Homeland Security News

The owners and operators of businesses and public spaces such as concert halls, shopping centres and parks will be legally bound to protect such venues from terrorism under a new statutory duty proposed by the government.

The so-called “protect duty” reflects proposals put forward by the family of Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester Arena bombing attack in 2017.

Home Office officials are to launch a consultation on legally forcing organisations to increase physical security at venues and train staff to respond to terrorist attacks, as well as putting in place incident response plans – and how failure to comply would be enforced.

Read more: The Guardian (UK)

Distressing news over the weekend of a 64-year-old woman killed on a Toronto street apparently by a stranger swinging a hammer came with an even more shocking coda, revealed by police Tuesday, that the slaying was allegedly a terrorist attack.

While precise details of what happened are not yet known, the broad allegations of the attack almost perfectly mirror the current face of terrorism in the West: low-sophistication, low-resource attacks.

“It may be difficult for this to resonate with Canadians as a terrorist attack, just because of the low complexity and low impact of the attack,” said Jessica Davis, a former senior strategic analyst with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

Read more: National Post (Canada)

In one of the worst shootings in Wisconsin history, a gunman killed five people — and then himself — during a rampage Wednesday afternoon on the Milwaukee campus of Molson Coors.

The shooter was identified as a 51-year-old man who worked for the company, the home of Miller Brewery for more than a century.

All of the shooting victims died. There were no reports of injuries.

The identities of the victims and the shooter were not released Wednesday. Police did say, however, that the victims' families have been notified.

Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said at an early evening news conference that police were checking on the whereabouts of more than 1,000 employees. "We have to check off employees one by one," he said.

By 9:30 p.m., that had been done and all employees at the brewery had been allowed to go home, Morales said at a news conference.

Read more: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

At least 24 people were killed and almost 200 injured in three days of clashes in Delhi, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals continue to take in the wounded, authorities said Wednesday. One analyst told FRANCE 24 that the “pent-up anger” of BJP supporters was behind the violence after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party lost a state election there on February 8. 

This week's battles between Hindus and Muslims have seen mobs armed with swords, guns and acid raze parts of a northeastern district of the Indian capital. The clashes, which also left almost 200 injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda.

They exploded into brutal violence on Monday and Tuesday, with residents forced to flee their homes after seeing dwellings destroyed, a mosque attacked and a tyre market and two schools set ablaze.

Read more: France 24 
 

The U.S. military has killed the Shabaab commander who was behind last month’s assault on the Manda Bay Airbase in Kenya that resulted in the deaths of an American soldier and two contractors. 

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), announced yesterday that “precision airstrikes” that were launched near Saakow in southern Somalia on Feb. 22 killed a Shabaab commander and his wife, who is also a member of Al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa. 

Shabaab has said in response that the attack was carried out under the “direction” of al Qaeda’s senior leadership.

“The two terrorists were identified as a senior al-Shabaab leader, who was in charge of planning and directing terrorist operations on the Kenya border region, including the recent attack on Manda Bay, and his wife, who also was a witting and active member of al-Shabaab responsible for facilitating a wide range of terrorist activities,” the AFRICOM statement noted. 

Read more: Long War Journal