News – December 2025


  • Colombia: At least 6 soldiers killed in drone and mortar attack in Cesar province

    December 19, 2025

    Guerrilla group ELN allegedly killed at least six soldiers and injured another 28 in a drone and mortar attack on a military base in northern Colombia. The attack took place in Aguachica, a municipality in the Cesar province that is considered of major strategic importance for the ELN. In a press statement, the National Army said ...

  • Pakistan: Five militants killed in North Waziristan Boya army camp attack

    December 19, 2025

    An attack unfolded at the Boya military camp in the Datta Khel area in North Waziristan on Friday. The assailants used an explosive‑laden vehicle and suicide jackets to breach and assault the camp. All four militants were killed, and the Khorasan Diary reported on X that 11 security personnel have been injured and two have ...

  • UK: Explosive device found on Ynyslas beach is detonated

    December 19, 2025

    Experts were called in after an explosive device was discovered on a Mid Wales beach. The Explosive Ordance Disposal (EOD) unit were called in after reports of a potential device were discovered on Ynyslas beach on Wednesday (December 17) morning. HM Coastguard Borth attended the initial callout, along with colleagues from Aberystwyth, before returning yesterday morning ...

  • India: Government approves Rs 10cr to strengthen bomb detection capabilities

    December 19, 2025

    The state govt approved Rs 9.89 crore for strengthening bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) capabilities across the state. The approval includes the purchase of 10 liquid explosive detectors worth Rs 4.54 crore and 10 multi-functional electronic detection systems costing Rs 5.35 crore. The equipment will be procured by the Uttar Pradesh police security headquarters as ...

  • Ukraine strikes Russian shadow fleet tanker in Mediterranean for first time

    December 19, 2025

    In an unprecedented attack, Ukrainian aerial drones struck a Russian shadow fleet tanker in neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea, an official at Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) told POLITICO on Friday. The SBU official said the drones hit the tanker Qendil more than 2,000 kilometers from Ukraine, causing critical damage. The vessel was empty at the ...

  • Thailand: Urgent efforts to recover modified artillery shells as “Landmines” in Trat

    December 19, 2025

    On December 19, 2025, Rear Admiral Parat Rattanachaiphan, spokesperson for the Royal Thai Navy, condemned the actions of the Cambodian military for clandestinely placing modified landmines intended to kill Thai soldiers in the area around Ban Nong Ree (Ban Sam Lang) in Trat. The mines were reportedly modified from artillery shells, a violation of international humanitarian ...

  • IAEA: New Publication on Protecting People and Environment from Radiation

    December 18, 2025

    The IAEA has released a new safety guide to help countries design and run radiation monitoring programmes to ensure people and environment are protected from harmful effects of ionizing radiation. Radiation monitoring is essential to verify that radiation levels are within national radiation limits and it also helps to inform decision makers evaluate how to strengthen ...

  • Texas: Man arrested, charged in connection to multiple explosions in Austin

    December 18, 2025

    Austin police said at the beginning of August 2025, there were reports of repeated explosions in the areas of Jones Road and the Blunn Creek greenbelt near St. Edward’s University. Investigators said the incidents were not likely fireworks and posed a serious risk to the public. On August 13, a reported explosion happened in the ...

  • Nevada: Behind the scenes look at Las Vegas bomb squad

    December 18, 2025

    The Las Vegas Fire & Rescue Bomb Squad gave 8 News Now a behind-the-scenes look at its operations, as its members serve and protect the community. The LVFR Bomb Squad unit, comprised of 12 people, is the only team of its kind in Southern Nevada. “Our goal is to mitigate problems,” Chief Jamie Sypniewicz said. “Before ...

  • Northern Ireland: Co Down man denied bail as court hears details of cross-border terror plot to attack mosque

    December 18, 2025

    A man in Northern Ireland charged with terror offences linked to a cross-border police investigation into a planned attack on a Galway mosque has been denied bail. Connor Pollock, 38, from Croob Park, in Ballynahinch, Co Down, appeared via videolink from HMP Maghaberry for a bail hearing at the Downpatrick Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. Pollock is ...

  • Virginia: Smithfield man sentenced to eight years in prison for possessing over 150 improvised explosive devices

    December 18, 2025

    NORFOLK, Va. – A Smithfield man was sentenced today to eight years in prison for possession of an unregistered short barrel rifle and possession of an unregistered destructive device. According to court documents, on July 31, 2021, Brad Kenneth Spafford, 36, was admitted to an emergency room with a completely amputated right thumb, partially amputated ...

  • India: Bihar CM flags off 34 new forensic mobile lab vehicles

    December 18, 2025

    To strengthen scientific investigation into crimes and speed up detection, the Bihar government had expanded its fleet of mobile forensic vans from 17 to 51 across the state, a senior official said on Thursday. The vehicles are specially designed and equipped with advanced forensic tools to support on-the-spot evidence collection and analysis with a drug detection ...

  • Azerbaijan: Civilian injured as tractor hits landmine in Aghdam

    December 18, 2025

    A 43-year-old man was injured after his tractor struck an anti-tank landmine in Azerbaijan’s Aghdam district. The incident occurred at around 22:00 on December 17 in the village of Chamanli in the liberated Aghdam district, according to a joint statement by the Interior Ministry, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine ...

  • Moroccan and U.S. Soldiers Training in Explosive Ordnance Disposal

    December 17, 2025

    A team of U.S. technicians and experts in explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), assigned to the 6th Civil Engineer Squadron, are training Moroccan soldiers on tactical skills of mine detection and clearance in desert zones. The training is part of the Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) program with U.S. partner nations. “The HMA missions in Morocco strengthens our ...

  • Iraq: Authorities remove mines, unexploded ordnance in Sulaymaniyah

    December 17, 2025

    Mine Action Directorate teams responded Wednesday to reports of mines and unexploded ordnance in Darbandikhan and Bardaqaraman following public alerts of dangerous remnants in the areas. In Darbandikhan’s Sirwan subdistrict, several residents reported discovering a VS-50 type mine near the lake. The Halabja Mine Action Directorate deployed a team to the site, defused the device, and ...

  • The Philippines’ long battle against Islamist extremism is back in the spotlight following Bondi attack

    December 17, 2025

    As Australian authorities try to retrace the steps and understand the motivations of the Bondi Beach gunmen who killed 15 people on Sunday, one key focus has emerged: their travel to the Philippines last month, shortly before the attack. Officials say father-son duo Sajid and Naveed Akram journeyed to a southern part of the archipelago nation ...

  • Cambodia: Canada assures CMAA of demining support

    December 17, 2025

    Canada has urged the Cambodia Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) to prioritise national mine action efforts and strengthen coordination with demining operators seeking Canadian support, as both sides reaffirmed cooperation toward Cambodia’s mine-free 2030 goal. The call was made during a meeting in Phnom Penh on Monday between CMAA First Vice-President Ly Thuch and ...

  • Syria: IED blast targets Defense Ministry vehicle in Deir ez-Zor

    December 16, 2025

    An explosion hit a Syrian Ministry of Defense pickup truck on Tuesday in central Al-Bukamal, east of Deir ez-Zor. Shafaq News correspondent reported that the blast, likely caused by an improvised explosive device planted inside the vehicle, resulted in casualties, though the exact number remains unclear. Local sources identified the pickup as assigned to an operations ...

  • Nigeria: Police defuse bomb under network mast in Borno

    December 16, 2025

    Operatives of the Borno state police command on Monday defused an Unexploded Ordnance planted under a network mast at Chuskon, Federal Low Cost Area of Maiduguri. A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, ASP Nahum Daso, indicated that the EOD-CBRN base 13 team made the recovery following a report received by the ...

  • Somalia, AU mission and UN appeal for urgent funding to support security forces

    December 16, 2025

    Somali federal government, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), and the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) have jointly appealed for urgent donor contributions to sustain support for Somali Security Forces. The appeal was made during a Somali Security Forces (SSF) Trust Fund event held in Mogadishu on Tuesday. The meeting ...

  • Iraq: Authorities arrest senior ISIS bomb maker after 10-month hunt

    December 16, 2025

    A senior ISIS member specializing in bomb-making was arrested on Tuesday, Iraq’s National Security Service (INSS) said, noting that the operation capped more than 10 months of surveillance and monitoring. Identified as a “high-risk operative,” INSS stated that the detainee’s name appeared on leadership lists of several extremist groups, including Al-Qaeda. His activities trace back to ...

  • Iran: Three police officers killed in terrorist attack at checkpoint in Kerman province

    December 16, 2025

    At least three police officers were killed after coming under fire during an armed clash with unidentified terrorists at a security checkpoint in Iran’s southeastern province of Kerman, authorities said. In a statement released Tuesday, the Quds Base of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force said the incident occurred late the previous night when ...

  • Ukraine Claims World’s First Underwater Drone Attack On Russian Submarine

    December 15, 2025

    Ukraine’s state security service (SBU) said it carried out the first-ever uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) attack on a Russian vessel. The strike was on a Project 636 Varshavyanka class, or Improved Kilo class diesel-electric submarine, in the Black Sea naval stronghold of Novorossiysk. It would mark a historic first successful use of a UUV as ...

  • California: 4 charged with plotting New Year’s Eve attacks

    December 15, 2025

    Federal authorities said Monday that they foiled a plot to bomb multiple sites of two U.S. companies on New Year’s Eve in Southern California after arresting members of an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group. The four suspects were arrested Friday in the Mojave Desert east of Los Angeles as they were rehearsing their plot, First ...