Texas Synagogue Siege: Arrests in UK by Counter-Terror Police

[Ladybbird]

Ranting Man Takes Hostages at Texas Synagogue -Man With English Accent Held People Hostage

Hostages Safe After Texas Synagogue Standoff; Captor Dead

A man held hostages for more than 10 hours Saturday at a Texas synagogue where he could be heard ranting in a livestream and demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan

BBC 16 Jan 2022






A Texas state trooper blocks traffic on a road leading to a Colleyville, Texas



COLLEYVILLE, Texas -- A man held hostages for more than 10 hours Saturday at a Texas synagogue where he could be heard ranting in a livestream and demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan.

One of the four hostages held at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville was released during the standoff; three others were rescued when authorities entered the building about 9 p.m., authorities said. The hostage taker was killed and FBI Special Agent in Charge Matt DeSarno said a team would investigate “the shooting incident.”

An FBI and a police spokeswoman declined to answer questions about who shot the man.

DeSarno said the hostage taker was specifically focused on an issue not directly connected to the Jewish community and there was no immediate indication that the man had was part of any broader plan, but DeSarno said the agency’s investigation “will have global reach.”

Law enforcement officials who were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity earlier said that the hostage-taker demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida. He also said he wanted to be able to speak with her, according to the officials. Siddiqui is in federal prison in Texas.

DeSarno said Saturday night that the man had been identified “but we are not prepared to release his identity or confirm his identity at this time.”

A rabbi in New York City received a call from the rabbi believed to be held hostage in the synagogue to demand Siddiqui’s release, a law enforcement official said. The New York rabbi then called 911 .

Police were first called to the synagogue around 11 a.m. and people were evacuated from the surrounding neighborhood soon after that, FBI Dallas spokesperson Katie Chaumont said.

The services were being livestreamed on the synagogue's Facebook page for a time. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that an angry man could be heard ranting and talking about religion at times during the livestream, which didn't show what was happening inside the synagogue.

Shortly before 2 p.m., the man said, “You got to do something. I don’t want to see this guy dead.” Moments later, the feed cut out. A Meta company spokesperson later confirmed that Facebook removed the video.

Multiple people heard the hostage-taker refer to Siddiqui as his “sister” on the livestream, but Faizan Syed, the executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations in Dallas Fort-Worth Texas, told The Associated Press that Siddiqui’s brother, Mohammad Siddiqui, was not involved. Syed said CAIR’s support and prayers were with the people being held in the synagogue.

Texas resident Victoria Francis told the AP that she watched about an hour of the livestream before it cut out. She said she heard the man rant against America and claim he had a bomb.

“He was just all over the map. He was pretty irritated and the more irritated he got, he’d make more threats, like ‘I’m the guy with the bomb. If you make a mistake, this is all on you.’ And he’d laugh at that,” she said. “He was clearly in extreme distress.”

Francis, who grew up near Colleyville, tuned in after she read about the hostage situation. She said it sounded like the man was talking to the police department on the phone, with the rabbi and another person trying to help with the negotiations.

Colleyville, a community of about 26,000 people, is about 15 miles (23 kilometers) northeast of Fort Worth. The synagogue is nestled among large houses in a leafy residential neighborhood that includes several churches, a middle and elementary school and a horse farm.

Congregation Beth Israel is led by Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who has been there since 2006 as the synagogue’s first full-time rabbi. He has worked to bring a sense of spirituality, compassion and learning to the community, according to his biography, and he loves welcoming everyone, including LGBT people, into the congregation.

Anna Salton Eisen, a founder and former president of the synagogue, said the congregation has about 140 members and Cytron-Walker has worked hard to build interfaith relationships in the community, including doing pulpit swaps and participating in a community peace walk. She described Saturday's events as “surreal.”

“This is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. You know, it’s a small town and it’s a small congregation,” Eisen said as the hostage situation was ongoing. "No matter how it turns out it’s hard to fathom how we will all be changed by this, because surely we will be.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Saturday evening that President Joe Biden had been briefed and was receiving updates from senior officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he was monitoring the situation closely. “We pray for the safety of the hostages and rescuers,” he wrote on Twitter.

CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy group, condemned the attack Saturday afternoon.

“This latest antisemitic attack at a house of worship is an unacceptable act of evil,” CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement. “We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community, and we pray that law enforcement authorities are able to swiftly and safely free the hostages. No cause can justify or excuse this crime.”

Siddiqui earned advanced degrees from Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before she was sentenced in 2010 to 86 years in prison on charges that she assaulted and shot at U.S. Army officers after being detained in Afghanistan two years earlier. The punishment sparked outrage in Pakistan among political leaders and her supporters, who viewed her as victimized by the American criminal justice system.

In the years since, Pakistan officials have expressed interest publicly in any sort of deal or swap that could result in her release from U.S. custody, and her case has continued to draw attention from supporters. In 2018, for instance, an Ohio man who prosecutors say planned to fly to Texas and attack the prison where Siddiqui is being held in an attempt to free her was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

[Ladybbird]

Texas Synagogue Siege: Arrests in UK by Counter-Terror Police as Briton Named as Hostage-Taker

UK Metropolitan Police confirmed counter-terror officers were in contact with US authorities and the FBI.

Two teenagers have been arrested in England as part of the investigation into a hostage-taking incident at a synagogue in Texas on Saturday.

Joe Biden decries Act of Terror as UK counter-terror police detain teenagers in Manchester and suspect named as Briton Malik Faisal Akram

BBC News 17 JAN 2022.




Police investigators at scene of hostage incident in Colleyville, Texas, on 16 January 2022







British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, 44, from Blackburn, was shot dead after a standoff with police in Colleyville.


UK Greater Manchester Police said it was liaising with local communities and continuing to assist in the US inquiry.

Details of the ages or genders of the pair arrested in south Manchester on Sunday evening f the ongoing investigation into the attack" and were being held in custody for questioning.

According to US police sources, Akram arrived in the country via New York's JFK International Airport two weeks ago.


Akram's brother Gulbar confirmed his death in a statement carried on the Blackburn Muslim Community Facebook page. He apologised to the victims and said his brother had been suffering from mental health issues.

The siege began at around 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT) when police were called to the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in the suburb of Dallas.

Akram gained initial access to the synagogue during the service by claiming to be a homeless man, according to a police source quoted by CBS.

Among the hostages was the synagogue's rabbi. One was released after six hours with the other three being led to safety by police several hours later.

All of the hostages at the synagogue were freed unharmed.

US President Joe Biden called the hostage-taking an "act of terror" and the UK condemned the attack.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss described it as an "act of terrorism and anti-Semitism".

Ms Truss said in a tweet: "We stand with US in defending the rights and freedoms of our citizens against those who spread hate."

Police continued their investigation at the scene of hostage incident in Colleyville, Texas, on 16 January 2022

The hostage-taker was heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist jailed over attempts to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan, law enforcement officials told local media.

Officials added Akram also asked to speak to Siddiqi, who is serving an 86-year term in a prison in Forth Worth, Texas, about 20 miles away from the synagogue.

President Biden appeared to confirm the attacker had been seeking her release, saying the Texas attack was related to "someone who was arrested 15 years ago and has been in jail for 10 years".

The president said the attacker had apparently bought weapons after he landed in the US.

Police sources say that no explosive material was found on Akram and US federal courts do not show he had any criminal history.

Akram's brother said he had liaised "with Faisal, the negotiators, FBI etc" during the siege but "there was nothing we could have said to him or done that would have convinced him to surrender".

Gulbar added: "We would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and would like to sincerely apologize wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident."

"We would also like to add that any attack on any human being be it a Jew, Christian or Muslim etc is wrong and should always be condemned."