The Search for Adnan El Shukrijumah
Terrorism Dr. Paul Williams, PhDFebruary 6, 2008
http://www.newmediajournal.us/staff/p_williams/2008/02062008.htm
FBI Director Robert Mueller and former Attorney General John Ashcroft have called Adnan el-Shukrijumah “the next Mohammed Atta,” who represents “a clear and imminent danger to all Americans.”
Shukrijumah’s face has appeared on the front pages of newspapers and every televised news outlet throughout the United States and Canada.
A special office for information that might lead to his arrest -- replete with a 24 hour hotline -- has been set up in Miami, Florida.
Federal investigators have combed South and Central America with the hope of gleaning a scintilla of evidence that might shed light on his whereabouts. They even established an elaborate sting operation in Guyana, Trinidad, and New York (the JFK plot) to snag the elusive fugitive -- but the operation only resulted in the creation of a virulent terrorist organization south of the border.
The Justice Department has placed a $5 million reward for any information leading to Adnan’s apprehension, and the same bounty for each of his alleged accomplices: Amer el-Maati, Jaber A. Elbaneh, Anas al-Liby, and Abderraouf Jdey.
But if you assemble a team of bounty hunters and manage to collar Adnan el-Shukrijumah and his terrorist cronies, you will be hard-pressed to turn them over to law enforcement officials, let alone to collect the aggregate $25 million. The U.S. Department of Justice, even after posting rewards, setting up hotlines, and issuing BOLOs (“Be-on-the-Lookout” alerts) has failed to issue criminal warrants for their arrest. This means that the bounty hunters would have to leave Adnan and his friends strapped to lawn chairs, since members of state and local police departments remain without authorization to detain or question them, let alone take them into custody.
This oversight is mind-boggling. Adnan el-Shukrijumah has worked with Mohammad Atta and the other 9/11 operatives; he has masterminded a plan to launch a nuclear attack on American soil; he has attended leading al Qaeda gatherings, including the Waziristan Summit of 2004; he has conspired with Jose Padilla and others to blow up bridges and infrastructures in New York City; and the search for his present whereabouts is littered with corpses, including that of prominent Guyanese businessman Farouk Razac. Obtaining the necessary warrants would constitute the perfunctory matter of submitting a request to a federal judiciary. But this basic procedural step was not undertaken by the U.S. Attorney General, the FBI Director, or any other official within the Justice Department.
Federal law enforcement officials explain this oversight by insisting that the issuance of a BOLO (Be-on-the-Lookout) and a warrant for Adnan as a material witness is all that is required to collar Adnan. They point out that suspected terrorists, under the guidelines of the Patriot Act, need not be fugitives who have been indicted by grand juries in U.S. District Courts. This is all well and good if Adnan if cornered within the
U.S. But, if he is sitting in a café in Canada or Mexico, neither the BOLO nor the warrant as a material witness will be sufficient to take him into custody and to extradite him for questioning by the FBI or Homeland Security.
“A material witness warrant has no weight at all in Canada,” explains a retired RCMP official who opts to remain anonymous “Our law enforcement officials cannot do anything unless there is a criminal offense that is extraditable.”
The failure to obtain arrest warrants remains coupled with other oversights of equally staggering proportions. On October 31, 2006, members of a counter-terrorist research unit spotted Adnan el-Shukrijumah on the campus of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. They dutifully reported the sighting to the FBI and CSIS. At this writing, over one year later, they remain waiting for a response.
Similarly, a former Israeli intelligence official claims to have seen Shukrijumah on several occasions at a gas station in Toronto -- less than an hour’s drive from Hamilton. The Israeli says that he contacted FBI officials at four different locations only to be encountered by bureaucratic indifference. The sighting remains to be investigated.
On January 25, 2007, a witness reported to Canadian and US officials that Adnan was living in an apartment complex in southern Ontario and that he made daily visits to the regional airport. This tip also went unheeded despite concerns the witnesses (some of whom resided in the complex) expressed about their safety.
In October 2007, a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a Canadian police official, a computer tracker who served with Canada’s Internal Revenue Service, a licensed private investigator, and a team of journalist managed after months of intense effort to pinpoint Adnan’s present whereabouts. The task was accomplished by tracing e-mails from friends and family members, internet postings from Adnan that were made from various locations in the vicinity of his present address, newly acquired family photos and communiqués, and, of course, actual sightings.
The information was conveyed to high-ranking political figures, military officials, and federal investigators -- all of which expressed scant interest in the findings, and none of whom sought to validate the data. In short, it was cast into the proverbial black-hole that represents the core of U.S. intelligence.
And yet, the threat posed by Adnan el-Shukrijumah remains unaltered. He remains, according to British, Saudi, Pakistani, and Israeli intelligence sources (and even FBI bureaucrats), a “one-man terror cell” -- an al Qaeda operative, trained not only to build radiological weapons and to maintain tactical nukes but also to detonate such devices within major American cities without a logistical backup crew. This same claim has been verified by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the highest ranking al-Qaeda official to be taken into custody, Abu Zubaydah, another leading al-Qaeda op in federal custody, and dozens of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
Introducing Adnan
For starters, he is a chameleon. Adnan possesses an uncanny ability to blend into a crowd, to alter his looks, and to assume a multitude of identities. He is the proverbial Mr. Cellophane. Few things about him indicate his Islamic orientation. He is often clean-shaven and never wears a long shirt or chews a toothpick. He has been known to have a beer (like an average American Joe), to smoke a Marlboro, and to carry rosary beads in his pocket. He has posed as an Italian-American, a Mexican-American, a Canadian, a Saudi, a Jamaican, an Arab, and a Latino from Trinidad. He stands somewhere between 5’4” and 5’6”; weighs 140 pounds; and suffers from severe asthma. He has black hair, dark brown eyes, an olive complexion, a mole on one cheek and a very prominent Mediterranean proboscis. A key distinguishing feature is a scar on the left side of his face below and forward of his earlobe.
Adnan is fluent in English, Spanish, Urdu, and Arabic. He is a trained pilot and a computer whiz. But, his central area of interest, training and expertise is nuclear engineering.
The Family Tree
Adnan gives proof to the adage that a rotten apple never falls far from a diseased tree. His father Gulshair was born in Guyana, where his grandfather Mohammad Jumah ran a general store. One of eleven children, Gulshair developed an interest in Arabic and began working as a tailor. At the age of 32, he moved to Cairo, where he studied at the radical al-Azbar University, and then Medina, where he enrolled at al-Madina al Manawarah (The Islamic University of Medina) and became stepped in the fanatical writings of Ibn Taymiyah and Sayyid Qutb.
In Saudi Arabia, Gulshair taught at several madrassahs, and, at the age of 42, met and married Mareed Zubrah Abu Akmed. Mareed, having just celebrated her 14th birthday was barely pubescent. Two years later, on August 4, 1975, Mareed gave birth to their first child Adnan. Three more children would be born to the couple before the family moved to Trinidad, where Gulshair received a monthly stipend of $1,500 from the Saudi government to spread the radical doctrine of Wahhabism. [1]
Bugaboo In Brooklyn
In 1986, Gulshair moved to Brooklyn where he became the imam of the newly created Majid Nur a-Islam mosque on 21 Church Street. Here he preached death to the West and recruited young blacks from New York’s mean streets. Members of his congregation came to include Abdul Rasheed and Clement Rodney Hampton-El, who were convicted in 1996 of plotting to blow up the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, the George Washington Bridge, and the United Nations building.
In 1990, Gulshair established close ties with blind sheikh Omar Abel Rahman, who was serving as imam of the Farouq Mosque at 554 Atlantic Avenue, several blocks from Majid Nur a-Islam. On the second floor of the Farouq Mosque, al Qaeda had opened an office under the name of the al-Kifah Refugee Center. It became one of Gulshair’s favorite haunts. When Rahman was taken into custody as the alleged architect of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Gulshair served as the blind sheikh’s translator and chief character witness. He also served as a character witness for Clement Rodney Hampton-El, whom he defended by stating that the defendant had fought in Afghanistan to “help his brothers, the Muslims” and that Hampton-El “was prepared to give his life for that, and that does not mean he was involved in any acts of terror…” [2]
In Brooklyn, Gulshair re-established ties with Bilal Philips, a Canadian convert to Islam, whom he had tutored in Saudi Arabia. Philips, an un-indicted c-conspirator in the WTC bombing, was credited with converting more than 3,000 US soldiers to Islam by setting up “tent revivals” in Riyadh during the Persian Gulf War. Returning to his home in Toronto, he became a favorite speaker on the Islam circuit by advancing the argument that Friday was the best day to conduct a beheading. [3]
Under The Saudi Sun
While Gulshair was developing ties with radical black Muslims in Brooklyn, Adnan was living with his maternal grandparents in Saudi Arabia. He completed his elementary and secondary school training in Medina and, like his father, taught at local madrassahs. By 1991, he had attracted the attention of the mujahadeen, newly returned to Saudi Arabia from Afghanistan, received training in guerilla warfare at an al-Qaeda camp in Khost, and assumed the bayat -- the oath of allegiance to Osama bin Laden.
Adnan was sent to Yemen where his paternal grandfather had been born. He was given a code-name (Mohammed Sher Khan) and received training in special operations, including flight lessons. Eventually, Adnan became so adept at aviation that he earned the nickname “Jafar al-Tayar” (“Jafar the Pilot”).
The Family In Florida
In 1995, Adnan, now a full-fledged jihadi, rejoined his family in Brooklyn as a new missionary to the land of the free and the home of the brave, with a monthly stipend -- similar to that received by his father -- from the Saudi government. The reunited Shukrijumah clan now set out for sunny Florida, where Gulshair became the imam of the Masjid al-Hyrah Mosque in Miramar. Gulshair also came to serve as the spiritual leader of the Boca Raton Islamic Center (BRIC), where he established a close friendship with BRIC imam Dr. Ibrahim Dremali. [4]
Dremali, a professor of geology at Broward Community College, shared Gulshair’s militant fundamentalism. The two attended a rally where Israeli flags were burned and slogans, such as “With jihad we’ll claim our land, Zionist blood will wet the sand,” were shouted. On this occasion, Dremali advised the crowd “not to be sad for those who were martyred and to not be afraid to die for what they believe in” -- a clear reference to suicide bombers. [5]
In Florida, Adnan received legal permanent residency status -- a “green card,” which permitted him to acquire a federal passport. He never became a naturalized American citizen. In the course of the next five years, Adnan would obtain additional passports from Canada, Trinidad, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.
Early Warning Signs
On October 12, 1997, Adnan became a blip on the radar screen when screams came from the Shukrijumah squat stucco house at SW 27th Street and the neighbors summoned the Miramar police. The younger siblings, Officer David Goetz wrote in the police report, had ‘’locked themselves in the bedrooms to protect themselves from their brother, Adnan, who had come home and found clothes laying all over the place, so he hit them.’’ Adnan’s 13-year-old sister Aida had a bite wound on her arm, according to the report, and Areeza, his youngest sister, had been struck in the face. Zubrah, the mother, Goetz added, ‘’conveyed to me that her son being male, he was expected to carry the role of disciplinarian.”[6]
During this time, Adnan taught Arabic at his father’s mosque and became engaged in raising funds the Global Relief Fund (GRF), a front for terrorist organizations. GRF, according to the Treasury Department, was responsible for funding the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He enrolled as an engineering/computer science major at Broward Community College, where Ibrahim Dremali served as his academic advisor. Adnan also made several trips to Saudi Arabia where he met with his al Qaeda mentors Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and terror financier Ramzi Binalshibh. [7]
The Jihad Club
Spreading the fire of jihad, Adnan attended services at the Masjid al-Iman mosque in Fort Lauderdale, where he became acquainted with a host of wannabe terrorists, including Jose Padilla, who planned to detonate a radiological bomb in midtown Manhattan; Imran Mandhai, who was convicted of attempting to blow up nuclear power plants in southern Florida; Moessa Shuyeb Jokham, who was arrested for plotting terrorist attacks against Jewish community centers and businesses; and Hakki Akksoy, who was jailed for ten years when a cache of deadly explosives was found in his home. [8]
Questioned about the aspiring terrorists, Sofian Abdelaziz Zakout, director of the American Muslim Association and a friend of the Shukrijumah family, said: “I saw [Adnan el Shukrijumah, Padilla and Mandhai] at different times in different mosques, and I always said hello. Does that make me a terrorist?” [9]
Zakout’s statement contains more than a hint of irony. He had served as the Vice President of a now defunct “charity” called Health Resource Center Palestine which served to solicit funding for the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), a virulently anti-Semitic group that serves terrorist groups. “I am in support of the Hamas movement,” Nihad Awad, the former public relations director of the IAP, announced to the press. The Health Resource Center Palestine also listed Ibrahim Dremali as its Gaza coordinator. Both Dremali and Zakkout testified as character witnesses on behalf of Adham Hassoun, who was accused of using Benevolence International as a front for funding al-Qaeda. [10]
Another Alarm Unheeded
Adnan produced another blip on the crime monitor in March, 2001, when FBI special agents in Miami launched an investigation of the Darul Uloom Mosque in Pembroke Pines. The agents became interested in the activities of Imran Mandhai, a member of the mosque and another student at Broward Community College, who had stated his intention to create a jihad cell that would consist of 25 or 30 men, including Adnan el Shukrijumah. The cell, Mandhai maintained, would target electric substations, Jewish institutions, a National Guard armory, even Mount Rushmore. “It was no secret that [Adnan] was pretty radical,” says a federal law enforcement source, “and that Mandhai thought he would be interested in what they were doing.” [11]
But Shukrijumah was too slick and smart to become involved in the creation of a cell with a loudmouth like Mandhai. He declined to join their plans for jihad, correctly surmising that Mandhai already had attracted too much attention. But his name had been mentioned, and the federal investigators discovered that Shukrijumah had lied on his green-card application regarding a prior arrest. For this reason, a confidential report with cursory information in his name was opened at FBI headquarters. The record was filed and quickly forgotten. [12]
Adnan Unites With Atta
By 2000, Adnan had formed a fast friendship with two new Muslim arrivals to southern Florida -- Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi, who began to attend Gulshair’s mosque. Adnan made arrangements for Atta and Shehhi to receive flight training at Hoffman Aviation in Venice. This site was ideal. 80% of the students at Hoffman were foreign nationals -- many from the Middle East. It was a facility that served Yeslam bin Laden, Osama’s brother, and his employees. It was also a place where Atta and Shehhi could obtain student visas to prolong their stay in the US. The two 9/11 ops registered on July 3, 2000.
Following the training at Hoffman, Adnan accompanied Atta and Shehhi to the Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma, where Atta and Shehhi signed up for advanced training on commercial jet airliners. [13] In Norman, Adnan bunked up with Shehhi at the apartment of Majahid Abdul Quaadir Menepta. Menepta (Melvin Lattimore), an African-American convert to Islam. Menepta, who was finishing his studies in biochemistry at The University of Oklahoma, was a member of Jamaat ul-Fuqra, a terrorist agency with ties to al-Qaeda that had established paramilitary training compounds in rural areas throughout the United States. Also living in Menepta’s apartment was Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called “20th terrorist” of 9/11. During this time, Adnan appears to have met and befriended Wael Rabeh and Muhanned Debeh, two students from The University of Oklahoma with ties to an al-Qaeda cell in Toronto.
The Lure Of Canada
Southern Ontario now begins to loom large in the story of the quest. Menepta would head off to Toronto in the wake of 9/11 to further his studies into biochemistry. Toronto was also the headquarters of Dr. Bilal Philips, Gulshair’s old friend, and the mission to convert African-Americans into rabid Wahhabis. It was also a favorite place for the Shukrijumahs to visit. The family album contains photos of Gulshair and his smiling clan in front of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service in the heart of downtown Toronto.
Moreover, McMaster University in Hamilton -- less than an hour’s drive from Toronto -- housed a five megawatt nuclear reactor, one of the largest for educational purposes in North America, and boosted an engineering faculty that consisted of a disproportionate number of Egyptian nationals with degrees from the University of Cairo and the University of Alexandria -- whose schools of engineering remained under the tight control of the Trade Union of Engineers, a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood. [14] It presumably would serve as a magnet for any jihadi interested in launching a nuclear attack on a major American city.
Canada offered more allure for terrorists and terrorists’ wannabes. Anyone who arrives in the land of the maple leaf and requests political asylum (for any reason} is granted immediate entry and temporary residency status with no questions asked by customs officials and no documentation required by law enforcement officials. Forty thousand “refugees” -- many from terror-sponsoring countries -- have entered Canada during the past decade by making this request. None are screened for criminality, security, or health problems and even a bogus passport constitutes an entrance ticket. The new arrivals are simply given dates for hearings that may not take place for eighteen months. [15]
Meanwhile, In Miami
On January 10, 2001, Adnan was seen in the company of Atta and Ziad Jarrah, yet another 9/11 operative, at the Miami District Immigration Office, where Atta and Jarrah applied for visa extensions. [16] On May 2, 2001, he accompanied Atta to the Lake Lauderdale office of the Florida Department of Highway Safety, where Atta produced his Egyptian passport and an I-94 immigration form, took a driving test, and received his license.
In his spare time, Adnan established a website appropriately titled “Master Arabic,” so that his father Gulshair could discover a new market for his tapes and books. On the site Adnan proclaimed: “My father is the narrator of a system designed to take you from as basic as the alphabet to constructing words to conversation to Arabic grammer [sic]… Go ahead and click your way to mastering Arabic.”
The Gulshair website contained a guestbook where friends and admirers of the radical imam could post their encomiums. One of the first to sign the book was Bilal Philips, who wrote: “Salaam alaykum Ibn Shukri, Mabrook on the website and special salaams to your father and prayers for his good spiritual and physical health. He was one of my first teachers in Arabic and is a dear friend, though geography and world politics has separated us. Tell him that, as always, I love him for the sake of Allah. Was salaam, Bilal.”
From Panama To Pakistan
In April 2001, Adnan spent 10 days in Panama, where he met with al Qaeda officials to assist in the planning of 9-11. He went on to stay with his relatives in Charlieville on the island of Trinidad. [17] He also visited the Darul Uloom Islamic Center in Cunupia, a 45 minute drive from Port-of Spain, Trinidad’s capital, and made a trip to Georgetown in nearby Guyana, where he allegedly received funds from Swiss House Cambio, a money exchange owned by Faouk Razac.
Razac represented the Muslim godfather in Guyana. He not only ran an elaborate death squad but also engaged in such nefarious activities as money laundering, arms running, and drug trafficking, most specifically, the cocaine route from Guinea, Trinidad, and Tobago to Canada. As a radical Sunni, Razac became affiliated with Jamaat ul-Muslimeen, Trinidad’s homegrown terrorist group, and served to secure funding for jihadi ventures
Returning to the US, Adnan visited New York (including the Farouq mosque in Brooklyn), Washington, DC and the infamous Dar al-Hijrah Mosque in Falls Church, Virginia), Chicago, and Canada, where he made contact with Abderraouf Jdey, the head of a large al Qaeda cell in Montreal, and Abdelazziz Boussora, another member of the Montreal cell and a trained pilot. The purpose of the meetings with Jdey and Boussora was to arrange a second wave of attacks on US soil.
In June, he traveled to a Pakistan for advanced training in explosives under Muhammed Atef, the co-founder of al-Qaeda who was killed in Afghanistan during the first wave of Operation Enduring Freedom. At the training camp on the outskirts of Kandahar, Adnan met Jose Padilla, his friend from Florida. But the two quickly got on each other’s nerves, and Padilla was forced to admit that he couldn’t work with Adnan on a mission. [18]
The Nuclear Mission
In Pakistan, Shukrijumah became singled out by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to spearhead the next great attack on America – a nuclear attack that would take place simultaneously in seven U.S. cities (New York, Boston, Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Washington D.C.), leaving millions dead and the richest and most powerful nation on earth in ashes. [19]
To prepare for this mission, a team of al-Qaeda operatives reportedly were sent by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to McMaster University in order to gain knowledge of nuclear technology and to obtain access to the reactor. Along with Adnan, the team consisted of Anas al Liby, an engineer from Libya and member of the al-Qaeda high command; Jaber A. Elbaneh, a Yemeni national and naturalized American citizen who worked closely with the Lackawanna Six domestic cell near Buffalo, New York; and Amer el Matti, a Canadian national and licensed pilot. Another visitor to the campus, according to several sources, was Abderraouf Jdey from the Montreal cell.
At McMaster, Adnan purportedly kept to himself, made few new friends or acquaintances, kept strictly to his studies, and left the facility at the same time as his colleagues. [20] He also managed to obtain employment at the reactor -- allegedly as a guide. [21] Adnan’s “normal’ behavior on the Hamilton campus, a source said, gave him entry to places where dangerous materials were stored without raising undue suspicion. Bit by bit, the al-Qaeda operative allegedly managed to pilfer approximately 180 pounds of nuclear material from the university -- enough to build several radiological bombs. [22]
According to Debka, an internet outlet for Israeli intelligence news, Shukrijumah was under surveillance by Canadian officials in early October 2003, when he suddenly stopped attending classes and failed to show up for work. His disappearance aroused no concern, the sources say, until a few days later when the nuclear material was reported missing. [23]
Jayne Johnson, a spokesperson for McMaster University, declined to comment on the reports of Shukrijumah and the other al-Qaeda agents at the school. Other McMaster officials denied that any al Qaeda agents were on campus and that any nuclear or radiological material was missing from the campus. But witnesses have verified Shukrijumah’s presence in Hamilton and the school, according to several sources, has experienced radiological “leakage.” [24] Reliable sources have confirmed that Adnan made use of the internet facilities at McMaster as late as October 2007.
Moreover, Adnan’s stay at McMaster allegedly was facilitated by Dremali, his mentor at Broward Community College. Dremali had formed associations with fellow Egyptian engineers at McMaster and allegedly retained an affiliation with a clandestine club in Ontario that had been formed, in part, to assist newly arrived Arabs in the acculturation process. (The connection between Adnan and Dremali remains to be fully investigated by the FBI. In 2005, Dremali left his teaching position at Broward to become the imam of a mosque in Des Moines, Iowa. He allegedly also left his wife Lamyaa who now resides at in Colombia, Kentucky).
In an interview pertinent to this report, Hamid Mir confirmed that he had received verification that Anas al-Liby was at McMaster and that Liby had been instrumental in the removal of radiological/nuclear material from the reactor. Mir further testified that nuclear weapons and materials had been forward deployed by al-Qaeda to the United States. [25] Despite Mir’s stature among journalist as the only reporter to interview Osama bin Laden in the wake of 9/11, federal officials have neglected to seek out the bases of his claims.
The Unanswered Questions
Upon investigating the matter, Debka raised the following questions concerning Shukrijumah at McMaster and mind-boggling vanishing act:
A) Why were there no agents observing the subject inside the reactor? These sources did not disclose which security agencies were responsible for the surveillance.
B) Who gave Shukrijumah, a Saudi Arabian under suspicion, access to the reactor? And how is it that no one noticed increasing amounts of nuclear or radiological materials were disappearing over a period of months?
C) How was Shukrijumah able to give his watchers the slip?
D) Was the subject tipped off by an inside source in the U. S. or Canadian security services? [26]
Upon their departure from Canada, Adnan and his terrorist friends made their way to Buffalo where they may have been harbored by some members of the notorious Lackawanna (LA) Mosque. Jaber A. Elbaneh was a member of the infamous Lackawanna Six, who provided material support to al-Qaeda, and members of the Elbaneh family served in positions of leadership at the LA Mosque. It is also alleged that Adnan and his accomplices received monetary and logistical support from Mohammed Albanna, who managed to escape under the radar of the bust of the Lackawanna Six.
The Pocket Litter
In the wake of Operation Enduring Freedom (the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan), CIA and military intelligence officials discovered the reoccurrence of the names of Jaffar al Tayyar (“Jafer the Pilot”) and Mohammed Sher Mohammed Khan in "pocket litter" – documents and scraps taken from prisoners and dead al Qaeda soldiers. [27] In May 2002, U.S. intelligence and military officials starting asking a pressing question to al Qaeda detainees who were being interrogated at foreign prisons and secret CIA and military facilities abroad. “Whom,” the officials asked, “would al Qaeda pick to lead the next big attack against U.S. targets?” Intelligence sources told U.S. News and World Reports that several of the detainees coughed up the same answer: "Jaffar al Tayyar." [28] The detainees said they had encountered "the Pilot" during al Qaeda training exercises in Afghanistan. Intelligence officers presented photos of hundreds of suspected al Qaeda operatives to the detainees. Several identified an individual who bore a resemblance to Adnan el Shukrijumah. But the resemblance was not reality, and it would take months before the FBI and CIA teams, with their sophisticated equipment and state-of-the-art search engines, would realize it. "We were pursuing a lead," says one official, "that in the end turned out to be a dead end. We found out we were after the wrong person." [29] Indeed, the teams might still be searching for the wrong suspects and hitting dead-ends, if not for the fact that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured, quite by accident, in Karachi, Pakistan March 1, 2003.
The Plot Revealed
After days of interrogation, coupled with severe sleep deprivation, Mohammed told U.S. officials that bin Laden was planning to create a "nuclear hell storm" in America. [30] Unlike other attacks, the terrorist chief said, the chain of command for the nuclear attack answered directly to bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, and a mysterious scientist called "Dr. X." Mohammed later admitted that "Dr. X" was Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani father of the Islamic bomb and the godfather of modern nuclear proliferation. He further confessed that the field commander for this operation was a naturalized American citizen whom he also referred to as Mohammed Sher Mohammed Khan and "Jafer al Tayyar" ("Jafer the Pilot"). [31] Both names are aliases of Adnan el Shukrijumah.
Khalid Mohammed went on to say that Adnan represents a “single-cell” -- a lone agent capable of launching a solo nuclear or radiological attack on a major American city. The news of such a cell reportedly startled U.S. officials who assumed that al Qaeda cells contained several members who were supported by broad logistical back-up crews. [32]
On March 21, 2003, Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller issued a BOLO ("be-on-the-lookout") alert for Shukrijumah, Amer el-Maati, and Abderraouf Jdey. Four other suspected Islamic terrorists were added to the Seeking Information list: Ahmed Kalfan Ghailani (a.k.a., "Foopie"), who took part in the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania; Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, another participant in the bombings; Adam Yahiye Gadahn (a.k.a., Adam Pearlman), a Jewish convert to Islam who grew up on a goat ranch in Riverside County, California; and Aafia Siddiqui, who received a biology degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and penned a doctoral thesis on neurological science at Brandeis University. [33]
Siddiqui, a native of Pakistan, looms of importance in the search. She worked closely with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as a “fixer,” the central al-Qaeda operative who supported money and logistical support to Adnan and his associates in southern Florida. She also provided monthly payments to Gulshair. The money for the father and son, interesting to note, came from the Saudi embassy. [34]
'Demanding, Rude, And Obnoxious'
Several days after the BOLO was issued, Adnan and Jdey were spotted at a Denny's restaurant in Avon, Colo., where one ordered a chicken sandwich and a salad. Samuel Mac, the restaurant manager, described them as "demanding, rude and obnoxious." [35] They told Mac they were from Iran and were driving from New York to the West Coast. Upon calling the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., Mac said the agent who answered the telephone said he had to call the bureau’s Denver office and declined to take down any information. When Mac called the Denver office of the FBI, he said he was shuttled to voice mail because “all the agents were busy.” [36] It was five hours before a seemingly uninterested agent called the restaurant manager. This agent, according to Mac, took a few notes and said she would pass the information along to the field agents who were handling the case. [37]
This promise represented the full extent of the government’s interest in the By sighting even though Shukrijumah had been labeled by FBI Director Robert Mueller as “the next Mohammad Atta” and even though the FBI had posted a $5 million reward for any information leading to his capture. The federal and state law enforcement officials failed to interview the restaurant workers and the patrons, purportedly even those who were willing to verify the presence of the terrorists in the restaurant. No forensic evidence was obtained from the scene by any law enforcement officials -- not even the utensils that had been used by the suspects. When contacted by The Denver Post, Monique Kelso, spokeswoman for the Denver bureau, said the office had received at least a dozen calls as a result of the BOLO. The calls, Kelo said, were all taken seriously. She added, "We follow up on every lead.” [38]
The Ghost In GuyanaBy early April, Adnan was -- once again -- safe and secure under the protection of Farouk Razac in Georgetown, Guyana. This time he was spotted at the Swiss House Cambio, Razac’s money exchange, by several witnesses, including George Bacchus, a law enforcement informant. [39] At the Cambio, Adnan met one of Razac’s closest clients -- Imam Muhammed Hassan Abrahemi, the director of the International Islamic College for Advanced Studies, a small Shiite school in Georgetown that received large amounts of revenue from the government of Iran. He became acquainted with Abdul Nur, a civil engineer, who ran errands for Razac; Abdul Kadir, who served as the assistant director at Abrahemi’s Islamic College; and Russell Defreitas, a member of the Guyanese Parliament and leader of Jamaat ul-Muslimeen. This new association would produce a trial of corpses leading to a plot to a botched FBI sting and an attempt to blow up the fuel line that feeds the JFK International Airport in New York.
The first victim was Abrahemi, who was kidnapped by two masked men as he was leaving the Islamic College on April 2, 2004. Several days later, his body was discovered within a shallow grave on the outskirts of Georgetown. The hit appeared to be professional. Abrahemi had been shot twice in the back of the head while assuming a kneeling position. His mouth had been taped shut with duct tape, and his hands and feet were bound by nylon cords. The perpetuators of the crime have never been caught.
By this time, the FBI had managed to infiltrate Jamaat ul-Muslimeen and made use of undercover agents to pose as jihadis and to work with Nur, Kadir, and Dufreitas in an attempt to lure the elusive Adnan into a trap. The undercover agents provided the terrorist group with money and logistical support, compliments of US taxpayers, to launch a plot to blow up a system of jet fuel supply tanks and pipelines that feed fuel to the JFK International Airport in Queens, New York.
Later, U. S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskoff would appear before the press to say that the planned attack represented “one of the most chilling plots imaginable” -- a plot which might have caused “unthinkable devastation.” In reality, the plot was a ploy since exploding the fuel tanks represented a technical impossibility. Jet fuel does not produce explosive force, and the pipelines and fuel tanks that are buried beneath Queens have safety valves to prevent any mishap. [40]
The FBI had assumed that a well-oiled scheme to blow up a massive international airport and an entire borough of Manhattan would lure Adnan from his hiding place. The assumption proved to be incorrect. Adnan failed to appear at any of planning sessions in Trinidad and Guyana, and the federal officials were left not only with a hefty bill for the cockamamie scheme but also the creation of a new and financially flush arm of Jamaat ul-Muslimeen.
Nur, Kadir, Dufreitas and Kareem Ibrahim, a fourth operative, were taken into custody albeit several the arrests were a result of entrapment. [41] “We thought he could be the invisible hand. He's always in the shadows, particularly in [the Caribbean]. He's passed through it, he's known, his name came up in the conversations. He would have been the prize."
On May 7, 2007, two months after the airport plot went array, Farouk Razac was found dead in his Georgetown home with a wound to his head and marks around his neck. An autopsy report concluded that he had died of asphyxiation due to ligature strangulation. Carol Ann Lynch, Razac’s wife, was later charged with the homicide but few observers believed that the petite Lynch, who served as the reigning Miss South America, was capable of the crime. [42]
The Waziristan Summit
Following the federal botch-up in Colorado, the diminutive Shukrijumah resurfaced at a terrorist summit in the lawless Waziristan Province of Pakistan in April 2004. The summit has been described by the FBI as a "pivotal planning session" in much the same manner as a 2000 meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur for the 9-11 attacks. Attending the summit were Abu Issa al Hindi, a Pakistani technician whose company contained plans for staging attacks at financial institutions in New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., and Mohammed Babar, who has been charged with buying materials to build bombs for attacks in Great Britain. [43] Babar is an American citizen and resident of Queens, New York, where he was a leading member of the Islamic Thinkers Society, a group that burned the American flag during a demonstration before the Israeli consulate in 2006 and held up placards stating: “The mushroom cloud is on its way.” [44]
Shukrijumah South Of The Border
On May 27, 2004, Adnan el Shukrijumah was spotted at an Internet café in Tegucigalpa, the hilly capital of Honduras, where he made calls to France, Canada, and the U.S. He was described as badly dressed and bearded. At his table were Mara Salvatrucha leaders (jefes) from Panama, Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador. [45] According to the café owner, who recognized Adnan from photos in the newspaper, he spoke to the jefes in English and Spanish. Shukrijumah’s presence at the cafe was later verified by the Honduran Security Ministry, who confirmed that the elusive terrorists had made telephone calls from there to France, the U.S., and Canada. [46] While in Honduras, the Ministry maintained, Adnan became engaged in a plot to blow up the Panama Canal. [47]
On June 12, Gulshair el Shukrijumah, Adnan’s radical father, died in Miramar as a result of a stroke. Some sources attributed his demise to "the will of Allah." His funeral was attended by around 1,000 people who "prayed for Allah to accept their departed Sheik into his arms." Ibrahim Dremali, the Imam of the Boca Raton Islamic Center, said that Gulshair had “a positive effect on people.” [48]
From Tegucigalpa, Adnan made his way north to Belize in British Honduras and, from Belize, to Mexico's Quintana Roo State, south of Cancun. [49] He remained in Mexico for much of the summer of 2004. In early August, he was spotted in the northern Mexican province of Sonora near "terrorist alley," the main passageway for illegal aliens, including OTMs (other than Mexicans) and "Special Interest Aliens" -- to the land of Mickey Mouse, MTV, and George W. Bush. [50]
On August 18, 2004, Texas and Arizona law enforcement officials were placed on alert for an attempt by Adnan to sneak into the country with the vast hordes of Hispanic illegal immigrants. The alert was issued by the U. S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso. “We don’t want him crossing into the United States because his plan is to conduct terror operations,” Art Werge, a spokesman for the FBI’s El Paso office told the press. [51]
Nukes Arrive In Mexico
Concern about Shukrijumah's extended stay in Mexico was heightened in November 2004 with the arrest in Pakistan of Sharif al-Masri, a key al Qaeda operative. Al Masri, an Egyptian national jihadist with close ties to al Zawahiri, bin Laden's No. 2 man, informed interrogators that al-Qaeda had made arrangements to smuggle nuclear supplies and tactical nuclear weapons into Mexico. From Mexico, the weapons were to be transported across the border with the help of a Latino street gang. The gang was later identified as Mara Salvatrucha, the gang that Adnan had trekked across the North American continent to meet in a Honduran café, and the plans that he discussed with the gang leaders were the plans that had been purportedly finalized at the terrorist summit in Waziristan. [52]
In response to this information, U.S. officials began monitoring all heavy trucks crossing the border, while Mexican officials pledged to keep close watch over flight schools and aviation facilities. Such precautions may have been adopted too late. A Piper PA Pawnee crop duster was stolen from Ejido Queretaro near Mexicali on November 1, 2004. The plane's tail number was XBCYP. The thieves, Mexican officials surmised, were either drug dealers or al-Qaeda operatives, and clearly one was a highly trained pilot. [53]
In His Brother’s Footsteps
In 2006, Nabil el-Shukrijumah, Adnan’s younger brother, established a new website for Gulshair -- this one to honor his memory. The site contains numerous photos from the family album, including a snapshot of Gulshair teaching young boys at his Brooklyn mosque. The words on the blackboard behind the kindly old jihadi read: “The human being is under the oppression of the kuffar (the unbeliever).” On the site, Nabil posted the following message: “As Salaam Alaikum Dad, you're still living among all of us, [we] will see you later but not that much later.” [54]
Nabil, who operates a print shop from the family homestead in Miramar, also created his own personal My Space page on the internet. Here he uses the name “El-Shukri.” [Shukrijumah is the combination of Shukri and the last name of the family, Jumah or Juman.] As soon as this page is opened, a visitor is treated to the infamous Soldiers of Allah’s song, “1924.” The song contains these haunting lyrics: “I am not going to give one inch of Palestine to the Jews… I would rather have my flesh be cut up than cut out Palestine from the Muslim land…” and “When the west was training Muslim scholars for hire, Jews were setting Al-Aqsa mosque on fire!” The page also contains a gallery of inspiring pictures. One with the caption, “Oh Jerusalem, we are coming,” shows a terrorist with rifle on horseback watching the City of David erupt in flames. There are also illustrations of the bloated bodies of dead American soldiers in the streets of Baghdad. A centerpiece of Nabil’s My Space is picture of a jihadi holding a US rocket launcher with the image of Saddam Hussein behind him. The picture contains this caption: “These are the armaments of the enemy, who are disgraced.”
The pictures are worrisome not only for what they represent but also for their place of origin. One, in particular, is from www.arab3.com. -- a site registered to Yousif al-Olayyan, a former student at the University of Florida. Al-Olayyan, a former student at the University of South Florida, is the registered agent and the editor-in-chief for www.alsakher.com, which features glowing reports of Al-Qaeda from individuals who claim to have a close ties to Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri It is disconcerting to note that, in October of 2002, al-Olayya was invited to a Homeland Security program dealing with “corrosion in reactors and nuclear power systems.” The event was co-organized by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which, according to its website, “helps to ensure the safety of the nuclear weapons stockpile and reduce the threat of terrorist attacks on our homeland.”
Finally, on his page, Nabil treats all visitors to a videotape of how 9/11 had been staged by the Bush Administration so that they can gain congressional approval for the invasion of Muslim lands.
Meeting With Special Agent Lenzen
On March 7, 2007, Sean Michels, a correspondent for Global TV and a member of this investigative team, met with FBI Special Agent Andrew Lenzen, who has been appointed to spearhead the search for Adnan. The meeting took place in Miami at the request of Mr. Michels.
Mr. Lenzen professes to have the only real insight into Adnan’s training as a jihadi and present whereabouts. “I know him almost like his mother,” he once told the press. “I’ve lived, slept and dreamed him for the past three years.”
During his conversation with Michels, Mr. Lenzen dismissed the findings of several leading investigative journalists and insisted that Adnan was neither a pilot nor an engineer. He further maintained that Gulshair and his family had no ties to southern Ontario not even to Belal Philips) and only made occasional visits to relatives in Montreal.
Mr. Lenzen’s assertions, however, are refuted by Adnan’s appearances at flight schools in Florida and Oklahoma, his academic records at Broward Community College, and the photographs from the Shukrijumah family album. For this reason, the Special Agent is either a disseminator of disinformation to lead the press and the public on a wild goose chase or a victim of the agency’s own misinformation.
Southern Ontario Sightings
In the summer of 2005, Adnan was spotted at a gas station on two occasions in Toronto by a former Israeli intelligence official, who reported the sightings to CIS and the FBI. He continues to wait for a response.
On October 31, 2006 -- The sight of Adnan without a Halloween mask on the campus of McMaster University scared the hell out of members of the Gerard Group, a New England security company. The company officials reported the sighting to the FBI but there calls to the hotline and various regional offices went unanswered.
On January 25, 2007, witnesses testified that Adnan was residing in an apartment complex within the quaint Canadian city of Guelph in southern Ontario. They said that Adnan and nine other Muslim men who lived in the building made daily visits to the regional airport where they believed he was working. The witnesses contacted the authorities and expressed concern about their personal safety, especially since several lived in the complex. But no officials appeared at their doorways to substantiate their claims.
Location Confirmed
Following the sightings, expert hackers, including a computer wunderkind who served with the government in Ottawa, managed to approximate Adnan’s present whereabouts by securing his screen name and gaining access to Adnan’s communications to family members, including Nabil in Florida and his sister Aida in Arizona, and fellow jihadis, including Gulshair’s former friends and associates in Brooklyn and Miramar. Several communications from Adnan were traced in internet posting sites. These included two universities in southern Ontario, the business center a major hotel, and radical Islamic mosques. Through these efforts, the technicians were able to triangulate Adnan’s whereabouts to an area of one kilometer. Such leads were investigated by former Canadian law enforcement officials, including a retired member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who decided in late October 2007 that the time was right to contact the FBI and to bring the long search to a salubrious end.
But the contact to the FBI was made with the stipulation that a criminal arrest warrant be issued for Adnan so that he could be collared, taken into custody, and extradited to the United States. This condition proved to be too taxing .Upon receiving the information, the federal officials -- once again -- failed to process the findings and to conduct an investigation.
And So It Goes
Despite the alerts and the warnings, the establishment of a hotline and command center, the expenditure of millions in cockamamie plots, Adnan is alive and well and living in southern Ontario. He has married and has several children. He communicates regularly with his friends and loved ones through Skype, a computer telephone service. He meets regularly with a band of radical Islamists at his apartment, attends a neighborhood mosque, and spends several hours every day at a local airport. He does not appear to be hiding from the long arm of the law. He knows, no doubt, that Canada will grant him asylum; that the Bush Administration has obtained no criminal warrant for his arrest; and that the FBI has not secured an order for his extradition.
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that if you stare into the abyss long enough, the abyss will stare back. This report stands as a refutation to this assertion. The abyss will not stare back. The abyss, truth be told, is an abyss.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
ISRAEL'S SUICIDE BOMBERS
Picture: Israeli Robot Crushes Suicide Bomber (Updated)
Noah Shachtman
http://blog.wired.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/02/05/79503560.jpg
A pair of suicide bombers struck in the Israeli town of Dimona yesterday -- the first strike of its kind in more than a year. Once it was all over, a bomb disposal robot removed one of the attacker's jacket, to make sure there were no more explosives on him.
(His bomb failed to go off, and police shot and killed him.) Then the machine rolled over him, to double-check. The likely NSFW picture is after the jump.
There's something else odd about this picture. Look at the end of the robot's arm: Is that a weapon I see?
UPDATE: Sam Jaffe write in to say that the weapon on the robot "fires a metal slug into explosive material. I've seen video of it being used on a carbomb at the height of the 2nd intifada.
If it works, the robot gives up the ghost -- Israel's version of suicide bombers."
He also points us to some NSFW video of the bomber getting shot, and an interesting story about the shooter, Kobi Mor, and his unit.
Noah Shachtman
http://blog.wired.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/02/05/79503560.jpg
A pair of suicide bombers struck in the Israeli town of Dimona yesterday -- the first strike of its kind in more than a year. Once it was all over, a bomb disposal robot removed one of the attacker's jacket, to make sure there were no more explosives on him.
(His bomb failed to go off, and police shot and killed him.) Then the machine rolled over him, to double-check. The likely NSFW picture is after the jump.
There's something else odd about this picture. Look at the end of the robot's arm: Is that a weapon I see?
UPDATE: Sam Jaffe write in to say that the weapon on the robot "fires a metal slug into explosive material. I've seen video of it being used on a carbomb at the height of the 2nd intifada.
If it works, the robot gives up the ghost -- Israel's version of suicide bombers."
He also points us to some NSFW video of the bomber getting shot, and an interesting story about the shooter, Kobi Mor, and his unit.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
CONFLICT & TERROR 02/05
NATO: Afghan insurgency is contained Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 5:14am
More than six years since the Taliban were ousted from power in Afghanistan, the militant movement is being "contained," with some 70 percent of violence last year occurring in just 10 percent of the country, NATO said. Full Story
Roadside bomb kills 12 in Sri Lanka Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 6:40am
A roadside bomb attack blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels tore through a civilian bus in northeastern Sri Lanka on Monday, killing 12 people and injuring 17, the military said. The attack took place in the region of Welioya at about 3:40 p.m, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said. Full Story
19 dead in raids, clashes in Afghanistan Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 6:41am
Afghan and foreign troops conducted two raids on the homes of suspected Taliban militants on Monday, leaving 10 people dead, including women and children, police said. A separate clash in southern Uruzgan province left nine suspected militants dead. Full Story
Indonesian court to hear Bali bombers' case review Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 6:58am
A court in Indonesia's resort island of Bali will hear a second case review filed by lawyers for three Islamic militants on death row for the 2002 Bali bombings, further delaying their possible execution. Full Story
Pro-Western Tadic re-elected president Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 7:49am
Serbia's Western oriented president Boris Tadic scored a narrow victory in Sunday's presidential run-off running on a pro-European platform against nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolic. Full Story
Civilian casualties as soldiers and militants clash Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 7:49am
Up to ten civilians are believed to have been killed in a clash between Philippine soldiers and Islamic militants on the island of Jolo in the southern region of Mindanao early on Monday. Full Story
Soldiers targeted in suicide attack in Rawalpindi Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 7:50am
At least six people were killed in a suicide bombing which targeted a military bus in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi on Monday. Another 20 people are reported to have been injured in the attack believed to have been caused when a bomber crashed into the bus. Full Story
Security tightened for independence day after suicide attack Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 7:51am
Sri Lanka celebrated 60 years of independence from Britain on Monday amid tight security after a deadly suicide bombing in Colombo at the weekend. At least 14 people were killed and over 100 wounded when a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew herself up at the crowded Colombo Fort railway station. Full Story
Chief negotiator withdraws from Kenyan peace talks Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 7:52am
Former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan said Monday the Kenyan government and governing party have rejected his choice to lead mediation efforts in talks to end a deadly postelection crisis. Full Story
Qaeda said to focus on acquiring WMDs Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 9:31pm
After a US airstrike leveled a small compound in Pakistan's lawless tribal regions in January 2006, President Pervez Musharraf and his intelligence officials announced that several senior Al Qaeda operatives had been killed, and that the top prize was an elusive Egyptian who was believed to be one of the network's top explosives specialists as well as a senior researcher and instructor in chemical weapons. Full Story
Millions of Colombians march against rebels Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 11:18pm
Millions of Colombians wearing white T-shirts marched in their homeland and abroad Monday to demand the country's largest rebel group stop kidnapping people and release those it holds. Full Story
Terrorism Probe Points to Reach Of Web Networks Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 11:30pm
In April 2005, police swarmed the U.S. Capitol to confront an erratic Australian man, carrying two suitcases, who they feared was a suicide bomber. After blowing up one of the bags, officers realized he was harmless. The police never noticed the two nervous young men on a nearby sidewalk filming the Capitol during the standoff. But they might have been the real threat, according to newly released documents. Full Story
Islamic preacher 'recruited terrorists for Iraq' Posted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 12:42am
A radical preacher who heckled the Home Secretary tried to recruit Muslims to fight British soldiers in Iraq and raise money for terrorists, a court has been told. Trevor Brooks, who uses the names Omar Brooks and Abu Izzadeen, and six co-defendants, claim their arrest in 2007 was "politically motivated" because Brooks once interrupted a speech made by John Reid when he was home secretary, the court heard. Full Story
Heavy fighting resumes in Chad's capital Posted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 1:21am
Chadian rebels renewed their assault on the capital of this oil-rich central African country Monday, and tens of thousands of people fled as gunfire crackled and artillery shells exploded across the city. Full Story
Egypt and Palestinians trade fire at borderPosted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 3:02amPalestinian gunmen and Egyptian forces exchanged fire at the Gaza-Egypt border on Monday, killing one person and wounding 59 others a day after Cairo closed the breached frontier with the Hamas-run enclave. Full Story
Roadside bombs kill seven in Afghanistan: police Posted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 4:13am
Two roadside bombs killed seven people in Afghanistan, five of them civilians from the same family, police said Tuesday, in new attacks linked to a bloody Taliban insurgency. Full Story
Qassams hit 2 Sderot factories; IDF kills Hamas militants in Gaza Posted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 5:07am
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday fired two Qassam rockets at western Israel, striking two factories in the industrial area of the southern city of Sderot. One of the rocket hit the storehouse of the Ziv Kitchens factory and the other struck the yard of the Menora factory. Full Story
France in warning to Chad rebels Posted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 5:12am
France has warned rebels in Chad that it could intervene if they continue to threaten the capital, N'Djamena. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he "hoped" the French troops in the city would not have to intervene. Full Story
Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.
More than six years since the Taliban were ousted from power in Afghanistan, the militant movement is being "contained," with some 70 percent of violence last year occurring in just 10 percent of the country, NATO said. Full Story
Roadside bomb kills 12 in Sri Lanka Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 6:40am
A roadside bomb attack blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels tore through a civilian bus in northeastern Sri Lanka on Monday, killing 12 people and injuring 17, the military said. The attack took place in the region of Welioya at about 3:40 p.m, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said. Full Story
19 dead in raids, clashes in Afghanistan Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 6:41am
Afghan and foreign troops conducted two raids on the homes of suspected Taliban militants on Monday, leaving 10 people dead, including women and children, police said. A separate clash in southern Uruzgan province left nine suspected militants dead. Full Story
Indonesian court to hear Bali bombers' case review Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 6:58am
A court in Indonesia's resort island of Bali will hear a second case review filed by lawyers for three Islamic militants on death row for the 2002 Bali bombings, further delaying their possible execution. Full Story
Pro-Western Tadic re-elected president Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 7:49am
Serbia's Western oriented president Boris Tadic scored a narrow victory in Sunday's presidential run-off running on a pro-European platform against nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolic. Full Story
Civilian casualties as soldiers and militants clash Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 7:49am
Up to ten civilians are believed to have been killed in a clash between Philippine soldiers and Islamic militants on the island of Jolo in the southern region of Mindanao early on Monday. Full Story
Soldiers targeted in suicide attack in Rawalpindi Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 7:50am
At least six people were killed in a suicide bombing which targeted a military bus in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi on Monday. Another 20 people are reported to have been injured in the attack believed to have been caused when a bomber crashed into the bus. Full Story
Security tightened for independence day after suicide attack Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 7:51am
Sri Lanka celebrated 60 years of independence from Britain on Monday amid tight security after a deadly suicide bombing in Colombo at the weekend. At least 14 people were killed and over 100 wounded when a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew herself up at the crowded Colombo Fort railway station. Full Story
Chief negotiator withdraws from Kenyan peace talks Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 7:52am
Former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan said Monday the Kenyan government and governing party have rejected his choice to lead mediation efforts in talks to end a deadly postelection crisis. Full Story
Qaeda said to focus on acquiring WMDs Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 9:31pm
After a US airstrike leveled a small compound in Pakistan's lawless tribal regions in January 2006, President Pervez Musharraf and his intelligence officials announced that several senior Al Qaeda operatives had been killed, and that the top prize was an elusive Egyptian who was believed to be one of the network's top explosives specialists as well as a senior researcher and instructor in chemical weapons. Full Story
Millions of Colombians march against rebels Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 11:18pm
Millions of Colombians wearing white T-shirts marched in their homeland and abroad Monday to demand the country's largest rebel group stop kidnapping people and release those it holds. Full Story
Terrorism Probe Points to Reach Of Web Networks Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 11:30pm
In April 2005, police swarmed the U.S. Capitol to confront an erratic Australian man, carrying two suitcases, who they feared was a suicide bomber. After blowing up one of the bags, officers realized he was harmless. The police never noticed the two nervous young men on a nearby sidewalk filming the Capitol during the standoff. But they might have been the real threat, according to newly released documents. Full Story
Islamic preacher 'recruited terrorists for Iraq' Posted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 12:42am
A radical preacher who heckled the Home Secretary tried to recruit Muslims to fight British soldiers in Iraq and raise money for terrorists, a court has been told. Trevor Brooks, who uses the names Omar Brooks and Abu Izzadeen, and six co-defendants, claim their arrest in 2007 was "politically motivated" because Brooks once interrupted a speech made by John Reid when he was home secretary, the court heard. Full Story
Heavy fighting resumes in Chad's capital Posted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 1:21am
Chadian rebels renewed their assault on the capital of this oil-rich central African country Monday, and tens of thousands of people fled as gunfire crackled and artillery shells exploded across the city. Full Story
Egypt and Palestinians trade fire at borderPosted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 3:02amPalestinian gunmen and Egyptian forces exchanged fire at the Gaza-Egypt border on Monday, killing one person and wounding 59 others a day after Cairo closed the breached frontier with the Hamas-run enclave. Full Story
Roadside bombs kill seven in Afghanistan: police Posted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 4:13am
Two roadside bombs killed seven people in Afghanistan, five of them civilians from the same family, police said Tuesday, in new attacks linked to a bloody Taliban insurgency. Full Story
Qassams hit 2 Sderot factories; IDF kills Hamas militants in Gaza Posted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 5:07am
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday fired two Qassam rockets at western Israel, striking two factories in the industrial area of the southern city of Sderot. One of the rocket hit the storehouse of the Ziv Kitchens factory and the other struck the yard of the Menora factory. Full Story
France in warning to Chad rebels Posted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 5:12am
France has warned rebels in Chad that it could intervene if they continue to threaten the capital, N'Djamena. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he "hoped" the French troops in the city would not have to intervene. Full Story
Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.
Monday, February 4, 2008
CONFLICT & TERROR 02/04
Terrorists 'use Down's syndrome suicide bombers' to kill 70 in Iraq Posted on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 7:42am
Remote-controlled explosives strapped to two women with Down's syndrome were detonated in co-ordinated attacks on pet bazaars in Baghdad yesterday, Iraqi officials said. Full Story
Attack on Saudi residence in Chad kills 2 -Arabiya Posted on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 12:06pm
A bomb attack on the residence of the Saudi ambassador in Chad killed the wife and daughter of an embassy employee, the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya Television said on Saturday. Full Story
Chad Shuts Down Capital as 1,000 Rebels March In Posted on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 12:14pmRebels entered the capital of Chad on Saturday, and gun battles erupted around the presidential palace, according to Chadian officials and news reports. Full Story
Egypt arrests 2 Palestinians with bomb near Gaza border Posted on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 1:46pm
Egyptian security forces arrested two Palestinians carrying a bomb Saturday who managed to slip through the border with the Gaza Strip and were trying to sneak further into the Sinai Peninsula, security and policy officials said. Full Story
Lebanon orders arrest of 11 soldiers over shootings Posted on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 2:40pm
A Lebanese judge ordered on Saturday the arrest of three army officers and eight soldiers over the shooting deaths of seven Shi'ite Muslim protesters in Beirut a week ago. Full Story
Pakistan again arrests Musharraf opponent Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 8:07am
The Pakistani authorities put a prominent lawyer back under house arrest after he tried to visit the grave of the slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, his spokesman said. Full Story
China warns Taiwan of "heavy cost" for U.N. vote Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 9:27am
China raised the pressure on Taiwan a month ahead of its referendum on U.N. membership, warning authorities there that they were courting danger and may have to pay a heavy cost. Full Story
Four anti-Qaeda militiamen killed in raid on Iraq base Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 9:27am
Four members of a US-backed militia fighting Al-Qaeda in Iraq were killed in a raid on their base in the town of Baquba north of Baghdad on Sunday, Iraqi and US sources said. Full Story
Russia ends counter-terrorist operation in Ingushetia Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 9:28am
A counter-terrorist operation launched in the Republic of Ingushetia January 25 due to the threat of an imminent large-scale terrorist attack has been terminated, the operation's headquarters said Sunday. Full Story
Iraq's presidency council issues Baathists law Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 11:09am
Iraq's presidency council said on Sunday a measure that would give thousands of former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party their old jobs back had become law, despite objections from one of the country's two vice presidents. Full Story
Afghan police lay siege to home of former warlord Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 1:47pm
Dozens of armed police laid siege to the house of a powerful Uzbek leader, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, in the diplomatic district of the capital Sunday, after about 50 of his followers attacked and abducted a political rival and several others on Saturday night, leaving four of them hospitalized. Full Story
New NATO intelligence chairman was trained by KGB Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 4:28pm
The new chief of the Hungarian secret services, who spent six years at the KGB's academy in Moscow during the 1980s, has become chairman of NATO's intelligence committee, a development that diplomats said could compromise the security of the alliance. Full Story
Serbian Voters 'Back Pro-West Tadic' Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 4:29pm
An independent vote-monitoring group has said pro-Western incumbent Boris Tadic won Serbia's presidential election, beating an ultranationalist challenger by a narrow margin. Full Story
Eleven dead in gun battle at Nigerian pipelinePosted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 4:30pmThree soldiers and eight militants were killed in a gun battle at an oil pipeline hub operated by Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria's southern state of Bayelsa, the navy said on Sunday. Full Story
Mosul residents stock up ahead of expected battle Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 4:32pm
Residents of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul are hastily stocking up with supplies ahead of what Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says will be a "decisive battle" against Al-Qaeda, traders said on Sunday. Full Story
Israeli PM escapes crisis as key coalition partner stays Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 5:21pm
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert won a second major boost in less than a week on Sunday when his main coalition partner said he will remain in the cabinet after the troubled premier escaped a major drubbing over the Lebanon war. Full Story
Pakistan's Bhutto was warned of four suicide bomber squads: memoirs Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 7:56pm
Former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a suicide attack last year, was informed of four suicide bomber squads who were targeting her, extracts from her soon-to-be-released memoirs revealed Sunday. Full Story
Suicide blast hits Pakistan military bus, four dead: officials Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 12:24am
A suicide bomber rammed a motorbike into a bus carrying army medical trainees in the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi on Monday, killing at least four people, officials said. Full Story
3 Mauritanians charged in tourist deaths Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 12:25am
Prosecutors charged three Mauritanian men Sunday with belonging to an al-Qaida-linked terror organization and murdering four French tourists who were gunned down on a roadside in this Islamic nation in December. Full Story
Philippine troops clash with Muslim rebels, 5 dead Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 12:28am
At least five people were killed on a remote island in the southern Philippines on Monday when U.S.-trained troops clashed with Islamic militants holding two people hostage, an army spokesman said. Full Story
Rebels withdraw from Chad's capital Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 2:10am
Chadian rebels said Monday they withdrew voluntarily from Chad's capital overnight, but it was unclear if they succumbed to the force of helicopter gunships and tanks deployed by government forces. Full Story
At Least 3 Killed in Israel Blast Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 4:16am
A suicide bomber blew himself up in a southern Israeli town on Monday, killing at least three people and wounding five, Israeli police said. The explosion took place in Dimona, where Israel's nuclear reactor is located, but the blast did not occur at the reactor site. Full Story
Courtesy the Terrorism Research Center, Inc.
Remote-controlled explosives strapped to two women with Down's syndrome were detonated in co-ordinated attacks on pet bazaars in Baghdad yesterday, Iraqi officials said. Full Story
Attack on Saudi residence in Chad kills 2 -Arabiya Posted on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 12:06pm
A bomb attack on the residence of the Saudi ambassador in Chad killed the wife and daughter of an embassy employee, the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya Television said on Saturday. Full Story
Chad Shuts Down Capital as 1,000 Rebels March In Posted on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 12:14pmRebels entered the capital of Chad on Saturday, and gun battles erupted around the presidential palace, according to Chadian officials and news reports. Full Story
Egypt arrests 2 Palestinians with bomb near Gaza border Posted on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 1:46pm
Egyptian security forces arrested two Palestinians carrying a bomb Saturday who managed to slip through the border with the Gaza Strip and were trying to sneak further into the Sinai Peninsula, security and policy officials said. Full Story
Lebanon orders arrest of 11 soldiers over shootings Posted on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 2:40pm
A Lebanese judge ordered on Saturday the arrest of three army officers and eight soldiers over the shooting deaths of seven Shi'ite Muslim protesters in Beirut a week ago. Full Story
Pakistan again arrests Musharraf opponent Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 8:07am
The Pakistani authorities put a prominent lawyer back under house arrest after he tried to visit the grave of the slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, his spokesman said. Full Story
China warns Taiwan of "heavy cost" for U.N. vote Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 9:27am
China raised the pressure on Taiwan a month ahead of its referendum on U.N. membership, warning authorities there that they were courting danger and may have to pay a heavy cost. Full Story
Four anti-Qaeda militiamen killed in raid on Iraq base Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 9:27am
Four members of a US-backed militia fighting Al-Qaeda in Iraq were killed in a raid on their base in the town of Baquba north of Baghdad on Sunday, Iraqi and US sources said. Full Story
Russia ends counter-terrorist operation in Ingushetia Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 9:28am
A counter-terrorist operation launched in the Republic of Ingushetia January 25 due to the threat of an imminent large-scale terrorist attack has been terminated, the operation's headquarters said Sunday. Full Story
Iraq's presidency council issues Baathists law Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 11:09am
Iraq's presidency council said on Sunday a measure that would give thousands of former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party their old jobs back had become law, despite objections from one of the country's two vice presidents. Full Story
Afghan police lay siege to home of former warlord Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 1:47pm
Dozens of armed police laid siege to the house of a powerful Uzbek leader, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, in the diplomatic district of the capital Sunday, after about 50 of his followers attacked and abducted a political rival and several others on Saturday night, leaving four of them hospitalized. Full Story
New NATO intelligence chairman was trained by KGB Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 4:28pm
The new chief of the Hungarian secret services, who spent six years at the KGB's academy in Moscow during the 1980s, has become chairman of NATO's intelligence committee, a development that diplomats said could compromise the security of the alliance. Full Story
Serbian Voters 'Back Pro-West Tadic' Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 4:29pm
An independent vote-monitoring group has said pro-Western incumbent Boris Tadic won Serbia's presidential election, beating an ultranationalist challenger by a narrow margin. Full Story
Eleven dead in gun battle at Nigerian pipelinePosted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 4:30pmThree soldiers and eight militants were killed in a gun battle at an oil pipeline hub operated by Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria's southern state of Bayelsa, the navy said on Sunday. Full Story
Mosul residents stock up ahead of expected battle Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 4:32pm
Residents of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul are hastily stocking up with supplies ahead of what Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says will be a "decisive battle" against Al-Qaeda, traders said on Sunday. Full Story
Israeli PM escapes crisis as key coalition partner stays Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 5:21pm
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert won a second major boost in less than a week on Sunday when his main coalition partner said he will remain in the cabinet after the troubled premier escaped a major drubbing over the Lebanon war. Full Story
Pakistan's Bhutto was warned of four suicide bomber squads: memoirs Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 7:56pm
Former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a suicide attack last year, was informed of four suicide bomber squads who were targeting her, extracts from her soon-to-be-released memoirs revealed Sunday. Full Story
Suicide blast hits Pakistan military bus, four dead: officials Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 12:24am
A suicide bomber rammed a motorbike into a bus carrying army medical trainees in the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi on Monday, killing at least four people, officials said. Full Story
3 Mauritanians charged in tourist deaths Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 12:25am
Prosecutors charged three Mauritanian men Sunday with belonging to an al-Qaida-linked terror organization and murdering four French tourists who were gunned down on a roadside in this Islamic nation in December. Full Story
Philippine troops clash with Muslim rebels, 5 dead Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 12:28am
At least five people were killed on a remote island in the southern Philippines on Monday when U.S.-trained troops clashed with Islamic militants holding two people hostage, an army spokesman said. Full Story
Rebels withdraw from Chad's capital Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 2:10am
Chadian rebels said Monday they withdrew voluntarily from Chad's capital overnight, but it was unclear if they succumbed to the force of helicopter gunships and tanks deployed by government forces. Full Story
At Least 3 Killed in Israel Blast Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 4:16am
A suicide bomber blew himself up in a southern Israeli town on Monday, killing at least three people and wounding five, Israeli police said. The explosion took place in Dimona, where Israel's nuclear reactor is located, but the blast did not occur at the reactor site. Full Story
Courtesy the Terrorism Research Center, Inc.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
IRAQ EVENTS IN BRIEF 02/03
Baghdad
- Around 8 a.m. a private security company's guards shot and injured an Iraqi citizen as their convoy passed near Al Zawra Park in central Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
- Around 8:30 a.m. Lt. Col. Ahmed Ibraheem, the director of Iraqi national police affairs in the Ministry of Interior, was killed when a bomb attached to his car exploded and injured two as he was driving his car.
- Around 8:30 a.m. a roadside bomb targeted an U.S. military convoy in Al Bayaa, western Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
- Police found three bodies in Baghdad, one in Ur, one in Shaab, and one in Hurriyah.
Diyala
- A bomb exploded inside the office of Dr. Hussein Al Zubaidi, the head of the security committee for the Diyala provincial council, in Baquba. The blast injured him, two bodyguards and two U.S. soldiers according to Iraqi police. Iraqi police imposed a curfew in the city. U.S. military said no coalition soldiers were injured.
- Iraqi police said al Qaida gunmen attacked the headquarters of a local awakening council in Al Katun area, killing four guards.
Salahuddin
- Iraqi police said that seven civilians were killed early Sunday morning as the U.S. military bombed Al Milah town in eastern Samara. US military didn't respond to e-mail for confirmation.
Kirkuk
- Gunmen attacked a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan headquarters south of Kirkuk and injured one of the guards yesterday, Iraqi police said.
Mosul
- A parked car bomb targeted a U.S. military convoy in Mosul, Iraqi police said. U.S. military said two Iraqi civilians were wounded and no coalition soldiers were injured.
- Gunmen killed citizen Subhan Hammed as he was driving his car in Al Hamdaniyah town yesterday.
Basra
- Iraqi police said that the police force defused three IEDs and seven mines that were attached to an oil well about 110 kilometers north of Basra.
Al Anbar
- A roadside bomb targeted police officer Lt. Col. Issa Al Essawi as he was driving his car in central Fallujah yesterday. Al Essawi was injured in the attack.
Baghdad
Police said that the final toll of the two explosions of Ghazil and new Baghdad markets reached 98 people killed and 125 others injured.
Five people (3 policemen and 2 civilians) were injured in an IED explosion that targeted a police patrol in Khadhraa neighborhood west Baghdad around 10:30 am.
Two civilians were killed and three others were injured in clashes between gunmen and the Iraqi security forces (police and army) in Kadhemiyah neighborhood north Baghdad around 5;00 pm.
Gunmen driving 13 cars (sedan cars) kidnapped three policemen who were in a check point near al Ferdous mosque in Ur neighborhood north Baghdad around 5:15 pm.
Police found five bodies in Baghdad today. Three bodies were found in Rusafa, the eastern side of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (2 bodies in Sadr city and 1 body in Husseiniyah) the two other bodies were found in Amil neighborhood and Bayaa neighborhood in Karkh, the western side of Baghdad
Tikrit
Four members of Sahwa council (awakening council) were killed and nine others were injured in an IED explosion that targeted their patrol near Tal Mohammed village in the west bank of Shirqat town north of Tikrit city around 11:10 am.
A combined force (Iraqi police and the a force from Samara emergency brigade) raided al Jallam area east of Samara city south of Tikrit city today morning. The force killed four Arabic insurgents and the captured Safa’a Mohammed Abdullah al Khadawi, the assistant of Abo Mutasim, the prince of princes of Qaida.
The police of Sulaiman Bik area released two kidnapped people and arrested their kidnapper when they raided an area near Toz town east of Tikrit today morning.
Nineveh
two members of Sahwa were killed and six others were wounded when a suicide car bomb attacked a gathering for sahwa in the area between Makhmoor town and Qayara town south of Mosul city today afternoon.
Courtesy McClatchy Newspapers
- Around 8 a.m. a private security company's guards shot and injured an Iraqi citizen as their convoy passed near Al Zawra Park in central Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
- Around 8:30 a.m. Lt. Col. Ahmed Ibraheem, the director of Iraqi national police affairs in the Ministry of Interior, was killed when a bomb attached to his car exploded and injured two as he was driving his car.
- Around 8:30 a.m. a roadside bomb targeted an U.S. military convoy in Al Bayaa, western Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
- Police found three bodies in Baghdad, one in Ur, one in Shaab, and one in Hurriyah.
Diyala
- A bomb exploded inside the office of Dr. Hussein Al Zubaidi, the head of the security committee for the Diyala provincial council, in Baquba. The blast injured him, two bodyguards and two U.S. soldiers according to Iraqi police. Iraqi police imposed a curfew in the city. U.S. military said no coalition soldiers were injured.
- Iraqi police said al Qaida gunmen attacked the headquarters of a local awakening council in Al Katun area, killing four guards.
Salahuddin
- Iraqi police said that seven civilians were killed early Sunday morning as the U.S. military bombed Al Milah town in eastern Samara. US military didn't respond to e-mail for confirmation.
Kirkuk
- Gunmen attacked a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan headquarters south of Kirkuk and injured one of the guards yesterday, Iraqi police said.
Mosul
- A parked car bomb targeted a U.S. military convoy in Mosul, Iraqi police said. U.S. military said two Iraqi civilians were wounded and no coalition soldiers were injured.
- Gunmen killed citizen Subhan Hammed as he was driving his car in Al Hamdaniyah town yesterday.
Basra
- Iraqi police said that the police force defused three IEDs and seven mines that were attached to an oil well about 110 kilometers north of Basra.
Al Anbar
- A roadside bomb targeted police officer Lt. Col. Issa Al Essawi as he was driving his car in central Fallujah yesterday. Al Essawi was injured in the attack.
Baghdad
Police said that the final toll of the two explosions of Ghazil and new Baghdad markets reached 98 people killed and 125 others injured.
Five people (3 policemen and 2 civilians) were injured in an IED explosion that targeted a police patrol in Khadhraa neighborhood west Baghdad around 10:30 am.
Two civilians were killed and three others were injured in clashes between gunmen and the Iraqi security forces (police and army) in Kadhemiyah neighborhood north Baghdad around 5;00 pm.
Gunmen driving 13 cars (sedan cars) kidnapped three policemen who were in a check point near al Ferdous mosque in Ur neighborhood north Baghdad around 5:15 pm.
Police found five bodies in Baghdad today. Three bodies were found in Rusafa, the eastern side of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (2 bodies in Sadr city and 1 body in Husseiniyah) the two other bodies were found in Amil neighborhood and Bayaa neighborhood in Karkh, the western side of Baghdad
Tikrit
Four members of Sahwa council (awakening council) were killed and nine others were injured in an IED explosion that targeted their patrol near Tal Mohammed village in the west bank of Shirqat town north of Tikrit city around 11:10 am.
A combined force (Iraqi police and the a force from Samara emergency brigade) raided al Jallam area east of Samara city south of Tikrit city today morning. The force killed four Arabic insurgents and the captured Safa’a Mohammed Abdullah al Khadawi, the assistant of Abo Mutasim, the prince of princes of Qaida.
The police of Sulaiman Bik area released two kidnapped people and arrested their kidnapper when they raided an area near Toz town east of Tikrit today morning.
Nineveh
two members of Sahwa were killed and six others were wounded when a suicide car bomb attacked a gathering for sahwa in the area between Makhmoor town and Qayara town south of Mosul city today afternoon.
Courtesy McClatchy Newspapers
Friday, February 1, 2008
CONFLICT & TERROR 02/01
Bush hinting that Iraq troop cuts won't continue Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:06am
Four months after announcing troop reductions in Iraq, President George W. Bush is now sending signals that the cuts may not continue past this summer, a development likely to infuriate Democrats and renew concerns among military planners about strains on the force. Full Story
Turkish MPs Plan Headscarf Reform Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:08am
Two major parties in Turkey have submitted a joint plan to parliament to ease a ban on the Islamic headscarf in the country's universities. The Islamist-rooted governing AK Party and the nationalist MHP say it is an issue of human rights and freedoms.The two parties have enough votes in parliament to overturn the constitutional ban on headscarves. Full Story
Iran to limit execution in public Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:08am
The head of Iran's judiciary has issued an order that no executions be carried out in public without his permission. Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi also banned the publication of photographs or films of executions. Human rights groups say Iran executed nearly 300 people in 2007 as it tries to improve security and reduce what it calls immoral behavior. Full Story
North Korea to conduct first census in 15 years Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:10am
North Korea will conduct its first population census in 15 years this October with help from the UN, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said. No complete census has taken place in North Korea since 1994 when the United Nation Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) helped the reclusive state conduct a national census. Pyongyang announced after the survey that its population was 21.21 million as of 1993. Full Story
Serbia Invited to Sign EU Accord Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:12am
European Union nations have agreed to ask Serbia to sign a political deal days after the presidential election.The political framework agreement offers Belgrade closer trade relations and relaxed visa requirements.EU ministers were keen to give Serbia a positive message before Sunday's election but could not agree to a full pre-membership accord with Serbia. Full Story
Desperate Haitians Survive On Mud Cookies Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:13am
It was lunchtime in one of Haiti's worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud. With food prices rising, Haiti's poorest can't afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies. Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau. Full Story
Australia to Apologize to Aborigines Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:14am
Australia will issue its first formal apology to its indigenous people next month, the government announced Wednesday, a milestone that could ease tensions with a minority whose mixed-blood children were once taken away on the premise that their race was doomed. Full Story
OSCE Calls on Russia to Lift Restrictions on Election Observers Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:21am
An international vote monitoring organization said Tuesday that Russia has placed severe limits on the work it can carry out during its March presidential election. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called on Russia to reconsider the restrictions. "The invitation that we received has serious restrictions both in terms of the number of observers and time they are allowed to observe," said Curtis Budden, spokesman for the OSCE's Warsaw-based office. Full Story
US diplomats set their sights on Turkmenistan's Berdymukhamedov Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:36am
US policymakers believe that they can convince the new president of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, to open up his countrys vast reserves of natural gas to American companies. Washington is aiming to revive a strategy that led to the greatest US diplomatic triumph in the Caspian Basin to date -- the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline in the late 1990s and early part of this decade.
Skeptics, however, say the US push may be too little, too late. Russia presently enjoys an overwhelming advantage in the Caspian Basin, underscored by the December deal -- signed by Russian, Turkmen and Kazakhstani leaders -- to greatly expand a pipeline network that runs along the Caspian Seas shoreline. At this late stage, especially given Washingtons preoccupation with the Iraq war, the United States may lack the resources and the influence to surmount numerous obstacles in the Caspian Basin. Full Story
3 killed, 27 wounded in General Santos City blast Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:41am
Three people were killed and 27 injured Wednesday in a bomb blast at the gate of a tuna canning factory in the southern Philippine city of General Santos, police said. "I can confirm three people were killed and 27 injured," city police chief Roberto Po told local reporters. Full Story
Tsunami alert as quake hits Indonesia Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:44am
A STRONG 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku today, prompting the issuing of a tsunami alert, Indonesia's Meteorological and Geophysics Board said. The earthquake, which struck at 6.32pm AEDT, was centred 300km northeast of the East Timorese capital Dili, some 23km under the floor of the Banda Sea, the office said. Full Story
EU leaders urge financial transparency Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 11:45am
Presenting a united front after meeting to discuss how to stabilize international financial markets, European leaders said Tuesday there is a pressing need for more transparency and a better early warning system for the global economy.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, flanked by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and European Commission President Jose Barroso, told reporters the meeting was "triggered by the subprime crisis" in the U.S. mortgage market. Full Story
Air France strikes cause flight delays Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 11:48am
Air France said it is canceling some short- and medium-haul flights Thursday because of a strike by some ground staff over pay demands. The airline said its long-haul flights will operate normally, although the one-day strike, called by two labor unions, will cause delays. It pledged that all its passengers will get to their destinations. Full Story
France to restore public holiday Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 11:50am
France is to abandon an experiment which encouraged people to work on one of the public holidays in May. The government scrapped the Pentecost public holiday four years ago and asked workers to give up the day's pay to help fund healthcare. Full Story
Bangladeshi government arrests U.S. rights worker Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 1:28pm
A labor rights investigator was arrested by the Bangladeshi government, prompting U.S. companies to lobby for his release. Mehedi Hasan, an employee of the Washington-based Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), was arrested Thursday, according to the organization. The WRC said yesterday that he was arrested in retaliation for his efforts to protect the rights of workers in factories that sell U.S. brands. Full Story
Italy moves towards interim rule Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 2:04pm
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has asked centre-left Senate Speaker Franco Marini to try to form an interim government to reform voting rules.The move follows the collapse of Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government last week following a Senate defeat. Full Story
Slovak MPs drop EU treaty threat Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 2:06pm
Slovakia's centre-right opposition has withdrawn its threat to block ratification of the EU reform treaty. The announcement came after the centre-left government shelved a controversial bill which critics said could curb media freedom. Full Story
Man charged over terror offences Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 2:25pm
A man has been charged under the Terrorism Act with two offences, police have confirmed. Nathan Worrell, 34, was arrested on 24 January at his home in Grimsby, where police found suspicious material. Full Story
Terror Leader Killed in Missile Strike? Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 5:02pm
Pakistani intelligence sources say they believe a "high-value" al Qaeda target was killed in a missile strike yesterday in the country's tribal region bordering Afghanistan. U.S. officials said there was no indication that the target was Osama bin Laden or his deputy Ayman al Zawahri, but one senior official told ABCNews.com the strike was aimed at one particular figure. Full Story
5 wounded in Kabul attack Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 11:01pm
A car bomb exploded next to an Afghan army bus in Kabul on Thursday, wounding four civilians and a solider, a police officer said. Full Story
Mubarak meets Iranian parliament speaker Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:21am
An Iranian official who met Wednesday with Egypt's president said the two countries could soon restore diplomatic relations severed nearly three decades ago. Full Story
India, Mideast Suffer Internet, Telephone Disruption Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 4:01am
India and countries across the Middle East experienced slow Internet connections and problems making international calls to the U.S. and Europe after two submarine cable systems in the Mediterranean Sea were cut. Full Story
Israel report finds Lebanon war a 'serious failure' Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 4:05am
Israel's 2006 Lebanon war was a missed opportunity and a grave failure for the Jewish state, a key report said while sparing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert from a major roasting. Full Story
Suicide bomber kills Afghan official Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 4:20am
A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing Helmand province's deputy governor and five other people, officials said. Full Story
Bomb explodes near Pakistan Air Force bus in Islamabad Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 4:28am
A roadside bomb exploded near a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) bus in the volatile North West Frontier Province on Thursday though no one was hurt in the blast. Suspected militants detonated the device by remote control near Nowshehra, a major city about 120 km northwest of the federal capital that has a large cantonment and several important military facilities, police said. Full Story
IFJ alarmed for safety of journalists in Sri Lanka Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:16am
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) warned that the safety of journalists in Sri Lanka is in serious jeopardy as several serious attacks and anti-media statements by government officials demonstrate a lack of respect for the value of media freedom in the country. Full Story
Brazil unable to curb Amazon destruction - enviros Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:35am
Brazil's government is unwilling and unable to halt destruction in the Amazon rainforest despite emergency measures it announced last week to curb rising deforestation, environmental experts say. High commodity prices and increased land use elsewhere in Brazil are driving ranchers and farmers deeper into the Amazon in search of cheap land, environmentalists say. Full Story
Bangladesh says Indian troops kill three villagers Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:36am
Indian troops shot dead three Bangladeshi villagers along the border between the two countries on Thursday, an official of the Bangladesh border force said. An official at the Indian embassy in Dhaka said he did not have any information about the incident. Full Story
Indonesia: Epicenter of bird flu Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:37am
The rooster started to crow at the unusually early hour of 3 a.m. and Partoparmin, a farmer in this small hillside village, went into his yard to look. All around him, chickens were lying on the ground, twitching and shaking. "A few minutes later they were dead," said Partoparmin, 60. "Right away I thought, this might be bird flu." Full Story
Tighter ID rules for U.S. border begin Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:38am
New rules for the types of identification U.S. or Canadian citizens must present to cross into the country shouldn't cause significant delays and won't be strictly enforced at first, a senior federal official said. Under the rules going into effect Thursday, people will no longer be allowed to simply declare to immigration officers at border crossings that they are citizens, Jayson Ahern, deputy commissioner with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said Tuesday. Full Story
Chad rebels 'seize central town' Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:38am
Rebels in Chad say they have seized a strategically important town in the central region of Batha, about 400km (248 miles) from the capital, Ndjamena. A spokesman for several rebel groups who have joined forces said Oum Hadjer had been captured on Wednesday. Full Story
Areva says it is ready to build 12 reactors in South Africa Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 11:35am
French nuclear giant Areva said on Thursday it was ready to build up to 12 next-generation power plants in South Africa, where massive electricity shortages shut down the key mining industry this month. Full Story
Senate chief asked to form interim government Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 11:36am
Italy's president Giorgio Napolitano has asked the president of the Italian Senate, Franco Marini, to try and form an interim government to reform the voting system after prime minister Romano Prodi's centre-left government collapsed last week. Full Story
Thousands of lawyers hold protest rallies Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 11:38am
Thousands of lawyers were holding rallies across Pakistan on Thursday to protest against the removal of former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges late last year. Full Story
US behind Chinese bank boycott, says minister Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 11:38am
American pressure is responsible for the Chinese boycott that is having a severe impact on Iranian banks and businesses, according to the vice-foreign minister, Mehdi Mir Abutalebi. Full Story
Demand, Price Doubts Limit Opec's Options Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 11:45am
Opec ministers meet to discuss output policy this week against a backdrop of deepening uncertainty. Financial markets are jittery and the health of the global economy under threat, with fears of recession sweeping the US. Oil demand growth is still holding up, but oil prices, which topped $100 per barrel at the start of January, are now under pressure. Full Story
Microsoft Grows in Latin America Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 11:52am
Hernan Rincon has reason to smile these days. As president of Microsoft Latin America he oversees one of the fastest-growing regions of the world for the software giant. "Last year was our best year in at least 10 years," he says. "That makes us very happy." Full Story
Shell sets new UK profits record Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:42pm
The Anglo-Dutch oil firm Royal Dutch Shell has reported annual profits of $27.56bn (#13.9bn), a record for a UK-listed company. Much of the rise in profits has been attributed to rising oil prices, which currently stand at about $91 a barrel compared with $57 this time last year. Full Story
EU suspends Brazil beef imports Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:43pm
The European Union will suspend all imports of Brazilian beef from Thursday saying the country's foot-and-mouth disease checks are "unacceptable". Last month, the EU warned that only beef from an authorised list of Brazilian farms would be allowed into Europe from 31 January. Full Story
Italy given month to clean Naples Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:44pm
Italy has been ordered by the European Union to end Naples' rubbish crisis within a month or face legal action. Thousands of tonnes of waste has piled up on the streets as refuse collections have come to a standstill. Full Story
Storms battering parts of Britain Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:46pm
High winds have been battering large parts of Britain, claiming at least one life, as forecasters warn of blizzards and snow showers to come. A 45-year-old lorry driver died on the M6 near Tebay, Cumbria, as his lorry overturned in gusts of up to 70mph. Full Story
Maze escaper is arrested in Texas Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:48pm
A Maze escaper has been arrested at a border patrol in the United States, American officials have said. He was arrested by officers at a border checkpoint in southern Texas on Monday night. The US Border Patrol have refused to identify him, but said he was awaiting deportation. Full Story
Fugitive Jemaah Islamiyah member escapes Philippine raid Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:46pm
Fugitive Jemaah Islamiyah member Dulmatin, who has been linked to the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, escaped a military raid in the southern Philippines, an official said Friday. Full Story
Gunmen attack Israeli embassy in Mauritania Posted on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 12:21am
Unidentified gunmen attacked the Israeli embassy in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott early on Friday, wounding some people, police and emergency services said. Full Story
Musharraf rejects nuke concerns as Pakistan tests missile: army Posted on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 2:54am
President Pervez Musharraf accused Pakistan's enemies of spreading fears about the country's atomic weapons, as the military test-fired a nuclear-capable missile, the army said. Full Story
Bomb at Baghdad pet market kills 35: police Posted on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 3:30am
At least 35 people were killed when a bomb hidden inside a box of birds exploded at a popular pet market in central Baghdad on Friday, police said, the latest strike at one of the capital's most popular gathering places. Full Story
Egypt seals gaps in border, Hamas chief in Cairo Posted on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 4:10am
Egypt called in police reinforcements and sealed gaps at the breached border with the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal met Egyptian officials in Cairo for talks centered on the "facilitation of movement" and the entry of Palestinians on the border. Full Story
Fatal Qaida missile strike a US victory Posted on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 5:22am
A U.S. missile strike that killed a top al-Qaida commander in Pakistan marked a significant victory for the U.S. in its battle against the terror network after a series of pessimistic assessments of the American-led campaign against the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. Full Story
Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc
Four months after announcing troop reductions in Iraq, President George W. Bush is now sending signals that the cuts may not continue past this summer, a development likely to infuriate Democrats and renew concerns among military planners about strains on the force. Full Story
Turkish MPs Plan Headscarf Reform Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:08am
Two major parties in Turkey have submitted a joint plan to parliament to ease a ban on the Islamic headscarf in the country's universities. The Islamist-rooted governing AK Party and the nationalist MHP say it is an issue of human rights and freedoms.The two parties have enough votes in parliament to overturn the constitutional ban on headscarves. Full Story
Iran to limit execution in public Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:08am
The head of Iran's judiciary has issued an order that no executions be carried out in public without his permission. Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi also banned the publication of photographs or films of executions. Human rights groups say Iran executed nearly 300 people in 2007 as it tries to improve security and reduce what it calls immoral behavior. Full Story
North Korea to conduct first census in 15 years Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:10am
North Korea will conduct its first population census in 15 years this October with help from the UN, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said. No complete census has taken place in North Korea since 1994 when the United Nation Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) helped the reclusive state conduct a national census. Pyongyang announced after the survey that its population was 21.21 million as of 1993. Full Story
Serbia Invited to Sign EU Accord Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:12am
European Union nations have agreed to ask Serbia to sign a political deal days after the presidential election.The political framework agreement offers Belgrade closer trade relations and relaxed visa requirements.EU ministers were keen to give Serbia a positive message before Sunday's election but could not agree to a full pre-membership accord with Serbia. Full Story
Desperate Haitians Survive On Mud Cookies Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:13am
It was lunchtime in one of Haiti's worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud. With food prices rising, Haiti's poorest can't afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies. Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau. Full Story
Australia to Apologize to Aborigines Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:14am
Australia will issue its first formal apology to its indigenous people next month, the government announced Wednesday, a milestone that could ease tensions with a minority whose mixed-blood children were once taken away on the premise that their race was doomed. Full Story
OSCE Calls on Russia to Lift Restrictions on Election Observers Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:21am
An international vote monitoring organization said Tuesday that Russia has placed severe limits on the work it can carry out during its March presidential election. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called on Russia to reconsider the restrictions. "The invitation that we received has serious restrictions both in terms of the number of observers and time they are allowed to observe," said Curtis Budden, spokesman for the OSCE's Warsaw-based office. Full Story
US diplomats set their sights on Turkmenistan's Berdymukhamedov Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:36am
US policymakers believe that they can convince the new president of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, to open up his countrys vast reserves of natural gas to American companies. Washington is aiming to revive a strategy that led to the greatest US diplomatic triumph in the Caspian Basin to date -- the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline in the late 1990s and early part of this decade.
Skeptics, however, say the US push may be too little, too late. Russia presently enjoys an overwhelming advantage in the Caspian Basin, underscored by the December deal -- signed by Russian, Turkmen and Kazakhstani leaders -- to greatly expand a pipeline network that runs along the Caspian Seas shoreline. At this late stage, especially given Washingtons preoccupation with the Iraq war, the United States may lack the resources and the influence to surmount numerous obstacles in the Caspian Basin. Full Story
3 killed, 27 wounded in General Santos City blast Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:41am
Three people were killed and 27 injured Wednesday in a bomb blast at the gate of a tuna canning factory in the southern Philippine city of General Santos, police said. "I can confirm three people were killed and 27 injured," city police chief Roberto Po told local reporters. Full Story
Tsunami alert as quake hits Indonesia Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 9:44am
A STRONG 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku today, prompting the issuing of a tsunami alert, Indonesia's Meteorological and Geophysics Board said. The earthquake, which struck at 6.32pm AEDT, was centred 300km northeast of the East Timorese capital Dili, some 23km under the floor of the Banda Sea, the office said. Full Story
EU leaders urge financial transparency Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 11:45am
Presenting a united front after meeting to discuss how to stabilize international financial markets, European leaders said Tuesday there is a pressing need for more transparency and a better early warning system for the global economy.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, flanked by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and European Commission President Jose Barroso, told reporters the meeting was "triggered by the subprime crisis" in the U.S. mortgage market. Full Story
Air France strikes cause flight delays Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 11:48am
Air France said it is canceling some short- and medium-haul flights Thursday because of a strike by some ground staff over pay demands. The airline said its long-haul flights will operate normally, although the one-day strike, called by two labor unions, will cause delays. It pledged that all its passengers will get to their destinations. Full Story
France to restore public holiday Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 11:50am
France is to abandon an experiment which encouraged people to work on one of the public holidays in May. The government scrapped the Pentecost public holiday four years ago and asked workers to give up the day's pay to help fund healthcare. Full Story
Bangladeshi government arrests U.S. rights worker Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 1:28pm
A labor rights investigator was arrested by the Bangladeshi government, prompting U.S. companies to lobby for his release. Mehedi Hasan, an employee of the Washington-based Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), was arrested Thursday, according to the organization. The WRC said yesterday that he was arrested in retaliation for his efforts to protect the rights of workers in factories that sell U.S. brands. Full Story
Italy moves towards interim rule Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 2:04pm
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has asked centre-left Senate Speaker Franco Marini to try to form an interim government to reform voting rules.The move follows the collapse of Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government last week following a Senate defeat. Full Story
Slovak MPs drop EU treaty threat Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 2:06pm
Slovakia's centre-right opposition has withdrawn its threat to block ratification of the EU reform treaty. The announcement came after the centre-left government shelved a controversial bill which critics said could curb media freedom. Full Story
Man charged over terror offences Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 2:25pm
A man has been charged under the Terrorism Act with two offences, police have confirmed. Nathan Worrell, 34, was arrested on 24 January at his home in Grimsby, where police found suspicious material. Full Story
Terror Leader Killed in Missile Strike? Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 5:02pm
Pakistani intelligence sources say they believe a "high-value" al Qaeda target was killed in a missile strike yesterday in the country's tribal region bordering Afghanistan. U.S. officials said there was no indication that the target was Osama bin Laden or his deputy Ayman al Zawahri, but one senior official told ABCNews.com the strike was aimed at one particular figure. Full Story
5 wounded in Kabul attack Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 11:01pm
A car bomb exploded next to an Afghan army bus in Kabul on Thursday, wounding four civilians and a solider, a police officer said. Full Story
Mubarak meets Iranian parliament speaker Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:21am
An Iranian official who met Wednesday with Egypt's president said the two countries could soon restore diplomatic relations severed nearly three decades ago. Full Story
India, Mideast Suffer Internet, Telephone Disruption Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 4:01am
India and countries across the Middle East experienced slow Internet connections and problems making international calls to the U.S. and Europe after two submarine cable systems in the Mediterranean Sea were cut. Full Story
Israel report finds Lebanon war a 'serious failure' Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 4:05am
Israel's 2006 Lebanon war was a missed opportunity and a grave failure for the Jewish state, a key report said while sparing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert from a major roasting. Full Story
Suicide bomber kills Afghan official Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 4:20am
A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing Helmand province's deputy governor and five other people, officials said. Full Story
Bomb explodes near Pakistan Air Force bus in Islamabad Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 4:28am
A roadside bomb exploded near a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) bus in the volatile North West Frontier Province on Thursday though no one was hurt in the blast. Suspected militants detonated the device by remote control near Nowshehra, a major city about 120 km northwest of the federal capital that has a large cantonment and several important military facilities, police said. Full Story
IFJ alarmed for safety of journalists in Sri Lanka Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:16am
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) warned that the safety of journalists in Sri Lanka is in serious jeopardy as several serious attacks and anti-media statements by government officials demonstrate a lack of respect for the value of media freedom in the country. Full Story
Brazil unable to curb Amazon destruction - enviros Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:35am
Brazil's government is unwilling and unable to halt destruction in the Amazon rainforest despite emergency measures it announced last week to curb rising deforestation, environmental experts say. High commodity prices and increased land use elsewhere in Brazil are driving ranchers and farmers deeper into the Amazon in search of cheap land, environmentalists say. Full Story
Bangladesh says Indian troops kill three villagers Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:36am
Indian troops shot dead three Bangladeshi villagers along the border between the two countries on Thursday, an official of the Bangladesh border force said. An official at the Indian embassy in Dhaka said he did not have any information about the incident. Full Story
Indonesia: Epicenter of bird flu Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:37am
The rooster started to crow at the unusually early hour of 3 a.m. and Partoparmin, a farmer in this small hillside village, went into his yard to look. All around him, chickens were lying on the ground, twitching and shaking. "A few minutes later they were dead," said Partoparmin, 60. "Right away I thought, this might be bird flu." Full Story
Tighter ID rules for U.S. border begin Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:38am
New rules for the types of identification U.S. or Canadian citizens must present to cross into the country shouldn't cause significant delays and won't be strictly enforced at first, a senior federal official said. Under the rules going into effect Thursday, people will no longer be allowed to simply declare to immigration officers at border crossings that they are citizens, Jayson Ahern, deputy commissioner with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said Tuesday. Full Story
Chad rebels 'seize central town' Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:38am
Rebels in Chad say they have seized a strategically important town in the central region of Batha, about 400km (248 miles) from the capital, Ndjamena. A spokesman for several rebel groups who have joined forces said Oum Hadjer had been captured on Wednesday. Full Story
Areva says it is ready to build 12 reactors in South Africa Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 11:35am
French nuclear giant Areva said on Thursday it was ready to build up to 12 next-generation power plants in South Africa, where massive electricity shortages shut down the key mining industry this month. Full Story
Senate chief asked to form interim government Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 11:36am
Italy's president Giorgio Napolitano has asked the president of the Italian Senate, Franco Marini, to try and form an interim government to reform the voting system after prime minister Romano Prodi's centre-left government collapsed last week. Full Story
Thousands of lawyers hold protest rallies Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 11:38am
Thousands of lawyers were holding rallies across Pakistan on Thursday to protest against the removal of former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges late last year. Full Story
US behind Chinese bank boycott, says minister Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 11:38am
American pressure is responsible for the Chinese boycott that is having a severe impact on Iranian banks and businesses, according to the vice-foreign minister, Mehdi Mir Abutalebi. Full Story
Demand, Price Doubts Limit Opec's Options Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 11:45am
Opec ministers meet to discuss output policy this week against a backdrop of deepening uncertainty. Financial markets are jittery and the health of the global economy under threat, with fears of recession sweeping the US. Oil demand growth is still holding up, but oil prices, which topped $100 per barrel at the start of January, are now under pressure. Full Story
Microsoft Grows in Latin America Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 11:52am
Hernan Rincon has reason to smile these days. As president of Microsoft Latin America he oversees one of the fastest-growing regions of the world for the software giant. "Last year was our best year in at least 10 years," he says. "That makes us very happy." Full Story
Shell sets new UK profits record Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:42pm
The Anglo-Dutch oil firm Royal Dutch Shell has reported annual profits of $27.56bn (#13.9bn), a record for a UK-listed company. Much of the rise in profits has been attributed to rising oil prices, which currently stand at about $91 a barrel compared with $57 this time last year. Full Story
EU suspends Brazil beef imports Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:43pm
The European Union will suspend all imports of Brazilian beef from Thursday saying the country's foot-and-mouth disease checks are "unacceptable". Last month, the EU warned that only beef from an authorised list of Brazilian farms would be allowed into Europe from 31 January. Full Story
Italy given month to clean Naples Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:44pm
Italy has been ordered by the European Union to end Naples' rubbish crisis within a month or face legal action. Thousands of tonnes of waste has piled up on the streets as refuse collections have come to a standstill. Full Story
Storms battering parts of Britain Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:46pm
High winds have been battering large parts of Britain, claiming at least one life, as forecasters warn of blizzards and snow showers to come. A 45-year-old lorry driver died on the M6 near Tebay, Cumbria, as his lorry overturned in gusts of up to 70mph. Full Story
Maze escaper is arrested in Texas Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 3:48pm
A Maze escaper has been arrested at a border patrol in the United States, American officials have said. He was arrested by officers at a border checkpoint in southern Texas on Monday night. The US Border Patrol have refused to identify him, but said he was awaiting deportation. Full Story
Fugitive Jemaah Islamiyah member escapes Philippine raid Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 8:46pm
Fugitive Jemaah Islamiyah member Dulmatin, who has been linked to the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, escaped a military raid in the southern Philippines, an official said Friday. Full Story
Gunmen attack Israeli embassy in Mauritania Posted on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 12:21am
Unidentified gunmen attacked the Israeli embassy in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott early on Friday, wounding some people, police and emergency services said. Full Story
Musharraf rejects nuke concerns as Pakistan tests missile: army Posted on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 2:54am
President Pervez Musharraf accused Pakistan's enemies of spreading fears about the country's atomic weapons, as the military test-fired a nuclear-capable missile, the army said. Full Story
Bomb at Baghdad pet market kills 35: police Posted on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 3:30am
At least 35 people were killed when a bomb hidden inside a box of birds exploded at a popular pet market in central Baghdad on Friday, police said, the latest strike at one of the capital's most popular gathering places. Full Story
Egypt seals gaps in border, Hamas chief in Cairo Posted on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 4:10am
Egypt called in police reinforcements and sealed gaps at the breached border with the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal met Egyptian officials in Cairo for talks centered on the "facilitation of movement" and the entry of Palestinians on the border. Full Story
Fatal Qaida missile strike a US victory Posted on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 5:22am
A U.S. missile strike that killed a top al-Qaida commander in Pakistan marked a significant victory for the U.S. in its battle against the terror network after a series of pessimistic assessments of the American-led campaign against the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. Full Story
Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc
TERROR NEWS 02-01
Click on links to view articles
Iraq:
U.S. to Expand Outposts Across Baghdad by 30%
Iraqi, US Troops to Join Forces in Fighting Insurgents in Mosul
Aide of anti-U.S. Shiite cleric shot dead in Najaf
Iraqi and U.S. Special Operations Forces Detain Terrorist Leader
Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Special Forces Detain Terrorist Facilitator
Iraqi forces detain Ansar al-Sunnah militants
Iraqi, US troops detain 24 suspected terrorists
Mosul to be "cleansed" of al Qaeda
Soldiers arrest eight alleged Sunni extremists (Baghdad)
Coalition Forces capture high-value individual (Baghdad)
Coalition disrupts al-Qaeda networks; four terrorists killed, 18 detained
TF-Rogue troops capture AQI cell member as part of Phantom Phoenix
Coalition forces detain four suspected criminals (Baghdad)
Coalition Forces detain one extremist following a rocket attack (Baghdad)
VBIED discovered, two detained (Arab Jabour)
CLCs contribute to finding enemy weapons (Arab Jabour)
Operation Iron Boston targets al-Qaeda hideout (Sa'id Abdullah)
CLC turns in weapons cache (Baghdad)
Iraqi, U.S. Security Forces detain an extremist leader & a terrorist financier in separate operations
Scouts recover weapons cache in Narwhan
RCT-1 takes command in Al Anbar
Coalition forces target al-Qaeda in Iraq networks, 18 suspects detained
Soldiers find two caches in Doura
Coalition forces target al-Qaeda in central Iraq; 18 suspects detained
Anti-Coalition forces operative captured; criminal networks disrupted (Baghdad)
Sixteen IEDs, cache turned in by CLCs
CLCs contribute to finding enemy weapons
MND Soldiers, Iraqi Police conduct combined operation with CLCs in support of Operation Phantom Phoenix
Iraqi civilians lead troops to explosives cache (Ramadi)
Abu Ajeel’s Iraqi Police come back strong (Tikrit)
MND-North Soldiers uncover large caches west of Bayji
Three terrorists killed, two detained during operations targeting al-Qaeda (Tigris River Valley)
CLC provides tip to cache, roadside bomb (Baghdad)
Iraqi citizens’ tips lead Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Special Forces to 2 weapons caches (al Kut)
Extremist sniper walks into Coalition hands (Baghdad)
Mystery of the WMDs (Laurie Mylroie )
Turkish warplanes 'resume airstrikes' (against PKK)
The Caucasus / Central Asia:
Kyrgyz authorities arrest alleged member of al-Qaida linked regional Islamic group (related to IMU chief Qari Yuldashev?)
Russia launches anti-terrorist operation in Ingushetia
Kyrgyzstan Probing Radioactive Cargo Bound for Iran
Afghanistan / Pakistan:
12 militants killed in North Waziristan missile strike (Arab speakers)
7 Arabs among missile victims (+5 central Asians)
CIA kills top al Qaeda terrorist in Pakistan (al-Libi)
Arab, Asian al Qaeda operatives reported killed in North Waziristan raid (al-Masri also killed?)
Afghanistan's 12 Most Wanted (al-Libi is on the list)
Qaeda-linked militant killed in fresh Pakistan violence (Qasim Toori )
Key militant captured, not killed in Pakistan: minister (Update on Toori)
Poll terror plot is foiled (Toori is talking)
Mullah Omar sacks Baitullah for fighting against Pak Army (more Taliban infighting)
Afghani Villagers Help Forces Rid Areas of Insurgent Weapons
'Explosion in Pak. kills 3 suspected suicide bombers' (work accident)
Pakistani forces recapture tunnel
Troops resume targeting militant positions in South Waziristan
Afghans eye taking combat lead against Taliban
8 Taliban killed in clash with police in southern Afghanistan
Australian soldiers take out Taliban targets
How Al Qaeda Lost Pakistan (nice breakdown of the Pak situation)
Taliban 'resurgence' sign of desperation not increased capability (Read this one!)
Wazir tribesmen wary of Uzbek militants’ return (more Taliban infighting)
18 Orakzai tribes form Lashkar (Army) against Taliban (nice!)
U.S. aims to turn hostile Pakistani tribes friendly
US intelligence agents 'uncover Bin Laden letters'
Five ‘Taliban’ arrested in Zhob
The West:
Tampa Firm Removes Jihadi Web Site (Good job)
Madrid train bombs suspect held
British man charged with two terrorism offenses
(Canada) Algerian-born terror suspect arrested in shower (boo-hoo)
Al Qaida 'data at plot man's house' (Britain)
9/11 accused loses final bid for freedom (Britain)
Israel / Levant:
Lebanese army prevailed against al Qaeda (Must read story!)
6 more detained in Turkey’s Qaeda crackdown
Two militants killed in northern Gaza
Israeli soldiers kill armed man in Gaza
Palestinians with explosive belts arrested in Taba (border with Israel)
Egypt arrests militants from Gaza
India / Pakistan:
Supreme commander of Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islamia is killed
Four militants killed in Kashmir
Woman detained for links with LeT
Militant hideouts busted in Jammu and Kashmir
Saudi Peninsula
New Saudi prison system aims to rehabilitate Al Qaida inmates
Soft jihadi approach in Yemen scrutinized
Africa:
Racing against Al Qaida in Mauritania
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb's dilemma (More terrorist infighting)
Algeria: security forces distribute 29 suicide bombers’ photos
Al-Zawahiri Was a Sudanese Agent
Algerian security forces kill five terrorists
Algeria: Group behind UN bomb dismantled
AFRICOM staff to grow to 1,300 as it takes over military activities
Southeast Asia:
JI forces weaken: military chief (Philippines)
Marines sent to secure Tawi-Tawi island town (Philippines)
Abu Sayyaf officer linked to Father Roda murder slain in clash
Bali bomb suspect gives Philippine army the slip again
Seven militants jailed for life over bomb campaign (Bangladesh)
Indian Army officer, 2 militants killed in Assam
Village sweep kills two southern militants (Thailand)
8 suspected insurgents arrested in Narathiwat (Thailand)
12 suspected insurgents rounded up in Narathiwat (Thailand)
FBI chief lauds Cambodia for its role in 'war on terror'
Hat Tip Straigth Vermonter
Iraq:
U.S. to Expand Outposts Across Baghdad by 30%
Iraqi, US Troops to Join Forces in Fighting Insurgents in Mosul
Aide of anti-U.S. Shiite cleric shot dead in Najaf
Iraqi and U.S. Special Operations Forces Detain Terrorist Leader
Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Special Forces Detain Terrorist Facilitator
Iraqi forces detain Ansar al-Sunnah militants
Iraqi, US troops detain 24 suspected terrorists
Mosul to be "cleansed" of al Qaeda
Soldiers arrest eight alleged Sunni extremists (Baghdad)
Coalition Forces capture high-value individual (Baghdad)
Coalition disrupts al-Qaeda networks; four terrorists killed, 18 detained
TF-Rogue troops capture AQI cell member as part of Phantom Phoenix
Coalition forces detain four suspected criminals (Baghdad)
Coalition Forces detain one extremist following a rocket attack (Baghdad)
VBIED discovered, two detained (Arab Jabour)
CLCs contribute to finding enemy weapons (Arab Jabour)
Operation Iron Boston targets al-Qaeda hideout (Sa'id Abdullah)
CLC turns in weapons cache (Baghdad)
Iraqi, U.S. Security Forces detain an extremist leader & a terrorist financier in separate operations
Scouts recover weapons cache in Narwhan
RCT-1 takes command in Al Anbar
Coalition forces target al-Qaeda in Iraq networks, 18 suspects detained
Soldiers find two caches in Doura
Coalition forces target al-Qaeda in central Iraq; 18 suspects detained
Anti-Coalition forces operative captured; criminal networks disrupted (Baghdad)
Sixteen IEDs, cache turned in by CLCs
CLCs contribute to finding enemy weapons
MND Soldiers, Iraqi Police conduct combined operation with CLCs in support of Operation Phantom Phoenix
Iraqi civilians lead troops to explosives cache (Ramadi)
Abu Ajeel’s Iraqi Police come back strong (Tikrit)
MND-North Soldiers uncover large caches west of Bayji
Three terrorists killed, two detained during operations targeting al-Qaeda (Tigris River Valley)
CLC provides tip to cache, roadside bomb (Baghdad)
Iraqi citizens’ tips lead Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Special Forces to 2 weapons caches (al Kut)
Extremist sniper walks into Coalition hands (Baghdad)
Mystery of the WMDs (Laurie Mylroie )
Turkish warplanes 'resume airstrikes' (against PKK)
The Caucasus / Central Asia:
Kyrgyz authorities arrest alleged member of al-Qaida linked regional Islamic group (related to IMU chief Qari Yuldashev?)
Russia launches anti-terrorist operation in Ingushetia
Kyrgyzstan Probing Radioactive Cargo Bound for Iran
Afghanistan / Pakistan:
12 militants killed in North Waziristan missile strike (Arab speakers)
7 Arabs among missile victims (+5 central Asians)
CIA kills top al Qaeda terrorist in Pakistan (al-Libi)
Arab, Asian al Qaeda operatives reported killed in North Waziristan raid (al-Masri also killed?)
Afghanistan's 12 Most Wanted (al-Libi is on the list)
Qaeda-linked militant killed in fresh Pakistan violence (Qasim Toori )
Key militant captured, not killed in Pakistan: minister (Update on Toori)
Poll terror plot is foiled (Toori is talking)
Mullah Omar sacks Baitullah for fighting against Pak Army (more Taliban infighting)
Afghani Villagers Help Forces Rid Areas of Insurgent Weapons
'Explosion in Pak. kills 3 suspected suicide bombers' (work accident)
Pakistani forces recapture tunnel
Troops resume targeting militant positions in South Waziristan
Afghans eye taking combat lead against Taliban
8 Taliban killed in clash with police in southern Afghanistan
Australian soldiers take out Taliban targets
How Al Qaeda Lost Pakistan (nice breakdown of the Pak situation)
Taliban 'resurgence' sign of desperation not increased capability (Read this one!)
Wazir tribesmen wary of Uzbek militants’ return (more Taliban infighting)
18 Orakzai tribes form Lashkar (Army) against Taliban (nice!)
U.S. aims to turn hostile Pakistani tribes friendly
US intelligence agents 'uncover Bin Laden letters'
Five ‘Taliban’ arrested in Zhob
The West:
Tampa Firm Removes Jihadi Web Site (Good job)
Madrid train bombs suspect held
British man charged with two terrorism offenses
(Canada) Algerian-born terror suspect arrested in shower (boo-hoo)
Al Qaida 'data at plot man's house' (Britain)
9/11 accused loses final bid for freedom (Britain)
Israel / Levant:
Lebanese army prevailed against al Qaeda (Must read story!)
6 more detained in Turkey’s Qaeda crackdown
Two militants killed in northern Gaza
Israeli soldiers kill armed man in Gaza
Palestinians with explosive belts arrested in Taba (border with Israel)
Egypt arrests militants from Gaza
India / Pakistan:
Supreme commander of Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islamia is killed
Four militants killed in Kashmir
Woman detained for links with LeT
Militant hideouts busted in Jammu and Kashmir
Saudi Peninsula
New Saudi prison system aims to rehabilitate Al Qaida inmates
Soft jihadi approach in Yemen scrutinized
Africa:
Racing against Al Qaida in Mauritania
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb's dilemma (More terrorist infighting)
Algeria: security forces distribute 29 suicide bombers’ photos
Al-Zawahiri Was a Sudanese Agent
Algerian security forces kill five terrorists
Algeria: Group behind UN bomb dismantled
AFRICOM staff to grow to 1,300 as it takes over military activities
Southeast Asia:
JI forces weaken: military chief (Philippines)
Marines sent to secure Tawi-Tawi island town (Philippines)
Abu Sayyaf officer linked to Father Roda murder slain in clash
Bali bomb suspect gives Philippine army the slip again
Seven militants jailed for life over bomb campaign (Bangladesh)
Indian Army officer, 2 militants killed in Assam
Village sweep kills two southern militants (Thailand)
8 suspected insurgents arrested in Narathiwat (Thailand)
12 suspected insurgents rounded up in Narathiwat (Thailand)
FBI chief lauds Cambodia for its role in 'war on terror'
Hat Tip Straigth Vermonter
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