TERROR RELATED ROUND UP - WITH SOURCE LINKS

Spain's Supreme Court has acquitted 15 men who were convicted earlier this year of membership in an Islamic terrorist group, but upheld the convictions of five others from the same trial, according to a summary of the rulings issued Tuesday and viewed by CNN.
On appeal, the Supreme Court ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove that the 15 were members of a terrorist group, as the lower court held.
The 20 men, mainly Algerians and Moroccans, were convicted by the National Court last February of Islamic terrorist activity. None was found guilty of the more serious charge of plotting to destroy Madrid's anti-terrorism courthouse with a truck bomb.

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“Kurdistan Brigades” Pledges Allegiance to Al Qaeda-led Group
Posted by CBS News Investigates http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/10/06/monitor/entry4504531.shtml?CMP=OTC-RSSFeed&source=RSS&attr=InternetTerrorMonitor_4504531
Al Qaeda-led Islamist State of Iraq released a new video showing training by what the group identified as “The Kurdistan Brigades” in northern Iraq. The 30-minute video starts with the military commander of the team reading a communiqué in which he declares his allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq under the leadership of Abu Omar al Baghdadi. “We are your brothers in the Kurdistan Brigades and we pledge our allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq,” said the man on the tape. “To the two Kurdish puppets, Jalal Talabani and Masud Barzani, I swear by God that we have no mercy or sympathy towards the traitors who sold themselves to the enemies of God. Your throats will be slit,” he added. The clip also shows the operatives undertaking various combat training such as the art of assassination, evacuating the injured and preparing roadside bombs.

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Blackburn terror suspects in court, arrests were made by Greater Manchester Police Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) threat posted on www.al-ekhlaas.org
Today, October 06, 2008, 9 hours ago wbi@comcast.net (BILL WARNER)
http://wwwwbipicomlink.blogspot.com/2008/10/blackburn-terror-suspects-in-court.html
Friday 3rd October 2008. Blackburn terror suspects in court, arrests were made by Greater Manchester Police Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), threat posted on http://www.al-ekhlaas.org/. FOUR suspected terrorists appeared in court over threat to kill Gordon Brown. Ishaq Kanmi, 22 Ilyas Iqbal, 21 Abbas Iqbal, 23 and 24-year-old Muhammad Ahmed are charged with a string of offences including soliciting the Prime Minister's murder. Kanmi, of Cromwell Street, Blackburn, is charged with soliciting murder and being a member of al Qaida. He is alleged to have posted a message on a website http://www.ek-ls.org/ (http://www.al-ekhlaas/) (which appears to be now shut down for the fourth time this year), encouraging readers to murder Mr Brown and former PM Tony Blair, on January 2 this year.

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The Scott Shane Whitewash: Obama and Ayers (updated)
Clarice Feldman
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/10/the_scott_shane_whitewash_obam_1.htmlToday the NYT carries a report by Scott Shane which purports to demonstrate that contrary to the work of unnamed bloggers (ahem), the Ayers/Obama contact was minimal.
This front page account represents the Times' acknowledgement that there has been some significant story that they've been sitting on, but the report so completely fiddles with the truth that it would made a first rate case study in a class on propaganda.

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http://tinyurl.com/4yllse

October 06, 2008
First Published: 18:51 IST(6/10/2008)
Last Updated: 01:03 IST(7/10/2008)
Yahoo software engineer is brain behind IM’s terror e-mails
If the aliases Munawar and Mannu are to be cut out of Mohammed Mansoor Asgar Peerbhoy, the 31-year-old software engineer from Pune comes from a family of well-educated people. His mother is a lecturer in a college while his father is a well-educated businessman.
Mansoor, who studied at one of Pune’s best schools, was ranked third when he graduated as a computer engineer from Pune University. He landed a commendable job as principal software engineer with Yahoo India’s software development department with a hefty pay cheque of Rs 19 lakh.
But Mansoor got indoctrinated at a local mosque he visited and went on to become a key member of Indian Mujhahideen. His indoctrination started when Riyaz Bhatkal and his brother Iqbal handpicked him, and tutored him.
Mansoor, initially, refused to be involved in blasts. So Iqbal asked him to hack into websites that preached against jehad or Islam. Mansoor was happy to do such things, said a crime branch official. But he continued to stay away from the vicious ring of Indian Mujhahideen.
It was when blasts rocked Mecca Masjid that Mansoor finally joined the ranks of the terror group. Iqbal showed him CD-ROMs, which depicted Muslims being killed in blasts. Iqbal convinced him through these CD-ROMs that it was for the educated people to get involved to carry forward jehad.
On September 28, when crime branch officials arrested him and quizzed him, Mansoor revealed the entire details on how he had planned and sent the terror e-mails before the blasts.

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Animal rights activists organised 'six-year terror campaign'
to not show photographer information -->
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4891862.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797084 to not show image description -->
Eight animal rights activists co-ordinated an international, six-year blackmail campaign in an attempt to shut down Huntingdon Life Sciences, a court heard yesterday.
Threatening letters, hoax bombs and sanitary towels allegedly contaminated with HIV were sent to companies that did business with the Cambridgeshire-based research laboratory in an attempt to create a “climate of fear” that would isolate HLS and force it to shut.

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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=51423WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2008 - Afghan national security forces and coalitionforces killed 43 militants in Qalat district of Afghanistan's Zabul provinceOct. 5, military officials reported. Afghan and coalition forces on patrol received heavy weapons, machine-gunand sniper fire from militants in multiple locations. The combined forcesresponded with small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire as well asclose-air support, killing the militants.

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Terror emails tracked, 20 held for blasts, Mumbai Police solved the mystery of emails sent by Muslim Indian Mujahideen (IM) before Ahmedabad blasts !
Today, October 06, 2008, 3 hours ago wbi@comcast.net (BILL WARNER)
http://wwwwbipicomlink.blogspot.com/2008/10/terror-emails-tracked-20-held-for.html

Terror emails tracked, 20 held for blasts, Mumbai India: In a major breakthrough, the Mumbai Police have solved the mystery behind the terror emails sent by the Muslim Indian Mujahideen (IM) before the Ahmedabad and New Delhi serial blasts. Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor said here Monday that the three techies who had sent the emails have been arrested, along with 17 others who were responsible for a string of terror bombings in different cities. Mohammed Mansoor, Asghar Peerbhoy, alias Munna (31), working as a principal software engineer in an MNC on a salary of Rs.1.9 million per annum ($40,174.00, 1 USD equals 47.3 INR); Salman Kadar Shaikh alias Mobin (24), working as a senior technical advisor in an IT firm; and Asif Bashiruddin Shaikh (22), a mechanical engineer.

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Terror emails tracked, 20 held for blasts, Mumbai Police solved the mystery of emails sent by Muslim Indian Mujahideen (IM) before Ahmedabad blasts !
Today, October 06, 2008, 3 hours ago wbi@comcast.net (BILL WARNER)
http://wwwwbipicomlink.blogspot.com/2008/10/terror-emails-tracked-20-held-for.html

Terror emails tracked, 20 held for blasts, Mumbai India: In a major breakthrough, the Mumbai Police have solved the mystery behind the terror emails sent by the Muslim Indian Mujahideen (IM) before the Ahmedabad and New Delhi serial blasts. Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor said here Monday that the three techies who had sent the emails have been arrested, along with 17 others who were responsible for a string of terror bombings in different cities. Mohammed Mansoor, Asghar Peerbhoy, alias Munna (31), working as a principal software engineer in an MNC on a salary of Rs.1.9 million per annum ($40,174.00, 1 USD equals 47.3 INR); Salman Kadar Shaikh alias Mobin (24), working as a senior technical advisor in an IT firm; and Asif Bashiruddin Shaikh (22), a mechanical engineer.

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don't think they haven't thought about doing it here, as well...
Resurgent Taleban vow to disrupt 'joke' presidential election
Tom Coghlan in Kabul
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4894496.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797093
The Taleban threatened to attack polling stations and candidates during Afghanistan’s second presidential election, due to be held next summer, as the lengthy and dangerous process of voter registration began yesterday.The chief spokesman for Mullah Omar, the Taleban’s leader, told The Times that the group would use its increasing influence in the country to disrupt the poll. “This is not an election, it is a joke that is putting dust in people’s eyes,” said Qari Yousuf Ahmadi. “Where will they have an election? How much of Afghanistan belongs to the Government and foreign troops?”

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