London: Suella Braverman, the UK Home Secretary, who is set to announce a comprehensive relaunch of the UK's counterterrorism strategy, Contest this week, once again made an Islamophobic remark, calling Islamic terrorism instead of terrorism a primary threat to national security.
Braverman had early been called out for her racial remarks, especially targeting Pakistanis, who were depicted as criminal gangs by her, when she talked about the increased incidents of rapes in the country.
It is expected that Braverman will emphasize that Islamist terrorism remains the primary threat to national security, highlighting the increasing unpredictability of terrorist activities, which makes detection and investigation more challenging.
As per a review of the Contest to be launched on Tuesday, alleged Islamist terrorism continues to dominate MI5's caseload, accounting for three-quarters of the total cases. The Sunday Times reported that counterterrorism forces in the UK are currently conducting approximately 800 live investigations, resulting in 169 arrests related to terror offences in 2022.
Recent intelligence from Iraq revealed that a Daesh-planned attack on a public gathering in the UK was foiled last month. The plot was exposed when Iraqi troops conducted a raid, resulting in the elimination of numerous militants.
General Abdul Wahab Al-Saadi, Iraq's top counterterrorism officer, disclosed that Daesh had been in communication with UK-based terrorists, with knowledge of their plans. Al-Saadi characterized the intended attack, involving British nationals residing in the UK, as significant and asserted that the United Kingdom would be the target.