Tag Archives: Islamic State

A terrorist attack on Brussels Airport and a  metro station after 8am local time this morning (Tuesday) has left at least 23 people dead and and a large number seriously injured. The blasts at the airport and metro station have occurred four days after the arrest in Brussels of Saleh Abdeslam, prime suspect in the Paris terror attacks that killed 130 people in November. Belgian police had been on alert for any reprisal action since then. But there has also been a high state of alert across Europe for fear of terrorist attacks by the so-called Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the Paris attack. This morning, there were two explosions at Brussels Airport and reports of shots being fired in what Belgian media said was a suicide attack. Thirteen people have died in this attack and a further 35 seriously injured. A second blast struck a metro station, close to European Union institutions, in the capital shortly afterwards. Belgian public broadcaster …

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, chaired by Deputy Pat Breen, will meet Dr Nader Hashemi on this Wednesday to discuss the on-going civil war in Syria and the rise of Islamic State there and in the remainder of the Middle East. Dr Nader Hashemi is Associate Professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. Chairman of the committee, Pat Breen said, “The Committee has been gravely concerned at the continued actions of Al-Assad’s regime and of other extremist militias, as well as the rise of the radical Jihadist force ISIS, which has resulted in a further deterioration in an already precarious human rights situation in Syria. Tomorrow, we will have an opportunity to hear from Dr Nader Hashemi, who will outline the roots of ISIS and the threat that their rise is posing a global security challenge. We will also have an opportunity to consider with him at tomorrow’s meeting the most …