Egypt launches strikes on Libya 'terror camps' after bus attack

Egypt has launched airstrikes on "terror camps" in Libya in response to the slaughter of Coptic Christians earlier on Friday.

The country's air force launched six strikes over its western border on Friday evening, with state media reporting jihadist training camps in the Libyan port city of Derna were targeted.

The area, in the east of Libya, is controlled by jihadists close to Al-Qaeda.

The action followed the killing of at least 28 people when masked gunmen attacked a bus of Coptic Christians travelling south of Egyptian capital Cairo.

A large number of the victims were reported to be children, including a two-year-old girl.

Announcing the strikes, Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi insisted he would "not hesitate in striking terror camps anywhere", whether inside his country or outside.

In a message to US president Donald Trump, the Egyptian leader added: "You have said that your priority is to confront terrorism, and I trust you are capable of doing that."

Mr Trump had earlier joined world leaders in denouncing the latest killing of Coptic Christians in Egypt.

In a statement, the US president said: "The bloodletting of Christians must end, and all who aid their killers must be punished."

"Terrorists are engaged in a war against civilisation, and it is up to all who value life to confront and defeat this evil."

Pope Francis, who made a historic visit to Egypt last month, branded the attack a "senseless act of hatred".

Image:The action followed the killing of at least 28 in a bus attack by masked gunmen

Al-Sisi declared a state of emergency in Egypt following the bombing of two Coptic churches by Islamic State in April.

Libya's militant strongholds have come under further scrutiny since Monday's terror attack in Manchester, which left 22 dead.

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi, the British-born son of Libyan parents, is believed to have recently visited the north African country before carrying out the attack on a pop concert.

Speaking at a G7 summit in Sicily on Friday, Theresa May said Abedi's links with Libya will "undoubtedly shine a spotlight on this largely ungoverned space on the edge of Europe".

The Prime Minister said: "We must redouble our support for a UN-led effort that brings all parties to the negotiating table and reduces the threat of terror from that region."

G7 leaders back Theresa May's call for a crackdown on extremist content online

Theresa May secured support from fellow G7 leaders on tackle extremists online and stop foreign fighters returning to the UK and Europe, as the Prime Minister put counter-terrorism centre stage of the annual summit of leading industrial states.

Mrs May warned the threat from Islamic state was moving "from the battlefield to the internet" as she led sessions on counter-terrorism in Taormina in Italy.

In the wake of the Manchester bombing the PM and her counterparts agreed a series of measures to step up the fight against terror and backed her call for more pressure to be put on internet companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter to target extremist content.

Image:The PM and her counterparts agreed a series of measures to tackle terrorism

But she was forced to defend her record on tackling violent extremism in the face of police cuts and the failure to stop jihadi fighters returning to Britain.

Mrs May described the G7 joint statement as "a significant step forward", and said she wanted to see terrorist material taken down "more urgently and more rapidly than it is at the moment".

She added: "It is also the case that I think it's important that companies recognise their social responsibility and do report matters that they become aware of to the authorities.

"We need to work together to fight against the evil of terrorism. And nobody can be in any doubt, after what we saw in Manchester, of just how evil those terrorists are."

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However, she denied cutting police numbers by 20,000 had made it necessary to put troops on to the streets in the wake of the atrocity.

She told a press conference at the summit: "The plan to ensure that there was military support available to the police is a well-prepared plan, it's one that was developed a while ago.

'It was done so that at a time when we got to 'critical' in our threat level - which of course is determined independently by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre - extra support could be made available. And that is exactly what has happened."

Mrs May was also asked by Sky News if she had "dropped the ball" as home secretary, given figures that showed 400 foreign fighters had returned to the UK since 2014.

The PM said: "It is the case that we believe a number of foreign fighters who went to Syria have returned to the UK.

"We actually took some extra powers in legislation when I was home secretary to manage the return of individuals, and those are looked at on a case-by-case basis.

"Over the last six to seven years, I excluded more hate preachers from the United Kingdom than any home secretary has ever done before. We did not hesitate to act in protecting our national security."

Terror threat level reduced to 'severe' after Manchester arrests

The UK's terror threat level has been reduced from "critical" to "severe", the Prime Minister has confirmed.

At an emergency COBRA meeting, the independent Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre advised that the UK should return to the second-highest level, which indicates an attack is highly likely rather than imminent.

Operation Temperer, which has seen armed soldiers support police on the streets, will be gradually stood down after the bank holiday weekend.

The terror threat level had been upgraded to "critical" following the Manchester bombing, which killed 22 people on Monday night.

Theresa May said the decision followed a "significant amount of police activity over the last 24 hours". A total of 11 people suspected of having links to the terror attack are now in police custody.

However, the Prime Minister stressed that the "country should remain vigilant" during the hundreds of events taking place over the coming days - including the FA Cup final at Wembley, and the Premiership Rugby final at Twickenham.

:: Armed police to guard bank holiday events

Image:A bomb disposal van was sent to an operation in Moss Side on Saturday morning

The announcement came as an evacuation took place in Moss Side as part of a search linked to the Manchester terror attack.

Greater Manchester Police described the evacuation in the inner-city area as a "precautionary measure to ensure everyone's safety".

Boscombe Street was cleared by counter-terror officers on Saturday morning, and a bomb disposal van was sent to the scene.

Police lifted the cordon shortly before 12.30pm, and residents were allowed back into the area.

Mark Rowley, the head of national counter-terrorism policing, has said 17 searches have either concluded or are continuing - with most of them in the North West.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard, he stressed there was still much more to do, and warned more searches and more arrests were likely to take place in the coming days.

Overnight, officers performed a controlled explosion at a property in Cheetham Hill. Two men, aged 20 and 22, were arrested.

A bus was also stormed to detain a 44-year-old man in Rusholme.

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Briefsfromshittu: Pentagon announces senior Islamic State deaths

Briefsfromshittu: Pentagon announces senior Islamic State deaths: Three of the Islamic State's senior military leaders have been killed in the past two months, according to the Pentagon. Coalition attac...

Pentagon announces senior Islamic State deaths

Three of the Islamic State's senior military leaders have been killed in the past two months, according to the Pentagon.

Coalition attacks have removed senior IS military officials from the battlefield in Iraq and Syria. Earlier this month the government declared that the head of IS in Afghanistan, Abdul Hasib, was killed.

Now, the coalition has stated that "the elimination of three senior foreign fighters represents a significant degradation of the IS planning and operational capability" over the past two months.

The first to be killed was Mustafa Gunes, who was originally from Turkey.

Based in Syria, Gunes was described by the coalition as an external operations facilitator for IS. He was killed by a coalition airstrike near Mayadin in Syria on 27 April.

Gunes was identified as an IS recruiter in the central Turkish city of Konya. He was linked to facilitating financial support for planning attacks outside Syria and Iraq against the West.

On 11 May another external operations planner, Abu Asim al Jazaeri, also a Syria-based IS fighter, was killed by a coalition airstrike also striking near Mayadin, Syria.

According to the coalition, al Jazaeri was involved in training of "a new generation" of youths growing up under IS.

Described by the organisation as the Cubs of the Caliphate, the coalition believes the training programme to be a high priority for the IS leadership.

The most recent senior militant to be killed was Abu-Khattab al Rawi, an IS military official who was killed along with three other terrorists during an operation near al Qaim in Iraq on 18 May.

Al Rawi was an IS military official who operated in Iraq's al Anbar Province and provided direct support to IS leadership, and was responsible for coordinating UAV operations and procurement in al Anbar Province in Iraq.

The coalition stated: "The deaths of these men eliminates senior foreign fighters, who had extensive experience and training".

FBI investigates Donald Trump's son-in-law over Russia links

Donald Trump's son-in- law is under investigation over the "extent and nature" of his dealings with Russian officials, US media is reporting.

Jared Kushner is being scrutinised by the FBI as part of the investigation into possible ties between the President's election campaign and Russia.

The Washington Post says the investigation centres around meetings Mr Kushner had with the Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak and Moscow banker Sergei Gorkov.

Image:Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump joined Mr Trump on his first presidential foreign tour

Mr Gorkov is the chairman of VneshEconomBank - a state bank which has been under US sanctions since 2014.

In a statement provided to Sky News, Mr Kushner's attorney Jamie Gorelick said: "Mr Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry."

Damon Smith jailed for leaving bomb on Jubilee Line Tube train

An autistic man who planted a home-made bomb on a busy Tube train has been jailed for 15 years.

Damon Smith, 20, packed the device with gunpowder and metal ball bearings and left it on a Jubilee Line train on 20 October 2016.

Had the timer not failed, the bomb would have exploded just as people were being ordered off the platform at North Greenwich station.

Smith claimed the bomb was a Halloween prank during his trial at the Old Bailey, but earlier this month Judge Richard Marks QC found him guilty of possession of an explosive substance with intent.

Smith was sentenced to 15 years in a young offenders' institution, with an extended period of five years on license.

Judge Marks told the defendant: "Quite what your motives were and what your true thinking was in acting as you did is difficult to discern with any degree of clarity or certainty.

"Whatever the position, the seriousness of what you did cannot be overstated, not least against the background of the fear in which we all live from the use of bombs here and around the world, an all too timely reminder of which were the events in Manchester earlier this week."

Smith's defence had argued that the root cause of his actions were in his autistic disability. He said he had been inspired after watching a bomb prank on YouTube channel Trollstation.

Smith's barrister, Richard Carey-Hughes QC, mitigated by stating that Smith was "sorry" for the fear and disturbance he caused and has "learned his lesson".

"We asked him this morning 'Would you make another bomb?' and he said 'No, never, I don't want to be in jail'," said Mr Carey-Hughes.

CCTV video of Smith showed him travelling on the Jubilee Line, before exiting the Tube without the rucksack containing the bomb.

There were at least 10 passengers in the carriage at the time, some of whom spotted the abandoned rucksack and alerted the driver.

The court was told that the driver believed the bag was only lost property and took it into his cab to continue the journey to North Greenwich.

However, during the journey the driver noticed wires coming out of the rucksack. He raised the alarm as the train pulled into the platform.

After departing the Jubilee Line, Smith went on to college. He checked the internet for news of his "prank" when he returned home.

Smith told the arresting counter-terrorism officers that he had made the bomb, but that it was only meant to spew harmless smoke as a Halloween joke.

When police searched Smith's home in Rotherhithe, south London, they found materials revealing his fixation with guns, explosives and other weapons.

Officers seized a blank-firing self-loading pistol and a BB gun, both bought legally, as well as a knuckleduster and a knife which he had boasted about in a video posted online.

Police also found scraps of paper with bomb-making instructions written on them, as well as a "shopping list" of components.

Smith informed the officers he was interested in Islam, but was not an extremist, though he though he had posed next to an image of the man alleged to have masterminded the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris.

Expert testimony was read out in court confirming that Smith had an autism spectrum disorder.

In court, Richard Carey-Hughes QC said: "This is a difficult climate to ask for mercy for someone convicted
of this type of offence.

"Nevertheless, we do so and we invite my Lord to extend mercy. This case is different. It seems unique and so is this young man."

Smith is eligible for parole in 2024.