South Korea on alert for possible Al Qaeda ship

Khaleej Times via Al Jazeera ^ | Oct. 30, 2003 | Agence France Presse

[FairOpinion]

SEOUL - South Korean security authorities were ready to carry out on-board inspections of a Bahama-registered freighter after being tipped off that the ship might carry some members of Al-Qaeda, police said on Thursday.

The 17,000-tonne freighter, the Athenia, which was suspected of carrying members of Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda group, was due to arrive at the southwestern port of Kunsan late Thursday, the police said.

“We have been informed that Al Qaeda members might be hiding in the ship,” a police officer in charge of foreign affairs in Kunsan Police station told AFP.

“When the ship reaches the port, maritime police agents and immigration authorities will get aboard the ship and carry out sweeping inspections,” he said.

The Bahama-registered freighter, carrying logs, was sailing from New Zealand, the Moonhwa Daily reported Seoul said.

South Korea hosts some 37,000 US troops and there are many US military facilities in Kunsan including an airbase.

The alert came as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to visit South Korea next month.

[FairOpinion]

I wouldn't have posted it in Breaking news, since it's from Al Jazeera, but it is being reported by Agence France Presse, a reputable mainstream news agency.

[FairOpinion]

It's also reported in other news sources:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2710587a10,00.html

http://www.swisspolitics.org/en/news/index.php?section=int&page=news_inhalt&news_id=4394902

[Zathras]

I suspect if Al Jazeera knows and the French knows, Al Qaeda knows.

[My Favorite Headache]

Yeah..agreed. Al Jizz-era is just the mouthpiece before the actual attack takes place.

[Brian S]

Agreed...

[freeperfromnj]

Here's an update. Nothing suspicious was found on board, and the ship was allowed to depart New Zealand on Oct. 4.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1011258/posts

[aculeus]

One of these days were going to get real lucky.

[ConservativeMan55]

Somebody posted something like this the other day but it was deleted because there was no link to it.

[FairOpinion]

Thanks. I saw that. But it seems something is still going on. Maybe the NZ customes missed something or the ship stopped somewhere else.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2710587a10,00.html

This has both stories, and the S. Korea one is later, as a follow up the the NZ one.

AQ could still be on the ship, they are good at fake documentation, etc.

[m1-lightning]

Whatever happened to these stories?

Us Navy Tracking Ships in the Med

3 Suspicious Ships in the Indian Ocean

[freeperfromnj]

Maybe the NZ customes missed something

Good point. THey were giving away free newspaper samples in the city this morning and the headline mentioned something about port security.

[Labyrinthos]

AQ could still be on the ship, they are good at fake documentation, etc.

More like the AQ's were not on the ship at all when she left New Zealand. The waters from Indonesia to the Southern Philipines are notorious for piracy. If pirates can stop and board a ship, then you can bet the AQ can also.

[Shermy]

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200310/kt2003103021542811970.htm

South Koreans Receive Threats in Iraq: Official



South Koreans in Iraq have become the target of threats by Iraqis, the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry said on Thursday.
In a briefing, Lee Kwang-jae, director of the ministry’s Middle East and African Affairs Bureau, said, ``A South Korean diplomat stationed there was recently kidnapped by two Iraqis and told to leave their country before being released.’’

Lee said that the branch office of KOTRA, the state-funded trade promoter, was shot at last August, while an employee of a Korean conglomerate there received a threat in the mail.

The middle east expert, who will depart for Iraq as deputy leader of the second Korean survey team today, said that he will do his best to come up with an objective report that will help determine the nature and size of a military contingent to be sent to Iraq.

Seoul has recently decided to send troops to Iraq, as requested by the United States, but the decision is facing strong public opposition. These incidents are likely to add to the opposition against sending troops to Iraq.

He said that his team is planning to make a stopover at Mosul, northern Iraq, where ROK troops will most likely be stationed.

The recent admission contradicts earlier evidence from defense officials as to the reception South Korean combat troops would receive in the war-torn country adding weight to anti-deployment activists' arguments about the safety of such a move.



Seo Soo-min Staff Reporter ssm@koreatimes.co.kr


10-30-2003 21:55

[m1-lightning]

The waters from Indonesia to the Southern Philipines are notorious for piracy. If pirates can stop and board a ship, then you can bet the AQ can also.

And the US Navy's Aegis radar will pick that up too.

[Labyrinthos]

Then why are there so many pirates operating freely in the area?

[Mike Darancette]

Ship of Fools

[m1-lightning]

Because they don't concern us.

[ex-Texan]

Set torpedo depth for 20 feet. Fire one, fire two, fire three !!

[Labyrinthos]

I understand that we don't care about mere piracy. But how does the radar distinguish between piracy to steel a ship versus a piracy to place AQ on the ship?

[m1-lightning]

A change of course after at sea docking would indicate a possible new command or "piracy to steel a ship". If there is a ship of interest to the Navy, they will conduct reconnasaince to watch it regardless.