Daily Terrorist Round-Up 8/21/05 (3rd Dead Terrorist in Saudi Raid)

(Another) Wanted Terrorist Among the Riyadh Dead
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News

JEDDAH, 20 August 2005 — The killing of Saleh Al-Oufi, 39, leader of Al-Qaeda cell in Saudi Arabia, with three other terrorists including Majed ibn Hamid Al-Hasry in gunbattles with Saudi security forces, has dealt a heavy blow to the militant network in the Kingdom.

Al-Oufi, who was on a list of most wanted 26 terrorists published by the Interior Ministry last December, was shot dead by security forces in Madinah on Thursday in the largest such operation after the three-day Al-Rass shootout, which saw the killing of 15 terrorists.

In Madinah, armed confrontation between security forces and terrorists took place in seven places, which resulted in the killing of Al-Oufi and Muhammad ibn Abdullah Owaida and the arrest of 10 terror suspects.

An Interior Ministry official yesterday identified the terrorist killed in Riyadh shootout as Hasry, whose body, which was blown to pieces as a result of an explosion, was found by police during a mop-up operation. Hasry had figured on the second list of 36 terror suspects published by the ministry two months ago. The official said police had arrested a number of people in various parts of the country, having connections with the cell.

The death of Hasry, 29, brings down to 31 the number of militants on the list still at large. Moroccan Younus Mohammed Al-Hayari, who topped the list of 36, was shot dead during a battle with security forces in the capital on July 3.

One suspect on the list has been arrested, a second has turned himself in to authorities, and a Yemeni who figured on the list has been confirmed detained in Yemen. A number of militants on the list are reported to have died fighting alongside anti-US insurgents in Iraq, but this has not been officially confirmed.

In a press statement, Um Abdullah, the wife of Al-Oufi, said she was not at all interested to know whether her husband was dead or alive as his links to Al-Qaeda had caused a lot of trouble for her as well as her family.

Um Abdullah said her eldest daughter, 13-year-old Rawan, has been depressed after knowing about her father’s terrorist role. “I hope my children will have some kind of relief after hearing about the death of their father,” she added.

Saudi Arabia has been successful in its campaign against Al-Qaeda militants blamed on a series of terrorist attacks across the country since May 2003, claiming the lives of 90 civilians and 42 police officers apart from 113 suspected militants.

Only Abdullah Al-Rashoud and Taleb Al-Taleb from the December list of wanted terrorists remain at large while the majority on the second list is still on the run. There were reports that Rashoud had been killed in Iraq but not confirmed by Saudi authorities.

An Afghan war veteran, Al-Oufi had been on the run from security forces ever since his name appeared on the list, moving from one region to another. On July 20 last year, Al-Oufi reportedly took part in a gunbattle in a Riyadh neighborhood. He ran away from the place after leaving his wife and three children there. Police handed over his family to their relatives.

Iraqi Army Soldiers help child escape from terrorists
By Spc. Erin Robicheaux
256th Brigade Combat Team PAO

Iraqi Soldiers aided in the escape of a young man Aug. 10 after he was kidnapped by terrorists in the Mansour district of Baghdad.

Emad was playing soccer with some friends, when five armed and masked men grabbed him and shoved him into a black Daewoo Prince. The vehicle drove off, and headed west until the terrorists arrived in a Ghazaliyah neighborhood.

Emad said the terrorists drove quickly and swerved in and out of traffic. Soldiers of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade Iraqi Army on a routine patrol noticed the activity, pursued the vehicle, but lost them on some back roads.

The terrorists stopped on a corner near two men who appeared to be waiting next to a taxi. The kidnappers pushed Emad out of the car and sped away, as the men on the street attempted to put Emad into the cab. Emad fought with them, and as a result, was struck several times by the terrorists. The most severe hit was to his face, right below his left eye.

Just as the men tried again to shove Emad into the taxi, the 2/1 IA Soldiers drove around the corner and witnessed him break free from one of the terrorists, only to have the other shove him to the ground. As the Soldiers approached, the terrorists jumped into the taxi and sped away.

Emad ran into a home and told the residents what occurred, and they, in turn, called his father and explained the situation. The Soldiers waited with the boy until his father, Reyadh, arrived on the scene.

The next day, Reyadh and Emad went to the 2/1 IA Headquarters and thanked Col. Mohammed Faik Rauf, the 2/1 commander; and Brig. Gen. Jalil Khalaf Shwayel, 1st Iraqi Army Brigade commander, for their Soldiers’ efforts in the rescue of his son.

Capt. Randy Green from Bossier City, La., with Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 156th Armor Regiment and senior advisor to the 2/1 IA, said this was another example of how Soldiers of the 2/1 IA continued to be in the right place at the right time.

"If the Soldiers were not alert and responsive while performing their everyday patrol duties, they would never have caught on to this situation, and Emad would not be home with his family right now."

Hindu area commander of Hizbul shot dead

Five militants, including a Hindu area commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, were killed in separate incident in Jammu and Kashmir, where ultras shot dead two village defence committee members and attached the houses of a former National Conference legislator and a ruling PDP leader since last night. This was for the first time in the history of militancy in the state that a Hindu militant commander has been killed, a police spokesman said today.

The terrorist, Uttam Singh, had changed his name to Saifullah. He was killed in an encounter with the Army in the Gandoh area of Doda district. With his killing, the reports of some Hindu boys having joined the terrorist outfits in Doda district have been confirmed.

In another encounter, Arshad Ahmed, who also belonged to the same outfit was also killed.

Uttam Singh, a resident of Bisran village of Gandoh, had reportedly snatched a .303 rifle, along with 50 rounds, from VDC members from his village in 2004 and joined the Hizbul Mujahideen. He had been appointed area commander of Gandoh recently and was one of the seven Hindu militants active in the district. An AK assault rifle and two magazines were recovered from him.

Another hardcore Hizbul militant, Farooz Ahmad Khan, was killed in an encounter during search operations in the forests of Kullarnar in the Pahalgam area of Anantnag district this afternoon.

In different encounters, the security forces killed two militants at Thian-Kangan on the outskirts of Srinagar and Sogam in Kupwara district today, the spokesman said.

A group of about seven militants raided a hut at Bangar Dhar in Doda district last night and killed VDC members Bishroop and Bodh Raj, both residents of Neeju-Sarore in the Kishtwar area.

In another incident, heavily-armed militants fired two rifle grenades and resorted to firing on the house of former National Conference legislator Sheikh Mohammad Rafi, being guarded by the Jammu and Kashmir police and the CRPF at Kasdoora village in the Shopian area of Pulwama district last night.

The guards posted there fired in retaliation forcing the ultras to flee. No one was injured in the firing.

In another incident, the militants opened fire on the house of the ruling PDP block president Ghulam Hassan Rather at Sheeri in Baramula district last night.

The police guards posted there fired back but there was no casualty. Rather escaped unhurt along with his family.

Al-Qaeda Suspect Sakra Robbed a Bank in Iraq (New details about how Sakra was discovered and arrested)
By Sedat Gunec

It has been revealed that Syrian national and al-Qaeda member, Louai Sakra, who was arrested when he was preparing to attack Israeli ships, robbed a bank in Iraq to finance his terrorist activities. Last year, in a robbery organized by Sakra, $38 million had been stolen from the bank.

Sakra, who was arrested at the Diyarbakir Airport recently, drew attentions with the money he spent widely and freely in Turkey. As police reported, Sakra entered Turkey from Syria in June. He had a face change by an aesthetic surgeon in Mersin. The most remarkable medical operation in Sakra’s face was made in his lips. His silicon lips played an important role in his arrestment. While warning cities across the nation, Antalya intelligence described Sakra as someone with thick lips. Sakra settled in Antalya and bought a villa for 430.000 New Turkish Liras (YTL) for his terrorist activities. He ordered a Zodiac boat for 70.000 euros. He had fake passports and identity cards. It has been revealed that he was able to fund these expenses with the money he obtained from a bank robbery. According to the police, al-Qaeda is behind the biggest bank robbery in Iraq, which took place last year. The organization has a total of $38 million in the bank. Sakra who had entered Turkey with a fake identity in June, spent nearly $1 million in Turkey.

‘He has always a bottle of beer in his hand’

Reportedly, Sakra found a girlfriend who settled in Antalya to help him in his attacks. Sakra had a relationship with the daughter of a real estate agent from whom he bought a villa. Taking his girl friend with him wherever he went, Sakra introduced his girl friend as his fiancée. After Sakra was arrested, police also took his girl friend’s deposition. Saying that Sakra spent money freely, his girl friend told, “He was taking alcohol and drinking beer. I never thought he could be an al-Qaeda member. Sometimes he was giving me 100-200 euros as pocket money.”

Syrian national, Sakra, registered the yacht he ordered for 70,000 Euros to a marina not to attract any public attention. Security officials say it is difficult for a naval vessel to be registered to a marina. Sakra, who rented a captain to manage the yacht, had prepared to load bombs made at home to the yacht through a winch.

Sakra’s plans were ruined by a fire in his house in Antalya on the night of August 3. The police found Lebanese and Syrian passports in addition to fake Turkish identity cards in his house. Sakra’s identity card was uncovered when documents found at the house were examined. The police first took Sakra’s courier Hamed Obysi under custody. Obysi was detained when he was about to leave Turkey from the Cilvegozu border gate. Turkish police carried out a well-planned tactic to arrest Obysi. They made it seem Obysi was abroad. Sakra thought Obysi had departed for Syria. Sakra’s courier thus opened the way for Turkish police to reach Sakra. A senior official, noting all intelligence services were following Sakra and Obysi, said they tactically misled both Sakra and intelligence services from other countries by showing Obysi as officially having left the county.

Obysi’s fall to Turkish police played a crucial role in Sakra’s arrest. An operation was launched when Sakra planned to go to Istanbul from the Diyarbakir Airport. Sakra was detained in Diyarbakir. According to the police, Sakra had planned to stay in Istanbul for a few days after the fire in his house in Antalya so that the police would not be able to find him. He planned to return to Antalya to perform his attack plan against Israeli cruise ships. Meanwhile, it was clarified that Sakra had planned to escape to Bulgaria after his attacks. Intelligence units warn that al-Qaeda might attempt to rescue Sakra through hijacking or hostage taking. But, it is reported Sakra was not among the al-Qaeda militants that the US was searching for.

Policeman's warning saves lives in restaurant explosion (Accepting Dhimmitude is no protection)
By Wassana Nanuam & Waedao Harai

A quick-thinking border patrol policeman saved a number of lives yesterday after spotting a bomb on a table at a shophouse restaurant in tambon Sateng Nok in Yala province's Muang district, and managing to alert people to quickly vacate the area just seconds before it exploded.

The explosion at the restaurant, which had been adorned with sky blue coloured flags denoting the sale of low-priced goods, was the worse of two separate bomb blasts in the deep South yesterday.

The blasts came just a day after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's well publicised visit with cabinet ministers to several Friday markets organised to try and boost confidence among nervous traders.

Sawat Rakkaew, 55, a native of Phatthalung, opened the Muang Lung restaurant four years ago. It was popular among locals since they could buy a portion of curry for just 10 baht. For this reason, the restaurant had been awarded the sky blue flag denoting value for money. It was decorated with the flags with the help of the municipality last Thursday to coincide with the visit of the prime minister. However, the restaurant had been closing for business on Fridays since July 29, after receiving leaflets warning of action against Muslim traders opening for business on Fridays.

''I don't know why my shop was blown up since we have been closing our shop on Fridays as advised,'' said Urai Rakkaew, 45, the wife of the restaurant's owner after seeing the blast blow off the restaurant's roof and damage nearby chairs and tables.

She said before the blast two young men aged 17-18 had pulled up on a motorcycle and the passenger had visited the restaurant. Wearing a black jacket and holding a crash helmet, the young man walked into the shop and examined various curries, she said. He quickly left the scene without his crash helmet on the waiting motorcycle.

Two customers were enjoying a meal in the restaurant, while a border patrol policeman in civilian clothing bought some curry. Seeing the helmet, he lifted it up to expose an explosive device. He took the initiative by yelling for everyone to take cover, and seconds later the device blew up. Police believe the bomb was activated by a mobile phone shortly after the youths fled the scene on their motorcycle.

Another blast took place at 3.25pm in front of a tea shop in Narathiwat's Sungai Padi district, killing a woman and injuring nine others, including two policemen and two young boys. The shop was located opposite Kasikornbank, about 600m from the district police station.

Eyewitnesses told police that a lot of people were in the shop as it was raining very hard. A man estimated to be between 20-25 years old, arrived outside the shop on a motorcycle. Leaving the vehicle parked outside, he walked into the shop briefly before quietly leaving without his vehicle. Three minutes after leaving, a bomb planted on the motorcycle exploded. The bomb was likely triggered by a mobile phone.

The blast killed Sunaida Karipe, 22, while nine other people were injured, including Pol Cpl Pitak Songseng and Pol L/Cpl Saengthong Sakchanilbut from Sungai Padi police station, as well as two boys aged 7 and 9.

Jordan arrests dozens after rocket attacks

AMMAN, Jordan, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Jordanian security officials said Sunday dozens of suspects have been arrested in connection with the mortar rocket attack in Aqaba Friday.

An official told United Press International on condition of anonymity that among those arrested and questioned in the past two days were Jordanians, Egyptians, Iraqis and Syrians.

He said the arrested men were all workers in Aqaba, but that authorities were still conducting search operations in and around the Red Sea port city of Aqaba for those who fired three mortar rockets that targeted, but missed, two U.S. naval ships docked in the gulf port.

Three insurgents detained

Soldiers of the 2-1-5 Iraqi Army Battalion detained three suspected insurgents August 15 in possession of anti-coalition handbills. These three insurgents confessed to printing and distributing anti-coalition handbills and have confessed to having knowledge of other insurgent personalities and operations.

Interrogator: "What organization do you belong to?"
Abed: "Ansar Al-Islam."

Interrogator: "What organization is this?"

Abed: "It is bin Laden's group."

Abed: "Our Ansar Al-Islam military camps were in Halabja."

Interrogator: "This was in the days of the previous regime?"

Abed: "Yes."

Obviously Abed is wrong. The NY Times has said repeatedly that there is no connection between OBL & Saddam.
I think Abed is a provocateur send by Karl Rove to throw us off the trail of the truth. this is war is all about oil, or revenge for trying to kill Bush the elder, or to finish the job for Bush the elder....I get confused sometimes on which is the real truth.

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