Friday, January 09, 2015

Terrorist cell confirmed. Two active hostage situations.

Looks like we're looking at a cell in France.  Check this out...
- Shots fired and second hostage situation (5 hostages) in a Jewish Kosher Supermarket just a few miles south of the building where the two Kouachi brothers are entrenched.

- single hostage taker in second location is presumed to be the gunman who shot two cops yesterday. He's got two AK-47s and is known to be a friend of the Kouachi brothers. His DNA has also been recovered in the first get-away car from Wednesday's attack, which had been stolen shortly before the attack, which means he was in touch with the Kouachi brothers shortly before they went on the rampage.He's well known to police and has been involved in drug related organized crime.

- French Forces have now to deal simultaneously with two terrorist hostage situations just a few miles from each other.

54 comments :

  1. Wasn't there a guy yesterday who said in a comment I was being paranoid about attacks against Jews in France ?

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  2. Well it just looked like the swat teams started moving in unless it was just stock footage.

    Now they have to hit both at the same time and hope both attempts go smoothly or those hostages are dead, but I'm betting they are dead no matter what. Why would they not kill them as soon as the police/military hit the buildings.

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  3. Just saw this
    http://i.imgur.com/881STxV.jpg<
    but probably unrelated

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    1. unrelated as armour regiment stationed not too far away

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    2. Btw: this is still full cops operation or some military elements enter the picture?

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    3. Gendarmerie (GIGN) if i'm not wrong is like Carabinieri, they are military, they just enforce civil law too.

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  4. Just a digression... this is classic media "always AK-47" right?

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  5. Sol, more and more info trickling in as to links between the gunmen in the two locations ...

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  6. RAID (I guess) In Paris
    http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/2015/01/08/20150108PHOWWW01509.jpg

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    1. I FORGOT YOU GUYS WERE IN PARIS!!! are you covering this over at your blog?

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    2. Our offices are in Belgium (Army Recognition) anf France (Navy Recognition) but I am 20 miles to the north west of Paris not close.
      However I was in La Defense around noon: They searched my car's trunk getting in the parking. And when I left, two helicopters were flying. It turns out it was because of what is going on now in Paris.
      They cut the periphérique (B line), traffic is gonna hell tonight. Lots of cops and military in malls and shops. Lot of police cars and bikes on the highways this morning going to Paris and coming back (around 1pm).

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    3. It's the BRI (Paris police SWAT), not RAID - you can see their badge on the upper left arm.

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  7. Official: The terrorist in Paris is asking that the two terrorists (north of Paris) are let go

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  8. No this is the new low... I was thinking that it was low enough to be called bottom but now... this is something below bottom. https://twitter.com/edwardlucas/status/553304638481371136

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  9. Police arrest 'youths' going towards the kosher store on a scooter
    http://i.imgur.com/lbnxUID.jpg

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  10. The man in esatern Paris is a close friend and known associate of the Kouachi brothers.
    He's been part of the same Djihadi network that tried to infiltrate French Djihadis into Iraq in 2003-2005.
    He has also been involved in an attempted (but foiled) escape project that the Kouachi brothers had prepared in 2010 in order to free the mastermind of a terror wave that rocked France in 1995.
    Things getting very tense here. In the Jewish neigborhood of central Paris, all shops have been asked to close as of now. We don't know if other Jewish targets might be hit.
    I'm off for now.

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  11. LeFigaro: "The two cases (the hostage taking of Vincennes and the Dammartin near airport. Ed.) Are clearly linked," said a police source in Figaro "The hostage taker in Vincennes threatened to kill all the hostages if the GIGN storm Dammartin where both Kouachi brothers are,"

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  12. From Haaretz

    Paris shooting updates / Five hostages held at kosher grocery in east Paris
    French interior ministry deny reports of two hostages killed; at least five people reported held by man armed with two machine guns. Police surround industrial zone outside town of Dammartin-en-Goele.
    By Haaretz and Barak Ravid | Jan. 9, 2015 | 5:08 PM

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    An exclusive image from France 24 shows the site of the hostage crisis in the kosher grocery in Vincennes. Photo by France 24

    Two hostage situations are underway in and around Paris. In the east of the city, near Porte de Vincennes, a gunman took at least five people hostage at a kosher supermarket. The gunman is believed to be responsible for the killing a policewoman in a southern suburb of Paris on Thursday.

    Meanwhile, north of the capital in Dammartin-en-Goele, French anti-terrorist police sealed off a town and helicopters hovered overhead after a police source said the two men believed to have carried Wednesday's attack on the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper took at least one person hostage in a small print works. The two had earlier in the day evaded police in a high-speed car chase on a highway to Paris. One of the men had been convicted of terrorism charges in 2008, and a U.S. official said both brothers were on the American no-fly list.

    A source told Reuters that the gunman holding hostages in east Paris is believed to be a member of the same jihadist group, Butte Chaumont, as the two Hebdo suspects.

    More on Paris shooting: The double nightmare of Western intelligence | Paris shooting won’t garner European sympathy for Israel | Publish the cartoon, screen the film | Haaretz cartoonist: I'm afraid

    Live updates:

    5:07 P.M. An Israeli SWAT team unit specializing in hostage situation takeovers and rescues has been on standby since early Friday and ready to travel to Paris to assist French authorities with the hostage situation at a kosher grocery store.

    The commander of the police's elite counter-terror unit (Yamam), Brig.-Gen. S., has been in contact with his French counterparts and offered them Israeli assistance in handling the hostage situation, particularly at the Jewish-owned grocery. Israeli counter-terror officials praised the French authorities' response to the attacks.

    Israel's counter-terrorism unit maintains close ties, shares intelligence and conducts joint drills with Western European counter-terror units, especially that in Germany (Amir Oren)

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  13. assault has started in first location north of paris, right now

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. GIGN and RAID have practice but not the experience of SF, Yamam, SEALs, USMarshals Special Operations Group or FBI Hostage Rescue. one of the good things (if any of it can be good) is that our Federal Law Enforcement got actual practice in capturing high value targets. not a hostage rescue but in some ways even more complex because you're neutralizing threats while capturing alive your target(s).

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  14. Gign are part of special forces and I would trust them more than any other unit for static situation ...its all over now in both places ... Don't know about casualties yet

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  15. Two kouachi brothers killed in GIGN assault - hostage safe - one lightly injured gendarme

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  16. Paris hostage taker killed as well several hostages safe not sure about casualties inside though

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    1. BFMTV said there was two in shop, both also dead.

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    2. My understanding is that the two bodies are the ones the terrorist shot when he entered

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    3. For now it's all confusing, some media report that there were two terrorists in shop. We will need to wait when all will clear up.

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  17. For the record

    GIGN was in Damartin (town north of paris)

    RAID and BRI was in Paris

    1 RAID member and 1 BRI member hurt during the assault in Paris.

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  18. All hostages safe in Paris - one man from BRI light injury and one from RAID also

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  19. I hope the reports about it being ended without even more innocent casualties are true, kudos to the French forces for getting it done.

    Unlike the reputation sometimes put on them the French are no pussies..

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    1. RAID and especially GIGN have excellent reputation worldwide

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    2. @NavyRecognition does the Gendarmerie and its units get deployed abroad?

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    3. GIGN does, RAID doesn't

      GIGN was deployed for several months in Afghanistan in 2011-2012 for example. They're part of the inner circle of French SOCOM forces.

      RAID on other hand is purely police SWAT team, can be deployed nationally.

      BRI is Paris SWAT team - only Paris.

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  20. Video of the assault in Paris by RAID and BRI (both Police forces)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8MJzS5Sxqw

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  21. Reuters Top News‏@Reuters·5 mins5 minutes ago
    BREAKING: At least four hostages at Kosher supermarket siege in eastern Paris dead: police source

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    1. Yes hearing same now ... Four bodies but not sure yet if two hostages killed this morning and hostage takers girlfriend are among possible casualties ... Very sketchy but number seems accurate

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  22. Conflicting info now regarding Paris casualties

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    1. Just off the phone ... things clearing up regarding Paris situation:
      - 3 hostages shot dead this morning when the terrorist stormed the supermarket
      - hostage taker shot dead in the assault
      - one dead male accomplice, identity unknown, but according to first testimony of freed hostages, he looks to be of north african origin.

      - 2 SWAT team members injured
      - 3 hostages injured

      In the other location, i just got word that the hostage had managed to hide inside the building (a large wharehouse) and was feeding the GIGN with info all along, while the terrorists were pretending to have him under their control

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  23. Just in: (TF1 from Police sources): 4 Adults + a newborn were hiding in the freezers of the supermarket. edit: Those are safe.

    4 dead Hostages COULD have been killed before the police assault
    Paris terrorist opened fire and aimed all over as soon as he got inside the super market according to TF1

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    1. posted same time as you ... was on the phone to check: i can confirm 3 dead hostages shot this morning and the fourth body you mentioning is an unknown accomplice ... maybe his girlfriend, but freed hostages said it was a man ...

      We're still very much under threat especially in the jewish neighborhoods ... lots of anonymous threatening phone calls coming in, this might not be the end of it. We're still scanning things carefully

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    2. Was just told that RAID had ears in the place. And it was actually Coulubaly himself who gave the police this advantage: in the initial negociation phase he was on the phone with police and didn't hang up properly. So police could hear most of what happened during the whole time.
      When they heard him say his death prayer, they activated the contingency assault plan. The initial idea was to wait much longer, and wear him out, but that wasn't an option anymore at that point. Simultaneously, GIGN stormed the other location 15 miles north.

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  24. Can you believe it: the terrorist in the Kosher supermarket had been sentenced to 5 years in jail in 2013, for his involvement in an foiled attempt at freeing another djihadi from jail.
    Sentenced to 5 years in 2013 but out for good behaviour two months ago ... now you know what's wrong with the way this country judicial system treats terrorists...

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    1. Last one for me now, but an very interesting one, couldn't say earlier:
      If you speak or understand french, a taped phone call with Chérif Kouachi, one of newspaper attackers, has been released: the terrorist says very clearly that he is AQ in Arab Peninsula, where he was trained in 2011, and that he has been tasked with killing the journalists by Anwar al-Awlaki ... you better believe it !

      There has been another taped phone call with the guy in the kosher supermarket: he says that he synchronized his attack with his "buddies", and started his killing spree as soon as he heard about the attack on the newpaper.
      Contrary to the other two attackers, he says that he acts in the name of ISIS, that he already killed 4 hostages when he stormed the supermarket, and that his plan was to avenge the death of palestinian kids and thus he picked this kosher supermarket.
      Other than that, there's no problem with Muslims targeting Jews in France, no need to worry, right ... Fabsther ??!

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    2. Obviously there is a problem with Muslims targeting Jews, or anyone else. There is a problem with anyone attacking innocents!
      We should also worry..
      But, it is a mistake to try and make this us vs Muslims. The one thing terrorists have in common is not their religion, political affiliation or nationality. It is that they are extremists. Sadly one extremist leads to an other.. it is infections in two ways, it 'inspires' others with the same convictions AND extremist at the opposite end of the spectrum.
      It IS us vs them though.. it is normal people vs ISIS and Al KAida, but also Pagida type Nazi's, Anders Breivic type right wing nutters, Farc type socialist ones... etc... you get my point!

      We need to combat ALL nutcase extremist who threaten our values, our way of life and our lives.
      By focusing only on Muslims we empower all the other types and only create more terrorists, more danger. A victim killed by Breivic is just as dead as one killed by Tsarnaev.

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    3. BULLSHIT! sorry but name one other religion that has the entire world in a state of panic or concern because of the barbarity and savagery of its members? From the Middle East, to Africa, to Europe and onto Asia everywhere you look all you see are Muslim Extremist! But why do we call them extremist? they made a choice. they chose to be the scourge of humanity and its time to make the bastards pay. if Muslims innocents are killed and injured in the process then i'm sorry but the rabid dog parading as the face of Islam must be put down, shot in the face, throat stomped, and have its nuts heel stomped.

      i am so sick of these bastards committing crimes against humanity and before the bodies of their victims are cold their is some misguided bastard that comes out to apologize for their acts AND counsel us to not consider the entire religion a disease.

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    4. @Meint Veldman, i lived with a muslim family, my room was 2 mts from a mosque,it was an amazing period of my life but you can't tell me that two extremist prepare an attack, in Île-de-France probably in the mid of the muslim community and no one notice it, until people like this is protected by a wall of silence then it is a civilization confront.

      Same exact problem as mafia, until they are protected by their population (in this case religion) finding them and dealing with them will be impossible.

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    5. I am not defending Muslims, specially not those who do this or support this. My warning is that there are many other extremist who do these things and we should not forget about them, nor empower them.

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  26. This trend is worrying, homegrown muslim terrorists are actually using their brains and are turning away from bombs. Guns or even Knifes are easy to get and to use (at least easier than bombs) and can inflict a lot of harm and terror as the latest attack showed us. With every sucesfull attack I can only see this trend increasing. Europe you better brace yourself.

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  27. [I]Amedy Coulibaly had explosives "in one or more bags" that he had brought into the kosher grocery eastern Paris in the fatal shooting, but he does not use it, we learned Friday source close to the case cited by AFP. "There were a lot of explosives with him," the source said. Amedy Coulibaly, killed after taking hostages in the kosher grocery store, [B]also tried to trap one of the doors of the store, "but he had not connected the explosives," the source said.[/B][/I]

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    1. Indeed, they havent abandoned bombs completely and probably never will, but from the recent developments it appears they are turning away from bombs and moving into gun territory, its simple reinforcement; gun attack suceeds, bomb plots fails. Most terrorists are captured before arming their bombs, some get blown by them and some put them to use only to see them fail miserably like some ACME product. If you want some decent statistics on the subject read the essay by Javier Jordan "Una aportación empírica al debate teórico sobre la naturaleza organizativa del terrorismo yihadista en Europa
      Occidental" or check the Europol report on terrorism activity.

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  28. And in Sweden the Lefts starts

    LUND. A hundred Lundabor gathered on Friday night on the cold and windy Great Square to a rally against Islamophobia.
    Young Left and the Left Party stood behind the manifestation. In his speech, said Angelica Svensson from the Left that Sweden is the extreme right who are behind the violence. According to her, they are now using events in France to recruit new followers:

    - It's hard to stand here and speak after the events of recent weeks. In France, we have seen a terrorist attack in the name of Islam - as if a few would have the right to define Islam, and not millions. We say no to terrorism, no matter who is behind, and yes to freedom of religion, whether we are religious or not.

    Olof Björk from Young Left-called attacks on mosques in Sweden for fascist terrorist acts:

    - We are seeing more aggressive and explicit racism in Sweden than in many years. There are related to the Sweden Democrats sit in parliament, it makes despicable ideas get legitimacy.

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