Dilitas International Security Brief

This week's Dilitas International Security Brief.

Dilitas provides the following services:

INVESTIGATIONS

DUE DILIGENCE

SURVEILLANCE

CLOSE PROTECTION

SECURITY CONSULTANCY

The threat to the UK from International Terrorism is SEVERE

The threat to Great Britain from Irish Republican Terrorism is MODERATE

Threat levels are designed to give a broad indication of the likelihood of a terrorist attack.

LOW means an attack is unlikely

MODERATE means an attack is possible, but not likely

SUBSTANTIAL means an attack is a strong possibility

SEVERE means an attack is highly likely

CRITICAL means an attack is expected imminently

AFRICA

The authorities in the north-western Nigerian state of Kaduna say at least 16 people have been killed and an unspecified number of others abducted during multiple attacks by gunmen on several villages.

The UN Refugee Agency has [said] that thousands of civilians are continuing to flee across the border into Sudan to escape the continuing unrest in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray.

The Ethiopian government will not talk with leaders of the northern Tigray region to end the conflict there, an aide to PM Abiy Ahmed has [said].

Teargas and live bullets have been fired in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, to disperse people protesting against the arrest of Ugandan presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine.

South Africa has issued an arrest warrant for controversial millionaire pastor Shepard Bushiri, who skipped bail and returned home to Malawi.

ASIA

The Iraqi army on Friday killed 16 Daesh/ISIS terrorists in a counter-terrorism operation in northern Iraq, the military’s local commander said.

A barrage of rockets has hit residential areas of Kabul, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 30, Afghan officials say. More than a dozen rockets were fired from a pickup truck inside the city, the interior ministry said.

Opposition parties in Pakistan are keeping up the pressure on Imran Khan, holding a series of mass protests against his government.

Commending Pakistan's contribution to the international counter-terrorism cause, Beijing on Friday backed Islamabad's efforts to combat terrorist forces and safeguard national and regional peace and security.

China has strongly rebuked the UK, the US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada after being accused of a concerted effort to silence critics in Hong Kong.

Pakistan [last] Monday rejected India's response to a "dossier" in which Islamabad accused its longtime rival of "sponsoring" terrorism.

Thousands of protesters in Thailand converged on the police headquarters in Bangkok on Wednesday night.

Police in Uganda have a right to shoot protesters dead if they "reach a certain level of violence", Security Minister Elly Tumwine has said.

Aid agencies are calling for an immediate temporary ceasefire in northern Ethiopia to allow aid to reach civilians affected by fighting.

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday conducted multiple raids in Kashmir in connection with a money laundering probe linked to alleged suspicious transactions in the J&K Bank.

Police in Kenya are investigating an "online cartel" that targets girls stuck at home because of coronavirus and lures them under false pretences to what officers describe as orgies.

AUSTRALIA

Removal of security screening at Australian regional airports attacked as 'ludicrous' by terrorism experts

EUROPE

Three people have been arrested over a dramatic diamond heist in Germany last year that targeted one of Europe's largest treasure collections.

MIDDLE EAST

Iraqi authorities [last] Monday hanged 21 convicted terrorists and murderers at the notorious Nasiriyah prison in the country's south, according to an interior ministry statement.

Sudan and Egypt over the weekend started joint air exercises, dubbed The Nile Eagles 1, at the Merowe air base in northern Sudan. The joint drills will continue until 26 November.

Israel's military says it launched air strikes against Iranian and Syrian military targets in Syria overnight, after explosive devices were found in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Five prisoners have died when their getaway car hit a tree after a mass jail-break in Lebanon. A total of 69 prisoners managed to break down their cell doors at the jail near Beirut in the early hours.

UK & EIRE

A man who promoted extremist views and Daesh on social media has been jailed for more than eight years following an investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.

A "once-in-a-generation modernisation" of the armed forces is required to extend British influence and protect the public, Boris Johnson has said. The prime minister told MPs a new four-year funding deal would protect "hundreds of thousands" of jobs and create 40,000 new roles.

Children under the age of 10 in the UK are being investigated over their links to far-right extremism, Sky News has found.

Ten thousand tablets, bags of cocaine, 30 mobile phones, bottles of whiskey, and steroids were found at Mountjoy prison in Dublin.

A senior PSNI officer has warned that organised criminals could exploit the Irish border once the Brexit transition period ends.

A packed Easyjet plane "narrowly missed" being hit by a drone flying at 8,000ft over Greater Manchester, an air safety report has revealed.

USA

President Donald Trump asked senior advisers last Thursday about potential options for attacking Iran's main nuclear site, US media report.

The US military expects President Donald Trump to order a further withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, according to defence officials quoted by US media.

US President Donald Trump has issued an order banning American investments in Chinese firms the government determines have ties to the Chinese military.

The brutal killing of a black man at the hands of two white security guards outside a supermarket has sparked outrage across Brazil.

Hundreds of anti-government protesters in Guatemala have vandalised and set fire to parts of the Congress building, before being dispersed by riot police.

Federal prosecutors say a money laundering scheme managed to funnel $11 million through an Arizona bank. The money originated from drug sales and ended up in bank accounts in Mexico.

CYBER/CRYPTO

North Korean hackers targeting COVID-19 vaccine research firms, Microsoft warns

A recently identified Chinese hacking group dubbed "FunnyDream" has targeted more than 200 government entities in Southeast Asia since 2018 as part of an ongoing cyberespionage campaign, according to research from security firm Bitdefender.

The Australian share market was closed for most of Monday due to a technical glitch.

[UK] Counter Terrorism Policing launch new ACT Early safeguarding website and advice line.

Dutch police have questioned a security researcher who said he successfully logged into the US president's Twitter account by guessing his password. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned his cabinet Friday to beef up online security after a journalist logged into a confidential EU videoconference using information posted on a minister’s Twitter account.

[UK] Cybercriminals targeted Manchester United’s IT systems in a “sophisticated” hacking operation but the English Premier League team said it fended off the strike.

Chinese state-backed threat actors have been busily hacking Japanese businesses for at least a year. The hacking group is fingered by researchers as APT10—aka POTASSIUM, Red Apollo, Menupass, Stone Panda or Cloud Hopper.