United Kingdom/Libya – The Foreign Office in London confirmed on the 3 Jan 14 that a British national had died in Libya, after the bodies of a British man and a New Zealand female were found shot dead. Libyan troops found the bodies southwest of Tripoli on the 2 Jan 14. The male’s name was Mark De Salis and a former member of the UK’s RAF Regiment. He had worked in Libya for approximately six years and he and a lady friend from New Zealand were out having a picnic when gunmen shot the pair. The style of the shooting was that of an assassination with shots to the head. Their belongings were not touched. It may have been the work of terrorists and an opportunity target or it may they may have been killed because they were not married and had no chaperone. No group or person has claimed responsibility but again this type of attack shows that terrorists can operate anywhere due to the lack of security in the country.
One of the arguments the Scottish National Party (SNP) makes for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom is that the risk of al-Qaeda-inspired terrorism against Scotland would diminish if Scotland were no longer associated with U.K. foreign policy it was reported on the 10 Jan 14 (In an American Homeland Security Briefing). A senior cabinet member dismissed these assertions, pointing out that Islamic extremists have attacked smaller states in Europe, including Nordic countries like Sweden and Denmark, which the SNP regularly suggest as a model for an independent Scotland. James Brokenshire, the U.K. security minister, said that while the risk of terrorism against Scotland would not diminish, Scottish independence would make it harder for Police Scotland to fight serious organized crime and terrorism.
France – A terror group active in West Africa has threatened it would target the interests of "France and her allies" in retaliation for France's military intervention in Mali last year. In Nov 13, the United States added the group -- Groupe des Mourabitounes de l'Azawad (GMA) – to the list of foreign terrorist organizations. The Mourabitounes group was formed in Aug 13 when veteran terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar officially joined forces with the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (Mouvement pour l'unicité et le jihad en Afrique de l'Ouest [MUJAO]), a radical al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group that once controlled part of northern Mali and has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in the Gao region since France intervened in Mali in early 2013.
One of the arguments the Scottish National Party (SNP) makes for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom is that the risk of al-Qaeda-inspired terrorism against Scotland would diminish if Scotland were no longer associated with U.K. foreign policy it was reported on the 10 Jan 14 (In an American Homeland Security Briefing). A senior cabinet member dismissed these assertions, pointing out that Islamic extremists have attacked smaller states in Europe, including Nordic countries like Sweden and Denmark, which the SNP regularly suggest as a model for an independent Scotland. James Brokenshire, the U.K. security minister, said that while the risk of terrorism against Scotland would not diminish, Scottish independence would make it harder for Police Scotland to fight serious organized crime and terrorism.
France – A terror group active in West Africa has threatened it would target the interests of "France and her allies" in retaliation for France's military intervention in Mali last year. In Nov 13, the United States added the group -- Groupe des Mourabitounes de l'Azawad (GMA) – to the list of foreign terrorist organizations. The Mourabitounes group was formed in Aug 13 when veteran terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar officially joined forces with the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (Mouvement pour l'unicité et le jihad en Afrique de l'Ouest [MUJAO]), a radical al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group that once controlled part of northern Mali and has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in the Gao region since France intervened in Mali in early 2013.
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