Latest news with #ISIS-inspired
Epoch Times
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Why Is No One Worried About a 5-Fold Increase in Terrorism Charges in Canada?
Commentary Remember when car thefts were all the rage? News story after news story told us that this form of crime was This scourge was indeed worrisome and received significant media coverage, but it has been superseded by another, much more dangerous one that has not been given nearly enough attention: terrorism arrests in Canada. According to a Now do I have your attention? According to the RCMP, violent extremism (synonymous with terrorism) remained a 'prominent national security threat' and the force had disrupted six terrorist plots in 2024 alone. Related Stories 4/22/2025 4/17/2025 When I read this my mind hearkened back to 2013 when, while I was with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canadian agencies foiled two attacks in the same summer (the Victoria Canada Day plot and the Via Rail plot). And I thought that was a banner year! And what might these plots have been in connection with? Mostly the ISIS terrorist group, which many in Canada may think (wrongly) has been consigned to the trash heap of history. You may have heard of Where is the outrage? Where is the call to devote more resources to CSIS and the RCMP to uncover more plots? What will it take to wake up the bureaucrats in the nation's capital? A successful attack? I would like to assume that this is all being taken very seriously, but the past decade tells me otherwise. Upon my retirement from CSIS in May 2015, a scant six months after the ISIS-inspired killing of two Canadian soldiers in Ottawa and St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, the jihadi threat was by far the most serious. We then witnessed a few more attacks— But the government decided that it was time to move on. There were more important fish to catch: far right extremists and 'violent incels' (but not those who attacked a Coastal Gas Link Any serious analyst of terrorism on a global scale can draw only one conclusion: a quarter century after 9/11, jihadi violence is still by far the most lethal brand of terrorism on the planet. Several credible open-source studies, including the well-respected That this RCMP briefing is only coming to light AFTER the election—one in which national security received very little attention—doesn't surprise me, but it does irk me at the same time. Did the former Liberal government want to bury this news? Will the new Liberal government, and the new Public Safety Minister, Gary Anandasangaree, take this to heart and ensure that the resources are allotted proportionally? How long before the next jihadi plot (more likely now because of the ongoing war in Gaza)? Stay tuned … but don't hold your breath. Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
I'm still friends with the woman I saved in the Tunisian beach attacks
When crazed gunman Seifeddine Rezgui opened fire on unsuspecting tourists enjoying the sun in a luxury Tunisian beach resort, those who weren't shot before they could escape, ran for their lives. Yet for holidaymaker Allen Pembroke, the thought of leaving injured people on the beach wasn't an option. After ensuring the safety of his wife, he returned, running towards the horror, not away from it. That selfless decision would save the life of Cheryl Mellor, who'd been shot and lay badly injured on the beach. Her husband, Stephen, was one of 38 victims gunned down that day on June 26 2015 in the ISIS-inspired attack that remains one of the deadliest Islamist attacks in recent history. Thirty of the victims were British. Cheryl survived, thanks to the bravery and calm actions of Allen, then an NHS volunteer first-responder from Essex. Two years later, in 2017, he received the Queen's Commendation for Bravery. But nearly a decade on, Allen, now 71 and working part-time at a university after a successful career pioneering the first electric cabs in London – brushes off the title of 'hero' with typical modesty. 'Given the same set of circumstances – god forbid – I'd do it again,' he says . 'I didn't want the exposure it brought. I just can't stand injustice or people being hurt.' Allen and his then-wife Tracy had holidayed twice before at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Sousse. They deliberately avoided the school holidays to enjoy the resort at a quieter, more affordable time. At the start of the holiday Allen had tipped the staffer in charge of the sunbeds so he could bathe near the front of the beach each day. But something didn't sit right as the holiday neared its end. 'The previous day, I'd said to Tracy, my ex-wife, 'what's he doing?' because the sunbed guy was looking up and down the beach, ducking under umbrellas. His behaviour was really unusual. I'm sure he must have known. 'Now, he wasn't there at all. None of the locals were. 'The vendors who sold fake glasses and cheap tat on the beach had disappeared. 'Every day the Police were up and down the beach, either on their lovely Arab horses or on their quad bikes. You could set your clock by it. Bear in mind this was day six of seven and we'd been there twice before. 'I just did not feel comfortable.' That feeling proved tragically accurate the next day. 'My gut was screaming at me that something wasn't right so when I heard the first shot, I knew it was gunfire. I grabbed Tracy. She said 'It's fireworks'. I said, 'No it's not' and we started to run. 'The bullets were literally whizzing over our heads. They were so close to us you could hear the sound and people were screaming. I could see the gunman with his weapon as I looked over my shoulder but it was for such a brief moment. It was such a blur.' As others ran to safety, Allen made sure Tracy was secure in their room – then did something few would have dared. 'I threw Tracy into the room and stood there for five or ten seconds and thought I knew I could help,' he recalls. 'I said to Tracy 'I'm going back out'. She said, 'no you're not'. I told her, 'Just stay there, lay on the floor, lock the door, don't open it,' and then I ran from the room before she could say anything else.' By now, the resort had become a nightmare. 'As I was running back towards the incident there were still people running off the beach but unfortunately, by then, there were deceased bodies on the beach. I started crawling around in the sand on my belly, looking for life. There was blood and bodies everywhere. It was like a war zone. 'I was trying to feel for a pulse but no one was alive. Then I touched this one woman and she sort of murmured. Her face was covered in sand and her hand and forearm was about two metres away from her body, detached. It had been blown off completely. 'I asked her, 'Do you speak English?' My name is Allen. I'm here to help,' she replied, 'yes I'm Cheryl.' I told her, 'I'm here to help you'.' Cheryl had suffered devastating injuries and lost a critical amount of blood. But she was alive – and she could speak. Allen did what he could with the meagre supplies he could find. After pouring water over her face and giving her a drink, Allen found a scarf which he wrapped her arm up in and, seeing she had a badly injured leg, he wrapped a towel around that too. To Allen's horror and disgust, as he helped Cheryl he saw a local going through the bags of dead holidaymakers and screamed at him to leave. 'The whole time Cheryl was saying, 'check my husband. Check my husband Stephen'. 'She was laying flat, I was sort of kneeling next to her and I could see he was on the other side of the sunbed and unfortunately I could see he'd been shot several times and he hadn't survived. 'I jumped across after I'd helped her to look at him. I said, 'do you really want to know?' She said, 'please tell me.' I replied 'unfortunately, he's gone.'' Knowing the gunman was still nearby, Allen improvised again to protect her. 'I told her I was going to carry her away from this point but she didn't want to leave. So I told her she needed to 'play dead'. I tipped some sunbeds over there and threw debris over her. 'By then the guy was by the swimming pool and moving onto the main body of the hotel where he was shooting and grenades. It seemed like an eternity at the time even though it was probably 15 to 20 minutes.' Returning to the hotel room, Allen was hit by another shock. 'I went back to the room I'd left Tracy in and I was banging on the door but she wasn't there. She'd left a note which said she was scared and that she'd gone to reception where I later found her.' Time, Allen says, has helped him process what happened. 'I've had, in the past, a few dreams about it but I compartmentalise things,' he explains. 'I've always been very good at sort of putting things in boxes and closing the lid and that's exactly what I did. I buried it.' He and Tracy never returned on holiday together. They have since divorced. Despite the trauma, Allen says he never needed counselling – and didn't seek compensation. 'There is one thing that sticks in my mind from that day – the sight of one of the bodies – but out of respect for the relatives I won't go into detail. I've never taken a penny in compensation, nor would I.' He takes some small comfort from the fact that extremist Rezgui, a 22-year-old electrical student, was shot dead by police that day – despite wishing the police had done more to help the victims in the first place. He says: 'I am glad he was killed because he would have gone to court otherwise and I don't know what the penalties are in Tunisia, but if that had been the UK he'd still be alive with his colour TV, cigarettes, getting his conjugal visits – all paid for by the taxpayers, of course.' What does linger is anger – particularly towards TUI UK, the tour operator. Like the families of many of the victims, Allen believes they were responsible for safety and security breaches at the hotel, which the company has always denied. After the attack, they settled with some of the families out of court, reaching a settlement 'without admission of liability or fault'. Allen insists: 'TUI abdicated all responsibility and for that, I feel they have blood on their hands. Had TUI intervened and told people there had been another incident shortly before at a museum people would have had a choice as to whether to go.' His friendship with Cheryl, however, remains intact – and deeply meaningful. He says: 'For the first two or three years we would ring or text. 'I find a lot of peace in riding my motorbike and last summer I drove down to the south of Cornwall to have lunch with her. She sent me a lovely, very personal, letter. It was absolutely wonderful and one that I will cherish and keep forever. 'We always send a Christmas card. We will never forget each other and I'm sure we will remain friends but time does heal.' In a new documentary on Prime Video called Surviving The Tunisia Beach Attack, Allen – one of several survivors who share their stories – reads out that very letter. 'You put your own life at risk to come and help me and my husband, even though shots were being fired,' Cheryl writes. Allen downplays it all. 'I wish I could have done more.' Though retired from the NHS, after losing colleagues and relatives during Covid, Allen hasn't stopped helping others. Just six weeks ago, he crossed traffic in his car to shield an elderly woman who'd fallen into the road. He then waited three hours with her for an ambulance to come. His sister, he says, calls him 'a cat with nine lives'. 'Only, she tells me you've probably already used about seven,' he jokes. 'She says my job in life is to help people.' And what about luck? 'I don't see myself as lucky in the sense that I've not ever won the lottery or anything. I just don't think it's my time yet. I think there's a lot of good to be done in the world but I don't want anything out of it. 'I'll never return to Tunisia – there are too many other places to see and the Police and locals didn't do enough to help – but I intend to do a lot more travelling on my bike.' As for that fateful moment on the beach, he says: 'People always ask me 'Why did you go back?' Well, it was just instinctual, I suppose. I went back because it was the right thing to do but the real heroes are the ones like Cheryl. She saw her husband shot, pulled through and was able to go back to work.' Surviving the Tunisia Beach Attack, Prime Video, May 25, produced by Yeti Television Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
15-05-2025
Former Maryland Army national guardsman arrested in alleged ISIS-inspired plot
Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, was arrested for allegedly plotting to carry out an ISIS-inspired mass attack on a military facility near Detroit, according to newly unsealed court records.
CBS News
15-05-2025
- CBS News
Neighbors react after Michigan man allegedly planned shooting at military base: "It's shocking and scary"
A former Michigan Army National Guard member is accused of attempting to carry out a mass shooting at a military base on behalf of the terrorist organization ISIS. CBS News Detroit knocked on the door of Ammar Said's home in Melvindale, but received no answer. Neighbors, however, spoke about how terrifying it was to discover what had been found. "It's shocking and scary, but yeah, I couldn't believe it. There was so many FBI and to know it's that close to your house is scary," said Robert Mazur from Melvindale. Said, 19, was arrested after officials foiled his alleged planned attack at the U.S. Army's Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command facility at the Detroit Arsenal. Javed Ali, a counterterrorism expert at the University of Michigan, told me that while this is shocking to most, it's unfortunately not uncommon. "To me, it's just the latest of these ISIS-inspired cases we've seen in Metro Detroit," said Ali. According to a criminal complaint, Said reportedly told two undercover officers of his plans for a mass shooting at the base, and allegedly provided them with armor-piercing ammunition and detailed plans, including surveillance of the base and training on how to enter the base and what to target. It's intelligence from the government that Ali said is both impressive and potentially life-saving to many. "This is just the reality of this lone offender lone wolf terrorism, it's very hard to stop, it's very hard to even find in the first place to make sure that the plot doesn't move forward," said Ali. Meanwhile, neighbors say they are thankful there was no attack. "Thank god we're safe. They caught him in time, and that's what matters," Ramona Webb said. Ann Messinger says she knew Said's father and that he's always been a nice man. "It's scary, it's very scary. I would've never dreamed of coming from that house; there are good people in that house," she said. Now, the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating Said's case, and while most believe the 19-year-old was planning this attack alone, there are still many unanswered questions. "Is this person literally operating alone, or are they connected to other like-minded individuals? Is there a bigger network or group around them?" Ali said. In his first court appearance on Wednesday, Said consented to detention, and his preliminary exam is set for May 28th.
New York Post
15-05-2025
- New York Post
Former National Guardsman allegedly plotted ISIS-inspired attack to shoot up military base in Michigan: feds
A former member of the Michigan Army National Guard was arrested for plotting a disturbing ISIS-inspired mass shooting at a military base near Detroit, federal prosecutors announced. Anmar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, was busted Tuesday attempting to carry out the twisted attack for the terror group near US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) in Warren, according to the US Justice Department. Prosecutors said the shooting was thwarted after the Melvindale man disclosed his lethal plan to two undercover FBI agents posing as fellow ISIS supporters. Advertisement 4 Anmar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, was arrested Tuesday for plotting an ISIS-inspired attack. Department of Justice 'The defendant is charged with planning a deadly attack on a U.S. military base here at home for ISIS,' Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, said in a statement. 'Thanks to the tireless efforts of law enforcement, we foiled the attack before lives were lost. We will not hesitate to bring the full force of the Department to find and prosecute those who seek to harm our men and women in the military and to protect all Americans.' Advertisement Said had planned for nearly six months to open fire at the TACOM facility, which manages the Army's supply chain for tanks, and provided the undercover operatives with armor-piercing ammunition and high-capacity magazines to execute the twisted attack on Tuesday, prosecutors detailed in the complaint. 4 Prosecutors said the accused terrorist used a drone to conduct aerial surveillance of the attack site. Department of Justice The depraved former soldier also used a drone to conduct aerial surveillance of the attack site, trained the covert agents to use Molotov cocktails, and directed them to strike a specific building to kill the most people. Said, who spent two years as a guardsman until he was discharged in December, was apprehended after he went to an area near the military base and launched his drone in support of his horrific plan, officials said. Advertisement 4 The targeted attack site at the Michigan military base manages the Army's supply chain for tanks. AP It wasn't immediately clear why he was discharged. The federal complaint also includes a photo of Said standing in front of an ISIS flag, allegedly pledging his loyalty to the terrorist organization's leader. 'ISIS is a brutal terrorist organization which seeks to kill Americans,' said Jerome F. Gorgon Jr., US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Advertisement 4 A still from the federal complaint captured the former soldier standing in front of an ISIS flag pledging his loyalty to the terror group's leader. Department of Justice 'Helping ISIS or any other terrorist organization prepare or carry out acts of violence is not only a reprehensible crime — it is a threat to our entire nation and way of life. Our office will not tolerate such crimes or threats, and we will use the full weight of the law against anyone who engages in terrorism.' Said was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each charge.
