ISTANBUL: Turkish authorities have detained 43 people suspected of belonging to Daesh and of plotting attacks targeting celebrations of Turkey’s national day on Tuesday, police and state media said.
The detentions came two days after US President Donald Trump announced that Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi had been killed in a raid by US special forces in northwest Syria, near the Turkish border.
The suspects were detained in Istanbul and the northwestern province of Bursa in three separate operations, according to a police statement and the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Three of the suspects who were believed to have been preparing an attack to disrupt Republic Day celebrations in Istanbul, were detained on Tuesday, Anadolu said.
It said anti-terror and intelligence units established that the suspects had been in contact with people who would provide logistic support for the attack.
Anadolu said another 26 suspected Daesh members were detained in Bursa on Tuesday. It said 12 of them were Syrian nationals and that proceedings were underway to deport them. The other 14 suspects were sent to the police, it added.
Turkish police later said a further 14 suspected extremists, three of them Turkish nationals, were detained in Istanbul. It said the suspects were planning to attack the celebrations in Istanbul following Al-Baghdadi’s death, but did not elaborate.
Turkey has said it shared information with the United States, its NATO ally, ahead of Sunday’s raid in northern Syria and that it is proud to have helped bring “a notorious terrorist to justice.”
On Tuesday Turks were marking the 96th anniversary of the founding of the secular Turkish republic on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.
Trump said on Tuesday the US military had also killed the person who would likely have succeeded Al-Baghdadi as the leader of Daesh, without identifying him.
Daesh has carried out atrocities against religious minorities and attacks on five continents in the name of an ultra-fanatic version of Islam that has horrified mainstream Muslims.
The death of Baghdadi is a severe blow to the group, which has been in disarray and has no declared successor as leader yet. But it has in the past proved resilient, continuing to mount or inspire attacks in the region and beyond despite losing most of its territory in recent years.
Turkey detains 43 suspected Daesh members, foils plot: police
Turkey detains 43 suspected Daesh members, foils plot: police
- The suspects were detained in Istanbul and the northwestern province of Bursa in three separate operations
North Korea says leader Kim supervised missile tests simulating nuclear strikes against rivals
SEOUL, South Korea: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised tests of short-range ballistic missile systems that simulated nuclear counterstrikes against US and South Korean forces, state media said Friday, as the North continued to blame its rivals for escalating tensions through their joint military exercises.
The report came a day after South Korea’s military detected multiple launches from North Korea’s eastern coast and assessed that the tests could also be related to the country’s weapons exports to Russia during its war in Ukraine.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday’s tests involved a mobile ballistic missile system apparently modeled after Russia’s Iskander, as well as 600-millimeter multiple rocket launchers that South Korean officials classify as ballistic due to their self-propulsion and guided flight. Both are part of a growing lineup of weapons systems that the North says could be armed with “tactical” nuclear weapons for battlefield use.
KCNA said the tests were intended to train military units operating missile and rocket systems to more effectively execute attacks under the North’s nuclear weapons control system and ensure a swift response to a nuclear crisis.
The agency criticized the United States and its “vassal states” for expanding joint military exercises on and around the Korean Peninsula, which the North claims are preparations for nuclear war, and said Thursday’s launches demonstrated the “rapid counteraction posture” of its forces.
Kim stressed the need to strengthen the role of his nuclear forces in both deterring and fighting war, and called for continued efforts to improve combat readiness and precision strike capabilities, KCNA said.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said multiple missiles of various types were launched from the area around the eastern port city of Wonsan on Thursday from about 8:10 to 9:20 a.m., with the farthest traveling about 800 kilometers .
Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs, said in a briefing the North Korean launches were possibly intended to test the performance of weapons it plans to export, as the country continues to send military equipment and troops to fuel Russia’s warfighting against Ukraine.
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters that none of the North Korean missiles reached Japan’s exclusive economic zone and there was no damage to vessels or aircraft in the area.
It was the North’s first known ballistic activity since March 10, when it fired several ballistic missiles hours after US and South Korean troops began an annual combined military exercise, and the country’s sixth launch event of the year.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have escalated in recent months as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues to accelerate the development of his nuclear and missile program and supply weapons and troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Thursday’s launch came a day after North Korean state media said Kim urged munition workers to boost the production of artillery shells amid his deepening alignment with Moscow.
US envoy reassures Panamanians about contentious military deal
- The agreement allows US military personnel to deploy to Panamanian-controlled bases along the canal
PANAMA: The new US ambassador to Panama on Thursday reassured its citizens that an agreement signed by the two countries last month does not permit the return of American military bases.
US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to “take back” control of the Panama Canal from what he calls excessive Chinese influence has caused alarm in the Central American nation.
The agreement signed by Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and President Jose Raul Mulino’s administration allows US military personnel to deploy to Panamanian-controlled bases along the canal for training, exercises and “other activities.”
“Nowhere” does the agreement “talk about opening military bases,” Trump’s ambassador, Kevin Cabrera, told a news conference.
This agreement “will strengthen our cooperation against drug trafficking and protect the canal,” which the United States built and controlled until 1999, he added.
The recent deal has sparked protests from Panamanians who oppose any perceived infringement of their country’s sovereignty after a 1989 US invasion to depose then-leader General Manuel Noriega.
Cabrera said that “false” information was being spread about the agreement “for political reasons.”
Mulino on Thursday ruled out canceling the pact, which he said did not allow “any form” of US military base in his country.
“There is no cession of territory here,” he told a news conference.
Ransomware group Lockbit appears to have been hacked, analysts say
- Lockbit is one of the world’s most prolific cyber extortion gangs and it has survived past disruptions
WASHINGTON: The ransom-seeking cybercriminals behind the extortion group Lockbit appear to have suffered a breach of their own, according to a rogue post to one of the group’s websites and security analysts who follow the gang.
On Wednesday one of Lockbit’s darkweb sites was replaced with a message saying, “Don’t do crime CRIME IS BAD xoxo from Prague” and a link to an apparent cache of leaked data.
Reuters could not immediately verify the data, which appeared to capture chats between the hackers and their victims, among other things. But others who sifted through the material told Reuters it appeared authentic.
“It’s legit,” said Jon DiMaggio, the chief security strategist with the cybersecurity company Analyst1.
Christiaan Beek, senior director of threat analytics at cybersecurity firm Rapid7, agreed the leak “looks really authentic.” He said he was struck by how it showed Lockbit’s hackers hustling even for modest payouts from small businesses.
“They attack everyone,” he said.
Reuters could not immediately reach Lockbit or establish who had apparently leaked their data. Some darkweb sites associated with Lockbit appeared to be inoperative on Thursday, displaying a note saying they would be “working soon.”
Lockbit is one of the world’s most prolific cyber extortion gangs — diMaggio once called it “the Walmart of ransomware groups” — and it has survived past disruptions. Last year British and US officials worked with a coalition of international law enforcement agencies to seize some of the gang’s infrastructure. A few days later, the group defiantly announced it was back online, saying, “I cannot be stopped.”
Behind the bravado, diMaggio said this week’s hack was an embarrassment.
“I think it will hurt them and slow them down,” he said.
US military to ‘immediately’ start removing 1,000 trans troops
WASHINGTON: The US military will “immediately” start the process of removing some 1,000 transgender troops and will force out those who do not leave voluntarily by early June, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January banning transgender military service, and the US Supreme Court ruled this week that the ban could take effect while litigation challenging it plays out.
“The Military Departments will immediately begin processing for separation service members who previously self-identified for voluntary separation prior to March 26, 2025,” a memo from Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said.
Approximately 1,000 troops who identified as having gender dysphoria diagnoses fall into that category, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
There were a total of 4,240 currently serving troops with such diagnoses as of late last year, according to a senior defense official, and the memo said those who do not voluntarily leave by June 6 for active-duty troops and the following day for reserves will be removed.
“On conclusion of the self-identification eligibility window, the Military Departments will initiate involuntary separation processes,” the memo said.
In his January 27 executive order, Trump stated that “expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”
The Pentagon followed that up with a memo issued in late February stating that it would remove transgender troops from the military unless they obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis, as well as prevent transgender people from joining.
Transgender Americans have faced a roller coaster of changing policies on military service in recent years, with Democratic administrations seeking to permit them to serve openly, while Trump has sought to keep them out of the ranks.
Trump calls for ‘unconditional’ 30-day Russia-Ukraine ceasefire
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump called Thursday for a month-long unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, with any breaches punishable by sanctions.
“Talks with Russia/Ukraine continue. The US calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire,” Trump said on his Truth Social network shortly after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions.”
Trump said that “both countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations” to halt the conflict that started when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The US president said he wanted any ceasefire to then build to a “lasting peace.”
“It can all be done very quickly, and I will be available on a moment’s notice if my services are needed.”
Trump opened talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in February in a bid to end the war that he had previously pledged to end within 24 hours of starting his second term.
But he has shown growing impatience, first with Zelensky and more recently with Putin as the fighting has continued.
Trump and other top US officials have stepped up warnings in recent weeks that Washington is prepared to walk away from its role as a broker if there is no progress soon.
Zelensky said on social media that he had told Trump Thursday that Ukraine was ready for talks on the war with Russia “in any format” but insisted that there first had to be a full ceasefire.
