Islamist attack

PARIS (Reuters) - The U.S. rock band Eagles of Death Metal were midway through their set when Islamist militants sprayed the Bataclan concert hall in Paris with gunfire, cutting down revellers, frontman Jesse Hughes recounted before a French court on Tuesday. Guitar technician Eden Galindo's first thought had been that the sound system was exploding, but Hughes said he knew instantly the venue was under attack. "Being from a desert community in California, I know the sound of gun shots," Hughes told the trial of Salah Abdeslam, the only suspected surviving member of the squad that killed 130 people at several locations on Nov. 13, 2015. "I knew that death was coming," he said. The assailants burst through the music hall's main entrance and blasted automatic gunfire into the crowd as the band played. "We were thinking that it was going to stop but it just kept coming," Galindo told the court. "After a while they reloaded and a technician told us, 'next time they stop, we … [Read more...] about “Death was coming” – Bataclan band recalls Paris attack

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Police in Somalia have announced a 33-hour curfew on the capital Mogadishu that will keep almost all residents at home during a presidential election by lawmakers on Sunday, in which incumbent leader Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed is seeking a second term. Police spokesperson Abdifatah Aden announced at a press conference on Saturday a full curfew in the city, covering both traffic and people, from Saturday at 9:00 PM (1800 GMT) until Monday at 6:00 AM. Lawmakers, security personnel and all others officials involved in the vote are still free to move during those hours. The indirect election, in which lawmakers will pick a president, will take place in an airport hangar behind blast walls to help fend off potential Islamist attacks or meddling by factions within the security services. Mohamed is facing 37 opponents in the vote, including two former presidents, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who analysts see as the frontrunners. Originally … [Read more...] about Somali police announce curfew in capital during Sunday’s presidential vote

The leader of one of Thailand’s southern rebel groups claimed yesterday that the group was behind a double bombing that killed a villager that day. Chalermchai Petchkart, the police chief of Sai Buri district in Pattani province, where the bombing happened, told Benar News that the bomb that exploded and killed the villager had been left in a paper bag. “His friend walked to the field as Navi parked his motorbike near a tree and found a paper bag. He picked it up, and the bomb exploded, killing him there”. The group, Patani United Liberation Organisation, is considered one of the oldest secessionist movements in the Deep South. The last time PULO committed an attack was reportedly in 2016. The attack yesterday came just weeks after another southern rebel group, Barisan Revolusi Nasional, agreed with the Thai government to a 40-day ceasefire. The ceasefire agreement came in light of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, and Thailand’s Songkran holiday. Police bomb squad … [Read more...] about Southern Thailand ceasefire shattered with another fatal bombing