Man Arrested after British Soldier Stabbed in Attack Near Barracks

FILE - A sign stands in front of the New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, in London, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
FILE - A sign stands in front of the New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, in London, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
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Man Arrested after British Soldier Stabbed in Attack Near Barracks

FILE - A sign stands in front of the New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, in London, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
FILE - A sign stands in front of the New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, in London, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

A 24-year-old man was arrested after a soldier was stabbed and seriously injured in a street near a barracks in southeast England, police said Wednesday.
The British Army said the victim, who is in his 40s, suffered serious injuries. He was airlifted to a hospital for treatment.
The Kent Police force said officers were called Tuesday evening to reports of an assault in the town of Gillingham, 30 miles (about 50 kilometers) southeast of London.
A suspect was arrested within half an hour, police said. British police do not name suspects until they have been charged. There was no immediate word on motive.
The road where police said the attack happened is close to Brompton Barracks, the headquarters of the British Army’s 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment. The army did not confirm media reports that the soldier was in uniform at the time of the attack.
“Our thoughts are with the soldier and their family and we request that their privacy is respected at this difficult time," the army said in a statement. “We will continue to work closely with Kent Police to understand what happened and support the investigation."



Germany Bans Group Accused of Iran Links and Hezbollah Support, Carries Out Raids 

24 July 2024, Hamburg: Police officers stand in front of the Islamic Center Hamburg with the Imam Ali Mosque (Blue Mosque) on the Outer Alster during a raid. (dpa)
24 July 2024, Hamburg: Police officers stand in front of the Islamic Center Hamburg with the Imam Ali Mosque (Blue Mosque) on the Outer Alster during a raid. (dpa)
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Germany Bans Group Accused of Iran Links and Hezbollah Support, Carries Out Raids 

24 July 2024, Hamburg: Police officers stand in front of the Islamic Center Hamburg with the Imam Ali Mosque (Blue Mosque) on the Outer Alster during a raid. (dpa)
24 July 2024, Hamburg: Police officers stand in front of the Islamic Center Hamburg with the Imam Ali Mosque (Blue Mosque) on the Outer Alster during a raid. (dpa)

The German government on Wednesday banned a Hamburg-based organization accused of promoting the Iranian leadership's ideology and supporting Lebanon's Hezbollah armed group, as police raided 53 properties around the country.

The ban on the Islamic Center Hamburg, or IZH, and its various suborganizations elsewhere in Germany followed searches in November. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said material gathered in the investigation “confirmed the serious suspicions to such a degree that we ordered the ban today.”

The IZH promotes an “extremist, totalitarian ideology in Germany,” while it and its sub-organizations “also support the terrorists of Hezbollah and spread aggressive antisemitism,” Faeser said in a statement.

Her ministry alleged that “as the direct representative of Iran’s ‘Supreme Leader’” and seeks to export the Iranian revolution to Germany.

The group, which runs a mosque in Hamburg, has long been under observation by Germany's domestic intelligence agency. The IZH said last fall that it “condemns every form of violence and extremism and has always advocated peace, tolerance and interreligious dialogue.”

The Interior Ministry said that because of the ban, four Shiite mosques in Germany will be closed. The IZH's assets are also being confiscated.