Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread 5

CNN ^ | March 12, 2004

[Indie]

10-4

[knak]

Britons trapped in Mexican caves

CUETZALAN, Mexico (Reuters) - Six British armed forces cave explorers have been trapped underground for five days in central Mexico, but are not in imminent danger, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The six were trapped by an unexpected rainstorm during a combined services caving expedition last week in caverns near the coffee-growing town of Cuetzalan, 110 miles (175 km) northeast of Mexico City.

They had rejected help from Mexican rescuers and were waiting for the waters to recede. The incident was not made public until Tuesday.

"They are all experienced cavers and nobody is in imminent danger, they are all a bit bored but well," ministry spokeswoman Gemma Blackburn told Reuters in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

But she said specialist Navy cave divers were on their way from Britain in case they were needed to dive into the cavern to rescue the servicemen.

"Several inches of un-forecast rain fell, flooding a low-lying section of the cave. They are in an area that has never flooded, it is stocked with food, sleeping bags, a first aid kit and a cave radio," she said.

Mexican Civil Protection rescue workers said other British cavers were in touch with their trapped colleagues from the surface via radio telephone.

The trapped armed forces personnel were all members of the Combined Services Caving Association taking part in an exercise called Cuetzalan Tiger.

The network of underground galleries near Cuetzalan is one of the most extensive in Latin America. It was first explored in the 1970s by British cavers, who have surveyed more than 60 miles (100 km) of passageways to date.

A speleological Web site said the Cuetzalan region cave systems risked "serious threat" from flash floods.

Jose Ignacio Macias, spokesman for the Civil Protection Agency in Puebla state, where Cuetzalan is located, said strong currents underground were keeping the cavers from leaving.

Puebla state officials had said the cavers became trapped after part of the cave collapsed.

[jerseygirl]

Hi knak. Just started to check the thread. No doubt Israel will need to be on mega-alert!

[Letitring]

Racing to catch up. Looks like alot happening today. :(

[Letitring]

2B, do you think they'll hit Israel hard enough that we'd have to step in? Or, do you think they plan to deal with us first, so we CAN'T step in? Or neither. I guess I'm trying to ask what are your thoughts about all this and where it leaves us.

[Oorang]

indie being locked and loaded is not going to do you any good if you are in a grocery store, a mall, etc., where we are not allowed to pack.

TexKat, are you saying that in Texas you cannot get a concealed carry permit so that you can be armed in a grocery store, mall, etc.? I'm not up on Texas law. Just curious.

[jerseygirl]

Didn't Sean mention a mysterious oil slick which fouled NJ beaches some time age? I think it was a little bit prior to that tanker exploding off of the coast of Virginia.

Just got back from NYC- trying to catch up- there were large numbers of police patrolling Grand Central-- I did see a few "unattended items" (2 luggage bags and 2 shopping bags)--I guess I've become a paranoic, folks!

Did any of you see the antiwar protest in NYC?

[jerseygirl]

Bless your heart! I feel the same way....we are being spoon fed while on the verge of nuclear war.

[Letitring]

That was absolutely beautiful! Thank you, so very much.

[aloysius89]

dropping a placemarker

[jerseygirl]

Lots of groups of people getting the gastro virus. Now, I'm sure almost all of us have suffered this at one time or another, but is it the norm (excuse crudity) for large groups of healthy kids and college students to be hurling in classrooms and in halls, not even being able to make it to the restroom?

[jerseygirl]

Putin's threats- just made my day! Could the story about the nuke ship being ready to blow be a way to provide "plausible denyability?"

[Hegemony Cricket]

"dropping a placemarker"

You and me both!

"as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

You and me both!

[jerseygirl]

Didn't one of their rants talk about certain planetary alignments at the time of the "anticipated" attack?

[MamaDearest]

being locked and loaded is not going to do you any good if you are in a grocery store, a mall, etc.,

Valid point TexKat. Unlikely they'll be going door to door to take a bullet at the very place we ARE armed. Preoccupation by each of us at the mall, the ballgame, the movie theater, etc. will be a much easier scenario for them to achieve maximum destruction. We cannot be too careful these days.

[Rushmore Rocks]

Okay, Ray fixed the electric, the stove, and the air cooler.

Now, tell him you love him, kick him out, and come back to us.

We miss you.

[jerseygirl]

You have probably have already read this, but it caught my attention.




China Puts Army On Combat
Alert - 'Ready To Strike Taiwan'
3-21-4


HONG KONG (Reuters) - China has ordered its army on combat alert, ready to strike Taiwan if the island's election dispute intensifies, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said on Monday.

The order was issued on Saturday, the paper said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao could cite the newly revised state constitution to declare a state of emergency over Taiwan, paving the way for a military attack, the paper quoted unidentified sources on the mainland as saying.

Beijing has ordered government departments in the capital and the coastal provinces of Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang to put more officials on duty, it said. In a military operation, these provinces would serve as bases for missile attacks.

But analysts said there were no signs an attack was imminent, the paper said.

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian narrowly won re-election on Saturday, a day after he was shot in a mysterious assassination attempt, but opposition leader Lien Chan has declared the vote unfair and demanded a recount.

China considers self-governing Taiwan a renegade province that must be eventually be reunified, by force, if necessary.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement on Sunday it was "closely following" the situation in the island.

[tmp02]

NEIN:

March 23, 2004. Why is Al Qaeda issuing statements for Hamas?

by Laura Mansfield, Analyst

Earlier today, the Yahoogroup that disseminates official announcements and publications on behalf of Al Qaeda issued a statement on behalf of Hamas regarding the death of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.



This appears to be a significant development, and is indicative of the close relationship between the two organizations. The statement is translated in its entirety below.



The message declares the start of a new campaign by Hamas called “The Metamorphosis”, which appears to be designed to destroy Israel. The cowardly enemy believes that the assassination of the sheikh will be an assassination of Hamas and of the nation and the movement but what these cowards did not know is that the assassination of the sheikh is an assassination of the Zionist entity and it is the beginning of the end, therefore the project “The Metamorphosis”, God willing.



It is clear from this, and other messages, that Hamas is threatening Israel.



What is more compelling is that the relationship between Hamas and Al Qaeda, which has long been suspected, appears to be emerging into full view.



The Global Islamic Media group is the official media arm of Al Qaeda. It has over 5,000 subscribers, and sends out messages almost daily from Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups.



It is said that nature abhors a vacuum, and in an organization there is inevitably a rush to fill the absence of a leader. At this point, it isn’t apparent who will fill the role held by Sheikh Yassin within Hamas, and the Palestinian population.



Hamas has resources that would be extremely valuable to Al Qaeda. The steady stream of young men and women who are willing to strap on bomb belts and blow themselves up in the name of Palestine and Islam is something that Al Qaeda would love to leverage.



The people, especially the youth, in the Palestinian territories are extremely vulnerable to this exploitation. They have been indoctrinated for nearly forty years with an ever-increasing hatred of both Israel and the United States.



Al Qaeda would quickly turn this hatred into action, and point the homicide bombers to the United States, given the opportunity.



A response from Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement

Regarding the assassination of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin

From the believers, men were truthful what they promised Allah it then from them who he spent its death and from them who he waits and what they changed a change

The Hamas Islamic Resistance Movement announces to our Palestinian nation and the Arab Nation and the Islamic nation and the fighting brothers, the death of our leader in Palestine and the founder of the Hamas Islamic Resistance Movement, the elderly blind imam Ahmad Ismail Yasin and his brothers, the martyrs.

After the sheikh completed the dawn prayer on Monday in the mosque of the Islamic complex in Gaza that was established in first days in pursuit of Allah's pleasure and the love of the jihad, the prophets killers set out to assassinate of Palestinian Sheikh and Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) founder, the sheikh Ahmad Ismail Yasin and his companions:
The fighting martyr / Ayoub Ahmad Ata Allah
The fighting martyr / Khalil Abd Allah Abu Giab
And a multitude from the benevolent prayers
The martyr / Mu'min Ibrahim Alyazori (Dr. Ibrahim Alyazori's son is one of the founders of the Hamas movement)
The martyr / Khamis Sami (Sheikh Ahmad Yassin's brother-in-law)
The martyr / Ahmad Abd Al-Aal
The martyr / Rabih Abd Al-Hai Abd Al-Aal
The martyr / Rateb Abd Al-Raheem Alaalol

The cowardly enemy believes that the assassination of the sheikh will be an assassination of Hamas and of the nation and the movement but what these cowards did not know is that the assassination of the sheikh is an assassination of the Zionist entity and it is the beginning of the end, therefore the project “The Metamorphosis”, God willing .

Hamas will spend all of the fighting resources of the movement, and she will continue the March that its sheikh started, and the Arab Nation and the Islamic one should meet its responsibilities in the defense of Palestinian land and of the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque, and the support of the nation of Palestine.

I fasted, O our sheikh, you were the leader in your life and the day of your martyrdom.

And to Allah in the immortals with the prophets and the honest one and the martyrs and the virtuous one and these became good a companion.

The Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas

1 Safr 1425*
22 March, 2004
The international Islamic media center
Global Islamic Media Centre

(*Safr is the second month of the Islamic calendar)

[jerseygirl]

Here's some news from Russia:


Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2004. Page 3

Bomb Discovered in Lyubertsy Building

By Carl Schreck
Staff Writer A powerful makeshift bomb discovered in a Moscow region apartment Friday failed to detonate after a watch timer malfunctioned, Russian media reported Monday.

A cleaning lady in Lyubertsy, just east of Moscow, discovered the explosive device, made up of 18 rocket-propelled grenades attached to a detonator, Kommersant newspaper reported.

The bomb was packed into a large suitcase at 52 Ulitsa Kirova, apartment 84, Kommersant reported.

Local police and the Federal Security Service declined to comment on the incident Monday, confirming only that a criminal case had been initiated on charges of terrorism.

The men who rented the apartment where the bomb was found were Chechens who had lived there for only a few days and moved out last week, Gazeta reported, citing residents of the building. [PT: That's right: blame the Chechens!]

A cleaner discovered the suitcase Friday afternoon after the men moved out, Kommersant reported. According to the attached timer, the bomb inside was set to go off at 11:00 a.m., the paper said.

The cleaner promptly notified the police, who arrived at the scene with FSB bomb disposal experts and began evacuating residents from the building.

The bomb failed to explode due to a faulty Casio watch timer, the report said, citing FSB and police sources.

The residents were able to return to their apartments only later that evening.

Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev has claimed responsibility for the bomb attempt, and FSB officers believe Basayev may have sent the two men presumed to have left the bomb, Kommersant reported. [PT: Basayev is a GRU agent.]

A series of detonations have hit gas pipelines and power lines near Moscow in recent weeks. Last Monday, explosive devices toppled three towers supporting high-voltage power lines about 2 kilometers south of Moscow.

Gas pipe explosions have also occurred in the Moscow region towns of Chekhov, Podolsk, Bronnitsy and Ramensky.

Chechen rebel groups have claimed responsibility for previous bombings on the web site www.kavkaz.org.uk, though there was no mention of the Lyubertsy bombing attempt on the site as of Monday evening.

In a March 9 posting on the web site, a Chechen rebel group calling itself Shamil Basayev's Riyadus-Salikhin martyrs' brigade said it was preparing a series of attacks on pipelines, electrical substations and other infrastructure targets in the Moscow area.

The same group also claimed responsibility for the Feb. 6 Moscow metro bombing, which killed at least 40 people.

FSB and police sources cited by Kommersant said that the explosives found in Lyubertsy were likely part of an arsenal intended for sabotaging gas and power facilities, rather than for blowing up the apartment building. But with police closing in, the rebels decided to shape them into one large bomb before leaving, Kommersant reported.

www.themoscowtimes.com/st...3/011.html

[MamaDearest]

Donna, I watched Rumsfield beinig questioned for a while - you are right - it was the most slanted and biased questioning possible. It's an open and shut case already and it is nothing more than the Democrats attempting to sabotage the Republicans via this hearing. It is absolutely a farce.