RACHEL RANDER
STAFF WRITER
US raid kills IS leader
According to an announcement made by the U.S., many Islamic State fighters, including the second-in-command, have been killed in U.S. strikes carried out in Syria in the preceding week, reported the BBC on March 25. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter reported that Abdul Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, also known as Hajji Iman, was killed, but Carter provided no details about how he died. The BBC reported that, according to NBC News, he was killed Thursday by a special forces raid. At first, the troops attempted to capture Qaduli alive, but the tension heightened and Qaduli as well as three other people were killed. Carter said that Qaduli was a “senior leader,” in charge of “external affairs and plots.”
To read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35899711
Arrest foils French terrorist attack plan
The interior minister of France, Bernard Cazeneuve announced March 24 that a citizen had been arrested for suspected involvement in a terrorist plot in “advanced stages of planning,” according to the New York Times. He said that currently, there is no evidence connecting this plot and the attacks on Paris and Brussels. Cazeneuve said that the arrest “made it possible to thwart an attack plot in France that was in advanced stages of planning.” He also reported that the citizen who was arrested was most likely part of a “terrorist network,” in addition to being involved at a “high level.” The country has been in a state of emergency since the November attacks. Cazeneuve said that there have been 75 arrests this year because of terrorist suspicions.
For more information: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/world/europe/france-arrests-citizen-tied-to-terrorist-plot-in-advanced-stages.html?ref=world&_r=0
Belgian officials acknowledge miscommunications during attack
Belgian officials recognized March 24 that there had been miscommunications during the beginning of the Brussels terrorist attack. Belgian ministers of both the justice and interior departments said Thursday that both departments should have responded to a Turkish warning about Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, who had been arrested in Turkey over suspicions of terrorist involvement. He, as well as his brother later turned out to be two of the suicide bombers in Brussels, reported the New York Times. At least one of the suspects involved in both the Brussels and Paris attacks is missing, leaving the door open for more attacks to take place. This is because terrorist attacks are frequently linked to each other through a network, and experts say that both of these attacks are at least linked through a common bomb maker.
To read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/world/europe/brussels-attacks.html?ref=world.