The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bomb blast at a police outpost near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport intersection here, dnaindia.com reported.

SITE Intel Group, which tracks online activities of different extremist groups, posted on their Twitter account that IS had claimed the attack. This was the 28th militant incident in Bangladesh, for which IS claimed responsibility.

Earlier on Friday, a suicide bomber was killed while trying to carry out an attack at the intersection.

Assistant Commissioner of police (Airport) Ruhul Amin Shagor confirmed that a suicide bomber attempted to attack the police box overlooking the airport intersection, as reported by the Dhaka Tribune.

He also confirmed the attacker has been killed and no other casualties have been reported. He tried to blow up the outpost with explosives in his pocket or tied around his waist.

The explosion, however, ripped through the right side of his waist.

The suicide attack comes exactly a week after another bomb attack on the Rapid Action Battalion (RRAB) camp at Ashkona, barely half a kilometre away from Friday's site.</s>Here is the full statement on the Westminster terror attack made by Mark Rowley just now:

"Good morning - I am here to update you on our ongoing counter-terrorism operation following the horrific attack in Westminster.

"Greater clarity is now developing regarding the casualty figures as we have now collated information from the public and five hospitals - the latest figures I have are that there are currently four dead and 29 people were treated in hospital.

"We are still collating numbers of walking wounded and of those in hospital sadly seven of them are in a critical condition.

"Tragically the deaths included Pc Keith Palmer who was protecting Parliament, and two members of the public - a woman aged in her mid 40s and a man aged in his mid 50s.

"The fourth man of course was the terrorist who was shot dead by armed police at the scene.

"Hundreds of detectives have been working through the night and during that time I can confirm we have searched six addresses - and made seven arrests. The inquiries in Birmingham, London and other parts of the country continue.

"It is still our belief - which continues to be born out by our investigation - that this attacker acted alone yesterday and was inspired by international terrorism.

"To be explicit - at this stage, we have no specific information about further threats to the public.

"Clearly our investigation is ongoing - developing all the time - and is focused on his motivation, his preparation and associates.

"I do recognise that the media are making progress in identifying the attacker - I would continue to ask that his name is not published whilst we are at such a sensitive stage in our investigation - and as I state still conducting arrests and searches.

"The large and complicated crime scene remains in place and our work there continues - I would like to thank everyone for their support and patience as we finish this work.

"As people are out and about on the streets of the Capital this morning they will see more police officers on duty - armed and unarmed - and a mix of British Transport Police and the City of London.

"We have cancelled some leave and increased some duty hours and are working to make sure that we can out in force to reassure the public.

"We must not allow terrorists to create discord, distrust and fear.

"The police stand with all communities - later today a meeting of faith leaders will be held here at New Scotland Yard.

"Whilst our work to investigate and understand what happened yesterday continues with vigour - we must also reflect.

"I want to thank the public for their support and all their good wishes - I know it is appreciated by all those men and women who are out there today protecting us.

"Finally, I would also like to ask the public for their continued help and continued vigilance and if you see anything that causes you concern or raises your suspicions do not hesitate to call us - 0800 789 321 - or in an emergency 999. Thank you."</s>CAIRO — Islamic State was responsible for an attack outside Britain’s parliament which left four people dead, the group’s Amaq news agency said Thursday.

“The perpetrator of the attacks yesterday in front of the British parliament in London is an Islamic State soldier and he carried out the operation in response to calls to target citizens of the coalition,” the Amaq statement said.

Islamic State, which has controlled parts of Iraq and Syria in recent years, has lost territory this year to local forces in those countries supported by a U.S.-led military coalition.</s>A union flag flies at half-mast with the pods of the London Eye seen in the background in central London on March 23, 2017 the day after the March 22 terror attack in Westminster claimed at least three lives including that of police officer Keith Palmer. Pic/AFP 

 

London: The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the terror attack in the heart of London that killed four people, the BBC reported.

"So-called Islamic State says it was behind attack in Westminster, according to a statement from the group," the BBC said.

"The so-called Islamic State terror group has claimed through its news agency that the Westminster attacker was a 'soldier of the Islamic State'," the agency said.</s>A militant group affiliated to Islamic State in Egypt claimed responsibility for the downing of a Russian passenger plane that crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula on Saturday, the group said in a statement circulated by supporters on Twitter.

Egyptian security sources earlier on Saturday said early investigations suggested the plane crashed due to a technical fault.

The claim of responsibility was also carried by the Aamaq website which acts as a semi official news agency for Islamic State.

"The fighters of the Islamic State were able to down a Russian plane over Sinai province that was carrying over 220 Russian crusaders. They were all killed, thanks be to God," the statement circulated on Twitter said.</s>So-called Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Westminster terror attack which left four people dead, according to the IS-affiliated new agency Amaq.

In a statement the terror organisation said: : "The attacker yesterday in front of the British Parliament in London was a soldier of the Islamic State executing the operation in response to calls to target citizens of coalition nations."

Professor Peter Neumann, director of the International Centre For The Study Of Radicalisation (ICSR) at King's College London, said: "You can be a lone attacker but you can still be radicalised as part of networks as part of, for example, a jihadist scene."

Dr Shiraz Maher, deputy director of the ICSR, said the West is seeing an increasing number of terrorist attacks using "unsophisticated methods".

He said: "These are plots that are very easy to construct, require little money, planning, and expertise, but which are nonetheless highly effective in causing death and destruction.

"We have already seen similar attacks in Nice and Florida, and the challenge for all of us is to now work out how we can identify and prevent these attacks before they occur."</s>The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Thursday for an attack by a man who plowed an SUV into pedestrians on a crowded London bridge and then stabbed a police officer to death on the grounds of Britain's Parliament.The attacker was born in Britain and known to authorities who had once investigated him for links to religious extremism, British Prime Minister Theresa May said Thursday in a sweeping speech in which she also encouraged Britons to go about their lives.The Islamic State group said through its Aamaq News Agency that the attacker was a soldier of the Islamic State who "carried out the operation in response to calls for targeting citizens of the coalition" of countries fighting IS in Syria and Iraq. In addition to the police officer and the attacker, who was shot by police, two people died on Westminster Bridge and at least 30 others were injured, seven critically.British officials did not release the attacker's identity or confirm a link with the Islamic State group, though May did say it would be wrong to describe the attack as "Islamic" extremism."It is Islamist terrorism," she said. "It is a perversion of a great faith."The IS group has been responsible for numerous bloody attacks around the globe and has specifically called for Western followers to carry out this kind of attack in their own countries, though the group has also claimed attacks later found to have no clear links to it.May set an unyielding tone Thursday in a sweeping statement before the House of Commons. While she honored the police, she also saluted the actions of millions of people who went about their lives as normal, describing it as proof that the act of terror failed."As I speak millions will be boarding trains and airplanes to travel to London, and to see for themselves the greatest city on Earth," she told the House of Commons. "It is in these actions - millions of acts of normality - that we find the best response to terrorism -a response that denies our enemies their victory, that refuses to let them win, that shows we will never give in."Parliament began its moment of silence at 9:33 a.m., honoring the shoulder number of the murdered officer, Keith Palmer, a 15-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police and a former soldier. Then Parliament, which was locked down after the attack, returned to business - a counter to those who had attacked British democracy."Those who carry out such wicked and depraved acts as we saw yesterday can never triumph in our country and we must ensure it is not violence, hatred or division but decency and tolerance that prevails in our country," Trade Secretary Liam Fox said."Hear, hear!" lawmakers from all parties responded in unison.Police believe the attacker acted alone and there is no reason to believe "imminent further attacks" are planned, she said. He had been investigated before but police believed he was a peripheral figure, May said. At least eight people were arrested in raids, some in the city of Birmingham, in the central part of the country.Mayor Sadiq Khan called for Londoners to attend a candlelit vigil at Trafalgar Square on Thursday evening in solidarity with the victims and their families and to show that London remains united.London went on. Parliament Square, Westminster Bridge and several surrounding streets remain cordoned off by police. Scores of unarmed officers in bright yellow jackets were staffing the perimeter tape, guiding confused civil servants trying to get to work.In Parliament's New Palace Yard, a blue police tent was erected over the spot where the stabbing and shooting occurred, and two forensic officers worked at a trestle table nearby.Metropolitan Police counterterrorism chief Mark Rowley revised the death toll from five to four, including the attacker, the police officer and two civilians. He said that 29 people required hospitalization and seven of them were in critical condition. He also said that authorities were still working out the number of "walking wounded." Police had previously given the total number of injured as around 40.One of those killed was Aysha Frade, a British national whose mother is Spanish, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said.A doctor who treated the wounded from the bridge said some had "catastrophic" injuries. Three police officers returning from a ceremony to honor their bravery were among the injured.May said people from 11 countries were among the victims. They included: 12 Britons, 3 French, 2 Romanians, 4 South Koreans, 1 German, 1 Pole, 1 Irish, 1 Chinese, 1 Italian, 1 American and two Greeks required hospital treatment. Police earlier said that seven of the 29 who are hospitalized are in critical condition.The threat level for international terrorism in the U.K. was already listed at severe, meaning an attack was "highly likely."President Donald Trump was among world leaders offering condolences.London has been a target for terrorism many times over past decades. Just this weekend, hundreds of armed police took part in an exercise simulating a "marauding" terrorist attack on the River Thames.May underscored that the attack targeted "free people everywhere," and she said she had a response: "You will not defeat us.""Let this be the message from this House and this nation today: our values will prevail," she said.</s>The Islamic State group — also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) — has reportedly claimed responsibility for Wednesday's terror attack in London. The attack, for which seven people have been arrested, has led to the death of at least four people, including a policeman.

Also read: London terror attack: British-born suspect was once investigated by MI5, PM Theresa May confirms

A prominent news agency, quoting another agency that is believed to be close to ISIS, confirmed that the attack had been perpetrated by the terrorist group. This now raises questions of how one of the terror suspects who perpetrated the attack — who has been identified as a British-born citizen — was radicalised.

The ISIS-leaning news agency, called Nashir channel, said in a statement: "A soldier of the Islamic State carried out the attack, responding to a call for attacking citizens of coalition states."

Experts in the field are of the opinion that this claim is genuine, given the language used and the idioms in which the message this delivered. The indications of this include the logo of Amaq, which is often considered the de-facto mouthpiece of ISIS. Then there is the manner in which the terrorist has been referred to as a "soldier of the Islamic State."

Security experts also believe that the attack could have been a "remote controlled" one — where the radicalised terrorist was given training and logistical support without his induction into ISIS — rather than a direct attack by the terrorist group. The statement, after all, says the attack was carried out "in response to appeals targeting nationals of coalition countries." The coalition countries are those fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria.</s>Islamic State is notorious for beheading or executing anyone who stands in its way when seizing cities and towns in Iraq and Syria that form its self-proclaimed caliphate, often using suicide bombers to make advances.

The militants have issued guidelines on life with their ideology, requiring all women to wear face veils, and banning the cigarettes and Western-style haircuts that were popular in Falluja before.

Many residents feel alienated by the changes. But in order to keep the "empire" and its holy war against governments and armies going, Islamic State also strikes deals with people like the tailor, according to recent visitors to Falluja who spoke to Reuters in Baghdad by telephone.

Islamic State provided a generator and free fuel, enabling him to boost profits and churn out suicide vests, belts and trousers from a building pockmarked by U.S. bullets used against al Qaeda nearly a decade ago.

"I passed through hard times. I have children to feed. I chose this new profession willingly and I take responsibility for the outcome," the tailor said.

Like other people quoted in this story, his name has not been included for security reasons.

Falluja was the first Iraqi city to fall to Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot comprised of Arabs and foreign fighters who have threatened to march on nearby Baghdad.

During the U.S. occupation of Iraq after Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003, it emerged as the main bastion of the Sunni insurgency in western Anbar province and swiftly became an al Qaeda stronghold. The U.S. Marines fought over it with al Qaeda in 2004 in two of the biggest battles of the American war.

A decade later, Islamic State is deeply entrenched in Falluja, making it one of the main examples of what life could soon be like across swathes of Syria and Iraq under its ultra-hardline ideology.

The mainly tribal town in the Euphrates valley just west of Baghdad has long been a bastion of traditional religious and cultural practice. Even Saddam's secular dictatorship was alarmed by Islamists there. But even its deeply conservative population has often been uneasy with life under Islamic State.

All women who appear at the entrances of Falluja are given a free head-to-toe niqab, or veil, that they are forced to put on in a booth with tinted glass so that men can't see them.

Islamic State has guidelines on what is forbidden in pamphlets pasted on buildings and mosques across Falluja: no cigarettes or shisha water pipes as they might distract people from worship, no Western-style haircuts, no T-shirts with English writing or images of women.

Women are not allowed to leave home unaccompanied by a male relative, a rule that has deepened frustrations.

One witness recalled how a crowd gathered as a woman in her fifties who used to sell women's underwear, clothes and nail polish shouted outside the Falluja Islamic State court, which rules on everything from crimes to disputes between neighbours.

The woman was heading to the court to argue she should be allowed to walk alone because she is a widow and did not want to burden her brothers. She yelled at Islamic State militants just outside the courthouse.

“You say God does not accept a woman going outside her house alone. Then how could God accept you killing people?,” a witness quoted the woman as saying.

A militant responded. "We would decapitate you if you were a man." The court ruled that she should be expelled from Falluja. She left with her belongings in a pickup truck and Islamic State took over her home.

Young girls under 12, the cut off age for enforcing the niqab, must wear a headscarf.

"Why do they force us to do something against our will? We were born free and it’s unfair to be treated like this,” said one woman whose six-year-old daughter was forced to wear a head scarf. Even shopfront mannequins must wear the niqab.

In the once smoke-filled cafes where residents would puff on water pipes, discuss the day's events and watch television, Islamic State now permits only sipping tea and viewing religious programmes, said a cafe owner.

One man inside a crowded city market said he had been caught smoking a shisha.

“Gunmen from Islamic State arrested me and took me to a cleric who warned me not to repeat this wrong act; otherwise I will be whipped,” he said. “At this point I am resigned to the fact that we should carry arms and fight Islamic State in Falluja or we will end up as their slaves."

Young people who once escaped from Iraq's tragedies by working out at Falluja's Golan Sports Hall have watched Islamic State turn it into an auction house which offers furniture, refrigerators and carpets taken from government employees.

But while Islamic State has alienated some people with its methods, the group has also tried to win others over by providing basic services.

Militants driving trucks with Islamic State banners water trees by the roadside. The group employs cleaners to remove garbage from streets with pavements painted to match Islamic State's black and white flags.

In Fallujah, even the subsidised flour at state shops comes in sacks bearing Islamic State's logo.

Aside from their efforts to run Falluja like a state, Islamic State militants see it as a strategic asset in their drive to redraw the map of the Middle East.

U.S. airstrikes, which have failed to slow Islamic State's advance in Anbar, have targeted the area around Falluja.

Islamic State militants have changed their movements to avoid detection, as special security teams in black ski masks search for infiltrators.

One witness said anyone caught filming is immediately surrounded, arrested and interrogated by Islamic State militants, mostly long-haired men who wear grey Taliban-style outfits, who are senior to men in beige.

Witnesses said the militants now travel in ordinary vehicles and motorcycles instead of pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns.

Tanks and armoured vehicles seized from defeated Iraqi troops are covered by tree branches and hidden in strategic areas, the witnesses said.

Despite the pressure of U.S. airstrikes launched after Islamic State made fresh advances in recent months and began beheading Western hostages, the Sunni militants seem firmly in control of Falluja.

That means the tailor's dwindling business should keep flourishing. He has bought a second sewing machine.

The suicide outfits are made of tough waterproof material and come in black and beige. There are several kinds: one has chest pockets for explosives while another has pockets along the chest and upper back. The third has pockets hidden in trousers.

All three are piled high on the pavement for lack of space. The militants load the material on to a truck and set off to prepare for the next mission.

"I know that one day I may get arrested by (Iraqi) security forces. But they should know that I am doing this for the sake of my family," said the tailor.</s>The Rebel Media founder spoke to a small handful of young conservative men at Ryerson University

Rebel Media’s Ezra Levant opened his speech at Ryerson University on Wednesday with a direct and highly personal attack against me.

Before the event even started, he told me I was an “anti-Semite, a self-hating Jew,” and “a piece of shit on the sidewalk. I wipe my shoes with you.”

At the podium, Levant wasted no time. He immediately singled me out, telling the crowd of about 40 people that I was “an anti-Semite, a Holocaust trivializer, vestigially Jewish,” and “a self-loathing Jew.”

Organized by Campus Conservatives, the event was described as a discussion of “campus culture and Israel and the Middle East.”

With regard to anti-Semitism, Levant is currently facing criticism after one of his own Rebel Media contributors, Gavin McInnes, made a video called “10 Things I Hate About Jews.”

Levant took issue with my Torontoist video coverage of the Rebel Media’s rally last month at Canada Christian College.

The event was originally scheduled to take place in the Sears Atrium at Ryerson’s George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, but it was moved to the Mattamy Athletic Centre because of security concerns just hours before.

Levant has been leading a chorus of vehement opposition to M-103, a federal government motion to condemn Islamophobia, which passed in the House of Commons today. He says it will lead to widespread government-imposed censorship and will target his followers. “It’s not me they’re going to shut up, [but] they’ll try.”

“Hate is a human emotion … can you hate Islam? How can you look at 9/11 and not feel any sort of hatred?” asked Levant.

“To say hate speech is somehow unlawful simply because you have a feeling in your heart when you say certain words doesn’t even make any sense.”

Meanwhile, inside a few protesters stood up, interrupting Levant’s speech, chanting, “No Islamophobia, no white supremacy!” to which Levant chanted back, “Don’t shut down a Jew!”

That’s when Levant stepped down from the podium and confronted the protestors, surrounded by his screaming supporters until the demonstrators were forced out of the room.

After the event, I spoke with protester Jamie Sweeney, who held a sign reading, “My Judaism Rejects Israeli Apartheid and Ezra Levant.”

Sweeney criticized the Campus Conservatives for “giving a platform for malicious hate and bigotry” and added that “Ezra needs to understand that Jews are not homogenous ,and we should stand up for racial justice because we of all people should know the impacts of bigotry, discrimination, and violence.”

“Ryerson doesn’t protect its students” said fourth-year politics major Vajdaan Tanveer. “There is a line between free speech and hate speech. We don’t have to always agree, but it’s often these ideas from Levant that are then used to hurt people.”

“Rebel Media and Ezra Levant are giving a platform for Islamophobic and anti-Semitic views,” said Orion Keresztesi, a Ryerson staffer who was protesting the event. “A university that claims to be progressive shouldn’t be giving a platform for these folks.”

When asked for an interview, Ryerson Campus Conservatives’ president Nikita Drakokhrust said, “I don’t do interviews, sorry.” He later gave an on-camera interview to The Rebel.

But one member of Campus Conservatives did speak to Torontoist. Marshal Darbyshire said, “I would like to see a cultural shift on campus that has a more non-partisan approach that doesn’t favour Marxist ideas over non-Marxist ideas.”

Darbyshire defended the recent controversial comments made by the Rebel’s McInnes: “I don’t think there’s necessarily anything wrong with it. Again, it’s the free speech thing. It’s our job to [protect it] instead of having it shut down through the university or legislation.”

Student journalists from Ryerson newspaper The Eyeopener were denied entry to the event. Darbyshire refused entry to Eyeopener news editor Alanna Rizza and told her it was “because I don’t like you.”

Toronto Sun columnist Sue-Ann Levy got a comment in during the Q-and-A portion; she took the opportunity to congratulate Levant and express her support.

Levant then unleashed one last attack on me.

“Listen, I’m having a lot of fun with Zach ’cause he’s so gross, but most Jews are not that extreme in their self-loathing. But it’s true, Sue-Ann, a lot of Jews think Jewishness is sort of like a weak affiliation . . . I think it’s a desire to hit the snooze button on the alarm. I think we’re in an alarm. I think the alarm goes off pretty much every week now. It went off today in Westminster in London, but it’s easier to hit the alarm.”
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility.