Tag Archives: assassination

Blast at School in Southern Italy Kills One and Injures Six – NYTimes.com

An unfortunate reminder that in counterterrorism and response preparations, we need to focus on more than just commercial aviation:

ROME (Reuters) – A bomb exploded in front of a school in southern Italy on Saturday, killing a 16 year-old girl and wounding at least six others, two seriously, authorities said on Saturday.

The explosion, near the entrance of a girls’ school named after the wife of murdered anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, occurred as pupils were preparing to enter the school at the start of the school day, which in Italy includes Saturdays.Design intended to deter bombing by making contents visible, to make finding bombs more efficient, and to limit the blast effects of fragments of a metal can.

French trashcan design to deter bombing by making contents visible

Authorities said two gas canisters appear to have been placed in rubbish containers at the school, which local media said was located near the main court in Brindisi, a port city located in Apulia, on the “heel” of Italy.

“This is a tragedy,” Mimmo Consales, the mayor of Brindisi, told SkyTG24 news television, saying that two of the injured were in a “desperate condition” while four others were less seriously hurt.A surgeon told local TV Telenorba that one of the injured girls was currently undergoing a complicated surgery.

There was no claim of responsibility and no indication of who had placed the bomb but initial suspicions were directed at the mafia.

Consales noted that the incident occurred just a few days before the 20th anniversary of the murder of Falcone and his wife, Francesca Morvillo, by a bomb in Sicily on May 23, 1992. An anti-mafia march had been planned later in the day.

“You can understand the symbolism of this and what it all signifies,” he said.

Television shots of the scene showed a cement wall blackened by fire next to the school’s entrance gate on a sunny spring day.

Schools in the region were closed and President Giorgio Napolitano issued a statement condemning the attack. A group of investigators, including the region’s top anti-mafia prosecutor, will meet later on Saturday to discuss the probe.

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US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot at Arizona supermarket – Wikinews, the free news source

Via WikiNews

US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot at a public event in Tuscon, Arizona on Saturday. At least five were killed and several others were wounded in the shooting, including at least one from Giffords’ staff. The shooting occurred at a Safeway supermarket where Giffords, a Democratic Party member who represented Arizona’s 8th congressional district, had scheduled a public “Congress on Your Corner” event.Giffords was widely reported as having died after the attack, but her public relations personnel later said she was undergoing surgery. Giffords was shot in the head at close range, and according to the Pima County sheriff, Giffords, aged 40, died from the attack. National Public Radio, however, reported that there were conflicting reports about her death.Giffords was airlifted to a nearby hospital and underwent emergency surgery. A spokesperson for University Medical Center said, “She is

currently in surgery. She’s alive,” adding that nine other shooting victims had been taken to the hospital. After the surgery, the hospital announced Giffords was alive with a single gunshot wound to the head and that she was responsive.The hospital also said that a nine-year-old was among those killed in the shooting. David Gonzales, a US Marshal, said that federal judge John Roll also died from his wounds. President Barack Obama said the shooter killed a total of five people.Peter Michaels, of Arizona Public Media, said Giffords had been speaking to several people when someone began firing randomly from around 4 feet 1.2 metres away. The gunman attempted to flee but was tackled by an onlooker and taken into police custody. Described as in his late teens to early twenties, he was later identified as 22-year-old Jared Loughner, who used a handgun in the attack.

US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot at Arizona supermarket – Wikinews, the free news source.

The bipartisan nature of the attack – a prominent Democratic Representative and prominent Republican federal judge both attacked in the same incident – is puzzling.

Financial Cryptography: over 30K EU identity stolen per year

Financial Cryptography reports that

A classified Dutch government report has revealed that criminals stole 341,956 passports, identity cards, visa stickers and drivers’ licences from European government facilities since 2000.

Financial Cryptography,  citing 341,956 blank EU travel documents in criminal hands on  NRC Handelsblad (in English).

In other words, not only government intelligence services have access to false identity documents. See our earlier coverage of this issue: Hamas claims Israel assassinated commander in Dubai – Wikinews, the free news source




Robert Baer on Brian Lehrer/WNYC

A conversation worth listening to: Robert Baer, former CIA officer, interviewed by Brian Lehrer. Link to WNYC archive here .

Baer – we’ll try to update later with links to his books – I’ve read all but the most recent – is also a columnist for Time . Here’s a link to his latest piece, The CIA Is Keeping Secrets. Hello?

I’ve found Baer to be thoughtful, incisive and unpretentious. Agree with him or not (I confess that I do, for the most part), his contribution to the public discussion about terrorism/counter-terrorism is invaluable.