Graphic photos from the Kano bomb blast today, 21 people,
mostly women and children confirmed dead
21 people mostly women and children were killed in the bomb blast
attack in which a male suicide bomber penetrated a Shitte Muslim
procession in Dakasoye village in Kano today. Continue to see more
graphic photos...
18 people lost their lives in an accident which occurred along
Abuja-Lokoja road in the early hours of today November 20. The
Kogi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety
Commission, FRSC, Mr. Ogochukwu Ugboma, who confirmed the
tragic news disclosed that sixteen men and two women died in the
accident while others, including a female child, sustained injuries.
“The accident, which occurred at about 5.45 am, near Gegu
village, involved a Lagos bound luxury bus with registration number
Lagos XT 286 LSD belonging to a popular transport company,
First Tarzan,” Mr. Ugboma said. “86 persons, comprising two
children, 59 men and 25 women were involved in the accident.
Though the cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained, some
eyewitnesses said the bus ran into an ambush laid by armed
robbers.” he added.
He further disclosed that the driver was making a U-turn in a bid
to escape when the bus plunged into a ditch, leading to the death
of some pa$$engers. Corpses and the injured were taken to the
Federal Medical Center in Lokoja while investigation into the
accident had commenced.
Photo Credit: Tunji Lardner
One of the Paris suicide bombers had a ticket to the
France vs Germany friendly in the Stade De France but
was stopped by hero security guards who stopped and
frisked him. A security officer working on the night, who
only wanted to be named as Zouheir, said the bomber
was frisked by one of his team as he tried to get into the
game 15 minutes after kick-off.
He attempted to back away from the security guard
frisking him and then detonated an explosive vest.
Police confirmed the bomber was planning on entering
the ground with a match ticket in a bid to cause
maximum carnage inside the 80,000-seater national
stadium.
Three minutes after it unfolded a second bomber blew
himself up outside a nearby McDonalds. One civilian
died in each attack. People inside the stadium believed
the explosions were firecrackers being set off during the
first half of the game.
The French President Francoise Hollande was at the
game and left after the first blast. Germany manager
Joachim Löw said he feared an attack, saying, “Of course
we thought of it. It was very loud. You could imagine
what had happened.”
Source: bbc
The first Jihadi suicide bomber named in connection with the Paris terrorist attacks that left at least 129 people dead is Omar Ismail Mostefai, who was identified by his finger.
The digit was found among the carnage of the Bataclan concert hall, where the 29-year-old was one of three men who blew himself up, killing 89 men, women and children.
Born on 21 November 1985, in the Paris suburb of Courcouronnes, Mostefai’s criminal record shows eight convictions for petty crimes between 2004 and 2010.
Although he had never spent any time in jail, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Mostefai had been picked out as a high-priority target for radicalisation in 2010
But before Friday, Mostefai had ‘never been implicated in an investigation or a terrorist association'.
Investigators are now investigating claims that he went to Syria last year, and may have spent time with IS terrorists.
Mostefai's father and 34-year-old brother were arrested on Saturday night and their homes were searched.
'It’s a crazy thing, it’s madness,' his brother told French news agency AFP before he was taken into custody.'Yesterday I was in Paris and I saw how this s*** went down.'
The brother, one of four boys in the family along with two sisters, turned himself in to police after learning Mostefai was involved in the attacks.
While he had cut ties with Mostefai several years ago, and knew he had been involved in petty crimes, his brother said he had never imagined his brother could be radicalized.
The last he knew, Mostefai had gone to Algeria with his family and his “little girl”, the brother said, adding:
'It’s been a time since I have had any news.I called my mother, she didn’t seem to know anything.’
A source close to the inquiry said Mostefai regularly attended the mosque in Luce, close to Chartres, to the southwest of Paris.
Two of the suicide bombers who caused carnage in the Paris massacre are thought to have sneaked into France by posing as refugees from Syria, it was revealed Saturday.
Police said the two men, who arrived in Greece last month, were among seven attackers, one as young as 15 years old.
Serbian media last night reported that one of the terrorists was named as Ahmed Almuhamed. The newspaper said that 25-year-old Almuhamed arrived in Europe on the Greek island of Leros on October 3 on his way to Paris.
Source: online mail
But sieving through the plethora of information can
be hard for an average reader, considering the
barrage of messages being peddled about the
attacks.
Here we have brought out the 10 most important
points to note:
Six centres were attacked across Paris, the French
capital.
Bataclan concert venue , 50 boulevard Voltaire, 11th
district – gun and suicide bomb attacks
Stade de France, St Denis, just north of Paris –
explosions near venue as France played Germany in
football friendly.
Le Carillon bar, 18 rue Alibert, 10th district – gun
attack
Le Petit Cambodge restaurant, 20 rue Alibert, 10th
district – gun attack
La Belle Equipe, 92 rue de Charonne, 11th district –
gun attack
La Casa Nostra restaurant, 2 rue de la Fontaine au
roi, 11th district – gun attack
The attack on the Bataclan was the deadliest of the
night. 80 concert goers were reportedly killed. All
four attackers were killed, although three actually
blew themselves up. The Bataclan was hosting a
concert with about 1,500 audience members
believed to be in attendance. The attackers were
believed to have taken 20 people hostage inside
the concert venue.It is the deadliest attack in
Europe since the Madrid bombings of 2004. At least
120 people are believed to be dead and 239 others
injured.French President Hollande was at the
second venue (Stade de France) when attacks were
launched nearby. He was rushed out of the venue
by his security details.France has declared a state
of emergency for the first time since 2005. All
schools, parks and other public places are closed
until further notice. Human and vehicular traffic are
also restricted to help the government monitor the
situation.The government has deployed at least
1,500 military personnel around the city.One of the
attackers on the Bataclan blamed the attack on
French President, Francoise Hollande’s intervention
in the Syrian conflict.In the five other places
attacked, at least 40 people were killed in the
attacks carried out by 7 a$$ailants who have been
reportedly killed by police.The French government
has promised to launch a “merciless” attack on
terror.Many governments across the world have
condemned the attacks. US President, Barack
Obama called it “an outrageous attempt to terrorise
innocent civilians”.
Who carried out the Paris attacks?
Here are the prime suspects
There are multiple scenarios for who may be
responsible for the terror attacks but following recent
atrocities Isis will be a main subject of investigation
More analysis Topics Paris attacks France
Europe Paris
Islamic State
A policeman at the Place de la Republique in central
Paris. The investigation into the attacks in the French
capital will likely focus on Islamic State.
It is clearly extremely early in the investigation. But
the best guide to who might be behind the attacks in
Paris is earlier violence in France or involving French
citizens elsewhere in Europe .
One scenario is an attack directly organised and
controlled by the Islamic State from somewhere in
Syria and Iraq. Previously, Isis have merely called on
local followers in Europe to act alone. However,
following the bombing of the Metrojet airbus over the
Sinai earlier this month, it is clear the threat from Isis
is evolving very fast and the group is the obvious
suspect. This new attack is consistent with a steady
escalation over 18 months of strikes against
international targets.
More on this topic
Paris terror attacks: eight attackers dead after killing
at least 120 people – live updates
A team could have been sent into France, or recruited
in France , or both, and then carefully managed from
overseas. There are an estimated 520 French citizens
fighting in Syria and 250 “returnees”, according to
latest official estimates.
A second scenario would be something closer to the
attacks in Paris 10 months ago . This could involve
either the Isis or al-Qaida, the veteran organisation
once led by Osama bin Laden. It could indeed involve
both, as was the case in January. That strike involved
three local gunmen. One swore allegiance to Isis but
had never had any direct contact with the group. Two
others were brothers, of whom one was tenuously
connected to al-Qaida in Yemen. It was this affiliate of
the group which claimed responsibility for the killings
at the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Al-Qaida, it is worth remembering, is keen to regain
the pre-eminence among the jihadi movement it has
lost to Isis. A spectacular attack in Paris would be one
way to do this.
The third scenario would be local actors, entirely
alone. France has a large pool of alienated, angry,
frustrated young Muslim men, and there have long
been many informal networks of extremists, violent
and non-violent. Most are oriented towards sending
people to Syria, however, not attacking at home.
Few attackers in recent years have been genuine “lone
wolves” either. Most – such as Mohammed Merah,
who shot seven people in Toulouse and Montauban in
2012 or Mehdi Nemmouche, who killed four at a
Jewish museum in Brussels – had links to a group
overseas. We have seen that untrained attackers can
kill in a clinical, cold-blooded way that appears
professional even if they have not been properly
trained, but the kind of co-ordination, preparation and
resources needed for an operation such as that seen
on Friday makes it unlikely to have been the work of
amateurs alone.
Few terrorist tactics or targets are ever entirely
original, but a combination of different elements can
often be innovatory. The tactics adopted in Paris have
been seen in many earlier strikes, but particularly
recall those used by attackers in Mumbai, India’s
commercial capital, in 2008. They hit hotels, cafes, a
Jewish centre and commuters. Since then, security
services have worried about a similar operation in the
west. There have been several scares.
It is possible that the targets hit last night were chosen
to send a particular message. They were not heavily
protected embassies, tourist sites, luxury shops, or
museums. Except for the Stade de France, they were
modest venues in Paris’s less exclusive, more
multicultural eastern neighbourhoods. This may have
been a deliberate act of selection – or may simply be
because the area is well known to the attackers.
