France – Police gradually began reopening Paris' Gare du Nord train station early on the morning of the 9 May 17 after earlier evacuating the platforms and cordoning off the area because of a security alert, local police authorities said. A Reuters witness at the scene said there were between 20 to 30 police vans outside the station in central Paris with security forces wearing balaclavas and carrying assault weapons. "End of security checks. Gradual return to normal," Paris police said in a tweet. Authorities gave no other details about the nature of the operation. Security has been stepped up across France because of Sunday's presidential runoff, which Emmanuel Macron won.
Germany/Da’esh – Police carried out anti-terrorism raids in four German states on the morning of the 10 May 17 targeting ISIS sympathizers, prosecutors said in a statement, but said no arrests had been made, contradicting earlier media reports. The raids targeted the homes of suspects as well as other properties in the states of Bavaria, Berlin, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, prosecutors said. Two of the individuals were suspected of belonging to ISIS, one of supporting it, and two of firearms offenses.
Holland – Dutch police are searching for two suspects after a drugs laboratory was found with a large stash of pills favoured by jihadists it was reported on the 10 May 17. Police have only just revealed the discovery last month of fake "Captagon" pills and say they do not know if they were destined for the Middle East. Meanwhile, Italy's financial police revealed this week they had uncovered 37.5m pills of another drug, tramadol, also used by Islamist fighters. The cargo was heading for Libya. Tramadol is a synthetic opioid-like drug used as a painkiller. Italian police said the consignment had come from India and would have been used for two purposes: to help finance Islamist terrorism and for use by jihadist fighters as a stimulant and to heighten resistance to physical stress. Abuse of tramadol was described by a report this year as "rampant" in the ranks of Boko Haram fighters in Nigeria and to have played a role in "enabling atrocities on both sides of the conflict". The main ingredient of counterfeit Captagon tablets is usually amphetamine but illegal drug-makers often add caffeine or other substances. It is widely seen as fuelling the conflict in Syria, as the drug has generated millions of dollars in revenue and has been used by combatants. The drug previously sold as Captagon was a psychostimulant called fenethylline, banned since the 1980s, related to amphetamine. Taking the drug lowers inhibitions to violence and prolongs a fighter's ability to remain alert for combat. The counterfeit Captagon pills were found in a shed in Brunssum in the southern Dutch province of Limburg, along with a tablet-making machine and other drugs. Police said the tablets had been analysed by the Netherlands Forensic Institute and found to contain two ingredients, amphetamine and caffeine. The pills were of a type used as a stimulant in the Middle East but it was not known if that was their destination. A man who lived in the neighbouring house was arrested a few days after the discovery last month and a woman was detained on Monday. Two other suspects are being sought. In March, Greek police arrested four suspects in a fake Captagon-making ring and confiscated 650,000 tablets.
Italy – Explosion occurred in Rome, no injuries reported on the 12 May 17: According to an Italian news site, the blast damaged a car, while no one was harmed. Rome: An explosion occurred near a post office in central Rome on the 12 May 17 Italian media reported, adding that no one appeared to have been injured in the blast, which may have been a paper or parcel bomb. "Initial information suggests a car has been damaged," La Repubblica newspaper said on its website. Information service Luceverde, run by the Italian Automobile Club in collaboration with city police, said on Twitter that "technical checks" were being carried out near the post office. 361 COMMENT: In the past Greece has suffered similar types of attacks. These were carried out by anarchists who would form as a group commit an attack and then disappear. They never stayed around for long. It is possible this attack was of a similar vein. Although it appears no one or group has stepped up to the mark and claimed it and a reason for doing so. With the rise of many far-right and hate groups it is possible that this is the work of one of those self styled organisation or the start of an anarchist group. COMMENT ENDS
Germany/Da’esh – Police carried out anti-terrorism raids in four German states on the morning of the 10 May 17 targeting ISIS sympathizers, prosecutors said in a statement, but said no arrests had been made, contradicting earlier media reports. The raids targeted the homes of suspects as well as other properties in the states of Bavaria, Berlin, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, prosecutors said. Two of the individuals were suspected of belonging to ISIS, one of supporting it, and two of firearms offenses.
Holland – Dutch police are searching for two suspects after a drugs laboratory was found with a large stash of pills favoured by jihadists it was reported on the 10 May 17. Police have only just revealed the discovery last month of fake "Captagon" pills and say they do not know if they were destined for the Middle East. Meanwhile, Italy's financial police revealed this week they had uncovered 37.5m pills of another drug, tramadol, also used by Islamist fighters. The cargo was heading for Libya. Tramadol is a synthetic opioid-like drug used as a painkiller. Italian police said the consignment had come from India and would have been used for two purposes: to help finance Islamist terrorism and for use by jihadist fighters as a stimulant and to heighten resistance to physical stress. Abuse of tramadol was described by a report this year as "rampant" in the ranks of Boko Haram fighters in Nigeria and to have played a role in "enabling atrocities on both sides of the conflict". The main ingredient of counterfeit Captagon tablets is usually amphetamine but illegal drug-makers often add caffeine or other substances. It is widely seen as fuelling the conflict in Syria, as the drug has generated millions of dollars in revenue and has been used by combatants. The drug previously sold as Captagon was a psychostimulant called fenethylline, banned since the 1980s, related to amphetamine. Taking the drug lowers inhibitions to violence and prolongs a fighter's ability to remain alert for combat. The counterfeit Captagon pills were found in a shed in Brunssum in the southern Dutch province of Limburg, along with a tablet-making machine and other drugs. Police said the tablets had been analysed by the Netherlands Forensic Institute and found to contain two ingredients, amphetamine and caffeine. The pills were of a type used as a stimulant in the Middle East but it was not known if that was their destination. A man who lived in the neighbouring house was arrested a few days after the discovery last month and a woman was detained on Monday. Two other suspects are being sought. In March, Greek police arrested four suspects in a fake Captagon-making ring and confiscated 650,000 tablets.
Italy – Explosion occurred in Rome, no injuries reported on the 12 May 17: According to an Italian news site, the blast damaged a car, while no one was harmed. Rome: An explosion occurred near a post office in central Rome on the 12 May 17 Italian media reported, adding that no one appeared to have been injured in the blast, which may have been a paper or parcel bomb. "Initial information suggests a car has been damaged," La Repubblica newspaper said on its website. Information service Luceverde, run by the Italian Automobile Club in collaboration with city police, said on Twitter that "technical checks" were being carried out near the post office. 361 COMMENT: In the past Greece has suffered similar types of attacks. These were carried out by anarchists who would form as a group commit an attack and then disappear. They never stayed around for long. It is possible this attack was of a similar vein. Although it appears no one or group has stepped up to the mark and claimed it and a reason for doing so. With the rise of many far-right and hate groups it is possible that this is the work of one of those self styled organisation or the start of an anarchist group. COMMENT ENDS
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