'I want to execute. I want to behead,' says US man arrested at airport on way to join LeT

Agencies

February 9, 2019

Washington, Feb 9: A 29-year-old New York City man has been arrested while he was about to catch a flight to Pakistan to join the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), in a dangerous sign that the Pakistan-based terror group, which carried out the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, has expanded its tentacles in the US.

In another instance of growing influence of the LeT in the US and radicalisation of American youths, a teenager in Texas was charged by the FBI with using social media to recruit people on behalf of the terror group and send them to Pakistan for terrorist training.

Federal prosecutors on Friday announced that they arrested the Manhattan man, Jesus Wilfredo Encarnacion, on Thursday night at John F Kennedy International Airport as he was about to board an international flight with Pakistan being his final destination.

Prosecutors say Encarnacion went online to try to join the terrorist organisation. Encarnacion allegedly told an unnamed co-conspirator in November that he wanted to hook up with Pakistani terror group which carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.

"I want to execute. I want to behead. Shoot," Encarnacion told an undercover agent, the complaint alleges.

"Encarnacion allegedly attempted to travel to Pakistan to join a foreign terrorist organisation and conspired with another individual to provide that organisation with material support," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers.

Encarnacion aka "Jihadistsoldgier", "Jihadinhear", "Jihadinheart" and "Lionofthegood," plotted to travel to Pakistan to join and train with LeT, said US Attorney Geoffrey Berman.

"Encarnacion not only expressed a desire to "execute and behead people," he scheduled travel and almost boarded a plane so he could go learn how to become a terrorist," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney Jr.

In the southern state of Texas, 18-year-old Michael Kyle Sewell was charged by the FBI with using social media to recruit people on behalf of the LeT and send them to Pakistan for terrorist training.

The arrest of the New Yorker and the charges against the Texas teenager - who do not appear to be of South Asian origin as has been the case in previous such arrests - has set the alarm bells ringing among the law enforcement agencies in the US.

The arrests have thrown the spotlight on issues of homegrown terrorism and radicalisation of American youths, a situation that authorities have dreaded post Mumbai-terrorist attack.

Based out of Pakistan, the LeT is a UN and US designated global terrorist organisation and has carried out several terrorist attacks inside India, including the Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008 that took the lives of 166 people including several Americans.

"These organisations are using the internet and social media to appeal to the most barbaric impulses in people, and train them to kill," Sweeney Jr added.

According to NYPD Police Commissioner James O'Neill, one of Encarnacion's stated motives for travelling overseas was to get the training and experience he believed he needed to someday return to the United States and carry out attacks.

Meanwhile, Sewell, who encouraged and recruited an individual to join the LeT hails from Fort Worth city and met the man.

"Sewell allegedly used social media to recruit and encourage an individual to travel overseas to join a foreign terrorist organization and conspired with that person to provide material support to that organisation," Demers said.

According to the criminal complaint, Sewell provided the co-conspirator with contact information of an individual he believed could facilitate the travel to Pakistan.

Unbeknownst to Sewell and his partner, the facilitator was an undercover FBI agent, the federal prosecutors said.

Sewell had even coached the co-conspirator on how to convince the facilitator that he was sincere in his desire to fight for the LeT, they added.

The teen also contacted the facilitator to vouch for the co-conspirator's authenticity and told both of them that he would kill the coconspirator if he turned out to be a spy.

The co-conspirator then contacted the facilitator and made arrangements to travel to Pakistan, the criminal complaint said.

Comments

This is total bias. US is trying to defame islam and muslims. the man arested seems to be a jew or christian. How come he is joining LeT which is no more existing now. US is trying to fool to divert attention of people from failure of Trump Govt.

Probabaly marketing for ISIS is finished.. now i think it is the plan either to target islam thru LET or to destroy Pakistani economy which is trying recover under Imran khan.

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42-year-old passenger dies onboard Lagos-Mumbai flight

Agencies

June 14,2020

Mumbai, Jun 14: A 42-year old man suddenly collapsed and died due to natural causes onboard Air India's Lagos-Mumbai flight on Sunday, the national carrier said.

The flight was part of Vande Bharat Mission, under which the Central government is operating special repatriation flights to bring back stranded Indians from abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Air India's flight AI 1906 departed from Lagos in Nigeria at 7 pm Indian Standard Time on Saturday and landed in Mumbai at 3.45 am on Sunday.

"A passenger aboard AI 1906 of June 13 from Lagos to Mumbai passed away due to natural causes today.

"A doctor onboard along with our crew, trained to handle such medical emergencies, made a valiant attempt to revive the passenger, aged 42, who had suddenly collapsed, through resuscitation etc but all their efforts went in vain," the airline's spokesperson said.

He was declared dead onboard by the attending doctor. Mumbai International Airport Limited doctors attended to the passenger after the flight landed at 3.45 am and after all the procedures were complete, the body was sent to a hospital as per protocol, the spokesperson noted.

Relatives of the deceased were informed and aircraft was taken for full fumigation as per the norms, the spokesperson said.

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Russian University completes human trials of a coronavirus vaccine

Agecnies

July 13,2020

Moscow, Jul 13: Russia has become the first nation to complete clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine on humans. Chief researcher Elena Smolyarchuk, who heads the Center for Clinical Research on Medications at Sechenov University, told Russian news agency TASS on Sunday that the human trials for the vaccine have been completed at the university and the volunteers will be discharged soon.

"The research has been completed and it proved that the vaccine is safe. The volunteers will be discharged on July 15 and July 20," Smolyarchuk was quoted as saying in the report.

Though the results have been favourable with respect to the medication’s effectiveness, no further information was provided on when this vaccine would enter commercial production stage.

Russia had allowed clinical trials of two forms of a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology on June 18.

The first vaccine, in the form of a solution for intramuscular administration, was carried out at the Burdenko Military Hospital.

Another vaccine, in the form of a powder for the preparation of a solution for intramuscular administration, was carried out at Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University.

The first stage of research on the vaccine at Sechenov University involved a group of 18 volunteers and the second group involved 20 volunteers.

After vaccination, all volunteers were expected to remain in isolation in a hospital for 28 days.

Earlier, results of the COVID-19 vaccine tests performed on a group of volunteers in Russia showed that they were developing immunity to the coronavirus.

"The data obtained by the Gamalei National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, proves that volunteers of the first and second groups are forming an immune response after injections of the vaccine against the coronavirus," according to an earlier statement from the Russian Defense Ministry.

Russia has reported 719,449 cases and 11,188 deaths to date.

There are at least 21 vaccines currently under key trials, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The overall number of global COVID-19 cases crossed 12.9 million, while the deaths have increased to more than 5,69,000, according to Johns Hopkins University in the US.

As of Monday morning, the total number of cases stood at 1,29,10,357, while the fatalities rose to 5,69,128.

The US accounted for the world's highest number of infections at over 33 lakh. Brazil came in the second place with over 18 lakh infections. India is third worst affected with over 8.7 lakh people reported to have COVID-19.

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Here's the first phase flight plan for return of Indian nationals stranded abroad

coastaldigest.com news network

May 5,2020

Newsroom, May 5: Following the union government's nod, preparations are afoot to bring back Indian nationals stranded abroad from May 7 onwards.

According to sources, in the first phase from May 7- 14, the government would allow more than 60 “non-scheduled, commercial” flights to operate from about 12 countries to India to bring back 15,000 citizens. At least half of those flights will be from the Gulf region, including UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, while the rest would bring passengers from the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Bangladesh.

The flights would be spread over 10 States identified as having the largest numbers to return, with Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Delhi (NCR) receiving the maximum number of flights.

A meeting held at the Ministry of Civil Aviation looked specifically at flights, mainly operated by Air India, while it awaits a final plan from countries where Indians need to be airlifted from. The first flights planned at present are from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh and Doha, flying directly to Kozhikode and Kochi.

While the full estimate of Indians needing to return home could cross ten lakhs (a million), with more than two lakhs having registered to return from the UAE alone, officials said their return would be “prioritised and staggered”.

Flight plan for return of Indian nationals stranded abroad: