News – April 2023


  • Northern Ireland: PSNI vehicle attacked with petrol bombs during republican parade in Londonderry

    April 10, 2023

    Police in Northern Ireland have condemned a petrol bomb attack on officers during an Easter parade as “senseless and reckless”. The incendiary devices were thrown at an armoured police Land Rover in Creggan, Londonderry, on Easter Monday, while officers attended what they described as an “unnotified” march by dissident republicans. Read more… Source: Sky News  

  • Pakistan: Four killed in blast targeting police vehicle in Quetta

    April 10, 2023

    Four people were killed and eight injured in a bombing targeting a police vehicle in a marketplace in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Monday, a hospital official said. According to senior police official Shafqat Cheema the target was the vehicle of the acting superintendent of police investigations which was parked in Kandahari Bazar. He ...

  • Iraq: Unexploded drone found near Duhok dam

    April 10, 2023

    ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A villager told Rudaw that he had found an unexploded explosive-laden drone near Duhok dam and handed it over to security forces to investigate. Haval Boti from Botya village in Zawita subdistrict told Rudaw on Monday that he found a drone with three unexploded bombs near the Duhok dam three days ago. He ...

  • DHS S&T: New Carry-On Baggage Screening System Aims to Reduce Traveler Screening Times

    April 10, 2023

    WASHINGTON – Travelers may have a new way to screen their carry-on bags in the future with technology being developed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). S&T recently installed a next generation carry-on baggage screening system at Boston Logan International Airport in Massachusetts to collect data about how the ...

  • Cambodia: Kratie on track for ‘mine free’ status in June

    April 10, 2023

    Kratie is expected to be declared the next mine-free province in June, becoming the 13th provincial-level region to receive the status, according to Ly Thuch, first vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA). “Thanks to the Samdech Techo Project for Mine Action , 50 per cent of the province has already been ...

  • Syria: IS land mine kills at least 6 civilians in Deir Ez-Zor province

    April 10, 2023

    A deadly land mine explosion in Syria killed at least six people on Sunday, according to state media. News agency SANA said the explosion hit civilians who were foraging for truffles in the countryside, and blamed the incident on a land mine planted by the Islamic State group in the southern Deir Ez-Zor province. The area ...

  • US Army EOD company trains to stay ready for counter WMD missions around world

    April 10, 2023

    KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – Hand-picked American Soldiers from a one-of-a-kind U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal company that combats Weapons of Mass Destruction train for high stakes missions around the world. U.S. Army EOD technicians from the 21st Ordnance Company (EOD WMD) “Blackjacks” provide support to defeat or mitigate the effects of Weapons of Mass ...

  • Victims of Yemen’s tragic proxy war deserve justice now there is genuine hope for peace

    April 9, 2023

    For the first time in more than eight years of war, there are real and concrete signs of peace. But as a Sky News team has discovered on the ground, this is a country broken by thousands of bombs, mines and needless deaths. And the victims of a great power proxy war deserve justice. Read more… Source: ...

  • Pakistan: Double blast kills man in Harnai

    April 8, 2023

    A man was killed after back-to-back remote-controlled blasts near an under-construction watchtower in the Khost town of Harnai district on Friday. The man was critically injured in the first blast and later died of his wounds. When labours working nearby gathered around the explosion site, another blast occurred, though no loss of life was reported. Read more… Source: ...

  • India: DRG jawan injured in blast while diffusing IED in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur

    April 8, 2023

    One District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan got injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast planted by Naxals in the Bahker forest on Friday, police said. The incident took place under the limits of the Chhotedongar police station area of Narayanpur district on Friday, said a police official. The blast happened while defusing the IED planted ...

  • Pakistan: Two security personnel martyred, four injured in IED blast in Khyber district

    April 8, 2023

    Two security personnel were martyred and four others injured after their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in Bara area of district Khyber on Saturday. Security forces have launched a search operation in the area to arrest the culprits. Read more… Source: Radio Pakistan  

  • Saudi-Omani delegation to hold ceasefire talks with Yemen’s Houthis in Sana’a

    April 7, 2023

    A Saudi-Omani delegation is planning to travel to Yemen’s capital Sana’a next week to hash out a permanent ceasefire deal with Houthi officials and end the country’s eight-year-old conflict, two sources involved in the talks said. If an agreement is reached, Yemen’s warring parties could announce an agreement before Eid holiday starting April 20, the sources ...

  • CTX – The Counter Terror Expo returns to ExCeL London on 17th & 18th May 2023

    April 7, 2023

    CTX – The Counter Terror Expo returns to ExCeL London on 17th & 18th May to unite professionals from industry, infrastructure, government and policing to explore the latest counter-terrorism technologies and solutions. The event encourages the development of new ideas and discussion of innovative strategies to combat the latest threats facing the UK and its ...

  • Northern Ireland police have ‘strong intelligence’ of attacks being planned against officers on Easter Monday

    April 7, 2023

    Police in Northern Ireland have said they have “strong” intelligence terror attacks are being planned against their officers on Easter Monday. Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Simon Byrne said that officers would be moved to frontline duties to counter any potential threats, in a policing strategy he said hadn’t been used for years. Read ...

  • California Guard Response Force Proves Capabilities During ExEVAL

    April 7, 2023

    CAMP ROBERTS, Calif. – More than 500 California National Guard Soldiers and Airmen proved their mettle March 27-31 during the California Homeland Response Force’s external evaluation exercise at Camp Roberts. Service members worked 12-hour shifts for a week straight while responding to simulated crisis response missions resulting from a series of notional large-scale chemical, biological, radiological, ...

  • Iraq: IED explosion damages villagers’ vehicle in Erbil

    April 6, 2023

    An IED allegedly planted by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Erbil province damaged a vehicle carrying three villagers on Thursday morning, but did not result in any casualties, according to a local official speaking to Kurdistan 24. The passengers were traveling in the Sidakan district to collect springtime wild vegetables and herbs, Ihsan Chalabi, ...

  • Laos: Over 1.8 mln unexploded bombs cleared since 1996

    April 6, 2023

    Over 1.8 million unexploded ordnance (UXO) devices have been cleared from 79,599 hectares of land from 1996 to February 2023, making agricultural land safe for farmers and freeing up other areas for development. The figures were released by Lao Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Padeumphone Sonthany at a press conference in the Lao capital ...

  • Nigeria: 755 Died, 1,321 Injured By IEDs in North East – UN

    April 6, 2023

    United Nations Mine Action Services (UNMAS) in collaboration with Centre for Social Cohesion Peace and Empowerment (CENSCOPE) has urged the federal government to expedite action to establish the Centre for Mine Action to enable the body to coordinate its activities in the country. To this end, the two bodies noted that 755 civilians have been killed ...

  • U.S. DOD Official Describes How Capabilities Are Generated for Warfighters

    April 5, 2023

    Taking joint warfighting concepts and translating them into the capabilities that are needed for the future in a highly contested fight is a key focus, said Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, who spoke today on a panel at the Sea-Air-Space summit at National Harbor, Maryland. Research and engineering have been identifying critical ...

  • LARPing and Violent Extremism

    April 5, 2023

    Over the past half century, live action role play (LARP) has grown into a worldwide cultural phenomenon. It involves preplanned theater wherein participants portray characters in an imaginary environment and interact with one another in real time. This article will outline definitive ways to distinguish between LARP and criminal or malicious activity, which may be helpful ...

  • Australia: CATJAT jammer designed to protect soldiers against IEDs

    April 5, 2023

    Imagine a squad of soldiers on foot patrol, somewhere hostile. As they pass by the wreck of an old car, or traverse a culvert under the road, or get spotted by a drone, there is a flash, a bang, and then blood everywhere. They have been attacked by a radio-initiated Improvised Explosive Device (IED) – ...

  • EU provides explosive and mine detection dogs to Ukraine

    April 5, 2023

    The EU has launched a project to train and donate 50 explosive and mine detection dogs to the Ukrainian authorities. Nine of them have already been paired with Ukrainian dog handlers. According to the European Commission, 30% of Ukraine’s territory is contaminated with mines and unexploded munitions. According to EU High Representative Josep Borrell, Ukraine is ...

  • Ukraine needs $37 billion for humanitarian demining

    April 4, 2023

    Ukraine needs $37.4 billion to carry out humanitarian demining of its lands, the country’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 4, citing an assessment by the World Bank. This sum includes more than $397 million needed just for the current year, according to Shmyhal. The prime minister called on Ukraine’s partners to cooperate, particularly in ...

  • Sweden: Police arrest 5 in anti-terror raids against Islamist suspects

    April 4, 2023

    Police in Sweden have arrested five people suspected of conspiracy to commit terrorist offences. Raids were carried out in the towns of Eskiltuna and Strängnäs, west of Stockholm; and Linköping, south of the capital, on Tuesday morning, with the Swedish Security Service Sapo saying they undertook an intelligence-driven investigation ahead of the arrests. Authorities say those ...