Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Texas hostage-taker named as British citizen as UK police arrest 2

Texas hostage-taker named as British citizen as UK police arrest 2

THE MAN who held four people hostage at a Texas synagogue was on Sunday (16) identified by US authorities as a British citizen while UK police later arrested two teens over an attack that president Joe Biden called an "act of terror."

The captor, who died in the 10-hour siege in the small town of Colleyville on Saturday (15), was named by the FBI as 44-year-old Malik Faisal Akram, who sought the release of a convicted Pakistan prisoner.

Hours later, Britain's counter-terrorism police arrested two people and were questioning them in connection with the incident.

"Two teenagers were detained in South Manchester this evening. They remain in custody," the Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.

The FBI's field office in Dallas had earlier said there was "no indication" that anyone else was involved in the attack on the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue.

The four hostages - including a respected local rabbi, Charlie Cytron-Walker - were all freed unharmed, prompting relief in the United States, where the Jewish community and Biden renewed calls to fight anti-Semitism.

"There is no question that this was a traumatic experience," Cytron-Walker said in a statement.

"We are resilient and we will recover," he added.

A man identifying himself as Akram's brother Gulbar said in a Facebook post that the suspect had suffered from mental health problems.

"We would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and would like to sincerely apologise wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident," Gulbar said in the post to a Muslim community Facebook page in Blackburn, in northwest England - where British police said Akram was from.

Gulbar added that he had been in touch with law enforcement in Texas and that his family hoped to get Akram's body back to Britain for a funeral.

Biden declined to speculate on the motive but appeared to confirm reports that the hostage-taker was seeking the release of convicted terrorist Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist known as "Lady Al-Qaeda."

"This was an act of terror" committed by an assailant who apparently "insisted on the release of someone who's been in prison for over 10 years," Biden told reporters during a visit to a hunger relief organisation in Philadelphia.

Britain's foreign minister Liz Truss condemned the hostage-taking as an "act of terrorism and anti-Semitism."

Siddiqui, the first woman to be suspected by the United States of links to Al-Qaeda and a cause celebre in Pakistan and in south Asian jihadist circles, was detained in Afghanistan in 2008.

Two years later she was sentenced by a New York court to 86 years in prison for the attempted murder of US officers in Afghanistan.

She is currently being held at a prison in Fort Worth, Texas - about 20 miles (32 kilometres) away from the synagogue which Akram attacked.

Any links she may have to Akram remained unclear.

FBI special agent Matthew DeSarno told reporters in Colleyville after the standoff that the investigation would "have a global reach."

Britain's ambassador to Washington confirmed that British authorities were "providing our full support to Texas and US law enforcement agencies."

“Mind-blowing”

Cytron-Walker in his statement credited his congregation's previous security training from the FBI and others with their survival from a harrowing ordeal.

"In the last hour of our hostage crisis, the gunman became increasingly belligerent and threatening," the rabbi said.

"Without the instruction we received, we would not have been prepared to act and flee when the situation presented itself."

Other residents of Colleyville, about 25 miles northwest of Dallas, were left struggling to comprehend the incident.

"Colleyville... It's one of the safest towns in North Texas," said Austin Sewell, owner and founder of the North Texas Kings baseball club, whose field is across the street from the synagogue in a quiet residential neighbourhood.

"It's mind-blowing, to be honest," he said

At one point the standoff involved some 200 local, state and federal law enforcement officers massed around Colleyville.

A Facebook livestream of the congregation's Shabbat service appeared to capture audio of a man talking loudly, but did not show the scene inside the building.

One hostage was freed early in the standoff.

Hours later, after what police said were extensive negotiations, an elite SWAT team burst into the synagogue and the remaining three hostages were freed.

Journalists nearby said they heard a loud bang - likely a flash-bang grenade used as a distraction - and shots.

The siege had sparked an outpouring of concern from Jewish organisations.

Biden pledged to "stand against anti-Semitism and against the rise of extremism in this country."

(AFP)

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less