WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 8th: NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
"Indonesian militants planned 'dirty bomb' attack"
A plot by Indonesian militants planning to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb was foiled when police raided the homes and arrested five suspects in Bandung, Indonesia. The militants were hoping to create "nuclear bomb" by transforming low-grade radioactive Thorium-232 into deadly Uranium-233. According to a 47-page Indonesian language bomb instruction manual found during the raid (named "Nuclear for Dummy"), the militants then planned to combine the radioactive materials with the homemade explosive TATP. Although this method would not have succeeded in creating a nuclear device, the bomb could have acted as a "dirty bomb" to disperse radioactive material when it exploded.
A spokesman for the Indonesian national police, Inspector General Setyo Wasisto, did not confirm or deny the plot to construct the nuclear device, although he did say that the device would have been more potent than the two bombs made from TATP that killed three police in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, in May.
From Reuters. Full story here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-security/exclusive-indonesian-militants-planned-dirty-bomb-attack-sources-idUSKCN1B51FW
_________________________________________________
"Police dog opens gate with injured paw to rescue injured partner"
A deputy in Colorado was rescued by his canine partner after a 1 a.m. trespassing call escalated into a fight with a suspect. Deputy Gabriel Garcia was talking to a suspect when the suspect jumped a fence to run away. The deputy chased the man and became separated from his K-9, Lex, and a fight ensured. Lex, a 3-year old Belgian Malinois, managed to unlatch a gate with his paw and come to the rescue of his handler. The suspect was apprehended and is currently under arrest and charged with attempted first-degree murder and assault in the attack of the deputy.
From CBS News. Full story here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/k-9-unlatches-gate-with-paw-to-save-injured-deputy-colorado/
_________________________________________________
"Two arrested after French counter-terrorism raid near Paris"
Following a tip from a local craftsman, police raided a flat in the south of Paris on Wednesday and found the chemicals necessary to make TATP, used in the Manchester, Brussels, and Paris bombings. The police also found several gas bottles. Two people were arrested.
From Reuters. Full story here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-security/two-arrested-after-french-counter-terrorism-raid-near-paris-idUSKCN1BH1S0