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<p>TORONTO (AP) -- A man accused of plotting to derail a train in Canada with support from al-Qaida is asking to be represented by a defense attorney willing to use the "holy book" as a reference in his case.</p> <p>During a hearing Thursday Chiheb Esseghaier requested a court-appointed lawyer who will use the "holy book" as a reference. The Tunisian-born Muslim was apparently referring to the Quran.</p>

Revelations from emails purloined by a Romanian hacker show that Hillary Clinton was being secretly advised about Libya -- before and after the Benghazi terrorist attack -- by an off-the-shelf private spook group associated with controversial former Clinton confidante Sydney Blumenthal that claimed to be helping the Libyan opposition and considered placing ground operatives near the border. What's this all about? It's not completely clear, but apparently the goal of the rogue group, which included a former high level CIA covert operative and a former U.S. General, was, at the very least, to gather and provide sensitive reports to the...

Like father, like son, assert U.S., European and Arab intelligence agencies who believe one of Osama bin Laden's youngest children is beginning to call the shots at the Iranian branch of al-Qaida. Saad bin Laden is one of an estimated 400 operatives of the terror network recruited and protected by Tehran's hard-line clerics, according to the Washington Post. Tehran's elected government, headed by the reformist President Mohammed Khatami, does not appear to have control over this group, called the Jerusalem Force. The Post reports the 24-year-old bin Laden is computer savvy and fluent in English. His father groomed him for...

When Osama bin Laden was banished from Sudan in 1996, he left the country in a rented Soviet jet — an aged and antique Tupolev flown by a Russian pilot he did not trust. With him were a few bodyguards, his military commander, Saif al-Adel, and two sons named Sa’ad and Omar — both young men in their late teens. Although it was the corrupt Islamic government of Sudan that had robbed Osama bin Laden of much of his vast personal wealth, he blamed America for his misfortunes, according to Pulitzer Prize-winner Lawrence Wright. “He held America responsible for the...

A 12-METRE monolith, hacked out of limestone by stone-age humans some nine thousand years ago, has been found at the bottom of the Mediterranean. The enormous stone totem, now split in two and sitting in the Sicilian Channel between Tunisia and Sicily, was hewed from a rocky outcrop some 300m away when the Mediterranean Sea was still a dry basin. It’s now under 40m of water. The new study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, says the area was submerged about 9350 years ago (give or take 200 years) when the last Ice Age retreated. Before that time the...

Tunisia has announced plans to build a wall along its border with Libya to counter the threat from jihadist militants. It would stretch 160km (100 miles) inland from the coast, and be completed by the end of 2015, Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid told state TV. The gunman who killed 38 people in an attack on a beach resort is believed to have received training in Libya. Tunisia declared a state of emergency following the attack last month. The Tunisian army would build the wall, which would have surveillance centres at certain points along it, Mr Essid said.

Muslims in Ireland will hold a demonstration in Dublin to protest the violence inspired by terror group Islamic State. Three Irish people were gunned down in Tunisia by an ISIS fanatic while they were on vacation there. The “Not in Our Name” protest will take place at O’Connell Street on Sunday, July 26, reports the Irish Examiner. However, the leader of Ireland’s biggest mosque in Clonskeagh, Dublin, has refused to take part. Dr. Ali Salem, head of the Islamic Cultural Center of Ireland, which is part of the mosque, stated the organization had never been consulted. “If the biggest Islamic...

Hani-al-Sibai, described as a 'key influencer' of Tunisian terror group, lives in a £1 million house on a leafy street in fashionable west London _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A leader of the terrorist group suspected of being behind the Tunisian beach massacre is living in benefits in Britain. Hani al-Sibai, an al-Qaeda cleric suspected of radicalising "Jihadi John", lives in a £1 million house leafy street in fashionable west London. He is said to be one of the "key influencers" of the Islamic fanatics believed to have recruited and trained gunman Seifeddine Rezgui. Egyptian-born al-Sibai, 54, reportedly lives on £50,000 a year in...

In reading about the horrific attack by the Tunisian mass shooter, on the beach on Friday, the 26th of June, 2015, it appears that he used two weapons systems.  An AKM rifle, commonly referred to as an AK47, almost certainly in 7.62x39 caliber, with several standard 30 round magazines, was used for most of the killing.  The rifle is seen above.  It has wooden furniture, the AKM muzzle brake, and a web sling.  It is missing the standard cleaning rod from under the barrel. Update: from a colleague on freerepublic: Appears to be an Egyptian Maadi [or MISR] AKM....

ISMAILIA: Egypt launched airstrikes on Islamist militant targets in the Sinai peninsula Thursday, killing 23 fighters a day after the deadliest clashes in the region in years, security sources said. The sources said those killed had taken part in Wednesday's fighting in which 100 militants and 17 soldiers, including four officers, were killed, according to the army spokesman. Sinai-based insurgents, affiliates of ISIS, have stepped up attacks on soldiers and police since then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi toppled Islamist President Mohammad Morsi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. Sisi, now Egypt's elected president, says the pro-ISIS group Sinai...

FBI agents have made at least 30 arrests on US soil this year as they try to combat the murderous reach of ISIS and its warped followers, Daily Mail Online can disclose. Officials revealed this week that the Islamic terror group has a foothold in all 50 states as it continues to target disaffected Americans through its torrent of online propaganda and slick videos of barbaric beheadings and mutilations. The stark warning comes days after ISIS-inspired gunman Saif Rezgui unleashed horror on at a Tunisian beach resort, killing 39 vacationers and wounding dozens more. The FBI has reportedly set up...

This is the actual event flyer, as is the one below. Over the weekend I saw the following post on Facebook. It was shared by a friend of a friend in London. I read it in disbelief and stared at the event’s publicity posters for what felt like forever. I thought it must be a joke and so I Googled it and quickly realized not only was it happening, but there was nothing police could do to stop it. It is shocking and heartbreaking this will take place and I am saddened for the people of London, particularly those who...

Tunisian student Seifeddine Rezgui opened fire on a tourist beach leaving at least 38 people dead. But the people who knew him told the BBC he was polite, never swore, never fought and liked breakdancing. In the midday sun, Seifeddine Rezgui pulled a Kalashnikov from a parasol and opened fire on the beach, sending holidaymakers fleeing for their lives. He threw explosives at the pool area before continuing inside the Imperial Marhaba hotel. Rezgui was not previously known to the security services. But Islamic State (IS), which said it was behind the attack, referred to him by a nom de...

If it had not been for the bravery of her fiancé, Saera Wilson may have been one of the more than 70 victims of an attack on a hotel in Tunisia. As the Daily Mail reports, 37 people were killed and 36 wounded when extremists attacked a resort area in Sousse, opening fire at a beach near the Bellevue Hotel. Wilson was on vacation with her fiancé, Matthew James, and the two were sunbathing when the shooting began. Wilson says that James put his body between her and the gunmen, shielding her from harm while taking three bullets in the stomach. Even while injured...

The desecration of Muslim graves at a Nottingham cemetery is being treated as a hate crime in the wake of the Tunisia terror attack. Nottinghamshire Police have stepped up patrols at High Wood Cemetery in Bulwell and other sites after name plaques and decorative lights on Muslim plots were damaged overnight at the weekend. Nottingham City Council said it was treating the damage to at least ten plots as a hate crime. …

The attack Friday at a Tunisian beach resort killed at least 18 Britons, but officials said Monday the actual number was likely to be 30. That would make it by far the deadliest terrorist attack on Britons since the London transport bombings 10 years ago. Yet it was just one of three terrorist attacks on three continents that followed one another in frightening succession last week. While it is not yet known whether the attacks were linked, they have left officials in numerous countries concerned about how to keep their citizens safe. Not long after that, a bomb ripped through...

David Cameron today called on the BBC not to use the phrase 'Islamic State' when referring to the terror group operating in Iraq and Syria. The Prime Minister - who calls the group 'ISIL' - said Muslims would 'recoil' at the phrase being used to justify the 'perversion of a great religion'. He insisted that the battle against extremists targeting Britons around the world can be won but will require 'extraordinary resolve and patience'. Gunman Seifeddine Rezgui targeted tourists at the Tunisian beach resort of El Kantaoui near Sousse on Friday morning, killing 38 people including up to 30 British...

Tunisian investigators believe the suspected accomplices provided the Kalashnikov assault rifle to Rezgui and helped him get to the scene, Mr Ali Aroui told AP. He added that police were questioning Rezgui's father and three roommates, although he did not say any of them were suspected of involvement in the attack ... "Maybe he was changed where he studied, maybe it was something on the internet. But we just don't have any answers," he added. Tunisian authorities say army reservists will be deployed to tourist sites and that around 80 mosques accused of inciting violence will be closed within a...

At least 30 Britons are understood to have been killed in the beach massacre in Tunisia, it emerged on Sunday. Informed sources said the eventual figure could be even higher. The official British death toll is now known to be much higher than originally reported, because of the time taken to confirm the identities of those killed. The process is being overseen by a British coroner. Due to the nature and location of the attack, and the numbers involved, the process has not been straightforward. One problem is that many of those killed on the beach were wearing swimwear, and...

An Irish couple are now confirmed dead in the ISIS slaughter of 39 innocent tourists in Tunisia. That brings to three the number of Irish among the 39 fatalities. The couple have been named locally in Athlone, County Westmeath as Laurence (Larry) and Martina Hayes. He is a well known local bus driver. The couple are believed to be in their fifties. Their daughter was in contact with Irish authorities during the day before police finally confirmed the couple were among the dead. Lorna Carty, a mother of two from County Meath, was already identified as being murdered by the...