Happy New Year 2025

Tag: killed

An Iraqi man who carried out Quran burnings in Sweden is killed in a shooting

An Iraqi man who carried out several Quran burnings in Sweden has been killed in a shooting near Stockholm, authorities said Thursday.

Salwan Momika, 38, staged several burnings and desecrations of Islam’s holy book in Sweden in 2023. Videos of the Quran burnings got worldwide publicity and raised anger and criticism in several Muslim nations, leading to riots and unrest in many places.

THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS RALLY ACROSS IRAQ FOR A 2ND DAY TO CONDEMN THE BURNING OF A QURAN IN SWEDEN

The Stockholm District Court said a verdict scheduled Thursday in a trial in which Momika was a defendant was postponed because one of the defendants had died. A judge at the court, Göran Lundahl, confirmed that the deceased was Momika. He said he didn’t have any information on when or how Momika died.

Salwan Momika speaks in Malmö, Sweden, Sept. 30, 2023. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Police said they were alerted to a shooting Wednesday night at an apartment building in Sodertalje, near Stockholm, and found a man with gunshot wounds who later died.

Broadcaster SVT reported that the victim was Momika.

Prosecutors said five people were arrested overnight on suspicion of murder. They said all were adults but gave no further details.

Prosecutor Rasmus Öman said the investigation is still in its early stages and that the suspects and others still have to be questioned.

Momika came to Sweden from Iraq in 2018 and was granted a three-year residence permit in 2021, according to SVT.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sweden’s security service was involved because “there is obviously a risk that there is a connection to a foreign power,” Swedish news agency TT reported.

Momika argued that his protests targeted the religion of Islam, not Muslim people. He said he wanted to protect Sweden’s population from the messages of the Quran. Swedish police allowed his demonstrations, citing freedom of speech, while filing charges against him.

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Last March, he was arrested in neighboring Norway after stating that he would seek asylum there, and was sent back to Sweden, TT reported.

Momika and a co-defendant were charged in August with incitement to hatred because of statements they made in connection with the Quran burnings. A verdict was supposed to be handed down on Thursday morning.

January 30, 2025
6 with ties to Boston figure skating club killed in midair collision, official says

The American figure skating community suffered severe losses on Wednesday night as six people with ties to the Skating Club of Boston were on board a passenger plane when it collided with a U.S. Army helicopter.

Officials said Thursday there were no survivors of the crash and that the mission went from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. Nearly 30 bodies were pulled from the Potomac River.

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A U.S. Park Police helicopter flies over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

The Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe identified those with ties to the club as athletes, Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, two coaches, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, and Jin Han, the mother of Jinna, and Molly Lane, the mother of Spencer, were identified as the victims with ties to the skate club.

“Our sport and this Club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy,” Zeghibe said in a statement posted to social media. “Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together 6 of 7 days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like family. Of the skaters, coaches and parents on the plane, we believe six were from The Skating Club of Boston. We are devastated and completely at a loss for words.

LIVE UPDATES: MILITARY HELICOPTER COLLIDES WITH AIRCRAFT NEAR REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT

Bodies lie on the ground next to emergency vehicles, near the site of the crash after American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River, outside of Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30, 2025. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

“These athletes, coaches, parents were returning from U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development Camp, following last week’s U.S. Championships in Wichita. This camp is for young competitive skaters of tomorrow with the promise to be a champion of tomorrow. The club sent 18 athletes to compete at the U.S. Championships. It sent 12 athletes to the National Development Camp.”

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, confirmed earlier Thursday that Naumov and Shishkova were among those on board the plane.

Naumov and Shishkova competed in pairs during their careers. They won a pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed at the Winter Olympics twice.

U.S. Figure Skating said there were members of its organization on board as well.

“U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.,” the organization said earlier Thursday. “These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”

The International Skating Union said it was “deeply shocked” over the incident.

Rescuers on boats work as the sun rises at the site of the crash after a Black Hawk helicopter collided with American Eagle Flight 5342, which was approaching Reagan Washington National Airport, and crashed into the Potomac River, outside Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

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“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. Figure skating is more than a sport — it’s a close-knit family — and we stand together,” the organization said.

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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

January 30, 2025
South Korean airliner’s final 4 minutes of recordings are missing after crash that killed 179: investigators

The first report on last month’s Jeju Air crash in South Korea confirmed the plane’s two black boxes stopped recording about four minutes prior to the crash that killed 179 people on board.

The preliminary accident report released by South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board on Monday said the flight data and cockpit voice recorders on the Boeing 737-800 had stopped working, confirming what the country’s Transportation Ministry initially said earlier this month.

South Korean officials had sent the devices to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board for closer examination after discovering that some of the data was missing. It remained unclear why the devices stopped recording.

The report also found traces of bird strikes – feathers and bird blood stains – in both the plane’s engines, though officials have yet to determine what caused the crash.

“The samples were sent to specialized organizations for DNA analysis, and a domestic organization identified them as belonging to Baikal teals,” the report said, referring to a migratory duck.

SOUTH KOREA PLANE’S FINAL MOMENTS CAPTURED ON VIDEO BEFORE HITTING CONCRETE BARRIER, TRIGGERING EXPLOSION

The wreckage of a Boeing 737-800 plane operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air lies at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, on Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

The plane skidded off the runway at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29, 2024, after its landing gear failed to deploy, slamming into a concrete structure and bursting into flames. Only two of the 181 people on board survived.

Experts from the NTSB and joint investigation team between the U.S. and South Korea check the site of a plane crash at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, on Dec. 31, 2024. (Son Hyung-joo/Yonhap via AP, File)

The flight was returning from Bangkok and all the victims were South Koreans except for two Thai nationals.

RUSSIA BEING BLAMED FOR AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES PLANE THAT CRASHED HUNDREDS OF MILES OFF COURSE, KILLING DOZENS

Investigators earlier said that air traffic controllers warned the pilots about possible bird strikes two minutes before the aircraft issued a distress signal confirming that a bird strike had occurred, after which the pilots attempted an emergency landing.

The preliminary report said the pilots also noticed a group of birds while approaching the runway at the Muan airport and that a security camera had filmed the plane coming close to birds during an aborted landing.

The report said authorities will disassemble the engines, examine their components in depth, analyze the black box and air traffic control data, and investigate the embankment, localizer and bird strike evidence to ultimately determine the cause of the crash.

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Officials said the report has been sent to the International Civil Aviation Organization, Thailand, the U.S. and France, adding that the aircraft was built in the U.S. and its engines in France.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

January 27, 2025
Woman indicted on charges from crash that killed Vikings player, 2 others in car crash

A woman was indicted on 13 counts, including vehicular manslaughter, for the automobile crash that killed Minnesota Vikings rookie Khyree Jackson back in July.

Jackson and two others were killed in the crash that occurred in the early hours of July 6, weeks before training camp began.

Cori Clingman was indicted on 13 counts, including vehicular manslaughter related to driving under the influence, according to prosecutors in Prince George’s County, a Washington suburb.

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Khyree Jackson, #DB16 of Oregon, runs the 40-yard dash during the NFL Combine at the Lucas Oil Stadium on March 1, 2024 in Indianapolis. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

Clingman faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted, State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said.

Jackson was drafted in the fourth round of last year’s NFL Draft but was never able to take a snap.

“I am absolutely crushed by this news,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said at the time of Jackson’s death.

“Khyree brought a contagious energy to our facility and our team. His confidence and engaging personality immediately drew his teammates to him. In our short time together, it was evident Khyree was going to develop into a tremendous professional football player, but what was more impressive was his desire to become the best person he could be for his family and those around him. I am at a loss for words. My heart goes out to Khyree’s family, friends, teammates and coaches.”

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, #9, puts his arm around Minnesota Vikings cornerback Khyree Jackson, #31, during Minnesota Vikings Rookie Camp on May 10, 2024 at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, Minnesota. (Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

OHIO STATE’S EMEKA EGBUKA REFLECTS ON HOW BUCKEYES RALLIED FROM MICHIGAN LOSS TO WIN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Jackson, a passenger, and 23-year-old Isaiah Hazel, who had been driving the car, were both pronounced dead at the scene. Police said 23-year-old Anthony Lytton Jr., who had been sitting in the rear of the car, was transported to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The three played high school football together and won a state championship.

Police said Clingman crashed into the car carrying the three men while attempting to change lanes. Police said she had been “driving at a high rate of speed” when she struck the vehicle.

Clingman had two other passengers in the car at the time of the crash, but none were injured as a result. The driver of a third vehicle involved was also uninjured.

Khyree Jackson, #5 of the Oregon Ducks, looks to the sideline during the Pac-12 Championship game against the Washington Huskies at Allegiant Stadium on Dec. 1, 2023 in Las Vegas. (Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images)

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Jackson took a break from football after high school, but he returned to the sport when he attended community college, where he made the switch from wide receiver to cornerback. He played two seasons under Nick Saban at Alabama before finishing his collegiate career at Oregon, where he was an all-Pac-12 first-team selection.

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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January 24, 2025
Scores killed after flames engulf hotel at popular Turkish ski resort

A fire at a hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday killed at least 66 people, Turkey’s Interior Minister said.

Ali Yerlikaya said at least 51 other people were injured in the disaster.

“We are in deep pain. We have unfortunately lost 66 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel,” Yerlikaya told reporters after inspecting the site.

Fire engulfs a 12-story hotel as firefighters work to extinguish the flames in Bolu, northwestern Turkey, Tuesday. (IHA)

Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu said at least one of the injured was in serious condition.

The fire broke out at around 3:30 a.m. in the restaurant of the 12-story Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, officials and reports said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Two of the victims died after jumping from the building in a panic, Gov. Abdulaziz Aydin told the state-run Anadolu Agency. Private NTV television said some people tried to climb down from their rooms using sheets and blankets.

There were 234 guests staying at the hotel, Aydin said.

COLLEGE ATHLETE DIES FROM TRAGIC ACCIDENT ON SKI RESORT’S MOST DIFFICULT TRAIL

Necmi Kepcetutan, a ski instructor at the hotel, said he was asleep when the fire erupted and he rushed out of the building. He told NTV television that he then helped some 20 guests out of the hotel.

He said the hotel was engulfed in smoke, making it difficult for guests to locate the fire escape.

“I cannot reach some of my students. I hope they are OK,” the ski instructor told the station.

Television images showed the roof and top floors of the hotel on fire.

LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES: ANNA FARIS LOSES PACIFIC PALISADES HOME, MOLLY SIMS WEEPS OVER ‘DEVASTATED’ COMMUNITY

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint statement to the media in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye /Pool Photo via AP)

Witnesses and reports said the hotel’s fire detection system failed to operate.

“My wife smelled the burning. The alarm did not go off,” Atakan Yelkovan, a guest staying on the third floor of the hotel, told the IHA news agency.

“We tried to go upstairs but couldn’t, there were flames. We went downstairs and came here (outside),” he said.

Yelkovan said it took about an hour for the firefighting teams to arrive.

“People on the upper floors were screaming. They hung down sheets … some tried to jump,” he said.

TEEN DEAD AT SKI RESORT NEAR POSH MOUNTAIN TOWN

A general view of the Turkish Consulate General in New York City, New York on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. (Fox News Digital)

The government appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation into the fire. NTV television suggested that the wooden cladding on the exterior of the hotel, in a chalet-style design, may have accelerated the spread of the fire.

The 161-room hotel is on the side of a cliff, hampering efforts to combat the flames, the station also reported.

NTV showed a smoke-blackened lobby, its glass entrance and windows smashed, its wooden reception desk charred and a chandelier crashed to the ground.

Kartalkaya is a popular ski resort in the Koroglu mountains, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of Istanbul. The fire occurred during the school semester break when hotels in the region are packed.

Aydin’s office said 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the site.

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Other hotels at the resort were evacuated as a precaution and guests were placed in hotels around Bolu.

Meanwhile, a gas explosion at a hotel at another ski resort in central Turkey injured four people.

The explosion took place at the Yildiz Mountain Winter Sports Center in Sivas province. Two skiers and their instructor were slightly injured while another instructor received second-degree burns on the hands and face, the Sivas governor’s office said.

January 23, 2025
At least 80 people killed in northeast Colombia as peace talks fail, official says

More than 80 people were killed in the country’s northeast over the weekend following the government’s failed attempts to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said.

Twenty others were injured in the violence that has forced thousands to flee as Colombia’s army scrambled to evacuate people on Sunday, according to William Villamizar, governor of North Santander, where many of the killings took place.

COLOMBIA’S PRESIDENT SAYS COUNTRY WILL BREAK DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL OVER WAR IN GAZA

Among the victims are community leader Carmelo Guerrero and seven people who sought to sign a peace deal, according to a report that a government ombudsman agency released late Saturday.

Officials said the attacks happened in several towns located in the Catatumbo region near the border with Venezuela, with at least three people who were part of the peace talks being kidnapped.

People displaced by violence in towns across the Catatumbo region, where rebels of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, have been clashing with former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, line up to register for shelter at a stadium in Cúcuta, Colombia, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Thousands of people are fleeing the area, with some hiding in the nearby lush mountains or seeking help at government shelters.

“We were caught in the crossfire,” said Juan Gutiérrez, who fled with his family to a temporary shelter in Tibú after they were forced to leave behind their animals and belongings. “We had no time to grab our things. … I hope the government remembers us. … We are helpless here.”

Colombia’s army rescued dozens of people on Sunday, including a family and their pet dog, whose owner held a pack of cold water against the animal’s chest to keep it cool as they evacuated by helicopter.

Defense Minister Iván Velásquez traveled to the northeast town of Cúcuta on Sunday where he held several security meetings and urged armed groups to demobilize.

“The priority is to save lives and guarantee the security of communities,” he said. “We have deployed our troops throughout the entire region.”

Officials also prepared to send 10 tons of food and hygiene kits for approximately 5,000 people in the communities of Ocaña and Tibú, the majority of them having fled the violence.

“Catatumbo needs help,” Villamizar said in a public address on Saturday. “Boys, girls, young people, teenagers, entire families are showing up with nothing, riding trucks, dump trucks, motorcycles, whatever they can, on foot, to avoid being victims of this confrontation.”

The attack comes after Colombia suspended peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, on Friday, the second time it has done so in less than a year.

Colombia’s government has demanded that the ELN cease all attacks and allow authorities to enter the region and provide humanitarian aid.

“Displacement is killing us here in the region,” said José Trinidad, a municipal official for the town of Convención, located in the North Santander region. “We’re afraid the crisis will worsen.”

Trinidad called on insurgent groups to sit down and hammer out a new agreement so “us civilians don’t have to suffer the consequences that we’re suffering right now.”

The ELN has been clashing in Catatumbo with former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a guerrilla group that disbanded after signing a peace deal in 2016 with Colombia’s government. The two are fighting over control of a strategic border region that has coca leaf plantations.

In a statement Saturday, the ELN said it had warned former FARC members that if they “continued attacking the population … there was no other way out than armed confrontation.” The ELN has accused ex-FARC rebels of several killings in the area, including the Jan. 15 slaying of a couple and their 9-month-old baby.

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Army commander Gen. Luis Emilio Cardozo Santamaría said Saturday that authorities were reinforcing a humanitarian corridor between Tibú and Cúcuta for the safe passage of those forced to flee their homes. He said special urban troops also were deployed to municipal capitals “where there are risks and a lot of fear.”

The ELN has tried to negotiate a peace deal with the administration of President Gustavo Petro five times, with talks failing after bouts of violence. ELN demands include that it be recognized as a political rebel organization, which critics have said is risky.

January 23, 2025
Taiwan Air Force officer killed after being ‘inhaled’ by fighter jet’s engine

A Taiwanese Air Force officer died after being sucked into the engine of a fighter jet, officials said.

The incident reportedly happened at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base on Tuesday while the master sergeant was performing a pre-shutdown inspection of the aircraft.

Taiwan’s Air Force said the officer was “inhaled by the engine for unknown reasons.” She later was pronounced dead after life-saving efforts were unsuccessful.

“In response to media reports that ‘it is suspected that an instructor’s throttle application caused a female officer to be inhaled by a fighter jet,’ the Air Force Command stated that the case is currently being investigated by a task force in cooperation with prosecutors to clarify the cause,” it added.

TAIWAN HAILS IMPORTANCE OF US RELATIONSHIP, SAYS GROUP VISITS ‘CONTRIBUTE TO PEACE AND STABILITY’

A Taiwanese Air Force ground crew mounts a Sky Sword II missile onto an Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft as part of a combat readiness exercise at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung on Jan. 8. (I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty Images)

Officials say they are “deeply saddened” by the death.

Taiwan’s Air Force also said that it will “fully assist the family in handling the aftermath” and that it will “conduct a comprehensive review and improve the work process to prevent similar cases from happening again.”

CHINA WARNS US TO STOP ARMING TAIWAN AFTER BIDEN APPROVES $571 MILLION IN MILITARY AID

A Taiwanese air force pilot climbs into the cockpit of his Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft during a scramble as part of a combat readiness exercise at the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung on Jan. 7, 2025. (I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty Images)

The plane involved in the incident was an Indigenous Defense Fighter, the Taipei Times reported, adding that the victim served in the military for around 17 years.

A source familiar with the aircraft told the Taipei Times that the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into its engine – which has a fairly small intake opening — is “miniscule.”

The source said after the plane lands, its motor speed is on a slow rotation and should have been stopped by the time the wheel chocks were being deployed at the base.

A Taiwanese Air Force Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft takes off during a scramble as part of a combat readiness exercise at the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung on Jan. 7. (I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty Images)

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Security cameras installed in the hangar of the base should provide the full picture as to what happened, the source added.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

January 22, 2025
2 people are killed in a knife attack in Germany. Scholz says there must be consequences

Two people, including a 2-year-old boy, were killed and three others injured in a stabbing attack in Bavaria on Wednesday. The suspect, a former asylum-seeker who was supposed to be leaving Germany, was arrested.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that authorities must clear up why the suspect was still in the country. He said the attack, a month before a national election in which curbing irregular migration is a major issue, must have consequences.

‘RANDOM’ STABBING SPREE AT FESTIVAL IN GERMANY LEAVES 3 DEAD, OTHERS INJURED: REPORT

The attack occurred just before noon in a park in Aschaffenburg, a city of about 72,000 people. Bavaria’s top security official, Joachim Herrmann, said the assailant attacked the boy, who was part of a group of kindergarten children, with a kitchen knife.

He said the 2-year-old of Moroccan origin was killed, along with a 41-year-old German man who was passing by and appeared to have intervened to protect the other children. Bavarian officials said two adults and a 2-year-old Syrian girl were injured and taken to a hospital for treatment, and none of their lives were in danger.

Other passers-by chased the suspect and he was arrested 12 minutes after the attack, Herrmann said.

Rescue vehicles are seen near a crime scene in Aschaffenburg, Germany, Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, where two people were killed in a knife attack. (Ralf Hettler/dpa via AP)

He said the suspect, a 28-year-old Afghan national, had come to authorities’ attention at least three times because of acts of violence. On each occasion, he was sent for psychiatric treatment and later released.

The suspect is believed to have arrived in Germany in November 2022 and applied for asylum in early 2023, Herrmann said. On Dec. 4, he told authorities that he would leave the country voluntarily and would seek papers from the Afghan consulate. A week later, German authorities formally closed asylum proceedings and told him to leave.

Police will work over the coming days to identify his motive, Herrmann said, adding that suspicions so far point to his psychiatric illness. A first search of his room at a refugee home found no evidence that he had radical Islamic views, and only turned up medicine that would fit with his psychiatric treatment, he said.

The attack is politically sensitive a month before Germany’s national election.

Scholz issued a strongly-worded statement condemning what he called “an incomprehensible act of terror.”

“I am tired of such acts of violence happening here every few weeks — by perpetrators who came to us to find protection here,” he said. “Mistaken tolerance is inappropriate here. Authorities must clear up at high pressure why the attacker was still in Germany at all.”

That must lead to “immediate consequences — it is not enough to talk,” Scholz added. He didn’t elaborate.

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Following a knife attack by an Afghan immigrant in Mannheim in May that left a police officer dead and four more people injured, Scholz vowed that Germany would start deporting criminals from Afghanistan and Syria again. He vowed to step up deportations of rejected asylum-seekers following a knife attack in Solingen in August in which a suspected Islamic extremist from Syria is accused of killing three people.

At the end of August, Germany deported Afghan nationals to their homeland for the first time since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

January 22, 2025