Suspects held in Greece as European terror crackdown widens

[Lite Beer]

Suspects held in Greece as European terror crackdown widens
RAF CASERT, Associated Press
DEMETRIS NELLAS, Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — With Europe on edge, soldiers fanned out to guard possible terror targets in Belgium Saturday while police in Greece detained at least two suspects as part of a widening counterterrorism dragnet across the continent.

In France, one of the terrorists behind last week's attacks in Paris was given a secret burial as authorities sought to head off glorification of terrorism and civil unrest amid a groundswell of popular antagonism across Europe against radical Islam, and protests against caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad across the Muslim world that have underscored vast cultural differences.

For the first time in three decades, authorities used paratroopers to reinforce police in Belgium's cities, guarding buildings within the Jewish quarter of the port city of Antwerp and some Belgian embassies. The move came a day after anti-terror raids netted dozens of suspects across Western Europe and increased anxiety across big swathes of the region.

Belgium has increased its terror warning to 3, the second-highest, following the anti-terror raids of Thursday which left two suspects dead. Police believe the cell they largely dismantled was on the verge of a major attack.

Authorities said that even though they had broken up the alleged terror cell they were still looking for some suspects abroad and briefly hoped Greece could have clinched the breakthrough by detaining one remaining key suspect.

A Greek police official earlier Saturday said the men were detained separately in Athens, some 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles) from Brussels, and included an individual who at first sight matched the description of a key terror suspect in Belgium.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation.

After careful vetting in Brussels of ID information, federal magistrate Eric Van der Sypt said there was no positive match with any individual they sought and said "they had nothing to do with the Belgian case."

With some suspects still at large, it was an uneasy calm in Belgium, and paratroopers on the street did not necessarily help.

"You know, when people see the soldiers on streets they will get scared. That could make more problems than solutions," said student Greg Verhoeven in Antwerp.

France tried to stave off unrest there when Said Kouachi, one of the gunmen who attacked the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, was quietly buried.

After an initial refusal to provide a burial place for Kouachi, the mayor of Reims, Arnaud Robinet, said he was forced to backtrack. Robinet said the government had insisted he allow the elder brother to be buried in Reims because according to French law residents of a town have the right to be buried there.

"He was buried last night, in the most discrete, anonymous way possible," Robinet said.

Kouachi and his brother Cherif were killed by French counter-terrorism police Jan. 9 after they killed 12 people at the offices of Charlie Hebdo. Cherif Kouachi is to be buried in Gennevilliers, a suburb of Paris where he lived.

Authorities said a third gunman, Amedy Coulibaly, killed five people including four hostages at a kosher market in Paris before he was killed by police. There has been no word of plans for his burial.

French authorities also banned an anti-Islamist demonstration in Paris, arguing it might incite civil unrest.

"We are one country, one people, one France — without distinction by religion, belief or sensibility," President Francois Hollande said Saturday in south-central France. "An ardent France against those who want to instill among us who-knows-what war of religion."

___

Nellas contributed from Athens. Jamey Keaten and Greg Keller in Paris also contributed to this report.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-01-18

[Mosha]

Europe needs to scrap the Schengen Treaty and restore internal border controls.

[VillageIdiot]

Europe needs to scrap the Schengen Treaty and restore internal border controls.

That would do little or nothing to stop Islamic terrorism.

What would be more effective would be to disengage from conflicts in the Middle-East.

[Mosha]

Europe needs to scrap the Schengen Treaty and restore internal border controls.

That would do little or nothing to stop Islamic terrorism.

What would be more effective would be to disengage from conflicts in the Middle-East.

To do that we would need to lose our oil addiction, and the oil companies won't allow that.

[Lite Beer]

Deadly anti-Charlie Hebdo riots as France defends free speech

AFP

Five people were killed and churches set on fire in Niger on Saturday (January 18) in fresh protests against the French weekly Charlie Hebdo's cartoon of Mohammed, as France condemned the violence and asserted its commitment to freedom of expression.

With France still reeling from last week's attacks that claimed 17 lives, jittery European countries stepped up security, with soldiers patrolling the streets of Belgium for the first time in 35 years.

But anger mounted in several Muslim countries over the satirical newspaper's caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, with a second day of rioting erupting in Niger, a predominantly Muslim former French colony.

Around 1,000 youths wielding iron bars, clubs and axes rampaged through the Niger capital, hurling rocks at police who responded with tear gas.

At least eight churches were torched and the French embassy in Niamey urged its citizens to stay at home.

"In Niamey, the tally is five dead, all civilians," Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou said in a speech broadcast on state television, as he appealed for calm.

The death toll from riots a day earlier in Niger's second city of Zinder had climbed from four to five after a body was found "burned inside a church", he added.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius condemned "the use of violence" in Niger while President Francois Hollande said France was committed to "freedom of expression", calling it "non-negotiable".

Some 15,000 people also rallied in Russia's Muslim North Caucasus region of Ingushetia against Charlie Hebdo, which depicted on its most recent cover a weeping Mohammed holding a "Je suis Charlie" sign.

There were also protests in Pakistan on Friday, and in Gaza the French cultural centre was defaced with graffiti, reading: "You will go to hell, French journalists".

In a speech, Hollande urged his compatriots not to change their habits, because "to do so would be to yield to terrorism".

A survey released Sunday however found 42 percent of French people thought publications should avoid running cartoons of Mohammed, and 50 percent favoured limiting freedom of expression on the Internet and on social networks, according to the poll for the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche.

Charlie Hebdo's chief editor has defended the cartoons, saying they safeguard freedom of religion.

"Every time we draw a cartoon of Mohammed, every time we draw a cartoon of prophets, every time we draw a cartoon of God, we defend the freedom of religion," Gerard Biard told NBC's Meet the Press programme.

In France, investigators were focusing on 12 people detained early Friday and questioned over "possible logistical support" they may have given to the Paris gunmen -- Islamist brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi and Amedy Coulibaly, sources said.

Neighbouring Belgium deployed troops on the streets after security forces this week smashed a suspected Islamist "terrorist" cell planning to kill police officers.

Greek anti-terror police arrested at least four people suspected of links to the dismantled jihadist cell. Among them was believed to be Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the 27-year-old alleged mastermind of the cell, who according to media reports may have been planning the foiled attacks from Greece.

In London, authorities were mulling "further measures" to protect police "given some of the deliberate targeting of the police we have seen in a number of countries across Europe and the world".

British police officers, for the most part unarmed, will reportedly be equipped with taser guns as part of reinforced security measures.

Britain will hold a meeting of the coalition against the Islamic State group on Thursday, two weeks after the Paris attacks by gunmen claiming to act on behalf of the jihadist group and Al-Qaeda.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and US Secretary of State John Kerry will host the one-day talks in London to discuss progress on tackling the Islamist militants.

Said Kouachi, one of the jihadist brothers who gunned down 12 people at Charlie Hebdo's offices before being cut down by security forces in a siege, has already been buried in secret.

He was buried Friday in an unmarked grave in the northeastern city of Reims, where he lived for around two years, under heavy police protection and with a handful of family members present, according to a well-informed source.

His brother Cherif was expected to be buried soon in the Paris suburb of Gennevilliers.

Reims mayor Arnaud Robinet said he was forced by law to accept the burial but was initially opposed to the gunman being buried in his city, fearing the grave could become "a pilgrimage site for fanatics".

Said Kouachi's wife decided not to attend the burial in order to keep it secret, said her lawyer Antoine Flasaquier.

"She is now relieved that her husband has been buried with discretion and dignity," the lawyer said.

Charlie Hebdo, which has flown off the shelves in record numbers since the attacks, announced on Saturday it would extend its print run to seven million copies.

Before the assault on its Paris headquarters, Charlie Hebdo had a circulation of around 30,000, with only a handful being sold abroad. AFP

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/deadly-anti-charlie-hebdo-riots-as-france-defends-free-speech-50611.php?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

-- Phuket News 2015-01-18

[rethaier]

Europe needs to scrap the Schengen Treaty and restore internal border controls.

That would do little or nothing to stop Islamic terrorism.

What would be more effective would be to disengage from conflicts in the Middle-East.

Yes disengage from the middle east and send ALL Muslims back to the homelands. And I mean ALL because there is no way to distinguish the good ones from the bad ones. When I was in boot camp, if one of our squad screwed up we were all punished this had the effect of the offender receiving the animosity of the rest of the squad and he soon fell into line. Right now if the good Muslims are not going to or want to control the bad elements then they all must pay the price.

[rethaier]

Europe needs to scrap the Schengen Treaty and restore internal border controls.

That would do little or nothing to stop Islamic terrorism.

What would be more effective would be to disengage from conflicts in the Middle-East.

To do that we would need to lose our oil addiction, and the oil companies won't allow that.

They can't eat or drink the oil and they have become addicted to the money and the goodies it buys. They will continue to sell it regardless but we need to start telling them what we will pay and not be held at ransom by OPEC. They have become too greedy and prices need to be rolled back about 30 years. The investments were recouped long ago. When any new product is put on the market it is initially expensive until R&D costs are recovered then the price drops dramatically. This has not been the case with oil.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Even if the west did disengage from the middle east do you really think that would stop these animals from continuing with their terrorist activities?

They will always have something to be irate about. As their numbers grow in countries in Europe, the west and the rest of the world their demands for changes in the local laws to suit their religion will grow and if they don't get what they want when they want it the heads will roll (literally).

[Morch]

Europe needs to scrap the Schengen Treaty and restore internal border controls.

That would do little or nothing to stop Islamic terrorism.

What would be more effective would be to disengage from conflicts in the Middle-East.

Yes disengage from the middle east and send ALL Muslims back to the homelands. And I mean ALL because there is no way to distinguish the good ones from the bad ones. When I was in boot camp, if one of our squad screwed up we were all punished this had the effect of the offender receiving the animosity of the rest of the squad and he soon fell into line. Right now if the good Muslims are not going to or want to control the bad elements then they all must pay the price.

What homelands are second generation (and onward) Muslim citizens born in the West to be deported to?

Does the above include converts?

Is this variation of "all for one, and one for all" to be applied generally, not just with regard to Muslims?

[Credo]

Europe needs to scrap the Schengen Treaty and restore internal border controls.

That would do little or nothing to stop Islamic terrorism.

What would be more effective would be to disengage from conflicts in the Middle-East.

To do that we would need to lose our oil addiction, and the oil companies won't allow that.

Regardless of our addiction to oil, we are infidels and to some degree, targeted for death or conversion. The current situation has nothing to do with oil. It has nothing to do with Israel/Palestine. It has to do with only religion.

The oil will flow, although whether we can keep the shipping lanes would be an issue. They want to sell it; we want to buy it.

Without our presence the ME will continue to fight. When the oil is gone, and with it the money, they will revert to throwing rocks.

My time in the ME, which is an area that I like, was very eye opening. Young boys are taught to shoot and to kill from an early age. When they have the Islamic feasts every family has it's own sheep which they personally slaughter. Killing is something that is ingrained from a very early age.

[mrmicbkktxl]

Europe needs to scrap the Schengen Treaty and restore internal border controls.

That would do little or nothing to stop Islamic terrorism.

What would be more effective would be to disengage from conflicts in the Middle-East.

europe needs to kick out all muslims who not want obey european laws and not want to integrate.smart would be also to freeze some saudi and katar money.in a few months al qaida and friends would be dried out

[soumanioco]

What a bunch of hypocrites complaining for the fallout of their own policies.

Or wasn't the U.S. along with the West that created the Taliban, Al Qaeeda and ISIS?

Did the Muslims woke up one fine morning and decided to start murdering infidels?

"Exporting Democracy" to the savages over the past decades by the U.S. and the West has nothing to do with it?

You do sound like you're living on a different planet.

[Jingthing]

Burning down churches?

I'm no big fan of churches either but I find simply not attending works wonder.

[neverdie]

Savages.

[stoffel45]

Europe needs to scrap the Schengen Treaty and restore internal border controls.

Scrapping the Schengen Treaty, as you suggest, would be a major step forward against, not just 'islamic terrorism' but all forms of criminal activity.

A criminal, terrorist or not, can hop over the border from say Turkey or by boat from Albania. They can enter through Bulgaria or Romania. They can then take a train to ANYWHERE in the EU - except the UK and do their dirty work.

Schengen is a disaster.

If Schengen is scrapped - which will happen one day in the not too distant future - each country will - once again - have its own Borders with proper controls. Not full proof I agree - but it makes life difficult for the criminals.

Actually the EU is a disaster - but highly, superbly profitable for those who run it.

Edited January 18, 2015 by stoffel45