Tag Archives: paris attack

Paris Attacker Is Chechnya-Born French Citizen Known To Authorities

May 14, 2018 TIMP Staff Leave a comment

(DCNF) The man who went on a stabbing rampage in central Paris on Saturday night is a Chechnya-born French citizen whose radical views were known to authorities, French officials said.

Investigators are looking into the attack, which left one person dead and four others wounded, as an act of terrorism.

The suspect is a 20-year-old man who was born in 1997 in Chechnya, the Muslim-dominated Russian republic, reports France24 News, citing judicial sources. Although he did not have a criminal record, the man was on France’s so-called “S file” of people suspected of radicalized views who pose a terrorism risk, the sources said.

The attacker’s name has not been released to the public.

Saturday’s attack occurred near Paris’ main opera house, in a lively neighborhood full of bars, restaurants and party-goers. It was the latest in a string of Islamist terror attacks in France that have killed more than 200 people since 2015.

The attacker shouted “Allahu akbar” — “God is greatest” in Arabic — as he stabbed several bystanders with a knife, French prosecutors said, citing witnesses to the attack. Police reportedly tried to subdue the suspect with a Taser but were forced shoot and kill him when the non-lethal option failed.

Hours later, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, calling the perpetrator a “soldier of the Islamic State” who had responded to the group’s call to attack countries that were bombing its fighters in Iraq and Syria. (RELATED: French Gov’t Has Paid Out Nearly $600,000 To ISIS Fighters In Syria)

France has been on high alert in recent years due to a string of Islamist terror attacks, including two with an extraordinarily high number of casualties: the November 2015 attacks that killed 130 in Paris, and the 2016 Bastille Day truck attack in Nice that killed more than 80.

There have also been several less deadly attacks carried out by lone wolf jihadists, most of which were claimed by ISIS and carried out in the group’s name.

A 29-year-old French man was killed in Saturday’s attack, authorities said. A 34-year-old man from Luxembourg and 54-year-old French woman were seriously injured. A 26-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man were slightly wounded.

All four of the wounded are “out of danger,” French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters.

Written by Will Racke. Follow Will on Twitter

This article was republished with permission from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Entertainment, Featured, Hot, International

Jesse Hughes: Bataclan Security ‘Had a Reason Not to Show Up’ on Day of Paris Attacks

Mar 11, 2016 Barry Donegan Leave a comment

Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes implied in an interview, which aired Wednesday on Kennedy on Fox Business Network, that six Bataclan security guards that reportedly skipped work on the day of the Paris terror attacks might have known about the plot in advance.

When Kennedy asked Hughes if anything seemed “strange or off” about the night, Hughes said that he takes venue security very seriously and found it unusual that a security guard did not try to stop and identify him before allowing him to walk backstage.

“When I first got to the venue and walked in, I walked past the dude who was supposed to be the security guard for the backstage. He didn’t even look at me. … I didn’t like him at all, and so I immediately went to the promoter and said, ‘Who’s that guy? I want to put another dude on,’ and he goes, ‘well some of the other guards aren’t here yet,’ and eventually I found out that six or so wouldn’t show up at all,” Hughes said.

He added, “You know, out of respect for the police still investigating it I won’t make a definite statement, but I’ll say it seems rather obvious that they had a reason not to show up.”

The November 13 tragedy at the Bataclan, part of a series of coordinated terror attacks that rocked Paris that day, left 90 dead and hundreds injured at the venue.

A representative from the Bataclan reacted to what Hughes said in his interview on Kennedy, calling it “insane,” and told Variety, “Jesse Hughes spread some very grave and defamatory accusations against the Bataclan teams. A judicial investigation is undergoing. We wish to let justice proceed serenely. All the testimonies gathered to this day demonstrate the professionalism and courage of the security agents who were on the ground on November 13. Hundreds of people were saved thanks to [these agents’] intervention.”

Follow Barry Donegan on Facebook and Twitter.

Featured, Gun Rights, Hot, International

Eagles of Death Metal Vocalist Says Gun Control Did Not Save Lives in Paris Attacks

Feb 16, 2016 Barry Donegan Leave a comment

After living through a deadly terrorist massacre at the Bataclan theater in Paris, France where 90 people lost their lives and hundreds were injured, Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes’ opinion on gun rights has not changed.

Hughes, a politically-conservative, Donald Trump supporting National Rifle Association member, responded emotionally to a question about gun control posed during a Monday television interview on the French network iTélé.

“Gun control kind of doesn’t have anything to do with it, but if you want to bring it up, I’ll ask you,” he said to reporter Laurence Ferrari, “Did your French gun control stop a single f***ing person from dying at the Bataclan? If anyone can answer yes, I’d like to hear it, because I don’t think so. I think the only thing that stopped it was some of the bravest men that I’ve ever seen in my life charging head-first into the face of death with their firearms.”

“Maybe, I know people will disagree with me, but it just seems like God made men and women, and that night guns made them equal,” Hughes added, fighting back tears, “And I hate it that it’s that way. I think the only way my mind has been changed is that maybe until nobody has guns everybody has to have them, because I don’t ever want to see anything like this ever happen again, and I want everyone to have the best chance to live, and I saw people die that maybe could have lived. I don’t know, but I wish I knew for sure if they could have had a better chance, because there were some real angels, real wonderful people in that show that aren’t alive today, and I really wish they were.”

The Guardian notes that Hughes also told Agence France-Presse, “I don’t go anywhere in America without a gun anymore. That sucks. And I’m not paranoid. I’m not a cowboy… but I want to be prepared.”

Eagles of Death Metal is set for a defiant return to Paris on Tuesday for the band’s first concert in the city since the coordinated November 13 terror attacks. The concert will take place at the Olympia and will feature additional security. The band invited surviving victims of the previous attack at the Bataclan to attend the show, and psychologists and psychiatrists will be on hand to help those individuals if the need arises.

According to The New York Times, Hughes told the French cable channel Canal+, “[Tuesday’s] Paris [concert] isn’t just a show. It is not a rock show; it is a lot bigger than that. It has a much bigger purpose than just entertaining this time around.”

Survivors’ groups say the concert is an opportunity for some victims to heal and move past the event.

Hughes, who emphasized that he is “pro-freedom,” told iTélé, “I’m not a hero, but I love my friends. And I was raised that you have to be willing to give your life, or else it is not worth living, and you are not a member of a community. I’m not a hero, but if I had had a gun I could have changed something, and I would have been willing to do it.”

Follow Barry Donegan on Facebook and Twitter.

Civil Liberties, Featured, Opinion, US

IVN: 5 Politicians Taking A Stand Against More Surveillance After Paris

Dec 1, 2015 IVN News Leave a comment

By Carl Wicklander Since the Paris terrorist attacks on November 13, various mainstream news outlets have noted that the politics of surveillance have shifted. A shift would indicate that instead of rolling back surveillance policies in favor of more privacy, more invasive policies could be enacted.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio used the attacks to accuse fellow Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Rand Paul of forcing a “weakening of our intelligence-gathering capabilities” that ultimately “leaves America vulnerable.” Yet despite this shift, there are still at least 5 politicians who remain consistent about surveillance after Paris.

1. U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (MI-03)

On Twitter, Amash, a noted critic of surveillance policies, wrote of Rubio’s support for a bill to extend the bulk collection of metadata that was a key provision of the Patriot Act:

.@marcorubiojust cosponsored bill to extend unconstitutional spying on all Americans. He’d fit right in with GOP of past.#YesterdayIsOver

2. U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (KY-04)

The Kentucky representative told ABC News over Thanksgiving weekend how the immediate aftermath of a tragedy is the time when the government tries to capitalize on citizens’ fears to expand its power:

“Within six weeks of 9/11 they passed the Patriot Act. And it’s only natural they would try to do the same thing this time.”

3. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (KY)

Calling the argument that the Paris attacks required more surveillance “bullshit,” Sen. Paul also noted that surveillance policies of the past and present did not stop the Paris attacks:

“They are collecting your phone records as we speak, they did not miss a beat, even though we voted on reform, all your phone records are being collected and stored in Utah. Did it stop the attack in Paris? No.”

4. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (TX)

One of the candidates attacked by Rubio for opposing Patriot Act bulk collections, Cruz responded that his rival:

“…is trying to respond to the criticism that he has received that he is not willing to protect the Fourth Amendment privacy rights of law-abiding citizens.”

Separately, Cruz posted one of his endorsements on Twitter which noted his role in passing the USA Freedom Act:

“[Cruz] will use every tool we have to win, but he will never betray the very Constitution we are sworn to defend.”

Even before its passage, there was fierce debate about how much privacy the Freedom Act provided Americans, but Cruz’s positions have indicated that more surveillance is not the answer.

5. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (OR)

The Oregon Democrat has long been a critic of Washington’s surveillance policies. Echoing some of the sentiments of Paul and Massie, Wyden explained that broadly-defined powers are not even effective, which was also the case in France where an aggressive surveillance law was passed following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January:

“While some people seem eager to seize on this crisis to resurrect failed policies of the past, the facts show mass surveillance doesn’t protect us from terrorist attacks.”

Republished with permission by IVN.

Government Accountability, Opinion, Privacy, Technology

U.S. Police Chiefs Demand Access to Encrypted Communications Following Paris Attacks

Nov 27, 2015 Derrick Broze Leave a comment

As the world heals from the recent terror attacks in Paris, we are witnessing a range of reactions from heads of state and media pundits. The corporate media is doing its part to repeat the mistakes witnessed following 9/11, including support for curtailing of the rights of Muslim-Americans and an increase in surveillance and violations of constitutional freedoms.

The attacks in Paris, which claimed the lives of 130 people, have ignited a call from police chiefs and prosecutors who seek to pass legislation which would give investigators access to encrypted communications in an attempt to stop terrorism.

On Tuesday, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) announced in a press release that they were joining forces to “press for immediate action to address this critical threat.” The statement reads:

[pull_quote_center]The proliferation of sophisticated encryption technology and other technological barriers have increasingly hindered law enforcement’s ability to lawfully access criminal and terrorist related communications.[/pull_quote_center]

The groups also state that encryption has led to numerous instances where police could not access encrypted information “that could have allowed them to successfully investigate and apprehend criminals or prevent terrorists from striking.”

Although there is not yet evidence that ISIS member used encrypted communication programs to plan their attacks, lawmakers are calling for legislation which would allow law enforcement to access a “backdoor” to encrypted data with a warrant.

The Information Technology Industry Council told the Hill that creating backdoors would “actually create vulnerabilities to be exploited by the bad guys, which would almost certainly cause serious physical and financial harm across our society and our economy.”

Still, the chiefs are seeking access to protected communications by updating laws such as the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The groups state that they are committed to finding a solution “which balances the needs of the law enforcement community with protecting the public’s right to privacy.”

Last week, The Washington Post reported that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., an outspoken critic of encrypted communications, asked Congress to pass a law requiring the unencrypted content of any smartphone made or sold in the United States to be accessible to law enforcement officers with a search warrant. Vance said the changes were necessary following the Paris attacks.

“Every tip will be investigated, every lead will be followed, but every time one of those trails leads to an encrypted cellphone, it may go cold,” Vance stated.

Whether or not Americans continue to be granted the right to privacy depends on how willing we are to accept these radical changes in the name of security. How can we strike a balance between freedom and security while knowing that the U.S. government is funding the same terrorists whom we are supposed to fear? Are Americans willing to give up their rights once more in the hopes that the U.S. government will keep us safe?

Civil Liberties, Election, Foreign Policy, Politics

Trump: ‘No Choice’ – Mosques Must Be Closed

Nov 19, 2015 Michael Lotfi Leave a comment

November 18, 2015– Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says the United States has “no choice” but to close certain mosques around the country.

“Nobody wants to say this and nobody wants to shut down religious institutions or anything, but you know, you understand it,” Trump told Fox News’s “Hannity” on Tuesday. “A lot of people understand it. We’re going to have no choice, there’s absolutely no choice.”

Saying that “some really bad things are happening, and they’re happening fast,” Trump displayed a sense of urgency during the interview.

Tuesday’s statements aren’t a new direction for Trump. In fact, he was simply doubling down on the position.

On Monday, Trump renewed calls for domestic surveillance of mosques in the U.S. after Islamic militants claimed credit for last week’s attacks in Paris.

“You’re going to have to watch and study the mosques, because a lot of talk is going on at the mosques,” Trump said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

In an interview on Fox Business News last month, Stuart Varney asked Trump whether or not, if elected president, he would make similar moves as the British government, which has revoked passports of some people and closed select mosques.

“I would do that, absolutely, I think it’s great,” Trump responded. “If you go out, you go fight for ISIS, you can’t come back. Why can’t you do it? You can do it here.”

“Can you close a mosque? I mean, we do have religious freedom,” asked Varney.

“Well I don’t know,” Trump said. “I mean, I haven’t heard about the closing of the mosque. It depends, if the mosque is, you know, loaded for bear, I don’t know. You’re going to have to certainly look at it.”

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Featured, International

French Prosecutor: Suspected ‘Mastermind’ of Paris Attacks Killed in Police Raid

Nov 19, 2015 Rachel Blevins Leave a comment

The suspected mastermind behind the terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 129 last Friday was killed in a police raid on Wednesday, according to a Paris prosecutor.

The suspect, Abdel Hamid Abaaoud, a 28-year-old Belgian militant, was killed after police investigations led them to 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 raid,” Paris Prosecutor François Molins said in a statement. “It was the body we had discovered in the building, riddled with bullets.”

Police “fired around 5,000 rounds of ammunition in the confrontation and used strong munitions that spurred a floor to collapse,” but that the exact way Abaaoud died is unknown.

The statement from Molins claimed “We still don’t know whether Abaaoud blew himself up or not.”

There was one other fatality in Wednesday’s St. Denis raid: a woman identified as Hasna Aitboulahcen.

Three police officials have reportedly said Aitboulahcen was Abaaoud’s cousin, and one official said she is “believed to have detonated a suicide vest after a brief exchange with police officers.”

Following the attacks last Friday, France declared a “state of emergency” which gave the government the authority to utilize censorship, regulate circulation and gathering in some areas, close places of gathering altogether, and to conduct house-to-house searches at any time without judicial oversight.

At an assembly meeting, where a three-month extension of the “state of emergency” status was being debated, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned that “we must not rule anything out” when looking at the prospect of terrorists “using chemical weapons.”

“France has been attacked,” Valls said. “French people are under shock. They are expecting from all of us some strong, quick and effective reactions.”

Editor’s Pick, Featured, International

France Moves To Strip Citizens Of Civil Liberties After Paris Attacks

Nov 18, 2015 TIMP Staff Leave a comment

By Rachel Stoltzfoos French President Francois Hollande proposed constitutional amendments and a three-month extension of state of emergency measures Monday that will severely limit the civil liberties of French citizens.

After a series of coordinated terrorist attacks left 129 dead in Paris Friday, Hollande immediately declared a state of emergency, based on a rarely used 1955 law that allows the state to conduct warrantless searches of private property, impose curfews, restrict public gatherings and movements of people, confiscate weapons at will and take over the press.

By law the state of emergency cannot last more than 12 days, but Hollande asked for a three-month extension Monday. He also proposed a series of constitutional amendments to increase the state’s surveillance powers and give it power to strip convicted terrorists and bi-nationals who commit hostile acts toward France of citizenship.

Hollande said the amendments are necessary so the state doesn’t have to “resort to the state of emergency” to deal with terror threats. “We must change our constitution to act against terrorism,” he said Monday.

The proposed amendments will also give the state “more sophisticated methods” to crack down on weapons trafficking, a quicker way to deport foreigners considered a threat, and the ability to bar bi-nationals considered a terror risk from entering the country.

French conducted 168 raids Sunday night, turning up cash, bulletproof vests, various types of guns and a rocket launcher, reported The Wall Street Journal. Police put 104 people on house arrest and detained 23 others.

Hollande has promised a “merciless” fight against ISIS in response to the attack. French fighter jets dropped 20 bombs on the group’s defacto Syrian capital of Raqqa Sunday night, destroying a command center and training camp.

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Foreign Policy, International

Ron Paul on ‘What Should Be Done’ About Paris Terror Attacks

Nov 16, 2015 Barry Donegan Leave a comment

In his weekly column on Sunday for the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, libertarian icon and former Republican U.S. Congressman Ron Paul outlined his foreign policy strategy in the wake of Friday’s series of deadly terror attacks targeting Paris.

Paul suggested that the U.S. should “focus on trade and friendly relations, stop shipping weapons, abandon ‘regime change’ and other manipulations, respect national sovereignty, and maintain a strong defense at home including protecting the borders from those who may seek to do us harm.”

Calling on leaders to shift away from policies that led to the rise of ISIS “before it’s too late,” Paul said, “Because the US and its allies are essentially on the same side as ISIS and other groups – seeking the overthrow of Assad – many of the weapons they have sent to the more ‘moderate’ factions also seeking Assad’s ouster have ended up in the hands of radicals. Moderate groups have joined more radical factions over and over, taking their US-provided training and weapons with them. Other moderate groups have been captured or killed, their US-provided weapons also going to the radicals. Thus the more radical factions have become better equipped and better trained, while occasionally being attacked by US or allied planes.”

He added, “Does anyone not believe this is a recipe for the kind of disaster we have now seen in Paris? The French in particular have been very active in arming even the more radical groups in Syria, as they push for more political influence in the region. Why do they still refuse to believe in the concept of blowback?”

Blowback is an intelligence term referring to scenarios in which harmful unintended consequences are projected back on a nation in response to its own covert operations.

Paul pointed to the Iran nuclear deal, which lifts sanctions on Iran, as a promising approach to reducing tensions in the Middle East and noted that “most presidential candidates compete to thump the table loudest against any deal with Iran” despite the fact that Iran’s active participation in the war on ISIS in Syria has made it a potential target of the terror group.

Paul conceded that “it may not be popular to say [these things] as emotions run high and calls ring out for more bombing in the Middle East.”

Earlier this year, Ben Swann released a Truth in Media video exposing how U.S. foreign policy led to the rise of ISIS. Watch it in the below-embedded video player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6kdi1UXxhY

International, US

Iraqi Foreign Minister: France, U.S., Iran Were Warned About Impending Attacks

Nov 16, 2015 Derrick Broze Leave a comment

Iraq’s Foreign Minister has stated that Iraq’s intelligence service shared details of impending attacks within France, the United States and Iran.

Speaking at this weekend’s peace talks in Vienna, Austria, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Iraq received intelligence about possible attacks and shared the information with the respective governments. The comments came one day after attackers in Paris, France killed 129 people using firearms and suicide bombers.

“Information has been obtained from Iraqi intelligence sources that the countries to be targeted soon, before it occurred, are Europe in general, specifically France, as well as America and Iran,” Jaafari said in Vienna. Reuters first reported on the comments. Similar statements can be found in a post on Jaafari’s website.

Jaafari did not elaborate on the intelligence but called for a “global response” to the Islamic State.

France has now declared war on the Islamic State, and President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin are reportedly in talks to formulate a strategy to resolve the civil war in Syria and the growing threat from IS. In addition, world leaders met this weekend to discuss a timetable for elections and a transition government.

Missing from of the conversation surrounding the attacks in Paris is an acknowledgement that the U.S. government has helped fund rebels which led to the creation of the Islamic State, as well as helped created the situation through disastrous foreign policies as part of the failed War on Terror.

https://youtu.be/o6kdi1UXxhY

International, Politics

France Declares State of Emergency, Military Enacts Full Control

Nov 13, 2015 Rachel Blevins Leave a comment

Following a series of attacks that left over 100 people dead in Paris, France on Friday, French President Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency which closed the country’s borders and gave the government heightened access into the lives of its citizens.

Reuters reported that “about 100 people were killed in the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris” and an additional “40 others have died in other locations,” such as busy restaurants and bars in and around Paris, after they were attacked by gunmen and bombers.

After reports of multiple attacks in Paris surfaced around 4 p.m. eastern, the Associated Press reported at 6:20 p.m. eastern that one of six different attacks across the city left at least 100 people dead, “inside a Paris concert hall where attackers seized hostages,” and that “security forces have ended their assault on a concert hall filled with hostages, killing at least two attackers.”

During an emergency midnight cabinet meeting (6 p.m. eastern), roughly two hours after the attacks were reported, Hollande declared that the country was under a “state of emergency.”

“What the terrorists want is to make us afraid, to seize us with fear,” Hollande said. “There is something to be afraid of, but faced with this fear, there’s a nation which defends itself and mobilizes itself and which will once again be able to overcome the terrorists.”

Hollande called for military to assisted local police, and said that the choice to close France’s borders was “to assure ourselves that no one can enter to commit any act, whatever that may be.”

According to Article 16 of the French Constitution of 1958, when the “integrity of its territory or the fulfilment of its international commitments are under serious and immediate threat, and where the proper functioning of the constitutional public authorities is interrupted,” the French has the power to call for a state of emergency, after consulting with the Prime Minister, the Presidents of the Houses of Parliament and the Constitutional Council.

A state of emergency in France gives the government the power of censorship, as well as the authority to “regulate or forbid circulation and gathering in some areas,” close places of gathering altogether, and “conduct house-to-house searches at any time without judicial oversight.”

Featured, International

Breaking, Developing: Paris Under Attack; Dozens Killed, Hundreds Held Hostage

Nov 13, 2015 Truth In Media Team Leave a comment

Update, November 13, 5:47 p.m.: The death toll has climbed to 60, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.

Update, November 13, 6:31 p.m.: 5 more explosions and reports of automatic gunfire at theater with 100 hostages. Hostages possibly being killed one by one.

Update, November 13, 8:19 p.m.: France Declares State of Emergency, Military Enacts Full Control

Paris- Paris is under attack in at least three simultaneous attacks. As of this posting (and that number continues to change), at least 35 people are dead and possibly another 100 hostages are being held after three separate violent attacks.

Police say the gunmen—as many as six—were armed with kalashnikovs and grenades. They are all currently on the loose.

At least one of the gunman opened fire at a restaurant near a soccer stadium. The soccer game between France and Germany was taking place at the time. Early reports indicate that a Kalishnikov rifle and grenades were used in at least one attack.

Paris’s deputy mayor says it is too early to say if the attacks were coordinated acts of terror, but that it looks that way. US officials state the attacks were coordinated.

Truth in Media will provide updates as the story is developing.

Ben Swann's Truth In Media