News – December 2023


  • Arizona: 10 IEDs found at US-Mexico border in cartel gunfight

    December 15, 2023

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection is warning agents to be on the lookout for explosive devices. A federal law-enforcement source shared with FOX Business Network an internal officer safety alert dated December 13th that warns CBP agents to be vigilant after the Mexican military seized 10 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at the border. The IEDs were found ...

  • Serbian police arrest 4 in connection with false bomb reports

    December 15, 2023

    Serbian police arrested at least three people across the country and one in the Czech Republic on Friday in connection with major false bomb reports. The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced early Friday that an extensive international operation was expected to result in the arrest of individuals connected to frequent reports of explosive devices in various ...

  • Iran: Eleven security personnel killed in police station attack in Rask

    December 15, 2023

    At least 11 Iranian security personnel have been killed in an attack on a police station in the southeastern border province of Sistan-Baluchestan, state television reported. Alireza Marhamati, deputy governor of the province, said on Friday that senior police officers and soldiers were killed and injured in the 2am (22:30 GMT Thursday) attack in the town ...

  • INTERPOL: Over 1,700 arrested in landmark operation across Asia targeting Illicit firearms

    December 15, 2023

    LYON, France – In the first operation coordinated across Asia by INTERPOL against illicit firearms, authorities in 10 countries have made over 1,700 arrests and seized 714 firearms, 921 parts and components, and 45,383 rounds of ammunition. From 13 – 24 November, Operation Trigger-Salvo II aimed to disrupt the cross-border movement of firearms, and determine potential ...

  • Houthis fire at, attempt to divert several vessels off coast of Yemen

    December 15, 2023

    The Iran-backed Houthi militia continued attacks on maritime traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on Friday morning, with UK authorities reporting that one vessel was hit by an unknown object, sparking a fire, while another was ordered to alter course toward Yemen. The first incident was reported at about 6:40 a.m. Israel time, ...

  • Chinese peacekeepers fulfill commitments on peacekeeping battlefield in Lebanon

    December 15, 2023

    The 21st Chinese peacekeeping multi-role engineering company to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), formed by troops from a brigade under the PLA 75th Group Army, concluded its peacekeeping mission and returned to China successfully on the early morning of December 13. The 21st Chinese peacekeeping multi-role engineering company to UNIFIL completed mine-clearing, explosive ...

  • Four arrested in Europe over alleged cross-border Hamas terrorism plot

    December 14, 2023

    Four people have been arrested in Germany and the Netherlands on suspicion of being part of a cross-border Hamas terror plot that German prosecutors said aimed to obtain weapons to target Jewish institutions in Europe. The office of Germany’s federal prosecutor said three men had been detained in Berlin and the fourth in Rotterdam on Thursday ...

  • India: Allahabad University student injured in explosion while making bomb in hostel room

    December 14, 2023

    An MA student at Allahabad University in Uttar Pradesh got injured when a bomb that he was making in his hostel room exploded on Wednesday. Another student also suffered minor injuries in the incident. The ACP stated that the injured was admitted to SRN Hospital in critical condition. It was not known immediately why the student ...

  • Cambodia: CMAC receive $387K for de-mining

    December 14, 2023

    The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) and APOPO Cambodia have signed a cooperation and partnership agreement on the integration of mine detecting rats and dogs. The agreement will be funded by grants of almost $400,000. A signing ceremony for the agreement was held on December 13, with CMAC director-general Heng Ratana and APOPO Cambodia programme manager ...

  • UK: Airports urged to introduce new scanners that could end 100ml liquid limit

    December 14, 2023

    Airports should introduce new scanners which will eliminate the need for passengers to remove liquids and laptops from their luggage as soon as possible, a minister has said. The next generation of scanners, which use CT (computer tomography) scans rather than X-rays, could mark the end of the 100ml liquid limit, and the need to remove ...

  • B-Roll Sandhills Project: 20th Engineer Brigade and industry partners test autonomous breaching capabilities

    December 14, 2023

    The Sandhills Project is an experiment to deliver robotic, autonomized breaching solutions to large-scale combat operations, Fort Liberty, N.C., Dec. 14, 2023. Current conflicts indicate that US forces may encounter extensive obstacle efforts several kilometers in depth on future battlefields. Future breaching requires greater speed and flexibility to rapidly maneuver through obstacles, leveraging lower cost equipment, ...

  • Benin: Two soldiers killed in IED explosion in Alibori

    December 13, 2023

    Two soldiers of Benin’s armed forces died Tuesday December 12 in the explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED) in the commune of Karimama, north of the country reeling with terrorism activities. The incident reportedly occurred at Bako Moko in the commune. The soldiers’ motorbike ran over an IED on their way after they left a ...

  • Bangladesh: Three police officers hurt in crude bomb explosion in Bogura

    December 13, 2023

    Three police officers sustained injuries after a crude bomb exploded while they were on duty near Tinmatha intersection of Gabtoli upazila in Bogura on Wednesday afternoon, the last day of the 36-hour blockade called by the BNP and its allies. Officer-in-charge (OC) of Gabtoli Model Police Station Abul Kalam Azad said the policemen were on duty ...

  • Israeli commanders among nine soldiers killed in Hamas ambush

    December 13, 2023

    Two senior Israeli commanders and seven other soldiers have been killed by Hamas in a complex ambush in the Gaza City suburb of Shejaiya, an area that has seen intense urban fighting in recent days. Lt Col Tomer Greenberg, a commander in the Golani Brigade, who had fought against Hamas during its attack on the southern ...

  • Cambodia: Mine casualties decline year-to-date

    December 13, 2023

    The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) revealed that in 2023, over 30 individuals experienced the impact of explosive ordnance, marking a 24 per cent decrease from the same period in 2022. CMAA spokesman Lang Kosal shared on December 11 that from January to early December, 31 people encountered the effects of landmines and ...

  • Laboratory-acquired infections and pathogen escapes worldwide between 2000 and 2021: a scoping review

    December 12, 2023

    Laboratory-acquired infections (LAIs) and accidental pathogen escape from laboratory settings (APELS) are major concerns for the community. A risk-based approach for pathogen research management within a standard biosafety management framework is recommended but is challenging due to reasons such as inconsistency in risk tolerance and perception. Here, the researchers performed a scoping review using publicly available, ...

  • Pakistan: 25 soldiers killed in Dera Ismail Khan attack

    December 12, 2023

    Twenty-five Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred while 27 terrorists were killed in three separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan, the military’s media affairs wing said on Tuesday. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “heightened activities” were witnessed in the district on the nights of December 11 and 12. In the early hours today, ...

  • U.S. Army EOD techs leverage expertise at Johns Hopkins University cluster munitions forum

    December 12, 2023

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians participated in a forum conducted by one of the nation’s premier engineering schools to learn better ways to confront and defeat cluster munitions during large-scale combat operations. Army EOD technicians attended the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering Cluster Munitions Forum in Washington, D.C. The forum addressed ...

  • KADEX 2024 – The Only International Army Defense Expo in Korea and the largest defense platform – Goyang-si, KINTEX Exhibition Center from September 25 to 29, 2024

    December 12, 2023

    Association of the Republic of Korea Army (AROKA), who had been holding DX KOREA – Defense Expo, Korea, will start under the new name ‘KADEX – Korea Army International Defense Industry Exhibition’. AROKA said on the September 15th, 2023 that KADEX will be held at KINTEX Exhibition Hall 2 in Ilsan and Army Training Center from ...

  • GICHD Explosive Ordnance Risk Education in Residual Contamination Management

    December 12, 2023

    EORE is one of the five pillars of mine action. Over the years, a wide range of approaches to EORE have been used in mine action programmes worldwide. Much less attention, however, has been given to how to approach EORE when dealing with residual contamination. Many questions arise, including whether there is a requirement to inform ...

  • The U.S. has cut its troop presence in Niger by almost half

    December 12, 2023

    The U.S. has decreased its troop presence in Niger by almost half according to figures in a White House letter sent to Congress last week. The number of U.S. troops deployed to Niger appears to be 648, according to the White House letter, down by at least 400 since September, when military forces in Niger took ...

  • Ontario: Ottawa man charged after small ‘homemade improvised explosive device’ detonated outside Centretown home

    December 11, 2023

    A 53-year-old Ottawa man was arrested and charged with multiple offences after a “small homemade improvised explosive device” was detonated outside a Centretown home on Sunday evening. Police said officers responded to multiple 9-1-1 calls around 8:40 p.m. on Sunday reporting a “loud noise and flash” at the home in the 100-block of Arlington Avenue. Article ...

  • Pakistan: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s agriculture dept directed to confiscate ammonium nitrate-based fertiliser

    December 11, 2023

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa home department has directed agriculture department to strictly monitor and confiscate calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN)-based fertiliser keeping in view its possible use in terrorist activities. The home department says, according to a document, that CAN-based fertiliser are conveniently used in explosives for targeting people and law enforcement agencies. Read more… Source: The Dawn  

  • Washington: Bomb squad demonstrates emergency security at Port of Port Angeles

    December 11, 2023

    Five members of the Washington State Patrol Bomb Squad visited Marine Terminal 1 on the Port Angeles waterfront last week. They weren’t there to detonate an improvised explosive device, identify a biochemical threat or investigate a suspicious package, but to make a presentation to members of the Port of Port Angeles security staff about the response ...