France beheading, explosion
One person is beheaded and at least 12 injured in an explosion in what officials say was a terrorist attack at a gas factory in a small town in southeastern France. An Islamic State flag is found at the site of the attack. President Hollande:
The terrorist nature of this act are without doubt. There is no doubt that the intention was to provoke an attack, an explosion.
Takes responsibility for attack
The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack at the Beach Resort in Tunisia. According to their statement, the attack is a response to Islamic State leaders encouraging their followers to increase assaults during Ramadan.
Let them wait for the glad tidings of what will harm them in the coming days, Allah permitting
Beach resort attack kills at least 39
A gunman dressed as a tourist took an assault rifle out of his beach umbrella and kills 39 people at Sousse, a Tunisian beach resort. The gunman is shot and killed by police. He is currently unidentified. It is unclear how many were injured and if the death toll will rise. Officials:
An attacker had posed as a swimmer but was carrying a rifle under a parasol. He started shooting on the beach before entering the Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba, continuing to shoot as he walked past the pool. He was then shot dead in an exchange of fire with police. He was a student not previously known to authorities.
Bomb threats against U.S. airlines
Multiple bomb threats are made against U.S. airlines in five major cities. Government sources:
The TSA Operations Center in Washington, DC had received a phone threat stating that there was an explosive device on the plane, [flight from San Diego to Philadelphia]. Out of an abundance of caution the airport declared a bomb threat and moved the plane to a remote area. In addition to the U.S. Airways flight, threats were made on a Delta flight to Atlanta, a United flight to Chicago O’Hare, a Korean Air flight to San Francisco and a Volaris Air flight to Guadalajara, Mexico, according to government sources.
Destroys museum artifacts
ISIS releases a video that shows militants destroying ancient artifacts in a museum in the city of Mosul in Iraq. Some of the artifacts are over 2,000 years old. U.N. spokesman:
The destruction of cultural heritage is reprehensible and criminal.
Shooting
Soofi and Simpson are killed by police after shooting at a security guard outside an artistic exhibit of the Islamic prophet Muhammed in Dallas Sunday evening. The event was organized by Geller and also features Wilders as a speaker. A traffic officer working after-hours as security for the event and armed only with a service pistol kills both men, who were wearing body armor and carrying assault rifles. An unarmed security officer working with the patrol officer is shot in the ankle. None of the approximately 200 people attending the event is hurt. Witness:
There was no panic. We knew something had happened, but we didn’t hear anything and didn’t see anything. Security guards quickly escorted the event’s organizer, Pam Geller, from the stage. We were concerned about the [wounded security guard’s] safety and his well-being and just wanted to understand the process of what was going to happen.
US ISIS attack warning
TSA issues warning that ISIS attack on US soil is imminent while FBI investigates the possibility. VIPR (Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response) teams are deploying to various undisclosed locations. ISIS frequently threatens to attack the US, this is the first time the US is responding as if it is a credible threat. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security declines to comment on specifics but states:
Over the last few months, we have made a number of security adjustments, including enhanced screening at select overseas airports and increasing random searches of passengers and carry-on luggage on flights inbound to the U.S., reflecting an evolving threat picture.
Bomb threat causes revacuation
An anonymous caller threatens to blow up the Statue of Liberty, leading to an complete evacuation with only emergency personnel allowed to remain. Spokesperson:
All visitors and staff were safely ferried off Liberty Island soon after an anonymous caller threatened to blow up the statue that stands guard at the mouth of the Hudson River. The 911 call came in at around 11 a.m. local time.
Car bombing
Police say at least ten are dead due to a suspected suicide bomber crashing into a restaurant in central Mogadishu. Al Shabaab claims responsibility.
The death toll is sure to rise. A policeman opened fire to stop the car bomb but it was all in vain. The policeman died and the car bomb rammed into the gate in the busy restaurant…These are mostly civilians who were having lunch at the restaurant
Bomb attack on U.N. vehicle
Al Shabaab militants are suspected of bombing a United Nations vehicle outside of the U.N. compound in Garowe in the Puntland region. A police officer on scene:
A blast hit the bus carrying workers to the U.N. office . . . At least nine people died.
Of the confirmed dead, two are Kenyan and seven are Somali guards. The U.N. Special Representative for Somalia condemns the attack, saying he is:
. . . shocked and appalled by loss of life.
More beach beheadings
A 29-minute video showing the killing of two groups Ethiopian Christians captives by Islamic State-affiliated militants in Libya is released. A masked fighter wielding a pistol says Christians must convert to Islam or pay a special tax prescribed by the Quran, before the captives in the south are shown being shot dead and the captives in the east are beheaded on a beach.
Suicide attack kills over 30
A suicide bomb attack on a bank branch in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad kills at least 30 people. More than 80 people wounded in the attack. The attacker detonated an explosive-laden motorcycle, targeting a crowd of both military personnel and civilians who were gathered outside the bank to receive their monthly salaries. The bank branch is located in the heart of a crowded commercial district.
Another blast was reported near a shrine in Jalalabad, but no one was hurt. A third blast was also heard in Jalalabad, but it was later reported as a controlled explosion by the Afghan army in Nangarhar. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
University assault kills 147
Al-Shabab militants kill 147 people in an attack at Garissa University in north-eastern Kenya. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta:
This is a moment for everyone throughout the country to be vigilant as we continue to confront and defeat our enemies.
One dead, two injured
One person is dead and two are injured after a car with two people inside try to ram a gate before the NSA’s headquarters. A firefight ensues, leaving at least one of the people inside the car is dead. Cocaine and a weapon were found in or around the vehicle. No indication as to whether or not the incident was terrorism-related.
Our Evidence Response Team is processing the crime scene, and FBI Agents are doing joint interviews with witnesses. We are working with the US Attorney’s Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted.
📷 two cross-dressed men crash #NSA gate in stolen SUV, at least one person shot dead #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/v1osfvmQYA
— ʙʀᴀᴅ ꜰʀᴇɪᴛᴀꜱ (@Chopper4Brad) March 30, 2015
Mob storms synagogue
A drunken mob of more than 20 men and women storm the synagogue while shouting, “Kill the Jews!”. The mob broke windows and attacked worshippers inside the building, who protected themselves with chairs. One man sustained facial injuries as he tried to prevent the mob from entering the building. Synagogue elders believe the attack wasn’t racially motivated, but was merely an expression of anti-social behavior. Four men and two women were later arrested.
The window had already been smashed. Teenagers were shouting abuse. It was blatantly anti-Semitic, they came and attacked a synagogue…The number of these incidents has increased in the past few months, since before Charlie Hebdo. We’re stepping up patrols and working with the police. The courts should take attacks like this seriously.
Destroys Mar Benham monastery
ISIS destroys fourth Century Mar Benham monastery in Iraq using explosives. Dr Nicholas al-Jeloo, University of Melbourne:
IS is destroying the rich cultural fabric of the area, the multilayered, multilingual, multi-ethnic aspects of society. It’s not just our heritage, it’s the heritage of the world. It is part of our history, and now it’s gone.
Claims role
ISIS claims responsibility of Yemen mosque bombings. Bruce Riedel, director of the Intelligence Project at the Institute:
ISIS’s claim is not credible. The attacks in Sanaa are more likely AQAP, which has both capability and intent. But ISIS may find a following in Yemen given the chaos and sectarian violence.
Claims responsibility
ISIS claims responsibility of attacking Tunisia’s Bardo museum.
This is a blessed invasion of one of the dens of the infidels and vice in Muslim Tunisia. We tell the apostates who sit on the chest of Muslim Tunisia: Wait for the glad tidings of what will harm you, o impure ones, for what you have seen today is the first drop of the rain.
Blows up army headquarters
ISIS kills forty Iraqi soldiers by blowing up more than three hundred explosives placed under army headquarters at Anbar, Iraq. Sabah Karhoot, chairman of the region’s governing council :
ISIS militants were digging and planting IEDs under an HQ of an Iraqi army while the security forces knew nothing about it
Militants attack Libyan oilfield
Islamic State affiliate militants behead eight Libyan guards and kidnap nine foreigners in an attack on al-Ghani oil field. Libya’s military spokesman, Ahmed al-Mesmari on Islamic State militants’ goal to take over Libya’s petroleum industry:
This is the lifeline of the Libyan people. The consequences of such a loss would be dire.