Headline

US Soldier Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Work With IS Group

Published

3 years ago

June 15, 2023

A US army soldier has pleaded guilty to attempting to help the Islamic State (IS) group attack and murder US service members in the Middle East.

The justice department also said he pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation.

Cole Bridges, known as Cole Gonzales, shared information with an undercover federal agent, the department said.

He could face up to 40 years in prison.

Mr Bridges joined the US Army around September 2019 and was based in Fort Stewart, Georgia.

He soon began “researching and consuming online propaganda promoting jihadists and their violent ideology,” according to a US Attorney’s Office statement.

But Mr Bridges began corresponding with a Federal Bureau of Investigation employee in October 2020 who was posing as an IS supporter in contact with members in the Middle East.

Mr Bridges shared his frustrations with the US military and noted his desire to aid IS – also referred to as ISIS – to the undercover FBI agent.

The statement said he began providing “training and guidance to purported ISIS fighters who were planning attacks, including advice about potential targets in New York City”.

He is also said to have sent the undercover agent “portions of a US Army training manual and guidance about military combat tactics”.

By December 2020, Mr Bridges started providing instructions for IS fighters on how to attack US service members in the Middle East, and even shared a diagram of specific military manoeuvres to maximise US troops deaths.

He provided a video of himself in US Army body armour standing in front of an IS flag and gestured support for the group.

A week later he sent another video, using a voice manipulator, narrating a propaganda speech in support of the anticipated IS ambush of US troops.

“As he admitted in court today, Cole Bridges attempted to orchestrate a murderous ambush on his fellow soldiers in service of ISIS and its violent ideology,” said Damian Williams, US Attorney of the Southern District of New York. “Bridges’s traitorous conduct was a betrayal of his comrades and his country.”

He will be sentenced on 2 November.

BBC

Headline

Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

Published

4 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

Headline

Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

4 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

4 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.