Russia slammed yesterday's downing of a Syrian fighter jet by the US-led alliance - the first such escalation since the start of the conflict in 2011 - which CENTCOM said was "in defense of partners from the Syrian Democratic Forces", with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov saying on Monday the attack was an "act of aggression" and assistance for terrorists that the US is fighting against.
Authored by Peter Korzun via The Strategic Culture Foundation,
According to the latest Europol report, there were 1,002 arrests made for terrorist offences in the EU last year.
You will find more statistics at Statista
Of these, Statista's Martin Armstrong notes that 718 were related to jihadist terrorism - making three consecutive years of increases. Nevertheless, the majority of the 142 attacks completed, foiled or failed were related to ethno-nationalism and separatism (99). Of these attacks, 47 were classed as 'completed'.
Submitted by Nauman Sadiq,
NATO officials are growing increasingly nervous about the possibility of an invasion of the Baltic states ahead of Russian wargames planned this fall on the border of Belarus and Poland that could involve as many as 100,000 troops. That "anxiety" was on display this week, when US and British troops carried out the first NATO military exercise that involved a simulated defense of the Suwalki Gap, an area in northern Poland on the border with Lithuania that serves as the gateway to the Baltic region.