, Act Streamed Live On FB

    A man who was previously convicted of terrorism and pledged allegiance to ISIS killed a French police commander and his partner at their home in Magnanville in an horrific attack France’s president says was “incontestably” a “terrorist act.”

    Larossi Abballa, 25, posted video of the killing online during the rampage, referencing the so-called Islamic State, The Guardian reports.

    The officer was named as Jean-Baptiste Salvaing. His partner has not yet been identified, but she was also a police employee.

    Abballa, who was born in France and called himself Mohamed Ali on Facebook, was killed in a SWAT raid that saved the slain couple’s 3-year-old son, who was being held hostage inside the home, authorities said.

    The attack came as France hosts the 2016 UEFA European Championship soccer tournament and is in a heightened state of security as a result. The country has been under a state of emergency since the November 2015 attacks in Paris by ISIS terrorists.

    Magnaville is west of Paris.

    Here’s what you need to know:

    1. Abballa Livestreamed the Killings on Facebook & Told His Followers ‘I Don’t Know What I’m Going to Do With the Boy’

    French special forces RAID vehicle leaves after an assault on June 14, 2016 in Magnanville, 45 kms west of Paris. (Getty)

    French special forces RAID vehicle leaves after an assault on June 14, 2016 in Magnanville, 45 kms west of Paris. (Getty)

    Abballa live streamed the attack on Facebook Live. The video and his Facebook page were deleted, but it has been distributed online by ISIS propagandists.

    In the 12-minute video he expressed his allegiance to ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. At one point in the video, Abballa referenced the police officer’s 3-year-old son, who he was holding hostage.

    “I don’t know what I’m going to do with the boy,” Abballa said. Police later raided the home, killing Abballa and saving the boy.

    You can watch the video at the link below:

    WATCH: Magnanville Attacker Larossi Abballa ISIS Video

    Larossi Abballa, the ISIS sympathizer who murdered two French police officers in the Paris suburb of Magnanville yesterday, filmed a 12-minute video while he was barricaded inside their home. Watch it here.

    Click here to read more

    2. A List of Targets, Including Other Police Officers, Politicians & Journalists, Was Found at Abballa’s Home

    (Getty)

    (Getty)

    Police found a list of targets, including other police officers, politicians and journalists, at Larossi Abballa’s home in Mantes-la-Jolie, a suburb of Paris, Prosecutor Francois Molins said at a press conference.

    Three knives used in the attack were found at the police officer’s home.

    In his video, he urged more attacks by French Muslism, according to SITE. He said, “”kill them even if their name is Mohammad or Aisha,” SITE says.

    3. He Was Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for the Prior Terrorism Conviction & Was on a Watch List

    larossi abballa, larossi abballa france, larossi abballa facebook, larossi abballa video, larossi abballa isis

    Larossi Abballa.

    Abballa was sentenced to three years in prison for “criminal association in view to preparing terrorist attacks,” for recruiting jihadis to Pakistan and Afghanistan, The Guardian reports.

    He was 20 at the time of that 2011 conviction and was released from prison in September 2013.

    Abballa was more recently investigated by French authorities and was on a watch list, according to officials. He was being monitored for being part of the entourage of a French man who had recently traveled to Syria.

    4. An Official ISIS News Agency Called Abballa an ‘Islamic State Fighter’

    In a statement, the ISIS Amaq news agency said “Islamic State fighter kills deputy chief of the police station in the city of Les Mureaux and his wife.”

    The phrasing of the statement is similar to one posted after the terrorist attack in Orlando, Florida. In both messages the killer was referred to as an “Islamic State fighter.”

    In Orlando, the FBI is investigating whether gunman Omar Mateen had any official ties to ISIS. Like Abballa, Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS during his attack at Pulse, a gay nightclub. Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53 others before he was shot dead during a police raid.

    5. Salvaing Was a Commander & His Partner Worked as a Secretary at a Police Headquarters

    French policemen stand guard on June 14, 2016 near the house in Magnanville where a man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group killed a French policeman and his partner on the night of June 13. (Getty)

    French policemen stand guard on June 14, 2016 near the house in Magnanville where a man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group killed a French policeman and his partner on the night of June 13. (Getty)

    Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, 42, was a police commander in the city of Les Mureaux, according to officials. His 36-year-old partner, who has not been named, worked as a secretary at a police headquarters.

    He was not in uniform when he was ambushed at about 8:30 p.m. Monday, Fox News reports.

    “The toll is a heavy one,” ” Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told reporters.

     

    Source: www.heavy.com

  • Government Will Protect Everyone From Threat Of Violence

    Government Will Protect Everyone From Threat Of Violence

    The Government will protect its people against any threat of violence, regardless of their race, religion or sexual orientation, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam said yesterday.

    “Violence against any group, in any form, is not acceptable. Here, the Government will act decisively if there is threat of violence against anyone or any group,” Mr Shanmugam said before the iftar (breaking of fast) at the Khadijah Mosque in Geylang yesterday.

    “The Government’s duty is to protect everyone – their race, their religion, their sexual orientation, that’s not relevant.”

    His comments came in the wake of a massacre at a gay nightclub in Florida on Sunday, when gunman Omar Mateen mowed down 49 people and injured another 53, in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

    Investigators are examining whether Omar was driven to violence as a deeply disturbed individual who was himself gay or because of extremist ideology. “But it looks like the gay community has been targeted. This is unacceptable,” Mr Shanmugam told reporters.

    The kind of threat posed by lone- wolf individuals who are inspired but not directed by known extremist groups is “a significant risk” for Singapore as well, he said, noting that the Government had arrested “people who have self-radicalised, had intended to go to the Istana open house and do violence” to the President and Prime Minister.

    In another case of home-grown terrorism, six Bangladeshis were charged last month with financing terrorism after they were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for planning attacks back home.

    Mr Shanmugam said education is key in inoculating the population against radicalisation but it is not foolproof. Communities also have to come together and families have to be on the lookout for suggestions or evidence of radicalisation, while security agencies stay on high alert.

    Under the ISA, the Government can move in and arrest an individual who has been identified before he can do harm, he said.

    But these measures do not guarantee that Singapore will not be attacked, as terrorists often blend into the community. “There are threats in a variety of forms. Thankfully, our population is a cross of many races, and we are not infected by extremism to any substantial degree,” said Mr Shanmugam.

    Yesterday, thousands of people in cities throughout the United States and Europe stood in solidarity to remember those who had died. In Singapore, some 700 people attended a candlelight vigil in Hong Lim Park.

    Mr Shanmugam stressed the importance of the national SG Secure initiative in organising and training residents to guard against attacks, and maintain social harmony in the aftermath.The Muslim community has an important role in combating radical ideology as well, he said.

    Said Dr Mohamed Ali, vice-chairman of the Religious Rehabilitation Group: “Religious and community leaders have a strong influence over the followers of their religion. They need to convey these messages to their communities, to reject extremism and ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria).”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • A Confused Muslim, Once Again

    A Confused Muslim, Once Again

    I found myself sucked into a debate while having breakfast at a mamak restaurant recently. It all started with a friendly chat about the call by Penang Opposition Leader, Jahara Hamid to remove a Taoist shrine from Armenian Park in Georgetown.

    “You are a Muslim. Tell me why Muslims do this?” asked an uncle who joined me for my morning nasi lemak.

    “Apparently they are confused,” I replied with a chuckle.

    “I don’t think so. This is something they are doing on purpose. You should know – you are a Muslim.”

    Getting somewhat defensive, I blurted, “Not all Muslims are the same.”

    “So you don’t practice your religion?” the uncle shot back.

    Realising the conversation had taken a serious turn, I tried explaining: “I do practice my religion to the best of my ability. But that is not what we are talking about here.”

    “It is precisely what we are talking about. The lady who wanted the shrine to be removed; the man who wanted ‘No Pork’ signs to be banned, the group who wanted the cross taken down – you all have the same faith. You all read the same Holy Book…”

    “I disagree. You can’t judge everyone based on the conduct of a small group of Muslims. I do not go around persecuting people. I do not go around telling people how to live their lives. I support freedom and human rights. I am no extremist. Most Muslims are not extremists.” I was clearly upset by now.

    “Girl, you follow your Holy Book and so does the confused Muslims and the extreme Muslims. If all Muslims accept the one and only Holy Book and live by it, they are no different from one another. They are all extremists – including you.”

    “I disagree. I do not condone discrimination, violence and terrorism. Islam is not a religion of violence. Islam is a religion of peace,” I argued, as the uncle had gotten on my nerves with his blanket judgements.

    “Your Holy Book promotes violence. There is even a verse saying: ‘Go and kill.’ Now how can a religion which promotes killings be a peaceful religion?”

    “There are more than six thousand verses in our Holy Book – why emphasise on the negatives? Why aren’t you talking about the messages of kindness, love and compassion in most of the verses?” I countered, not realising that I had raised my voice in the process.

    The uncle laughed, “Girl, religion is not like a plate of mee goreng you order at a mamak shop. You don’t get to tambah pedas or kurang pedas; tambah taugeh or takdak taugeh; tambah telur or tambah ayam. You can’t be selective of which content suits you and drop those you disagree with.”

    The uncle got me thinking. If a good Muslim accepts every single verse in the Holy Book without any argument, does that make me, a cherry-picking liberal Muslim and a moderate, a bad Muslim?

    I went home that day, quite confused.

    There are approximately 30 million people in Malaysia, 60% of whom are Muslims. If a mere 1% of Malaysia’s 18 million Muslims are extremists, why is it that we haven’t witnessed violence or crime perpetrated by some 180,000 extremists?

    Clearly, that could mean only one thing – extreme Malaysian Muslims don’t even make up 1% of our Muslim population. That makes me wonder – why then did the uncle get so worked up over a tiny number of people?

    More importantly, if 99% of Malaysian Muslims are non-extremists, why haven’t we seen even 1% of the 17,820,000 non-extremists fighting against extremism in our country?

    Maybe that’s what makes us – the non-extreme, moderate ones – bad Muslims. We do not fight injustice and cruelty. We are after all, moderates – in thinking and behaviour. We can talk for hours about Arabisation, Islamaphobia, Zakir Naik, Zionist and Shariah law. But when it comes to fighting extremism and terrorism, we hide behind our moderate robe. That’s the problem with being a moderate Muslim. We tolerate nonsense.

    Perhaps that is also why we moderates like to insist that Islam is a peaceful religion – it allows us to justify our laid back attitude. In response to any extreme movement, we, the moderates peacefully make a peaceful statement, clarifying how peaceful Islam is, so we can get back to our peaceful lives, sipping kopi O at Kedai Kopi Ahmad.

    In conclusion, although I do not agree with the uncle on most counts, I believe he got one thing right – we are not good Muslims. As long as we tolerate nonsense, the moderates are equally as bad as the extremists.

     

    Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com

  • Bangladeshi Workers Worried They Can’t Pray Together

    Bangladeshi Workers Worried They Can’t Pray Together

    Some Bangladeshi workers sporting a beard are perceived as terrorists.

    Others are not allowed to have their meals together – a measure some companies have taken to prevent any sharing of propaganda material among workers, said Mr A.K.M. Mohsin (photo), editor of Banglar Kantha, Singapore’s only Bengali newspaper.

    With Ramadan coming up next month, the workers are now worried they will not be able to pray together.

    Such is the impact that the latest spate of arrests and detentions of Bangladeshi workers under the Internal Security Act has had on the community, said Mr Mohsin.

    Late last year, 27 Bangladeshi men were arrested and deported for terror links and possession of material on terrorist propaganda.

    Last month, another eight men were detained under the Internal Security Act. Five others were repatriated.

    Mr Mohsin, 52, explained: “Ninety-five per cent of the Bangladeshi workers here are Muslim, and most are very pious.

    “They grow beards to emulate the actions of Prophet Muhammad, who is believed to have had a beard. But now they feel that if they follow their religion closely, people here will think that they are terrorists.”

    As someone who runs Dibashram – a space for migrant workers here to get together for cultural activities and fellowship – Mr Mohsin is concerned about the plight of the Bangladeshi workers after the high-profile arrests.

    “We should allow them to spend their weekends on recreational activities so they don’t have time to do bad things, or be involved in ridiculous discussions (that are held to radicalise).

    “We should think of migrant workers as human beings, not machines,” he said.

    WORRIED FOR HIS CHILDREN

    As a father of three daughters aged six, 16 and 18, he is also concerned about how his children will be affected by the news.

    “Like other parents, I’m worried about how Singaporeans will look at my children in another way. Actually, (these arrests) bring a lot of shame to us,” he said quietly.

    Mr Mohsin is expected to meet the Singapore Bangladesh Society today to come up with some measures to improve the situation.

    “Today, I told some of them (in the society) that we come forward to do something only when an incident like this happens. After that, we stop. That is no good. We have to continue our efforts to the migrant workers here,” he said.

    Singapore ‘not exempted’ from radicalisation sweeping world

    The wave of radicalisation is sweeping through the world and our region – and Singapore is not exempted, said Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam (right) yesterday afternoon.

    He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a closed-door event at Temasek Polytechnic.

    On Tuesday, the Home Affairs Ministry revealed that eight radicalised Bangladeshi men were detained last month under the Internal Security Act for plotting terror attacks in their own country.

    They would meet in parks or open fields, and share large amounts of radical propaganda and videos. (See report below)

    Another five investigated under the ISA were repatriated.

    “These people had wanted to go to the Middle East but they couldn’t and so they were looking at other means.

    “We could have been a target because they were prepared to attack anywhere.

    “If they had been directed to attack in Singapore, they would have attacked in Singapore.

    “So it shows the seriousness. It brings home again Paris, Jakarta… (the threat) is here to stay,” said Mr Shanmugam.

    Adding that material on bomb-making and sniper rifles were recovered on detainees, he said: “You and I don’t go do research on those… so yes, there is a concern.”

    We could have been a target because they were prepared to attack anywhere. If they had been directed to attack in Singapore, they would have attacked in Singapore.

    – Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam

    5 things to know about the detainees

    Eight Bangladeshis, who called themselves the Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB), were detained last month under the Internal Security Act (ISA), and another five were repatriated, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Tuesday. Here are five things you need to know about the detainees:

    1 ISB’s leader was radicalised in 2013

    Rahman Mizanur, 31, had been working on and off in Singapore since 2007. When he last came to Singapore last December, the authorities had no information to suggest that Rahman had radicalised views.

    At the time of his arrest, he was working as a draftsman in a construction firm.

    The seeds of terrorism were first sown in Rahman in 2013 when he read radical material online. He became more radicalised after a fellow Bangladeshi shared the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) propaganda material with him last year in Bangladesh.

    2 ISB was a structured organisation

    Members were given specific roles, such as leader and deputy leader, and were assigned responsibilities like managing the finances.

    They would usually meet at parks or open fields and would share large amounts of radical propaganda and videos.

    ISB was the first group comprising all foreigners to be detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities in Singapore, said MHA.

    3 Detainees had at least three years’ work experience here

    When the eight detainees first came to work here, they were not known to be radicalised or involved in terrorism-related activities.

    Each of them had worked here for between three and 10 years in the construction and marine industries. The authorities found no significant concentration in any particular company or accommodation.

    The workers were arrested between late March and early April and were issued with two-year Orders of Detention late last month.

    Five other workers who were repatriated – Evan Galib Hassan Chowdhury, Rana Masud, Pailot Md Rana Miea, Islam Tanjemul and Alomgir Md – were not part of the ISB, said MHA. But they possessed or proliferated jihadi-related materials, or supported the use of armed violence in pursuit of a religious cause.

    4 Funds raised by ISB were members’ own contributions

    At the time of the arrests, money was seized from the detainees.

    MHA said the funds raised were from the members’ own contributions. The members had intended to use the funds to buy firearms for their planned terror attacks, but are not known to have acted yet.

    Several of them may be prosecuted for terrorism-financing, and investigations are ongoing.

    5 There is no link between ISB and the Bangladeshi nationals arrested last year

    Some of the eight detainees chanced upon members of the radical religious group who were deported for terror links last year, but there is no indication that the eight detainees from ISB were part of this group. The Bangladeshi nationals in both incidents were not known to have been targeting Singapore at the time of their arrests.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Bangladeshi Workers Here Condemn Countrymen, Fear For Future

    Bangladeshi Workers Here Condemn Countrymen, Fear For Future

    Bangladeshi migrant workers who spoke to TODAY condemned the actions of their countrymen who are suspected terrorists, with some worrying that this may affect their standing here in Singapore.

    Eight Bangladeshi nationals were detained last month under the Internal Security Act after they were found to have been planning to return to their home country to carry out terror attacks and establish an Islamic state branch, while working here in Singapore. This is the second reported incident in five months involving Bangladeshis — last November to December, 27 Bangladeshi workers were detained and repatriated on similar charges.

    When TODAY approached the Bangladeshi community here, some expressed their concerns, or said they would flag suspicious activities.

    Construction worker Robel Miah, 27, is “scared” that it would not be so easy to re-enter Singapore for work if this keeps up. “If people come here to make problems, then the next time, it’ll be difficult for me to come back here and work,” he said.

    Another view is that with these developments, the community has to be more pro-active to protect their livelihoods. Mr Majedur Kamrul Hasan, 21, an office administrator at a construction firm, said: “If (the suspects) had managed to do what they wanted to do, it would have harmed so many people. If I see something like this happen… I will definitely inform the police… If not, the police may think that I am one of them… and I will also be punished.”

    Construction worker Ali Mohd Yasin, 44, who has worked in Singapore for more than seven years, said those who align themselves with terror groups make Bangladesh “look bad”.

    “We are lucky to be here in Singapore … You should just work, makan (eat), sleep and sembahyang (pray) … Terrorism is no good. Islam also doesn’t support any terrorism,” he said, adding that he would inform the police if he knows of any suspicious acts.

    Construction worker Mohammad Assad, who arrived here just a week ago, was surprised by the news. “They have already caused some trouble in Bangladesh and now they are here, too,” the 25-year-old said.

    Mr Majedur, who stays at a temporary dormitory in Tai Seng, believes that integration will be a challenge. “I don’t know how Singaporeans see us, since we work all the time and don’t meet them. There is no time to go out. I will only go to the market (here in Little India), and even if we go out, we will be with our Bangladeshi friends,” he said.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com