Homeland Security

Further Reading

• USS Zephyr/US Coast Guard Team Seize $22.5 Million Worth of Cocaine NNS 28 Apr 2017 -- The Cyclone-class patrol coastal ship USS Zephyr (PC 8), its embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) personnel and coalition forces intercepted an immense amount of contraband while on patrol conducting Operation Martillo in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations April 19.
• Top U.S. General in Europe Concludes Counter-Violent Extremist Conference AFPS 26 Apr 2017 -- Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, the commander of U.S. European Command, hosted chiefs of defense from all over Europe here today to discuss how to counter violent extremist organizations.
• Air Force Issues Challenge to "Hack the Air Force" DoD 26 Apr 2017 -- The Air Force is inviting vetted computer security specialists from across the U.S. and select partner nations to do their best to hack some of its key public websites.
• World's largest cyber defence exercise takes place in Estonia NATO 26 Apr 2017 -- Locked Shields 2017, the largest and most advanced cyber defence exercise in the world, is taking place this week. It is organized by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia.
• Partnerships to Counter Transnational Crime AFPS 25 Apr 2017 -- The U.S. military is looking for ways to enhance cooperation with its Mexican and Central American partners to address the security challenges that threaten the stability in the region, the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command said here today.
• 'El Chapo Act' introduced to fund Trump's border wall Press TV 25 Apr 2017 -- A new bill is being introduced in an attempt to fund the border wall US President Donald Trump had promised to build on the Mexican border.
• Trump may delay Mexico wall to avoid shutdown Press TV 25 Apr 2017 -- US President Donald Trump has signaled willingness to postpone his planned wall on the border with Mexico to prevent a government shutdown.
• Officials: Mogadishu Flights Safe from Laptop Attacks VOA 25 Apr 2017 -- The United States and Britain banned passengers last month on several Middle Eastern airlines from carrying laptop and tablet computers onto the plane. Officials cited airline safety concerns as the reason, and pointed specifically to a February 2016 attack on a flight of the Somali airline Daallo, in which a passenger set off a bomb concealed in a laptop, killing himself.
• Russia-Linked Hackers Targeted Macron Campaign, Cyber-Researchers Say RFE/RL 25 Apr 2017 -- French presidential front-runner Emmanuel Macron's campaign has been targeted in cyberattacks bearing the hallmarks of an aggressive hacking outfit that intelligence officials say is a branch of Russia's espionage apparatus, an Internet security firm says.
• Denmark Says Russia Hacked Defense Ministry E-Mails RFE/RL 24 Apr 2017 -- Denmark's defense minister has criticized Moscow's "aggressive" behavior after a report accused Russian hackers of infiltrating e-mail accounts of the country's Defense Ministry.
• Trump Makes New Pitch for Wall Along Mexican Border VOA 23 Apr 2017 -- U.S. President Donald Trump made a new push Sunday for construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border to thwart illegal immigration, with funding for the controversial barrier at the forefront of White House discussions with lawmakers to avert a partial government shutdown at the end of the week.
• Hollande: Paris Shooting Looks Like Terrorism VOA 20 Apr 2017 -- French President Francois Hollande says all signs point to terrorism in Thursday night's attack on the Champs-Elysees in Paris that killed one policeman and wounded two others.
• US Increasingly Concerned About Nexus of Terror, Criminal Networks VOA 18 Apr 2017 -- More than illegal immigrants who try to cross the border, more than drugs, what worries Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly is the criminal network that lays all of it on America's doorstep.
• French Police Arrest Two Radicals, Thwart 'Imminent' Attack VOA 18 Apr 2017 -- Police in France on Tuesday arrested two "radicalized" Frenchmen, thwarting what authorities called an "imminent" attack just days before a presidential election.
• Coast Guard Commandant Highlights National Security Missions AFPS 12 Apr 2017 -- As a unique instrument of national security, the U.S. Coast Guard works in a broad spectrum of areas to secure America's maritime borders and protect U.S. interests at home and abroad, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul F. Zukunft told reporters here today.
• Pakistan Executes 2 'Hardcore Terrorists' VOA 11 Apr 2017 -- Pakistan executed two militants Tuesday who officials said were convicted of terrorism-related offenses by military courts.
• U.S. To Dismantle Cyber Network; Alleged Russian Mastermind Detained RFE/RL 10 Apr 2017 -- A civil complaint filed in U.S. court seeks to stop Pyotr Levashov, a Russian citizen, from continuing the scheme, the department said in an April 10 statement.
• Blast hits church in Egypt's Alexandria, kills several people Press TV 09 Apr 2017 -- At least 16 people have been killed and 41 others injured in a bomb blast that hit a church in Egypt's northern city of Alexandria, the country's Interior Ministry says.
• Separate Blasts At Egyptian Churches Kill 36 RFE/RL 09 Apr 2017 -- Two Coptic churches in Egypt have been hit by explosions that have killed 36 people.
• Security Council, UN Secretary-General and UN group condemn terror attacks in Egypt UN News 09 Apr 2017 -- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the Security Council today condemned the bombings of two Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, Egypt, which killed at least 41 people and injured more than 100 others.
• Second Suspect Arrested Over Sweden Truck Attack VOA 09 Apr 2017 -- Swedish authorities have arrested second person in connection with Friday's truck attack in Stockholm that killed four people and wounded 15 others.
• Explosions Target 2 Coptic Christian Churches in Egypt VOA 09 Apr 2017 -- Two bomb attacks struck Coptic churches in Egypt as worshippers flocked to church for Palm Sunday services, killing nearly 40 people in Tanta and Alexandria. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the blasts.
• Police arrest man suspected of carrying out Stockholm truck attack Press TV 08 Apr 2017 -- Police in Sweden have arrested a man in connection with a recent deadly attack in the country's capital, where a truck rammed into a department store, leaving four people dead and 15 others injured.
• Sweden Confirms Uzbek As Driver In Deadly Truck Attack, Device Found In Vehicle RFE/RL 08 Apr 2017 -- Swedish authorities have said that a 39-year-old man from Uzbekistan has been arrested in connection with a deadly truck attack that killed four people in central Stockholm a day earlier and that they are examining a device found in the vehicle.
• Uzbek Man Is Main Suspect in Swedish Truck Killings VOA 08 Apr 2017 -- Flags flew at half-staff across the Swedish capital Saturday as police sought further details about a 39-year-old Uzbek national suspected of ramming a stolen truck into an upscale shopping hub, killing four people and wounding 15 others.
• Basque Separatist Group Surrenders Arms, Effectively Ending Nearly 50 Years of European Conflict VOA 08 Apr 2017 -- The Basque separatist group ETA has relinquished its last caches of weapons, effectively ending one of the longest conflicts in contemporary European history.
• French Interior Minister Hails ETA Handing of List of Weapons Caches Sputnik 08 Apr 2017 -- French Interior Minister Matthias Fekl welcomed on Saturday a move by ETA, Basque separatist group, which provided the French authorities with a list of arms cashes as part of its disarmament program announced on Friday.
• 4 dead, 15 injured in Stockholm truck-ramming attack: Police Press TV 07 Apr 2017 -- At least four people have lost their lives after a truck drove into a department store in the central part of the Swedish capital, police say, with authorities treating the incident as a terror attack.
• Truck Crashes into Swedish Shopping Center, Killing 4 VOA 07 Apr 2017 -- A truck plowed into pedestrians Friday outside a busy department store in Stockholm, Sweden, killing four people and injuring 15 others in what the prime minister described as a "terror attack."
• Stockholm Police Seek Driver After Truck Attack Kills Three RFE/RL 07 Apr 2017 -- Swedish police were searching for the driver of a beer truck that was driven into a crowded department store in central Stockholm, killing at least three people and injuring eight, in a suspected terror attack.
• Truck Crashes Into Swedish Shopping Center VOA 07 Apr 2017 -- At least three people were killed Friday in Stockholm, Sweden, when a truck drove through a crowd and crashed into a department store.
• Northcom, Southcom Work with Partners to Defend the Homeland AFPS 06 Apr 2017 -- The men and women of U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Southern Command are ready to defend the United States against adversaries and work with a range of partners to safeguard the homeland, the commands' commanders told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee here today.
• Southcom Chief: Command Focuses on Countering Threat Networks AFPS 06 Apr 2017 -- The commander of U.S. Southern Command today discussed issues from countering international threat networks to providing better barracks for service members assigned at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during a Pentagon news conference.
• U.S. Wants to Remain 'Partner of Choice' in Latin America AFPS 06 Apr 2017 -- The United States wants to remain the "partner of choice" in Latin America by providing better options than other entities in the region, the commander of U.S. Southern Command said here today.
• Department of Defense Briefing by Admiral Tidd in the Pentagon Briefing Room DoD 06 Apr 2017 -- Admiral Kurt Tidd, Commander, U.S. Southern Command
• Eight Detained, Apartment Searched In St. Petersburg Subway-Bombing Probe RFE/RL 06 Apr 2017 -- Russian investigators have searched a St. Petersburg apartment where a number of citizens of unspecified Central Asian countries who reportedly had been in contact with subway bombing suspect Akbarjon Jalilov lived.
• State Department Terrorist Designation of Abu Anas al-Ghandour US Dept. of State 06 Apr 2017 -- The Department of State has designated Abu Anas al-Ghandour as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons determined to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.
• Alfredo Beltran Leyva Sentenced to Life in Prison for Leading an International Drug Trafficking Conspiracy US Dept. of Justice 05 Apr 2017 -- Alfredo Beltran Leyva, also known as Mochomo, one of the leaders of the Beltran Leyva Organization, a Mexican drug-trafficking cartel responsible for importing multi-ton quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States, was sentenced today to life in prison for his participation in an international narcotics trafficking conspiracy.
• Stopping Flow of Foreign Fighters to ISIS 'Will Take Years,' Official Says AFPS 05 Apr 2017 -- Countering the flow of foreign terrorist fighters supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria requires intelligence sharing, national and international collaboration and strategic patience, a senior military officer said today.
• Six Central Asians Detained In St. Petersburg, No Sign Of Ties To Bomb Suspect RFE/RL 05 Apr 2017 -- Russian authorities say that six citizens of Central Asian states have been detained in St. Petersburg on suspicion of recruiting for Islamic militant groups.
• Top US Official Confirms Laptop Restrictions on Flights May Expand VOA 05 Apr 2017 -- The United States may soon extend its ban on computers in the cabin on some flights from the Middle East and Africa to more airports, the head of Homeland Security confirmed Wednesday.
• Two Florida Men Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIL US Dept. of Justice 04 Apr 2017
• Background Briefing on the Effort to Defeat ISIS US Dept. of State 04 Apr 2017 -- Special Briefing by Senior State Department Official
• IS Takes Aim at US President, Says Jihad at 'Dangerous Turning Point' VOA 04 Apr 2017 -- A spokesman for Islamic State is lashing out at the United States and President Donald Trump in what some see as an attempt to rally the terror group's fighters.
• Russian Investigators Name Subway Bomb Suspect RFE/RL 04 Apr 2017 -- Russian investigators say they have determined who set off a deadly bomb on a St. Petersburg subway train, identifying the suspected attacker as Akbarjon Jalilov, 22.
• Russia Blames Suicide Bomber for Deadly Subway Attack VOA 04 Apr 2017 -- Russian investigators have identified Kyrgyz-born Akbarzhon Dzhalilov as the suicide bomber who carried out Monday's deadly attack on a crowded subway train in St. Petersburg.
• St. Petersburg metro bombing suspect 'from Kyrgyzstan' Press TV 03 Apr 2017 -- Security services in Kyrgyzstan say a national of the Central Asian state has been behind an explosion which left over a dozen people dead in St. Petersburg, Russia.
• Blast in St. Petersburg Metro Kills 11, Injures Dozens VOA 03 Apr 2017 -- Russian authorities have identified a suspect in Monday's deadly subway bombing in St. Petersburg, the Interfax news agency reports.
• Death Toll in St. Petersburg Metro Attack Rises to 11, 45 Injured Sputnik 03 Apr 2017 -- Officials have revised the previous fatality count from 10 to 11 after an explosion in a St. Petersburg subway car on Monday. Eight individuals have been added to the list of people with injuries from the attack, the investigating commission said.
• Russian Subway Blast Kills At Least 10; Terrorism Suspected RFE/RL 03 Apr 2017 -- A bomb blast ripped through a subway car in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on April 3, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens of others in what officials suspect was a terrorist attack.
• First Responders Conduct Vigilant Guard 17 Exercise in Georgia AFPS 03 Apr 2017 -- Six months after Hurricane Matthew struck the coast of the southeastern United States, the state of Georgia hosted a large-scale training exercise designed to test the response to a real-life disaster.
• NORTHCOM, National Guard complete Vigilant Guard 17 Army News 03 Apr 2017 -- Six months after hurricane Matthew struck the coast of the Southeast United States, the state of Georgia hosted a large-scale training exercise to respond to real-life disaster scenarios.
• South Carolina National Guard participates in Vigilant Guard 17 Army News 03 Apr 2017 -- U.S. Army National Guard Soldiers from South Carolina, Georgia and a multitude of other states came together throughout the state of Georgia March 27-31, 2017 to participate in Vigilant Guard 17.
• Trump, Sissi to Seek Closer Cooperation Against Islamist Extremism VOA 02 Apr 2017 -- The United States and Egypt are expected to reach accord on enhanced collaboration in the fight against radical Islamist terrorism Monday when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi comes calling on President Donald Trump at the White House.
• Egyptian military kills top leader of Takfiri terrorist group Press TV 02 Apr 2017 -- Egypt's military forces have killed the founder and top leader of Daesh-linked Velayat Sinai Takfiri terrorist group in an airstrike.
• Egyptian Militant Killed in March Identified as Daesh's Sinai Affiliate Founder Sputnik 02 Apr 2017 -- One of the terrorists eliminated during an air raid conducted by the Egyptian forces in the north of Sinai Peninsula on March 18 has been identified as Abu Anas Ansari, one of the founders of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis militant group affiliated with Daesh, local media reported, citing statement of military.
• Terrorist laptop bombs could evade airport security: US intel Press TV 01 Apr 2017 -- Daesh (ISIL) and other terrorist groups have come up with ways to hide bombs in electronic devices and make them more difficult to be detected by airport security, US intelligence officials warn.