Displaying items by tag: Terrorism

The Manchester Arena attack on 22 May was a traumatic event which has caused severe emotional shock to many of those directly affected by it. These could be survivors, family members of victims, professionals who dealt with the event at the time, or professionals seeking clinical advice about their service users needing help. In response to these needs, the NHS Manchester Resilience Hub has been established. It will coordinate care and support for children, young people, and adults whose mental health and/or emotional well-being has been affected by the incident. The Hub is based in Greater Manchester but is for everyone who was affected, wherever they may live. It offers phone-based advice, support, and information, and can make calls on survivors’ behalf if they are struggling to get the help they need. Pray for the trained mental health professionals and voluntary sector counselling agencies who will be delivering this service.

A mass murder in Barcelona on 17th August by a van driving into a crowd outside a metro station and continuing along Las Ramblas for 500 metres killed thirteen and injuring one hundred. The driver fled on foot. Later, five suspected terrorists were shot dead at Cambrils. The terrorism began on the 16th with an explosion at Alcanar, killing one and wounding sixteen when they were attempting to ‘prepare an explosive device’. The Las Ramblas attack suspect, Driss Oukabir, was arrested after turning himself in. Josep Lluis Trapero, was arrested in Alcanar. Islamic State claimed responsibility. God desires all men to live in peace, pray for peace in the hearts of all affected by these attacks. May God strategically position police and security services across Spain, so that they will be at the right place at the right time to catch all the perpetrators and prevent further attacks.

Fr Aidan Troy, of St Joseph's, Paris, has called for prayer following a suspected Paris terror attack on 9 August. A car drove into a group of six soldiers from the 35th infantry regiment in Levallois-Perret.  The soldiers served in Operation Sentinelle, created to guard prominent French sites after Islamic extremist attacks in 2015. The terrorist was arrested on the A16 highway in northern France. A counter-terrorism investigation was launched. Fr. Aidan said people should pray for Paris, saying that all who care about our world have to keep praying ourselves, and also saying to others 'will you pray with me and we will offer up a prayer for peace’ and I'm convinced that it will happen.’

The think-tank Henry Jackson Society has reported a 'clear and growing link' between Islamist organisations preaching violence in the UK and foreign state funding. It has called for a public inquiry into extremism bankrolled by several Gulf States. Saudi Arabia and Iran are responsible for much of the foreign funding of extremism in the UK; Saudi Arabia has spent millions on exporting its conservative Wahhabi Islam to Muslim communities since the 1960s. Funding takes the form of endowments to mosques and Islamic educational institutions which host radical preachers and distribute extremist literature. Running parallel with this is the fact that the Saudis are one of the main buyers of UK-made arms, with the UK Government approving £3.5bn-worth of arms exports licences to the Gulf state recently and British ministers cultivating trading relationships as the UK looks for post-Brexit trading partners.

Venezuela's Supreme Court has been attacked by grenades dropped from a stolen police helicopter, in what President Nicolás Maduro called a ‘terrorist attack’. The court is regularly criticised by the Venezuelan opposition for its rulings which bolster Mr Maduro's hold on power. The policeman who piloted the helicopter issued a statement denouncing the ‘criminal government’. His whereabouts are unknown. Four grenades were dropped on the court, and 15 shots were fired at the interior ministry; one grenade failed to detonate. No injuries were reported. The pilot said on Instagram: ‘We don't belong to any political tendency or party. We are nationalists, patriots and institutionalists. The fight is not against the security forces but is against the impunity of this government. It is against tyranny.’ There is a question as to whether this attack might be a prelude to a coup attempt.

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum in Tehran on 7 June, killing at least 13 people. IS claimed responsibility, and threatened more attacks against Iran’s majority Shi'ite population. Iran's Revolutionary Guards blame their regional rival Saudi Arabia. Sunni Saudi Arabia denied any involvement in the attacks, but the assault further fuels tensions between Riyadh and Tehran as they vie for control of the Gulf and influence in the wider Islamic world. The attack happened one week after the meeting between Donald Trump and the Saudi leaders (who support terrorists). Trump said that he prayed for the attack victims but added, ‘States that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.’

Home secretary Amber Rudd has said that a key power intended to control British jihadists has only been used once, despite the return of about 350 fighters from IS. Under Temporary Exclusion Orders (TEOs), British citizens suspected of fighting abroad can be banned from returning to the UK for up to two years. Their travel documents can be cancelled, and they can be refused re-entry unless they agree to restrictions such as enrolling on a deradicalisation programme or reporting to police on a regular basis. The sole subject of a TEO is believed to be a male who fought for IS. More TEOs are under consideration, but ‘no more than four or five’, according to sources. To date dozens of suspects have had passports confiscated for national security reasons, and seven suspects living in the UK are subjected to TPIMs (Terrorism and Prevention and Investigation Measures), which restrict their movements and activities.

Monday’s devastating attack in Manchester can cause us to think that there is nothing good in the world. It can feel paralysing not to be able to do anything, but it is good for the soul to hear of small kindnesses. In between spreading fake news, social media has been filled with examples of helpers supporting the emergency services, and their community. Here are some examples:. #RoomForManchester saw people and hotels offering up their spare beds. #Anybody stuck in Manchester tonight I have a spare room and I just made some really nice soup. #I live 5 mins from the Manchester Arena. I have sofa bed, food/drink and phone chargers if anyone needs any help. Cabbies offered their services free to get people back to where they needed to be; some even drove from Liverpool to help. People queued to donate blood, or brewed tea for the police and emergency services still on call.

A declaration posted on Passion for the Nation states, ‘In the Name of Jesus, we release hope, healing and comfort to all those affected by Monday's terrorist attack: victims, families, young people and all the emergency services. We come into agreement with God’s word in Job 22:28, ‘You shall declare a thing and it shall be established’. As Your Ekklesia, we stand and declare over our nation that ‘God’s plans are for good and not for evil’. In the Name of Jesus, we enforce God’s original plans for peace, mercy and hope over and against every plan and purpose of Satan to bring death or destruction and we declare this nation will be a place of safety. We declare that You, Lord God, are the one in whom we put our trust. We declare to every enemy cell, group, network and structure that exists within our communities, regions and nation – your relationships will falter, arguments and disagreements will increase and funding structures, recruitment structures and internet connections will dissolve.’

The UK terror threat is at its highest level of ‘critical’ after the Manchester bombing. There are fears that more attacks may be imminent. IS praised the Manchester bomber, and promised ‘more severe attacks on the worshippers of the Cross and their allies’. Pray for secular and Christian event organisers as they work with police and paramilitaries reviewing security ahead of the summer season of celebrations. Pray for the stalls of exhibitors to hold no secret devices, and for tent event activities and outdoor celebrations to be unhindered - for example at the ten-day Hay Festival, from 25 May to 4 June, which draws crowds of thousands. See