News – August 2023


  • Israeli forces blast terror lab amid terrorist gunfire in West Bank

    August 16, 2023

    IDF and Border Police forces destroyed a lab used by Palestinian terror groups in the West Bank, as well as seven functioning explosive devices in the Balata refugee camp early on Wednesday morning. Additionally, Israeli forces destroyed a warehouse containing seven explosive devices to be used by terrorists. Read more… Source: The Jerusalem Post  

  • Romania: Sea mine explodes near seaside resort village of Costinesti

    August 15, 2023

    A sea mine exploded in the Black Sea near Romania’s seaside resort village of Costinesti, local media reported Monday. The blast, which occurred near a pier of a hotel, caused no casualties, said the state-run Agerpres news agency. Later in the day, a second mine was detected nearby and eventually neutralized, the agency reported. In a ...

  • Ukrainian Army eagerly snatched dozens of ex-Soviet Army IMR-2 Engineering Vehicles

    August 15, 2023

    Ukraine’s foreign allies have pledged to the Ukrainian war efforts dozens of armored engineering vehicles: American-made M-88s; Challenger recovery vehicles from the United Kingdom; Bergepanzers, Wisents and Dachs from Germany; and even some very rare Norwegian NM189s, Swedish Bgbv 90s and Leopard 2Rs from Finland. But for all that, the most common AEV in Ukrainian service ...

  • Afghanistan: MOI arrests 25 suicide attackers over two-year period

    August 14, 2023

    The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has reported the apprehension of at least 25 suicide attackers in different provinces over the last two years. Among these detainees, 15 were identified as Pakistani nationals, according to MoI spokesperson Abdul Matin Qani. “The intelligence and investigative forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan had their discoveries and detained the ...

  • Gibraltar: 17th century cannonballs found in construction site

    August 14, 2023

    Two cannonballs were found this afternoon on Devil’s Tower Road in a construction site nearby Filomena House. The Royal Gibraltar Police closed off Devil’s Tower Road after a report of a bomb sighting, and the MoD bomb squad attended the scene. While the findings were being ascertained by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), Filomena House and ...

  • Dissident republicans: Why Northern Ireland police are still a target

    August 14, 2023

    The February shooting of Det Ch Insp John Caldwell in Omagh, County Tyrone was a reminder of the threat still faced by police officers in Northern Ireland. During almost 30 years of violence known as the Troubles, 302 police officers were killed. Since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 ended the worst of the violence, the ...

  • Cambodia: Thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnance found buried at Kratie school

    August 14, 2023

    Cambodian authorities have temporarily closed a high school where thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnance from the country’s nearly three decades of civil war have been unearthed. The ordnance was found at the school in the northeastern province of Kratie after de-miners were invited to search for buried land mines on the campus before a new ...

  • Russia is expanding its use of landmines in Ukraine but removing them is proving difficult

    August 14, 2023

    One of crucial themes of the war in Ukraine has been the adaptation battle between the Ukrainians and Russians. Both sides have learned and adapted their tactics, technology and military organisations in order to improve their battlefield performance. The most important recent adaptation for the trajectory of the war has been Russia’s strategic shift to employing ...

  • Philadelphia Teenager Arrested in Terror Plot

    August 14, 2023

    Authorities say they rushed to arrest a 17-year-old boy, alleging he was preparing to build bombs and select targets after being in touch with an al-Qaida affiliate in Syria. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced the arrest Monday, calling details of the threat “deeply disturbing.” An FBI SWAT team was sent to the teenager’s home in ...

  • Afghanistan: At least 3 killed, 7 injured in blast at hotel in Khost province

    August 14, 2023

    At least three people were killed, and seven others were injured due to an explosion at a hotel in southeast Afghanistan’s Khost province on Monday, as the provincial media office said. The explosion occurred at a city hotel commonly visited by Afghan individuals and refugees from North Waziristan, a militant stronghold in Pakistan situated along the ...

  • ISIS deploys cryptocurrency, NATO-grade weapons to revive its reign of terror

    August 13, 2023

    Islamic State terrorist group is reported to be using regional versions of cryptocurrency, including so-called stablecoins, and is increasingly relying on virtual assets for international funds transfers, according to a UN report. The 17th report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peace and security said that the group continues to ...

  • Afghanistan: Landmines, remnants of war still threaten lives of Ghazni residents

    August 13, 2023

    Residents of southern Ghazni province are concerned about the existence of landmines and unexploded war remnants and urge the government and other relevant institutions to clear and destroy the explosives. They say areas which were the scene of battles remain littered with landmines and other unexploded ordnance, which must be cleared. Lahore, a resident of Godalo ...

  • Pakistan militants attack convoy of Chinese engineers

    August 13, 2023

    Balochistan Liberation Army militants claimed responsibility for an attack on a convoy of Chinese engineers in the southwest of Pakistan on Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported. The incident took place as the engineers were traveling to Gwadar Port, a Chinese-financed project, the report said, citing the group on the attack. No injuries were reported within the convoy, ...

  • How does a Cluster Bomb Work fired from an Artillery Gun

    August 13, 2023

    The famous cluster bomb also known as the Dual Purpose improved conventional munition usually fired from the M triple seven Howitzer or the Paladin self-propelled artillery. When fire the fuse activates the expulsion plate while the outer casing detonates releasing the M42 grenades. The cluster munition unfurls its ribbon indirectly semi-arming the shaped charge. It ...

  • Cambodia: NPA contributes $2.1 million for demining

    August 12, 2023

    The Norwegian People Aid (NPA) has granted the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) $2.1 million for demining. The funds will be used to clear 1,600 hectares of landmine-contaminated areas in the northwestern provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear. The one-year “Project for Humanitarian Demining in Cambodia” was signed between NPA Country Director Rune ...

  • California: How Jewish community safety group tracked down suspect linked to extremist threat in Reseda

    August 12, 2023

    A tip from a community security group led to the arrest of a Reseda man who allegedly “called for the mass murder of Jews.” Ryan Scott Bradford, 34, was arrested last month after several agencies raided his home near White Oak Avenue and Saticoy Street. He’s been charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and being a ...

  • Poland: 14,000 people evacuated after unexploded bomb found in Poland’s Lublin

    August 11, 2023

    Nearly 14,000 people living in the eastern Polish city of Lublin have been evacuated after an unexploded bomb was found in the city. Authorities on Thursday told residents to leave their homes on Friday and make their way to a meeting point. A construction worker on Thursday stumbled upon the bomb while doing ground work and ...

  • Ready to act on suspicion

    August 11, 2023

    It’s a small thought that many people might have had at some point – ‘that bag’s been left alone a while’ – out in a public space. For the Air Force explosive ordnance disposal team, it calls for a series of rapid actions designed to protect personnel and critical infrastructure. Deploying to RAAF Base Curtin, the ...

  • Cambodia: Demining dog handlers upskill

    August 11, 2023

    A total of 55 deminers from three different entities have completed two recent training courses designed to enhance their abilities to work with dogs in the course of their duties. The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) announced on August 10 that a total of 40 personnel – 19 from CMAC, 10 from Army Special Command ...

  • Texas: APD, FBI conduct follow-up investigation in Cedar Park linked to St. David’s Medical Center car explosion

    August 10, 2023

    The Austin Police Department confirmed its Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit along with Cedar Park Police and the FBI is conducting a follow-up investigation in Cedar Park Thursday in connection to Wednesday’s car explosion incident at St. David’s Medical Center. Police evacuated some Cypress Gardens apartment complex residents at 335 Cypress Creek Road as detectives investigated ...

  • NATO troops complete live-agent CBRN training at Exercise Precise Response in Canada

    August 10, 2023

    CANADIAN FORCES BASE SUFFIELD, Alberta, Canada – Highly specialized NATO forces honed their lifesaving and mission-enabling skills during live-agent chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) training at Exercise Precise Response on Canadian Forces Base Suffield in Alberta, Canada, July 10 – 28. CBRN troops from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, ...

  • Yemen: Al-Qaeda attack kills senior commander of paramilitary force in Abyan province

    August 10, 2023

    A senior commander of the Security Belt Forces (SBF), a paramilitary force based in southern Yemen, was killed in an attack by al-Qaeda militants in the southern province of Abyan on Thursday, a government official said. Abdul-Latif Al-Sayed, commander of the SBF in Abyan province, was killed when two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) struck his convoy ...

  • UN Sends Mine-Clearing Equipment to Houthis, Sparking Anger Among Yemenis

    August 10, 2023

    The UN Development Program (UNDP) in Yemen sparked anger among Yemeni governmental and human rights activists after handing over $750,000 worth of demining equipment and devices to the Houthis in al-Hodeida. Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani expressed his surprise at the UN’s behavior, describing it as an “unacceptable transgression of the facts on the ground, and ...

  • IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 178

    August 10, 2023

    On 8 August, the team visited the unit 2 main control room, emergency control room and other safety-related rooms. They did not observe any mines or unusual objects in these areas. However, in the turbine hall of unit 2, the team noted the presence of a number of military trucks parked in an area reserved for ...