Morocco tourist killed video

TWO Scandinavian backpackers were butchered in Morocco by suspected ISIS terrorists in a horrific beheading video after they were stalked up a mountain. Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and Maren Ueland, 28, were knifed and decapitated on a hiking holiday after their suspected killers were seen lying in wait just 600 yards away. This morning Danish authorities confirmed that a horrifying video circulating on social media that shows one of the women being murdered is authentic. Four men have been arrested, as the Rabat public prosecutor's office confirmed that at least one of the group is affiliated to a terrorist group. The chilling clip of the killing shows a woman screaming while a man cuts her neck with what appears to be a kitchen knife. During the video, the perpetrators are heard linking the atrocity to the Western bombings in Syria, crying: "This is for Syria, here are the heads of your Gods." What we know so far... Two Scandinavian tourists were killed in their tents as they … [Read more...] about Morocco backpackers butchered by ‘ISIS’ terrorists in horrific beheading video after being stalked up mountain

(AFP) Islamists are suspected to have carried out the murder of two young Scandinavian women trekking in southern Morocco, one of whom was beheaded, a source close to the probe said Wednesday. “Radical Islam is not ruled out due to the profile of the suspect arrested and of the three men wanted” after the women’s bodies were found Monday in the High Atlas Mountains, the source said, asking not to be named.The source told AFP that one of the women — 24-year-old Louisa Vesterager Jespersen from Denmark and 28-year-old Maren Ueland from Norway — had been beheaded. Police spokesman Boubker Sabik also said terrorism was suspected and that the three suspects on the run had been “identified and a search for them is under way by all the security services”. One of the three had “a court record linked to terrorist acts”, he said, while the prosecutor general’s office said the man in custody belonged to an extremist group. The prosecutor … [Read more...] about Islamists Suspected After European Women Brutally Murdered in Moroccan Mountains

Egypt On July 30th-31st, the U.S. Embassy in Egypt announced plans to deliver eight F-16 fighter jets to Egypt approved as part of a military package that was unfrozen earlier this year. Delivered to Cairo West Air Base, the jets were flown directly from the U.S. and immediately integrated into the Egyptian Air Force. Four more F-16s will be delivered to Egypt this fall and the U.S. will continue to provide follow-on support, maintenance, and training for Egyptian Air Force pilots and ground crews. On August 1st-3rd, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Tom Malinowski was on travel to Cairo, Egypt, to join Secretary of State John Kerry for the U.S.-Egypt Strategic Dialogue. In addition to participating in meetings led by Secretary Kerry, Assistant Secretary Malinowski also met with members of Egyptian civil society and political parties. His meetings were noted here.On August 2nd, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Cairo for the … [Read more...] about Africa Update for August 6, 2015

South Sudan On August 25th, a panel of United Nations (U.N.) experts monitoring U.N. sanctions on South Sudan released a report disclosing evidence that South Sudanese soldiers raped children, burned people alive in their homes, and hunted others for days as part of its tactics in the country’s recent civil war. U.N. investigators noted extreme violence against civilians, committed by all parties to the political conflict. On August 25th, U.N. Special Representative for South Sudan and head of the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Ellen Margrethe Loj briefed the U.N. Security Council on peace negotiations in the country. She reported that rival parties in South Sudan were anticipated to convene a mini-summit on August 26th, during which the South Sudanese Government was expected to sign the agreement already endorsed by former Vice President Riek Machar. While a final agreement appeared within reach, Special Representative Loj warned the security situation on the ground … [Read more...] about Africa Update for August 27, 2015

RABAT (Reuters) - A Moroccan court has sentenced a Swiss national to 10 years in prison on terrorism charges over links to the suspects in the killing of two Scandinavian women near Marrakech in December, the state news agency MAP said on Friday. Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway were found dead on Dec. 17 near the village of Imlil in the Atlas Mountains. The 33-year-old man sentenced on Thursday was identified by Moroccan media only as Nicolas P. Media said he also holds British citizenship. Arrested on Dec. 29 in Marrakech, he was tried on charges of “forming a gang to plot and commit terrorist acts aiming at seriously undermining state security, intentionally helping the perpetrators of terrorist acts, training people to join terrorist organisations and apologia for terrorism,” MAP said. The first instance verdict, which will likely be followed by an appeal, was separate from the case of a Swiss-Spanish national, identified … [Read more...] about Moroccan court sentences Swiss national to 10 years on terrorism charges