Al Qaeda again threatens New York, Washington and Los Angeles - Daily Terror Threat

Debka ^ | 11-3-2003 | Staff

[tubavil]

Monday, November 3, 2003

A new message was posted in the last few hours by the Jeddah-based al-Qaeda-linked Al-Islah (Reform) society calling on Muslims to flee New York, Washington and Los Angeles in advance of major al Qaeda attacks in those cities. This is revealed by DEBKAfile.

The message accuses the United States of predetermining its end (doom) by its policies. ?The Jews rule the Pentagon by remote control and (are the cause) of Muslims being killed in every corner of the world. The United States should therefore expect more blows.?

The message is signed on behalf of the al Bayan (The Threat) movement by ?your warrior brother, Abul Hassan al Khadrami?.

Our Muslim expert identifies the name of the signatory as belonging to a Yemeni from Hadhrameuth, the Bin Ladens? place of origin where Osama enjoys substantial tribal support.

DEBKAfile?s counter-terror sources stress that warnings appearing on these forums are taken both very seriously and with caution by the intelligence services keeping track of the terrorist network?s electronic traffic.

Last November, Jeddah-based fundamentalist forums addressed a message to an Al Qaeda member, saying whoever understands ? understands; whoever knows, knows, but we are marching towards an operation that will take us to Paradise. Three days later, the Mombasa Paradise hotel was blown up killing 12 Kenyans and 3 Israelis and a failed shoulder-launched Strela anti-air missile missed an Israeli airliner at Mombasa airport.

Link to Thread 2

[TexKat]

Has there been a warning from our government or Britain's government regarding travel to Saudi Arabia today, this week?

[Revel]

I did not say anything.... I learned my lesson.

[Calpernia]

This information is current as of today, Thu Jan 08 17:45:13 2004.

Saudi Arabia
December 17, 2003

This Travel Warning is being issued to alert Americans to the fact that, due to security concerns, the Department of State has authorized the departure of family members and non-emergency employees of the U.S. Embassy and Consulates on a voluntary basis. Private American citizens should evaluate their own security situations and should consider departing the country. This Travel Warning supersedes that of December 8, 2003.

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to defer travel to Saudi Arabia. Americans are reminded of the potential for further terrorist actions against U.S. citizens abroad, including in the Persian Gulf region. U.S. citizens who travel to, or remain in, Saudi Arabia despite this Travel Warning should register at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh or at the Consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran, and enroll in the warden system (emergency alert network) to obtain updated information on travel and security in Saudi Arabia.

Due to ongoing security concerns, on December 17, 2003, the Department of State authorized the departure, on a voluntary basis, of family members and non-emergency personnel of the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Saudi Arabia. U.S. consular personnel remain available to provide emergency services to American citizens.

The U.S. Government continues to receive indications of terrorist threats aimed at American and Western interests, including the targeting of transportation and civil aviation. American citizens in Saudi Arabia should remain vigilant, particularly in public places associated with the Western community.

Terrorists have attacked residential housing compounds in the Riyadh area in 2003. Credible information indicates that terrorists continue to target residential compounds in Saudi Arabia, particularly in the Riyadh area, but also compounds throughout the country.

From time to time, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Saudi Arabia may restrict the travel of official Americans or suspend public services for security reasons. In those instances, the Embassy and Consulates will keep the local American citizen community apprised through the Warden System and make every effort to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens. The U.S. Mission in Saudi Arabia continues to restrict the travel of its American employees and their dependents to residential compounds in the Riyadh area to between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Restrictions on travel to other destinations have been lifted in conjunction with the Department’s approval of voluntary departure status. Warden messages can be found on the US Embassy Riyadh website: http://usembassy.state.gov/riyadh/.

As the Department continues to develop information on any potential security threats to U.S. citizens overseas, it shares credible threat information through its Consular Information Program documents, available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov. U.S. travelers can also get up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 in the U.S. or Canada or on a regular toll line at 1-317-472-2328.

U.S. citizens should also consult the Department of State's Consular Information Sheet for Saudi Arabia, the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, and Middle East and North Africa Public Announcement at http://travel.state.gov.

[WestCoastGal]

"January 8, 2004 His life was rooted in parallel worlds, and friends say Ashraf Abdelhamid traveled through each with equal parts savvy, style and mystery. Last weekend, Abdelhamid, 42, was apparently in the cockpit of a chartered Boeing 737 that crashed nose first into the Red Sea. He and 147 others, mostly French tourists, were killed instantly. The son of an Egyptian diplomat who made his home in Pacific Beach, Palm Springs, Cairo and sometimes England, Abdelhamid was a devoted Muslim and an astute San Diego businessman. He was a dual citizen of Egypt and the United States, a committed husband and a one-time fighter pilot. He also was a Freemason, an intelligence officer for the National Guard, a security expert and a government-trained cavalry scout, depending on the circumstances."

We've located the pilots wife, someone going out to interview her now, I will let you know what happens.

[hummingbird]

http://news.airwise.com/stories/2002/04/1018084998.html I was looking up Louis Armstrong Int'l Airport (Kenner) b/c I remember something else silly that has happened there in the past year or so when I came up with this link. (a 42 year old Indian; a 40 year old Fillipino?)

[hummingbird]

http://news.airwise.com/stories/2002/05/1022584024.html and what about this one...The dead woman has not been named but she is understood to have worked for the US Defense Department.

[KylaStarr]

It sure sounds like this person has his fingers in a lot of pies, so to speak. And what's with his wife?? It doesn't sound as if she sees him on any kind of a regular basis. Is she in San Diego area or up in Palm Springs?? I, for one, would be a bit suspicious if my hubby was up and gone for months at a time. It will be most interesting to hear her interview. Thank you for the update!

[Letitring]

Now, THAT is an odd story.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Supposedly, the Milan paper Il Giornale is one of the largest papers, it has a conservative bentm, and it is owned by President Berlusconi and his family. Last week, I went looking for the site of the newspaper, but it is of course in Italian and I do not know the language and I also do not have the time to try to translate while I search! The link is: http://www.giornale.it

I quickly found that site, but it does not look anything at all like the site of a major newspaper.

[tmp02]

All, is there similar site that discuss this info like FR in other languages - Italian, Greek, etc.? do they have additional info? If there are other AQ cells in Europe then there has to be other yahoo type groups that are trying to distribute propaganda and/or instruction sleeper cell members.

[Letitring]

Try this.http://ilgiorno.quotidiano.net/

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Yeah, I saw that one too. It looks like the site of a major paper, but:

1) It's a different name.

2) I can't find any relevant article on it. Of course, that could be because, for some strange and unknown reason, the search engine seems to only return articles from 2002.

[Velveeta]

Great job! Can you ping me as well please?

[Pharmboy]

Don't go looking in the "chat" section! Especially around Hobbit Holes!

No I won't...but if I did, I might find over 10K posts! Impressive.

[Letitring]

It's really not a different name, just the Italian spelling for it. Sorry if you already knew that, just some folks don't. ie Rome/Roma

[bvw]

You would also find the upper limit to any thread, not that you should look further.

[Velveeta]

It's major:

Fininvest controls Il Giornale, a leading national newspaper that competes with L'Espresso's La Repubblica and with La Stampa and Corriere della Sera of the RCS group. It has a 36% stake in financial-services group Mediolanum. Other holdings include property, multimedia, printing and telephone directories.
http://www.ketupa.net/berlusconi.htm

[relee]

My brother currently lives in DC in the home of one of the lead investigative reporters for the WSJ (it's his brother-in-law).

In that home they have KI pills, gas masks, weapons and ammo and a packed Surburban for bugging out at a moments notice.

Probably not. In DC having weapons and ammo in your home is illegal.

A packed Suburban would get stolen, vandalized or unpacked at a moments notice in DC. Also, it's a PITA to move something that huge on alternate-side street sweeping days.

[Pro-Bush]

Thanks Ellie, you're forgiven! Should I call you little -m-?

Welcome to Free Republic!

[Luke Skyfreeper]

??!! They're both Italian!

I'm no expert in Italian, but I believe "Il Giornale" = "The Journal", and "Il Giorno" = "The Day" (i.e., "Today")