Duncan Gardham specialises in writing about terrorism, extremism and international security
Axel Rudakubana, the alleged Southport killer, has been accused of possessing a terrorist document, yet the police still insist there is no evidence of a terrorist motive. How can both be the case? The document Rudakubana is accused of downloading is a version of the 180-page ‘al-Qaeda training manual’. It is also known as the
To the rioters, it doesn’t matter that the suspect in the murder of three girls at a holiday dance camp in Southport came from a practicing Christian family, or that he was born in Cardiff and is a British citizen. It meant nothing that his hardworking parents had fled the aftermath of a genocide in Rwanda
Anjem Choudary thrived on the oxygen of publicity and in the end could not stand being starved of it. He could have retired quietly after serving a five-year sentence for encouraging support for Isis, but as soon as his licence conditions expired, he was courting controversy again. He put out press releases on WhatsApp and Telegram
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old shot dead by a secret service sniper following the attempt on former president Trump’s life at Butler, Pennsylvania, had donated $15 to ActBlue, a political action committee which raises money for Democratic causes. State voter records also show that Crooks was a registered Republican. Either way, it is too early
Counter-terrorist detectives investigating a stabbing of a dissident Iranian journalist in London have discovered that three suspects left the country within hours of the attack. Pouria Zeraati, 36, a presenter for Iran International, was knifed in the leg outside his home in Wimbledon on Friday. The suspects fled the scene to Heathrow before boarding a flight. Police
Islamic State (IS) has released a graphic video showing gunmen storming the Crocus concert hall near Moscow in an attack that killed at least 137 people. The footage corroborates the terrorist organisation’s claim of responsibility. The most likely culprit is the organisation’s offshoot based in Afghanistan. For years, IS-Khorasan Province (IS-K) – a branch of IS
‘I know that what I have revealed, while increasing public knowledge, will raise other questions that I have not been able to answer,’ Sir John Saunders said, in issuing his final report into the Manchester Arena bombing. ‘I did ask the questions, I did get answers, but for the reasons I have given I have
The litany of errors in the emergency services’ response to the Manchester Arena attack has been widely detailed this week, from a senior police officer who failed to pass on crucial information, to a key fire officer who spent an hour driving in from his home, and a specialised paramedic unit that took 44 minutes
The Manchester Arena Inquiry has adjourned for three weeks as its chairman Sir John Saunders considers the last, and most secret, part of the evidence. It involves the critical issue of why Salman Abedi was investigated by MI5 and found to pose no risk, and why his case was never re-opened. At the centre of the Inquiry is
The security services in Britain have been concerned about the rise of the Taliban for many months. In government briefings they have been telling ministers that it was almost inevitable the Taliban would gain some role in the government of Afghanistan once Western forces withdrew – it was just a question of how much. It
Claire Booth was put in the impossible position of having to decide whether to care for her sister or her daughter after the Manchester Arena attack. She understandably chose to look after her 12-year-old daughter, Hollie, but the decision still haunts her. More than anything, she wishes that emergency help had arrived quickly, in whatever
The path to the Manchester Arena bombing inquiry, which opened in September, has been a long one. It had to wait for the extradition from Libya and trial of the bomber’s brother, Hashem Abedi, and then for the first wave of coronavirus. Once underway, it has been a rollercoaster of emotion for the victims’ families,
What you see is not always what you get. When a judge hands down a 16-year terrorism sentence it’s really eight years in custody with the rest on parole. The set-up is a bit of a swindle dating back to the 1960s, backed up by journalists who like a big number for the headline –
They don’t like to use the ‘Q’ word in counter-terrorism. It’s a bit like blurting out the name of the Scottish Play in a theatre. At Christmas parties, members of the security agencies insisted they had never been busier but once the year had turned and they were no longer tempting fate, they were prepared
