Tag Archives: Bomb

‘Christmas Miracle’ Saves Louisiana Couple From Bomb Explosion

A Louisiana couple says it’s a “Christmas miracle” that they were not injured when a bomb that police said was intentionally left at their home exploded, according to several published reports.

“We think it was our Christmas miracle,” Tracy Hewlett told CBS News, adding that she, her husband Bobby and their four pets did not suffer any injuries in the blast early Saturday.

The Hewletts own and live at the Holly Hill Farm Equestrian Center in Benton, Louisiana.

According to the Bossier Sheriff’s Office, one of their maintenance workers named Douglas Holley is accused of making a bomb and detonating it in an attempt to kill the Hewletts. Law enforcement authorities allege Holley placed the bomb in a crawl space below their bedroom.

Tracy Hewlett told The Bossier Press-Tribune that she and her husband were asleep in bed when she saw a huge flash of light and was launched into the air. They were covered with debris, including shards of glass and wood, but were able to leave the house to telephone emergency responders.

“As we walked out, we just looked at each other and said it was a miracle,” Tracy Hewlett told The Bossier Press-Tribune. “We literally stopped, looked up and said, thank you Jesus.”

Tracy Hewlett told the newspaper she and her husband initially thought it might have been a gas explosion, but investigators ultimately determined that the bomb had been placed right below their heads. She said the two of them definitely had “divine protection” to walk away unscathed.

The Bossier Sheriff’s Office said it searched a separate home on the horse farm property where Holley lived and found materials that could be used to make explosives, as well as evidence that he had looked up “bomb-making information.” Police said he worked at the farm for four years, and that his job as a maintenance worker would have allowed him to access the explosion site.

He’s being held on two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of bomb making, authorities said in a news release. Authorities did not disclose a motive, but said an investigation found “the explosion was not accidental, but purposely planned and specifically targeted.”

Moscow Bans Egypt National Airline from Flying into Russia

After Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend all Russian flights to Egypt after the Oct. 31 crash of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt that killed all 224 people on board, the Russian state aviation agency announced on Friday that it is banning Egypt’s national carrier from flying to Russia.

The only airline flying between the two countries is EgyptAir and this move was to ensure that it meets safety requirements, Russian media reported.
Sinai Province, a group affiliated with the Islamic State, has repeatedly claimed it brought down Metrojet Flight 9268, flying from the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to the Russian city of St. Petersburg.
News reports state that Western officials believe there is a strong possibility that a bomb exploded on the plane, but Russia and Egypt say it is too early to draw conclusions.
Many have speculated that a bomb was placed on the plane in Egypt by a worker or workers at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

Several countries, including the UK, have halted flights to and from the resort due to intelligence concerns.

According to Reuters, an airport official said the ban on EgyptAir flights would take effect on Saturday.

Department of Homeland Security to Step Up Airport Security in Wake of Russian Plane Crash

The Department of Homeland Security is ramping up airport security following the suspected bombing of a Russian plane over Egypt. The new security focuses on certain overseas airports.

As Egyptian authorities investigate whether an airport insider may have planted a bomb on the doomed airliner, U.S. lawmakers and aviation officials are raising questions about security at American airports. They say dozens of current airport employees are being screened for possible ties to or sympathies with extremist groups.

According to news reports, surveillance video at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport is being scrutinized for someone with access to the plane on the airport ramp. While no official determination has been made, U.S. and U.K. officials have said they believe it’s likely a bomb brought down the flight last Saturday, killing more than 200 people.

With the recent congressional reports and hearing on airline security due to an undercover operation revealing that the TSA failed 95% of the time when detecting fake explosives, new action is being called into place.

“It’s no secret that people interested in harming America are coming up with creative ways to circumvent the existing security measures,” House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said at the hearing.

In airports both here and abroad extra attention will be paid to bags, including extra scrutiny of the list of passenger names to make sure they match the name on all the checked baggage.

Security will focus on airport workers who are poorly paid and could be susceptible to terrorists bribes.

Investigation of Russian Plane Crash Continues; Bomb Theory Supported By Egyptian Officials

New evidence, including a voice recording of the cockpit, is bolstering the theory that a bomb did take down the Russian airplane, killing 224 people. The Egyptian team investigating the crash told Fox News that they are “90 percent sure” a bomb brought down the plane.

“The indications and analysis so far of the sound on the black box indicate it was a bomb,” the investigator added.

The investigator did ask to remain anonymous due to “sensitivities.”

An Egyptian official heading the investigation told CBS News that there is a noise that can be heard on the recording of the cockpit just before it cuts out, however, they cannot define it as a bomb at this time.

Over the past week, U.S. and U.K. investigators believed that the evidence pointed to a bomb being planted on the plane by Islamist militants due to intercepted chatter from members of ISIS, but Russian and Egyptian officials dismissed the claim. However, an ISIS affiliate has claimed that they brought down the plane since the beginning of the investigation.

And while Egyptian and other officials believe there is a high chance of a bomb being the cause of the crash, Russian forensic experts did warn NBC News that it could be weeks or months before they can conclusively affirm that theory. Pieces of the plane have been sent to Moscow for analysis.

Since the crash, Russia has suspended all flights to Egypt for security issues. Russian inspectors have been sent to the Sharm el-Sheikh airport to investigate security concerns. Egyptian officials are also questioning airport security and staff and some employees are even under surveillance. Security officials at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport have told the Associated Press that there have been gaps in security for awhile. Between non functioning equipment, lax searches, and policemen who can be bribed, that drugs and weapons slip through security all the time according to Fox News.

British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond stated that if a bomb was the cause of the plane crash, that airport security in all areas where ISIS is active would have to be rethought.

At this time Britain and the United States have stopped flights to the resort and Russia has suspended all flights to Egypt due to security concerns.

Cameron says bomb likely caused Russian airliner crash

Photo courtesy of Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

By Paul Sandle

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain said on Thursday there was a significant possibility that Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate was behind a suspected bomb attack on a Russian airliner that killed 224 people in the Sinai Peninsula.

Russia dismissed the claim as speculation and Egypt said there was no indication so far that a bomb was to blame.

The topic is sensitive for Russia, whose warplanes have launched raids against Islamic State in Syria, and for Egypt, which depends heavily on revenues from tourism.

Asked if he thought Islamic State was responsible, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: “ISIL-Sinai have claimed responsibility for bringing down the Russian aircraft, they did that straight away after the crash.

“We’ve looked at the whole information picture, including that claim, but of course lots of other bits of information as well, and concluded that there is a significant possibility,” he said on Sky television.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said it was more likely than not that a bomb was to blame.

“We cannot be certain that the Russian airliner was brought down by a terrorist bomb, but it looks increasingly likely that that was the case,” Cameron said.

U.S. and European security sources say evidence now suggests that a bomb planted by Islamic State’s Egypt affiliate – Sinai Province – was the likely cause of the crash. The sources stressed they had reached no final conclusions about the crash.

Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands banned flights to and from Sharm al-Sheikh, where the doomed flight originated, while Germany urged travelers to avoid the Sinai Peninsula.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, said Russian planes were still flying to and from Sharm al‐Sheikh.

“Theories about what happened and the causes of the incident can only be pronounced by the investigation,” Peskov said.

“So far, we have heard nothing (like this) from the investigation. Any kind of similar assumptions like this are based on information that has not been checked or are speculation.”

 

EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL

Egypt’s civil aviation minister, Hossam Kamal, said of the explosion theory: “The investigation team does not have yet any evidence or data confirming this hypothesis.”

However, the head of Russian aviation agency Rosaviatsia said investigators would examine whether there was any explosive material on the plane. Alexander Neradko said the investigation would reach initial conclusions in a few months.

Russia’s Kogalymavia airline, which operated the crashed plane, said three of its four remaining A321 jets had passed safety checks by Russia’s state transport agency, while the fourth would be checked shortly.

Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, launched air raids against opposition groups in Syria including Islamic State on Sept. 30.

Islamic State has called for war against both Russia and the United States in response to their air strikes in Syria. The hardline group, which also has a presence in Egypt’s neighbor Libya, is waging a campaign of suicide bombings and shootings in Egypt designed to topple the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The Egyptian leader is currently on a state visit to Britain, which like other Western powers sees Cairo as critical to efforts to counter militancy.

A senior Russian lawmaker said Britain’s decision to stop flights from Sharm was motivated by London’s opposition to Russia’s actions in Syria, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

“There is geopolitical opposition to the actions of Russia in Syria,” said Konstantin Kosachev, a senior member of Russia’s upper house of parliament, when asked about Britain’s decision.

If a bomb killed the 224 passengers and crew aboard the Airbus A321 <AIR.PA>, that would almost certainly undermine Egypt’s tourism industry, which is still recovering from years of political turmoil.

At Sharm airport, security appeared to have been tightened on Thursday with security forces patrolling the terminals and not allowing drivers, tour agents or others to loiter while awaiting tourist arrivals, a witness said.

Islamic State, which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria and is battling the Egyptian army in the Sinai Peninsula, said again on Wednesday that it brought down the airplane, adding it would eventually tell the world how it carried out the attack. Egypt dismissed a similar claim of responsibility for the crash by Islamic State on Saturday.

 

TOURISM WORRIES

Caution among Egyptian officials in assessing the cause of the crash has not eased anxiety among tourism companies that handle visitors to Egypt’s ancient sites and Red Sea resorts.

Shares in Thomas Cook <TCG.L> opened down 2.1 percent after Britain canceled flights to Sharm, dealing a blow to the tourism industry on which Egypt relies to earn hard currency.

Sisi has described Islamist militancy as an existential threat to the Arab world and the West, and has repeatedly called for greater international efforts to combat the militants.

Britain said it was working with airlines and Egyptian authorities to put in place additional security and screening measures to allow Britons in Sharm to get home. It hoped flights bound for Britain could leave on Friday.

Security experts and investigators have said the plane is unlikely to have been struck from the outside and Sinai-based militants are not believed to possess the technology to shoot down a jet cruising above 30,000 feet.

Sinai Province has killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police since Sisi, as army chief, toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

Sisi was elected president last year on promises he would stabilise Egypt and rebuild its shattered economy. Critics say his tough crackdown on Islamists will only create more radicals in Egypt, which has fought militants for decades.

 

(Additional reporting by Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Tom Heneghan, Giles Elgood and Pravin Char)

Ukrainian Warhead Brought Down Malaysian Airlines Flight 17

The mystery of what brought down Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 that killed 298 people has been solved according to the Dutch Safety Board (DSB). The Boeing 777 was heading from Amsterdam to Malaysia when it was shot down by a Russian developed BUK missile on July 17, 2014, over Ukrainian territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

According to the DSB the missile detonated less than a yard away from Flight 17’s cockpit, caused the plane to break up in midair and scatter over a 20-square-mile area over eastern Ukraine.  The Board cannot assign blame for the bombing so who actually fired at the plane has not yet been established.  

The West and Ukraine say Russian-backed rebels brought down the Boeing 777, but Russia blames Ukrainian forces. The safety board’s chairman told the press conference that because of the armed conflict in Ukraine, there would have been “sufficient reason to close the airspace as a precaution” but “the Ukraine authorities failed to do so.”

Tjibbe Joustra, chairman of the Dutch Safety Board, said the explosion killed the plane’s three crew members in the cockpit and that investigators had found “high energy fragments” in their bodies. Whatever happened to the plane happened quickly, leaving the passengers dazed or unconscious. And while it’s not clear if anyone died in mid air, no one could have survived the plane’s impact with the ground, the DSB said.

The disaster and its aftermath — when armed men initially prevented international monitors from reaching the crash site and recovering the scattered bodies — shocked the world.

ISIS Has Enough Radioactive Material For Dirty Bomb

Australia’s foreign minister has said their intelligence shows ISIS has enough radioactive material to create a large “dirty” bomb.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told The Australian newspaper that ISIS has collected enough radioactive materials from hospitals and research centers in areas they have overtaken in the last few years.  She also said the group is now recruiting “highly trained professionals” to develop chemical weapons which could also be used to create “dirty” bombs.

“They seek to undermine and overthrow that order and as we have seen, are prepared to use any and all means, any and all forms of violence they can think of to advance their demented cause,” she said.  “That includes use of chemical weapons.”

“Chemical weapons often receive less public attention than nuclear and biological threats,” she also said, later adding, “However, toxic chemicals were, by far, the most widely used and proliferated weapons of mass destruction in the 20th century.”

Bishop is not the first international intelligence official to comment on the possibility of dirty bombs or nuclear weapons falling into the hands of ISIS.  Indian defense officials said that the terrorists are working to obtain a nuclear weapon from Pakistan.

Several intelligence officials are concerned about the approach of Ramadan, as ISIS has ramped up attacks in connection with the Muslim holy month.

ISIS Burying Children Alive According To UN Report

The first report since 1998 from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child is showing the horrors of ISIS upon religious minorities.

The report, written by 18 independent experts, shows that ISIS is using children with mental illnesses as suicide bombers.  The children are unable to understand that they will die as a result of what they’re doing, and because of their autism and other illnesses they believe they are just being “good kids.”

“We have had reports of children, especially children who are mentally challenged, who have been used as suicide bombers, most probably without them even understanding,” Committee expert Renate Winter said. “There was a video placed [online] that showed children at a very young age, approximately eight years of age and younger, to be trained already to become child soldiers.”

The group has also targeted the children of Christians for crucifixions and live burial.  The children would sometimes be thrown into open graves that contain the bodies of their parents and buried.

In addition to the active murders of children, ISIS is also locking children inside homes where they die of starvation or thirst.  Children are also sold in markets next to fruit and vegetables.

The report outlines the selling of young girls as sex slaves.

Al Qaeda Bomb Recipe Causes Airport Security Change

If you will be flying anywhere in the United States over the next few months, prepare for a few extra minutes in the security line.

Al Qaeda published a new “online recipe” for creating bombs that cannot be detected by the current security measures in place at airports.  The result is that the TSA will be conducting random spot checks of carry on baggage at all airports.

Jeh Johnson, head of Homeland Security, met with airline officials to provide them the details of the terrorist thread.  The guidelines from Al Qaeda not only included the bomb mixture but also told bombers where to sit on the planes for maximum damage.

“We have no specific, credible intelligence of an attack of the kind in Paris last week being planned by terrorist organizations in this country,” Johnson said in a statement. “But, the reasons for these measures should be self-evident to the public: the recent attacks in Paris, Ottawa, Sydney, and elsewhere, along with the recent public calls by terrorist organizations for attacks on Western objectives, including aircraft, military personnel, and government installations and civilian personnel.”

“The chief Al-Qaeda bombmaker Ibrahim Al-Asiri is innovative in his designs and isn’t to be underestimated,” security expert Ryan Mauro told FoxNews.com. “For Al Qaeda, it is still somewhat of a victory if they can get an explosive on an airliner or even just inside an airport, regardless of whether the device ignites properly.

Father Gives Daughter To Boko Haram

A 13-year-old girl who escaped the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram says her father sold her into slavery with the group.

The girl, whose identity is being withheld by authorities, said that she was being ordered to become a suicide bomber.  The information from the girl coincides with a rise in terrorist attacks by young girls and women wearing bomb vests.  Officials are concerned that the terrorists are forcing captive women to commit attacks.

The girl said her captors told her the only way to get into paradise would be to let them use her as a homicide bomber.

“When I was told I would have to die to enter paradise, that I would have to explode a bomb and die, I said I cannot do it,” she said.  She eventually allowed them to strap a bomb vest on her after she noticed they were burying alive members of the group and girls who would not follow through with terror attacks.

“I was afraid to be buried alive,” she told reporters.

The girl was initially arrested at a hospital after she arrived with a leg wound.  She told a taxi driver to take her a hospital and she left the bomb vest in the back seat of the taxi.  Officials say they will keep her in protective custody while the investigation continues.

She says her father is now a full member of Boko Haram.