The head of MI5 has said terrorist attacks on UK soil will likely happen on his watch and that his officers and the police have foiled six “late-stage” plots during the pandemic. Ken McCallum revealed the number of terrorist plots the Security Service has to deal with has grown since the September 11 attacks on
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The British embassy’s new tenants in Kabul cannot understand why the diplomatic staff have not returned since the Taliban took control. “Why don’t they come back?” one of the Taliban commanders escorting us asks. He knows we are British and pushes us further. I wonder briefly whether he’s taunting us. After a 20-year war in
Twenty years on from the September 11th terror attacks, the Taliban are back in power in Afghanistan. After being driven out by US forces following 9/11, the US commitment to withdraw from the country ahead of the two-decade anniversary has resulted in Islamist rule there once again. Despite Taliban promises to keep al Qaeda and
The Taliban says it will allow 200 Americans and other civilians to leave Afghanistan on charter flights, according to a US official. The official, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said the Taliban were pressed to allow the departures by US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad. The flight is expected to depart on
Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam has told a court he is “a soldier of Islamic State”. Abdeslam is among 20 men on trial accused of being involved in the 2015 atrocities at the Bataclan music theatre and other venues. The so-called Islamic State (IS) terrorist attacks, which took place on 13 November 2015, killed 130
Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban was a “catastrophe”, according to a former secretary-general of NATO. Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Sky News that agreeing a leave date with the militants allowed them to “wait us out”. He was speaking for Sky’s new documentary, Collapse: Retreat from Afghanistan, which details the final days of the coalition’s
The Taliban has appointed several old guard members to Afghanistan’s caretaker government. Among those appointed to the new interim cabinet as interior minister is Sarajuddin Haqqani, who is on the FBI’s most-wanted list. Interim prime minister Mullah Hasan Akhund had headed the Taliban government in Kabul during the last years of its rule. One of
Taliban gunmen fired into the air to disperse anti-Pakistan protestors in the capital of Afghanistan. Video clips on Tuesday showed people running as gunfire was heard. There were no immediate reports of injuries. People are protesting against the Taliban and Pakistan’s alleged interference in Afghanistan’s affairs, with the Islamist group calling the neighbouring nation its
Football legend Pele has undergone surgery to remove a tumour from his colon. The three-time World Cup winner described feeling ‘optimistic’ after Saturday’s operation. Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is determined to face his illness “with a smile on his face”. The Brazilian hero, regarded as one of the greatest footballers
The Taliban is claiming it now controls the whole of Afghanistan after taking complete control of Panjshir province, the last area in Afghanistan being held by resistance forces. A spokesman for the group, Zabihullah Mujahid, issued a statement saying the area had been “completely conquered” and a “number of people” were killed while the “rest
Soldiers in Guinea claim they have dissolved the government of President Alpha Conde and its constitution, as well as closed all land and air borders. The announcement on state television comes after hours of gunfire around the presidential palace in the capital Conakry, sparking fears of a coup attempt. But the defence ministry said an
The Taliban has broken up women’s rights protests in Kabul by firing shots into the air and using teargas and tasers, witnesses say. Women marched through the Afghan capital for a second day in a row on Saturday demanding their freedoms are guaranteed under the new Islamist regime. The demonstrations began peacefully with a number
An RAF pilot missed smashing his aircraft into a bus carrying evacuees at Kabul airport by about 3m (10ft) after the vehicle steered onto the runway as he was taking off. Wing Commander Kev Latchman revealed military air traffic controllers had been praying for him when they saw his C-17 transport aircraft hurtling towards a
The man who stabbed seven people at a New Zealand supermarket has been named as Ahamed Samsudeen. The 32-year-old had been assessed by authorities as such a high risk that he was being monitored by up to 30 police officers in the weeks leading up to the attack. Samsudeen, who had arrived in New Zealand
A man, inspired by ISIS ideology, who entered a New Zealand supermarket and stabbed at least six people was a “violent extremist” known to the police, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said. The man was shot and killed by police within 60 seconds of beginning his attack, which wounded at least six people at a
A man, inspired by ISIS ideology, who stabbed at least six people in a supermarket was a “violent extremist” known to the police, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said. The man was shot and killed by police within 60 seconds of beginning his attack at a Countdown store in Auckland. The man was
The remnants of Hurricane Ida have killed at least 22 people in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with the storm bringing relentless rain to large parts of the northeastern United States. Here are a selection of photos showing the impact Ida has had since it made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday and later weakened
The Taliban has been showcasing military hardware it captured in its takeover of Afghanistan, during a parade in the southern province of Kandahar. Footage showed fighters sitting on top of pickup trucks, flying the group’s flag and driving a convoy of armoured vehicles through the streets. Celebrations have erupted across Afghanistan after the US troops
Afghanistan could descend into another civil war if the West fails to “engage” with the Taliban, Pakistan’s foreign minister has told Sky News. Shah Mahmood Qureshi warned of potential “anarchy” and a resurgent threat of terrorism as he criticised the West’s exit strategy, saying there was a failure to listen to Pakistan‘s concerns about ending
The UK is in talks with the Taliban to ensure Britons can safely leave Afghanistan, the government has said. Its special representative for Afghan transition, Simon Gass, has met senior members of the hardline Islamist group in Doha, Qatar. They also discussed safe passage for Afghans who have worked with the UK over the last