Oxford Street chaos not terror; due to altercation between two men: Police

The incident at the busy Oxford Circus area in London on Saturday that sparked a "mass evacuation" and left 16 people injured was caused by an "altercation" between two men, police said, ruling out a terror attack.

The Oxford Circus area, one of the busiest shopping zones in the heart of the city, was placed under temporary lockdown after police received reports of shots being fired.

However, Scotland Yard later released CCTV images, saying an altercation between two men led to the chaos in the area.

"We are releasing CCTV images of two men we would like to speak with, following the incident at Oxford Circus earlier today," the Metropolitan Police said.

The British Transport Police (BTP) said the altercation took place inside the busy Oxford Circus underground train station, "triggering a mass evacuation".

"Officers believe an altercation erupted between two men on the platform. They would now like to speak to these two people in the CCTV images, who they believe may have information about the incident and the circumstances around the incident," a BTP statement said.

"They would also like to speak to anyone who was at the station or in the area at the time and saw or heard anything that would have caused mass evacuation," it added.

One person was transferred to a major trauma centre for leg injuries, while eight people were taken to central London hospitals for minor injuries. Another seven patients were treated at the scene.

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On-board computers and sensors could stop the next car or truck-based attack

In the wake of car- and truck-based attacks around the world, most recently in New York City, cities are scrambling to protect busy pedestrian areas and popular events. It’s extremely difficult to prevent vehicles from being used as weapons, but technology can help.

Right now, cities are trying to determine where and how to place statues, spike strip nets and other barriers to protect crowds. Police departments are trying to gather better advance intelligence about potential threats, and training officers to respond – while regular people are seeking advice for surviving vehicle attacks.

These solutions aren’t enough: It’s impractical to put up physical barriers everywhere, and all but impossible to prevent would-be attackers from getting a vehicle. As a researcher of technologies for self-driving vehicles, I see that potential solutions already exist, and are built into many vehicles on the road today. There are, however, ethical questions to weigh about who should control the vehicle – the driver behind the wheel or the computer system that perceives potential danger in the human’s actions.

A computerized solution

Approximately three-fourths of cars and trucks surveyed by Consumer Reports in 2017 have forward-collision detection as either a standard or an optional feature. These vehicles can detect obstacles – including pedestrians – and stop or avoid hitting them. By 2022, emergency braking will be required in all vehicles sold in the U.S.
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Afghan President and US Secretary of State to land in New Delhi today

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani is scheduled to visit India on Tuesday morning, while US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is also slated to land here on a three-day visit on Tuesday evening.

According to the ministry of external affairs, Ghani would land in Delhi at 8.10am and leave at 5.20pm, before Tillerson is to arrive. Ghani will have delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the afternoon.

Ghani and Tillerson are unlikely to meet in Delhi. The two met in Kabul on Monday. Tillerson is on a week’s visit to Asia. According to a statement by the US Embassy in Kabul, Tillerson said in his meeting with Ghani that the “new US strategy for South Asia makes clear the US’ commitment to working with the government of Afghanistan and with partners across the region and to deny safe havens to terrorists who threaten that goal.”

The Afghan president’s day-long working visit to Delhi, therefore, comes on the heels of a series of developments. Tillerson is also slated to visit Islamabad.

Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Zamir Kabulov, was in Delhi and held discussions with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. The discussions related to regional security. Kabulov, as Putin's special representative, is responsible for Moscow’s Afghanistan policy.
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Saudi Arabia foils terror attack against palace in Jeddah

Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday the foiling of a terror attack against a palace in Jeddah, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The spokesman of the Interior Ministry said in a statement that a person got out of a car and suddenly started firing at the forces of the Royal Guard located in front of the western gate of the Peace Palace in Jeddah at 3:15 p.m. local time.

The guards shot back and killed the gunman after he killed two security men and injured another two, Xinhua news agency reported.

The spokesperson identified the attacker as a 28-year-old Saudi man who carried a Kalashnikov machine gun and three Molotov cocktails.

He said that security authorities are carrying out investigations, and any developments will be announced later.
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Why Islamic State attacked Spain - once a part of Islamic empire

Despite its (relatively) low body count and primitive execution, Thursday’s terrorist attack in Barcelona shocked many local and international onlookers. The Islamic State (IS) group was quick to claim responsibility for the attack, in which a van was deliberately driven into pedestrians on Barcelona’s famed Las Ramblas strip. At least 13 people are dead, and around 100 have been left injured.

The location and targeting of the attack deviates from IS’s previous efforts. These have typically focused on punishing countries directly involved in military operations against it in Syria and Iraq.

But how reliable are its claims of responsibility? And why was Spain chosen, given its relatively inconsequential role in the fight against IS?
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Russian detained in Turkey over planned drone attack on US warplane

Turkish authorities on Thursday detained a Russian suspected member of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group for allegedly plotting a drone attack on an American warplane at a US base in southern Turkey.

State-run Anadolu news agency said that Renat Bakiev is accused of seeking to stage an attack at "the Incirlik airbase or a plane stationed there".

Quoting local police, it said that "for this purpose, he worked to obtain a drone".

Dogan news agency added that Bakiev is suspected of seeking to "stage a bomb attack aiming to bring down a US plane using a drone" at the Incirlik airbase.

He allegedly carried out reconnaissance work for the plot, both reports said, without giving further details on how the plan would have been put in place.

Anadolu further reported the suspect had asked fellow IS members through the Telegram messaging app for 2,800 lira ($790) in order to buy the drone.

The Russian embassy in Ankara said in a statement it was "carrying out the necessary work to understand what happened and make clear the circumstances"
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Pentagon claims death of IS leader Abu Sayed in Afghanistan raid

The US forces have killed Abu Sayed, the leader of ISIS-Khorasan, the terror group's Afghanistan affiliate, said a CNN report.

Quoting Chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White, the CNN report said, "The 'Emir' of ISIS-K was killed in a strike on the group's headquarters in Kunar Province on July 11."

US Navy Captain Bill Salvin, spokesman for US Forces Afghanistan, said Sayed was killed in an airstrike by a US drone. The initial Pentagon statement described Sayed being killed in a "raid".

The CNN reported Secretary of Defence James Mattis as saying that "the death of a leader like Sayed is obviously a victory on our side in terms of setting them back, it's the right direction".

Gen. John Nicholson, Commander, US Forces Afghanistan said in a statement, "This operation is another success in our campaign to defeat ISIS-K in Afghanistan in 2017. Abu Sayed is the third ISIS-K emir we have killed in the last year and we will continue until they are annihilated. There is no safe haven for ISIS-K in Afghanistan."

Hafiz Sayed Khan was killed in July 2016 and another emir Abdul Hasib was killed during a joint US-Afghan commando raid in April.
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39 Indians abducted by ISIS in 2014 still alive: Govt

India is in touch with all the countries which can help in locating 39 Indians, believed to have been abducted by terrorist outfit ISIS in Iraq in 2014, the government said today.

Responding to a question on the issue, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said Sushma Swaraj had met representatives and families of these 39 Indians early this month.

"We are in touch with all nations who are helping us or who can help us. All possible steps are being taken. As of now we have the information that the people are alive. We have no such information to suggest that they are not alive," Baglay said.

The families said they had last heard from the men on June 14, 2014, when they all called home to say they were being taken away by ISIS fighters.
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UK Police arrests 12 suspects over Saturday night's London Bridge attack

The British Police has confirmed of arresting 12 persons in connection with the terror attacks at London Bridge and nearby areas that killed seven people and injured dozens others.

"Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command have this morning, Sunday 4 June, arrested 12 people in Barking, east London, in connection with last night's incidents in London Bridge and the Borough Market area. Searches of a number of addresses in Barking are continuing," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

Earlier, condemning the brutal attacks at the London Bridge and nearby, British Prime Minister Theresa May has said that there is "far too much tolerance of extremism in our country".

She said that election will go ahead as planned on Thursday and the national campaigning will resume on Monday.

Asserting that the country is experiencing a new trend of brutal terror, May proposed to review counter-terrorism laws, and suggested longer sentences for some of the offences.

"We will come together and, united, we will take on our enemies, she says. And that's it. We'll post a full summary shortly," The Guardian quoted May as saying.

She said that when it comes to tackling terrorism things have to change.

Highlighting that this was the third terror attack Britain has experienced in three months, after the Westminster and the Manchester Arena attacks, May praised the efforts with which police responded to these terror attacks.

She said five credible attacks since the Westminster attack have been disrupted by the police.

She also outlined four important areas that need to be changed in wake of the new terror attack.

The four important ways which May said needs to be changed were:

Defeating the extreme Islamist ideology by maintenance of a counter-terrorism operation and by persuading people that 'pluralistic British values' are superior.
By not giving the terrorists safe space online for the plotting of terror attacks.
There must be action at home.
To review the counter-terrorism strategy, to ensure the police have the powers they need.
She also said the people need to be more vigilant in identifying and stamping out extremism across society.
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