27 March 2024 | Threat Analysis, Threat Landscape
Author: Oliver Hair ASyI,Threat Analyst Read Time: 3 minutes Tags: On 22 March 2024 at approximately 19:40, four individuals entered the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow, and conducted a Firearms and Fire as a Weapon attack (FaW). The perpetrators targeted an estimated 6,000 people at a rock concert and set fire to the venue. The roof of the concert hall later collapsed. Reporting suggests that there were at least 139 fatalities and more than 100 others were injured. Four individuals were later arrested in the Bryansk region of Russia, around 14 hours...
13 November 2023 | Deep Dive, Tactics & Methodologies
Author: Oliver Hair ASyI, Threat Analyst Read Time: 15 minutes “Our borders are not as secure as they should be and much greater efforts should be made to prevent the illegal transportation of weapons and people into the country. It would be naive in the extreme to assume that would-be terrorists will not attempt to exploit any such weaknesses.” – Lord Toby Harris, 2016.[1] In September 2023, The Telegraph reported that the New IRA had allegedly acquired “two hand grenades, a handgun, more than 50 rounds of ammunition and more than a kilogram of plastic...
25 September 2023 | State Threat, Threat Analysis, Threat Landscape
Author: Oliver Hair ASyI,Threat Analyst Read Time: 3 minutes Tags: On 15 September 2023, the Wagner Group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK Home Office. The proscription makes belonging to the Wagner Group or actively supporting the group in the UK a criminal offence. [1] The Wagner Group is a Russian private military company (PMC) founded in 2014 by Yevgeny Prigozhin.[2] The group has been a key pillar of Russian state power policy and has operated in a series of countries including most notably, Ukraine, Syria, the Central African Republic,...
18 July 2023 | State Threat, Threat Analysis
Author: Oliver Hair ASyI, Junior Threat Analyst Read Time: 5 minutes Tags: Pool Re’s Threat Awareness Team have previously explored reports which suggested that the UK was preparing to proscribe Russia’s Wagner Group as a terrorist organisation.[1] On 23 June 2023, the leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, reportedly attempted a rebellion in Russia. In this article, Pool Re explore what impact the Wagner Group’s rebellion could have for the group, their global strategy, and the terrorism threat posed to the UK. Timeline of the Mutiny On 23 June 2023,...
13 May 2023 | Threat Analysis, Threat Landscape
Author: Becca Stewart,Threat Analyst Read Time: 3 minutes Tags: As of 9th May 2023, media reporting has suggested that the British Government plans formally to declare the Wagner Group as a terrorist organisation within weeks.[1] Proscription of the Russian mercenary force responsible for significant aggressions within the Russia-Ukraine war has allegedly been in development for the past two months. The Wagner Group is a Russian private military company with around 50,000 troops consisting of former soldiers (including from Russia’s special forces),...