Kosovo – A report published on the 13 Jul 15 said that Kosovo security and health authorities have cut off water supplies to tens of thousands of residents in Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, following a suspicion that ISIS followers had poisoned the city’s water supplies. The city’s water board said supply was cut early on the 11 Jul 15 “because of security issues” and that supplies had been tested for suspicious substances. The Independent reports that the tests carried out by the Kosovo Institute for National Health had not detected any toxic content in the water. The worries about the city’s water system emerged after five people linked to ISIS were arrested on the 10 Jul 15. Police sources said that security officers patrolling the Badovac reservoir saw three of the men, whose identities have not yet been disclosed, behaving suspiciously near the reservoir. The reservoir supplies water to about half of Pristina, a city of more than 200,000 people. Two additional suspects were later arrested in a small town a few miles from Pristina. Kosovo’s security services have been on high alert for several weeks after Kosovan members of ISIS appeared in propaganda videos alongside other ISIS members from other Balkan countries, warning of attacks against targets in the region, including the water supplies of major cities. “If you can, take poison and put it in their meal or in their drink. Make them die, make them die of poisoning, kill them wherever you are…you can do it,” one man is heard exhorting ISIS supporters. Last August, Kosovo police arrested more than forty people to prevent them from joining jihadist factions fighting in the civil war in Syria. Between 100 to 200 Kosovans are believed to be fighting with ISIS in Syria and Iraq, including Lavdrim Muhaxheri, a Kosovar who has risen to a prominent leadership position in ISIS, and who has appeared in several ISIS videos.
United Kingdom/Pakistan – Three ISIS fanatics have been arrested in Pakistan over fears they were planning a terror attack no British soil on the 10th anniversary of the July 7 bombings it was reported on the 4 Jul 15. Maps of London and ISIS propaganda were found on their computers during a police raid on a shop in Peshawar, north-west Pakistan. Documents threatening Pakistan's army were also seized but no weapons were discovered. Pakistani news websites have named them as Asmatullah and Abdur Rehman - two Afghan nationals - as well as Mohammad Ibrahim. Security checks on international flights out of Pakistan have been tightened to prevent terrorists wreaking havoc in the UK ten years after a series of explosions killed 52 in London. A spokesman for Pakistan's interior ministry said checks had been 'intensified', adding: 'The aim is to secure airports.' A police report of the raid said: 'In the initial search police found literature in favour of Islamic State and Taliban. Also pamphlets against government of Pakistan and its security forces.' The terror group poses a 'huge and deadly threat' to the UK, a former Scotland Yard chief told the press. Peter Clarke said: 'At the moment we are arresting one person for terror-related crimes every day. That's the highest rate at any point in 15 years, apart from the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and 7/7. There are 120 people awaiting trial as we speak.' Three of the London suicide bombers were from Pakistani families and two - Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer - went to Pakistan for terror training before the attacks.
United Kingdom/Northern Ireland – Two pictures have been issued to the media showing three masked men in paramilitary style clothing sitting at a table with what appear to be two hand guns along with two semi-automatic weapons it was reported in the Belfast Telegraph on the 14 Jul 15. The un-named group released a statement saying after last night's "brutal assault upon the PUL community and the random firing of baton rounds aimed to seriously injure our people we are left with no other option but to announce the PSNI and Parades Commission are legitimate targets." The group added: "We do not want to take this course of action but our people have suffered enough over the last few years and we as disengaged and disgruntled loyalists feel like the time has come for us to take action. No Surrender. “ The threats come after violence erupted in north Belfast after the return leg of a Twelfth of July parade was once again restricted from walking along a stretch of the Crumlin Road which separates Unionists and Nationalists. A number of baton rounds were fired and a water cannon was used to try and control the crowds as violence erupted at the flashpoint. This is the third year in a row the Parades Commission has refused the Orange Order permission for the return route. There has been growing unrest towards the Parades Commission in the Unionist community with calls for them to resign. Loyalists set up a protest camp at Twaddell Avenue in July 2013 after the Parades Commission decision stopped the parade taking place on the stretch of the adjoining Crumlin Road. Serious violence erupted in the area in 2013 when Orangemen were stopped from marching past Ardoyne while returning from their annual Twelfth of July demonstrations. According to a source, the weapons are two Webley 38-200 handguns, a Sten Mark 4 sub-machine gun and a FAL semi-automatic rifle. He said they are similar to those that would have been used by the British Army several decades ago. "If they were going to pose with replica firearms, surely they would have chosen more modern replicas. "This would lead me to suspect that these weapons are real. But we do not know if they have rounds for them," the source said. Two of the men in the picture appear to be wearing a Mk IV Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) ware fare jacket, the sort worn by British servicemen during the cold war. It is understood that earlier the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) had ordered there be no violence.
The threat from gunmen opposed to the peace process is going to remain for the foreseeable future despite intensive efforts by police and the security forces, the senior Cabinet member added on the 15 Jul 15. She is in discussions with Stormont's justice department about funding the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to combat the danger but claimed uncertainty from a budget crisis in Belfast could cause the force difficulties. She said: "Our assessment is it is going to be a threat that is going to be present in Northern Ireland for more or less the foreseeable future." Security forces are on high alert for attacks by republican paramilitaries. The head of MI5 Andrew Parker has claimed the majority of dissident republican attacks in Northern Ireland last year were unsuccessful. However, in recent years they have killed policemen, soldiers and a prison warder. Ms Villiers told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of Westminster MPs: "They retain lethal capacity and resilience. "Many of their leadership have been arrested for suspected offences over the recent months but there is still a significant amount of targeting and planning and it remains the case that were it not for the highly effective action taken by the PSNI and its security partners, including An Garda Siochana (Southern Ireland Police Force) I am afraid we would see many more tragedies on the streets of Northern Ireland." She said police and security forces stopped almost all attacks but a high state of vigilance was still needed. Special funding was agreed to tackle dissidents in 2011. A four-year package worth almost £200 million to this year was provided by the last Government in 2011. A further £31 million in security funding was allocated in 2015-16. The power sharing administration in Belfast has been paralysed by a dispute over welfare reform which threatens the budget for public services. Ms Villiers added it was essential the pre-Christmas Stormont House Agreement between the British and Irish governments and five main Northern Ireland parties was implemented to avoid sudden reductions to the PSNI's budget. "The PSNI are confident that they are able to tackle the threat, they are doing it very effectively but significant and dramatic further in-year cuts to their budget would pose difficulties."
United Kingdom/Pakistan – Three ISIS fanatics have been arrested in Pakistan over fears they were planning a terror attack no British soil on the 10th anniversary of the July 7 bombings it was reported on the 4 Jul 15. Maps of London and ISIS propaganda were found on their computers during a police raid on a shop in Peshawar, north-west Pakistan. Documents threatening Pakistan's army were also seized but no weapons were discovered. Pakistani news websites have named them as Asmatullah and Abdur Rehman - two Afghan nationals - as well as Mohammad Ibrahim. Security checks on international flights out of Pakistan have been tightened to prevent terrorists wreaking havoc in the UK ten years after a series of explosions killed 52 in London. A spokesman for Pakistan's interior ministry said checks had been 'intensified', adding: 'The aim is to secure airports.' A police report of the raid said: 'In the initial search police found literature in favour of Islamic State and Taliban. Also pamphlets against government of Pakistan and its security forces.' The terror group poses a 'huge and deadly threat' to the UK, a former Scotland Yard chief told the press. Peter Clarke said: 'At the moment we are arresting one person for terror-related crimes every day. That's the highest rate at any point in 15 years, apart from the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and 7/7. There are 120 people awaiting trial as we speak.' Three of the London suicide bombers were from Pakistani families and two - Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer - went to Pakistan for terror training before the attacks.
United Kingdom/Northern Ireland – Two pictures have been issued to the media showing three masked men in paramilitary style clothing sitting at a table with what appear to be two hand guns along with two semi-automatic weapons it was reported in the Belfast Telegraph on the 14 Jul 15. The un-named group released a statement saying after last night's "brutal assault upon the PUL community and the random firing of baton rounds aimed to seriously injure our people we are left with no other option but to announce the PSNI and Parades Commission are legitimate targets." The group added: "We do not want to take this course of action but our people have suffered enough over the last few years and we as disengaged and disgruntled loyalists feel like the time has come for us to take action. No Surrender. “ The threats come after violence erupted in north Belfast after the return leg of a Twelfth of July parade was once again restricted from walking along a stretch of the Crumlin Road which separates Unionists and Nationalists. A number of baton rounds were fired and a water cannon was used to try and control the crowds as violence erupted at the flashpoint. This is the third year in a row the Parades Commission has refused the Orange Order permission for the return route. There has been growing unrest towards the Parades Commission in the Unionist community with calls for them to resign. Loyalists set up a protest camp at Twaddell Avenue in July 2013 after the Parades Commission decision stopped the parade taking place on the stretch of the adjoining Crumlin Road. Serious violence erupted in the area in 2013 when Orangemen were stopped from marching past Ardoyne while returning from their annual Twelfth of July demonstrations. According to a source, the weapons are two Webley 38-200 handguns, a Sten Mark 4 sub-machine gun and a FAL semi-automatic rifle. He said they are similar to those that would have been used by the British Army several decades ago. "If they were going to pose with replica firearms, surely they would have chosen more modern replicas. "This would lead me to suspect that these weapons are real. But we do not know if they have rounds for them," the source said. Two of the men in the picture appear to be wearing a Mk IV Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) ware fare jacket, the sort worn by British servicemen during the cold war. It is understood that earlier the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) had ordered there be no violence.
The threat from gunmen opposed to the peace process is going to remain for the foreseeable future despite intensive efforts by police and the security forces, the senior Cabinet member added on the 15 Jul 15. She is in discussions with Stormont's justice department about funding the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to combat the danger but claimed uncertainty from a budget crisis in Belfast could cause the force difficulties. She said: "Our assessment is it is going to be a threat that is going to be present in Northern Ireland for more or less the foreseeable future." Security forces are on high alert for attacks by republican paramilitaries. The head of MI5 Andrew Parker has claimed the majority of dissident republican attacks in Northern Ireland last year were unsuccessful. However, in recent years they have killed policemen, soldiers and a prison warder. Ms Villiers told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of Westminster MPs: "They retain lethal capacity and resilience. "Many of their leadership have been arrested for suspected offences over the recent months but there is still a significant amount of targeting and planning and it remains the case that were it not for the highly effective action taken by the PSNI and its security partners, including An Garda Siochana (Southern Ireland Police Force) I am afraid we would see many more tragedies on the streets of Northern Ireland." She said police and security forces stopped almost all attacks but a high state of vigilance was still needed. Special funding was agreed to tackle dissidents in 2011. A four-year package worth almost £200 million to this year was provided by the last Government in 2011. A further £31 million in security funding was allocated in 2015-16. The power sharing administration in Belfast has been paralysed by a dispute over welfare reform which threatens the budget for public services. Ms Villiers added it was essential the pre-Christmas Stormont House Agreement between the British and Irish governments and five main Northern Ireland parties was implemented to avoid sudden reductions to the PSNI's budget. "The PSNI are confident that they are able to tackle the threat, they are doing it very effectively but significant and dramatic further in-year cuts to their budget would pose difficulties."
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