Britain:- Terrorism: Anjem Choudary: Islamic Hate preacher finally jailed for Isis-related terror offences

Britain's most notorious hate preacher Anjem Choudary is finally behind bars after being convicted of inviting his followers to support Islamic State terrorists.

The 49-year-old lawyer turned radical cleric has for two decades been the spiritual guide for UK extremists including Lee Rigby killer Michael Adebolajo, Isis executioner Siddhartha Dhar, and hate preacher Abu Hamza.

Through his organisations, Muslim4UK and Al-Muhajiroun (ALM), Choudary has been a constant thorn in the side of British authorities, defending terrorist atrocities while promoting an ideology of hate.

Choudary has played a "significant" role in recruiting Muslims to the extremist cause, police say, inspiring many of the 850 Brits who have headed to Syria since the establishment of the so-called Islamic State.

Read more: Anjem Choudary: Hate preacher jailed for Isis-related terror offences | Crime | News | London Evening Standard

Turkey: At least 28 innocent people killed, 60 injured by "derelicts" as blasts rock Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport

Istanbul: Daesh Deranged Murderers Killing Innocent People

 At least 28 people have been killed and 60 more injured in two blasts that rocked Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, according to Turkish officials. The explosions were reportedly suicide bomb attacks.

The blasts occurred in the airport’s International Arrivals Terminal. 

A Turkish official confirmed to Reuters that two explosions have hit the airport. According to some Turkish media, the blasts were terrorist attacks targeting two separate locations in the airport.

Twenty-eight people have lost their lives in the blasts that hit the airport, Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin said, Turkey’s NTV channel reported.

More than 60 people have been injured, six of them seriously, in explosions at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, according to the Turkish state Anadolu news agency.

Many people caught in the blasts and near the airport posted photos and videos from the scene, showing the destruction caused by the explosions as well as people hiding in various places in search of safety.

Gunfire was heard from the car park near the airport, CNN Turk reports, citing the witnesses. Four armed men were reportedly seen running away from the terminal building after the explosions, according to Turkey’s NTV channel.

Note EU-Digest: Whoever eventually gets  blamed for this cruel act can only be regarded as totally deranged murderers.

Read more: Over 20 killed, 60 injured as blasts rock Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport — RT News

Middle East: Iraq forces retake Fallujah, facing little resistance from Daesh = by Tim Arango

After weeks of fighting, Iraqi forces have entered central areas of Fallujah, facing little resistance by the Islamic State, as thousands of civilians fled in a new wave of displacement that has overwhelmed the ability of aid agencies to care for them.

Counter-terrorism forces raised the Iraqi flag over the main government building in central Fallujah, about 65 kilometres west of Baghdad, and they moved on to besiege the city's main hospital, which was the first target of American forces when they invaded the city in 2004, according to officers and news reports on state television.

The rapid, and unexpected, gains suggested a shift in tactics by the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State, or perhaps a sign of their weakness, as they abandoned their dug-in positions and regrouped in western neighbourhoods. That allowed thousands of civilians, which aid groups had said were being held as human shields, to flee across two bridges over the Euphrates River beginning on Thursday.

Even as the battle appeared far from over, Iraqi commanders on the ground were optimistic that the advance, which had slowed in the face of Islamic State snipers, roadside bombs and tunnel networks that allowed fighters to move around undetected, would continue.

"ISIS has lost its power to defend Fallujah," Colonel Jamal Lateef, a police commander in Anbar Province, said in an interview. "Its defensive lines have collapsed, and the battle of Fallujah will be over in no time."

Read more: Iraq forces retake Fallujah, facing little resistance from Islamic S

Brussels Attack - Inadequate security - live updates: manhunt under way for airport suspect – by M.Weaver, H Siddique, R. Jalab

• There were several terrorist attacks this morning: two explosions in Zaventem and one in Maalbeck, which many killed and wounded.
• Two of the three men in the CCTV photo “very likely committed a suicide attack.’
• Van Leeuw confirmed that there is an active manhunt underway for the third man seen in CCTV footage at Zaventem airport dressed in white.
• Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack through its media wing, but it was still “too early to make a direct connection between the attacks in Paris [in November] and today’s attacks”, Van Leeuw said. Isis’s claim of responsibility has not yet been formally verified, he said.
• There are several raids under way across the country, but Van Leeuw warned of the risks of reporting details of active operations.
• Witnesses are currently being questioned, with more were being sought.
• Several explosions were heard at the airport after the initial two blasts, but these were controlled detonations by security forces, Van Leeuw said, before warning that there may yet be more controlled detonations of suspect packages.
• And with that, Van Leeuw declined to give any further information so as not to affect the ongoing investigations.

Note EU-Digest: It is remarkable how inadequately many European airports and train stations are protected . With a few exceptions,  there are no baggage controls or security gates/checks at most of the entrances into main airport terminals or train stations. European airports which have train stops below the airport or main train terminals usually do not have security checks for passengers and their luggage going into the main terminal. It is a disaster waiting to happen and the EU and local governments  better take immediate action to avoid even more of these horrible events.

 Read more: Brussels attacks: manhunt under way for airport suspect – live updates | World news | The Guardian

Turkey - Terrorism: Turkey says ISIL member carried out Istanbul suicide bombing

The Turkish government says the suicide bomb attack in Istanbul on Saturday was carried out by a member of the self-proclaimed Islamic State organisation.

The explosion killed an Iranian and three Israelis – two of them dual American nationals – and wounded dozens of others in a shopping street popular with tourists.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is trying to determine whether the attack was aimed at its nationals.

The bomber who also died in the attack has been identified by the Turkish authorities as Mehmet Ozturk, who was born in 1992 and came from the southern province of Gaziantep.

“According to the information given to me, this person (who carried out the attack) is not on the list of people wanted by the police or gendarmerie. Up to now, five people have been detained,” said Turkey’s Interior Minister Efkan Ala, adding that seven provinces in the south were now under curfew.

Read more: Turkey says ISIL member carried out Istanbul suicide bombing | euronews, world news