Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/8180942.htm

Report: Some Saudi Suspects Sentenced

Associated Press

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia has convicted a number of terror suspects, the government said Saturday in its first public acknowledgment of terror trials since a police crackdown following bombings last year in Riyadh.

Deputy Interior Minister Ahmed bin Abdul-Aziz, quoted in the Saturday edition of the daily Okaz newspaper, said the convicted people had been detained over the last year in sweeping anti-terrorism operations. He did not say how many were detained or convicted, and he did not specify the charges.

"A limited number (of suspects) have been detained for the public good (in connection to the terrorism investigation) ... and some of those have received jail sentences and other cases are still in courts," Abdul-Aziz said.

Trials have not yet been held for those arrested from Saudi Arabia's list of 26 most wanted militants, or for three radical clerics arrested last May and charged with advocating violence.

The deputy minister said an unspecified number of those on the list of 26 are now in custody. The 26 are wanted in connection with Riyadh bombings last year that killed 51 people.

Last year, Prince Turki al-Faisal, the ambassador to London, said about 70 to 90 detainees were scheduled to stand trial.

The bombings in Riyadh in May and November killed 51 people, including the assailants.

Before November, the kingdom had announced that about 600 militants were in custody. It is not clear now how many suspects are in detention now.

Interior Ministry officials were not immediately available to comment on the Okaz report.

When asked why the trials were not public, the deputy minister said: "The trials are organized by the judiciary and we don't interfere in judicial matters."

http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=20089

Saudi Sermon: Time for Christians and Jews to Convert to Islam

Saudi Sermon: Time for Christians and Jews to Convert to Islam
Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia TV1 in Arabic, official television
station of the Saudi Government, carries on February 27, 2004 at 0945 GMT a
live sermon from the holy mosque in Mecca.

Shaykh Salih Bin-Muhammad Al Talib delivers the sermon, which he
devotes to the story of genesis and the heavenly messages brought by the
prophets, beginning with Adam and ending with Prophet Muhammad and the
message of Islam. All heavenly religions, he asserts, came with one
message -- worship of God.

"Therefore," the imam says, "is it not time the People of the Book
[Christians and Jews] pondered and acknowledged that Islam is a continuation
of the messages that came before it and that it is the religion that God has
chosen for the whole of mankind?" "From the time of Prophet Muhammad, may
the peace and blessings of God be upon him, until the Day of Judgment, God
will not accept any other religion or creed," the imam says and cites the
Koranic verse: "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it
be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those
who have lost."

Continuing, the imam says: "Have you not noticed that in the past 15
centuries history has not recorded that one single Muslim religious scholar
has entered Judaism or Christianity? On the other hand, history records with
letters of light the columns of rabbis and priests who have converted to
Islam and linked their messages with its final message, which God has chosen
for all mankind."

The imam makes this appeal: "Therefore, from the fountain of the
message, the site of its revelation, and the pulpit of the house [ka'bah],
which was built by Abraham and to which Moses and Jesus, peace be upon them,
made pilgrimage, I make a sincere appeal along with our Prophet Muhammad's
message to non-Muslims and say: Embrace Islam so as to be peaceful. Embrace
Islam so as to be peaceful. Embrace Islam so that God would reward you
twice. Otherwise, you, and those that follow you out of ignorance would have
to account for your sin. It is an appeal to accept the truth and study
Islam; the correct Islam that the prophet of guidance, Muhammad, may the
peace and blessings of God be upon him, has brought; Islam as it really is,
free of innovations and distortions; the Islam that is innocent of human
violations and the errors made by some of its followers." The imam then
reads this Koranic verse: "Say: "O People of the Book! Come to common terms
as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no
partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and
patrons other than Allah. If then they turn back, Say ye: Bear witness that
we (at least) are Muslims bowing to Allah's will)."

The imam continues with the same theme in the second sermon. He says:
"What has caused misery to mankind in these times of confused ideas is when
some politicians hijacked religions and used them as a means to suppress
others and a tool to dominate the followers of other faiths. This is what
world Zionism did to Judaism. This is also what the so-called secular
governments did to Christianity. They coerced peoples and occupied states by
religious motives and claims of religiousness. And, although they deny these
motives in their statements, they come out in their slips of the tongue and
are unequivocally explained by their statements. The clerics in those
religions are called upon to clearly say that they do not approve the
behavior of their governments and that what is happening is not advocated by
their religions so that their followers who are used in these attacks, those
who think they are doing a good thing and getting closer God, would know
that they are mere tools in the hands of the politicians serving their
reckless whims, which are not curbed by religion or morals. These people's
[clerics] silence and shy statements would only lead to the conflict or
clash of civilizations. The racial segregation wall, which usurps Muslim
lands in Palestine, is one example."

The imam says: "O Muslims, and now a final word on the roots. It is the
duty of Muslims to strongly uphold their religion. The nation of Islam must
believe that it is the only one on the right path, that Islam is the last of
religions, that the Koran is the last of the Books and most importantly,
that Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, is
the last of the apostles, that the Islamic law [shari'a] is a copy of their
laws, and that God will not accept any other religion. Thus, it is
impermissible to concede any of that even if at the cost of our lives. We
say this at a time when some defeatists have weakened and called for mixing
distorted scriptures with Islamic religion under the claim of bringing
religions closer to one another. We say it also at a time when some people's
faith is so weak as to believe that everyone is correct. This began from the
statements uttered by some and the behavior and theses written by others. It
is as if they did not hear God's words: "If anyone desires a religion other
than Islam, never it will be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will
be in the ranks of those who have lost."

The imam says: "If we are to renew the religious discourse, we must go
back to the roots. This means going back to the Koran and the Sunnah. O God,
show us the truth and help us to follow it, and show us falsehood and help
us to avoid it. Please know ye, may God have mercy on you, that fasting on
the 10th day in the month of Muharram [the first month of the new Hegira
year, which began on 21 February 2004] atones for the sins of the two
previous years. Fast on that day and also on the day before or after it.
This is the tradition of your Prophet Muhammad, May the peace and blessings
of God be upon him. He fasted on this day to thank God for saving Moses and
his people and drowning the Pharaoh and his people. It is a strange paradox
that this happy occasion has been transformed by a Muslim faction into
continuous mourning and ceaseless wailing, in a picture that clearly shows
ignorance of religion and following misleading persons without a good
reason. O Ye, correct the path to God and follow the guidance of the
prophet."

The imam concludes with a prayer to God to support Islam and Muslims,
defeat the tyrants, atheists, and corrupt. He also prays to God to keep this
and other Muslim countries safe and secure. He prays: "O God, spare us the
evils of sins, earthquakes, and seditions, both the open and secret. O God,
whoever wishes Islam and Muslims and their lands evil, busy him with
himself, turn his plot against him, and make his plans destroy him. O God,
support your religion, Book, the Sunnah of Your prophet, and your faithful
subjects. O God, save oppressed Muslims everywhere. O God, support the
mujahidin for your sake. O God, support them in Palestine and everywhere."
The imam also prays to God to grant success to the king and his brothers in
their endeavors for the wellbeing of the country and people.

http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=20095

Sunday, March 14, 2004
Jordanian Sermon:"O God, destroy your enemies, the Jewish and crusader enemies of Islam"

Jordanian Sermon:"O God, destroy your enemies, the Jewish and crusader
enemies of Islam"
Amman Jordan Television Channel 1 in Arabic, official television station
of the Hahemite Kingdom of Jordan, on 5 March 2004 at 1002 GMT carries a
17-minute live sermon from martyr King Abdallah mosque in Amman.

Shaykh Jamal Shakir delivers the sermon. After praising God and His
messenger, he calls on Muslims to obey God. The imam devotes his two
sermons to the importance of clinging to Islamic values.

In conclusion, the imam prays to God: "O God, strengthen Islam and
Muslims, humiliate infidelity and infidels. O God, destroy your enemies,
the Jewish and crusader enemies of Islam." He goes on: "O God, stand by our
weak Muslim brothers everywhere. O God, stand by our weak Muslim brothers
in Palestine, Iraq, and the other Islamic countries."

ppfft, not a chance

http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=20096

Sunday, March 14, 2004
PA Supervised Sermon: Palestine [including inside Green Line] is an Islamic land, which must not be relinquished

PA Supervised Sermon: Palestine [including inside Green Line] is an Islamic
land, which must not be relinquished
WEST BANK & Ramallah Voice of Palestine, official radio station
of the Palestinian Authority, on February 6, 2004 at 1000 GMT carries a
24-minute live sermon from Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Shaykh Yusuf Abu-Sunaynah delivers the sermon. After praising God,
the messenger, and his companions, he calls on "the servants of God" to
worship and obey God and to help one another, reminding Muslims of the
Hereafter and God's punishment.

Turning to the Palestine question, the imam discusses the Saudi peace
initiative, which, he says, was based on two main points for putting an end
to the Arab-Israeli conflict. He says: "The first point calls for Israel's
withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories to beyond the 4 June 1967
borders. The second point calls for recognizing the State of Israel,
establishing diplomatic relations with it, and normalizing political,
economic, tourism, and scientific relations with it. The Saudi ideas for
resolving the crisis are not new. The kingdom presented them about six
months ago but Israel rejected them at that time.

The initiative includes ideas contributing to the cancellation of the
repatriation right of more than 2 million Palestinians in the diaspora.
It also calls for settling 1.5 million Palestinians in Saudi Arabia and Iraq
and granting Palestinians in Jordan the Jordanian citizenship. There are
many question marks on that initiative. Can this initiative see light
amid the changes which have resulted from the occupation of Iraq and the
Libyan regime's abandonment of its nuclear armament program? Moreover,
the Arab countries hold secret negotiations with Israel in order to
normalize relations with it. Peace treaties also exist between Israel on
the one hand and Egypt and Jordan on the other. Therefore, the Arab
climate is prepared for that initiative.

Can the United States pressure Israel into accepting that initiative
as a comprehensive, face saving solution in front of the world, which is now
aware of US allegations and lies about the existence of weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq? Before responding to these questions, we have to
explain the Islamic viewpoint. It is Islam that distinguished between
good and bad. This initiative, like the Oslo, Madrid, and other accords
between Palestinians and Israelis, violates the Islamic law. The land of
Palestine is an Islamic land, which must not be relinquished. The
previous agreements have produced destruction, disaster, and suffering for
our steadfast, patient Muslim people on their land because they are based on
ideas and principles conflicting with the Islamic law. From the
political viewpoint, this initiative indicates our nation's weakness and the
Arab regime's failure to foil their enemies' schemes. The initiative
cancels the repatriation right.

Israel has declined to react to this initiative because it is
preoccupied with its unilateral plans, including the construction of the
racial wall and drawing a borderline that will provide it with security and
stability. The Israeli prime minister has announced the possibility of
handing over the triangle area, which is inhabited by a majority of Arab
Muslims, to the Palestinian Authority because the spread of Islam in this
area troubles the Israeli side. The United States has not pressed the
Israeli Government to accept the Saudi initiative because the US
Administration is in dire need of Jewish votes in the US presidential
elections at the end of this year.

O steadfast Muslims, the solution is in our hands. The solution
is in the Koran and the messenger's traditions." The imam then urges the
Islamic countries' leaders to learn a lesson from the messenger's companions
in order to regain their rights.

In conclusion, the imam prays to God: "O God, help Muslims improve
their situation and defeat Your enemy and their enemy. O God, destroy
the Muslims' enemies."

Suspect in Madrid Bombing Is Tied to Sept. 11 Suspect

I heard a brief report of something on Spanish radio this morning, and I wonder if anyone has any more information:

They said that the Italian intelligence services had determined a couple of weeks ago that an attack was planned on Spain, and that an Iraqi or former member of the Iraqi army had been sent to coordinate and conduct it.

I heard this report only once, and there were no details (sent by whom, for example). But it was certainly tantalizing, especially the Iraq connection.

If anybody hears anything more, please post it and ping me!

Thanks for the warm thoughts. Foreign travel is always a worry now. Years ago, I loved it....now it fills me with dread. If it weren't for our very loyal 40 employees counting on our efforts abroad, I'd refuse to go.

Also on Rita, Mansoor said, "The Europeans need to put on their terrorist flack jackets. They're gonna need them."

The Associated Press
Saturday, March 13, 2004; 12:06 PM
Possible al-Qaida Link Found in Attack
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55626-2004Mar13.html

MOLDE, Norway - Norwegian researchers have found documents that could
link the al-Qaida network to terror bombings that killed 200 people in
Madrid, Spain.

Experts from the government's Norwegian Defense Research Establishment
said the documents found on an Arabic-language Web site last year
suggest Spain as a possible terror target because the country had been
part of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.

"We must make maximum use of the proximity to the elections in Spain in
March next year. Spain can stand a maximum of two or three attacks
before they will withdraw from Iraq," the documents said, according to
daily newspaper VG.

A series of bombs hidden in backpacks exploded in quick succession
Thursday, blowing apart four commuter trains and killing at least 200
people and wounding more than 1,400 in the Spanish capital. The attacks
occurred ahead of Sunday's national elections.

Researcher Thomas Hegghammer told the paper the researchers first
thought the 42-page document referred to attacks against coalition
forces in Iraq.

"But the fact that they specifically mention the election in Spain,
makes us have to see this in the light of the action in Madrid, three
days before the election," Hegghammer said.

Norwegian Defense Research Establishment spokeswoman Anne-Lisa Hammer
told The Associated Press the researchers would not speak to journalists
Saturday, but added that the Norwegian reports were accurate.

State broadcaster NRK said the documents do not refer to Thursday's
attacks in Madrid but outline a strategy to pressure Spain, described as
the weakest link in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, to stop cooperating
with the United States.

"The author, who is anonymous, is very well-oriented in Spanish
politics. We cannot say for sure that this document stems from al-Qaida.
We don't have any reason, either, to believe that it isn't real,"
researcher Brynjar Lia told VG.

The document suggests attacks on Spain would lead to the collapse of the
fragile Iraq coalition set up by the United States if they forced Spain
to withdraw.

Spanish officials blame the attacks on Basque separatists from the group
ETA, which denied responsibility. An Islamic group linked with suspected
al-Qaida links has claimed blame in a statement telefaxed to an Arabic
newspaper in London.

Very interesting indeed. Just started trying to catch up here. Any major developments?

I think you're looking for this AP report:
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2004/03/14/ap/Headlines/d81adam80.txt

AP: Madrid Suspect Linked to 9/11 Figure

By ANDREW SELSKY

MADRID, Spain - One of the three Moroccans arrested in the Madrid train bombings is linked to a man jailed in Spain for allegedly helping plan the Sept. 11 attack in the United States, according to court documents reviewed by The Associated Press. It was the latest suggestion that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist group may have been involved in the bombings.

A Sept. 17, 2003 indictment named Jamal Zougam, 30, as a "follower" of Imad Yarkas, who was jailed for allegedly helping plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. Zougam has been arrested in the Madrid bombings. Yarkas, who has used the alias Abu Dahdah, remains in Spanish custody.

The indictment, led by Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, showed police had searched Zougam's home twice. One search turned up a video of mujaheddin fighters in Dagestan, Russia.

Zougam is one of three Moroccans and two Indians arrested in the Thursday attacks, which killed 200 people and wounded 1,500. Officials said phones were apparently used as detonators on the 10 bombs that tore through four rush-hour trains.

Zougam was one of thousands of Moroccans put under surveillance by authorities after May terrorist bombings in the coastal city of Casablanca that killed 33 people and 12 bombers, a Moroccan official said on condition of anonymity.

European intelligence agencies were also working Sunday to identify a purported al-Qaida operative who claimed in a videotape that the terror group bombed trains in Madrid to punish Spain's backing of the U.S.-led war against Iraq.

The tape was discovered in a trash bin near Madrid's largest mosque on the eve of Spain's general elections Sunday. An Arabic-speaking man called a Madrid TV station to say the tape was there, Spain's Interior Ministry said.

"You love life and we love death," said the man on the tape, who wore Arab dress and spoke Arabic with a Moroccan accent.

The man said the taped claim of responsibility for the bombing of four commuter trains came from "the military spokesman for al-Qaida in Europe, Abu Dujan al Afghani."

The Interior Ministry released details about its contents, and intelligence agents were trying to identify the man, verify his claims and establish who Abu Dujan al Afghani is.

"Our reservations about the credibility remain," Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes said Sunday.

In France, which has combated Islamic terrorism for years, an intelligence official said the name al Afghani is likely a pseudonym. The name al Afghani could mean the person is of Afghan origin or has some association with the country.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said it was too early to say if al-Qaida was responsible.

Two Spaniards of Indian origin have also been detained for questioning.

One of the Moroccans had already been under surveillance since last May, when suicide bombings in Casablanca against Jewish and Spanish targets

Zougam faces no formal charges in Morocco. The Casablanca bombings were blamed on Salafia Jihadia, a secretive, radical Islamic group suspected of links to al-Qaida.

The other two Moroccan suspects, Mohamed Bekkali, 31, a mechanic, and Mohamed Chaoui, a worker, 34, have no police record at home, the official said.

The Spanish interior minister, however, said three of the suspects had previous records, and one was under investigation for suspected participation in murder. He earlier had said that one suspect might also have connections with Moroccan extremist groups. He gave no further details.

The interior ministry identified the two Indian suspects as Vinay Kohly and Suresh Kumar.

The five were arrested after a cell phone and prepaid card were found in an explosives-filled gym bag on one of the bombed trains.

Friends of the Moroccans said the Madrid store where they worked sold cell phones but they insisted that the men would not have been involved in planning or carrying out the attacks.

"People shouldn't be put in jail for selling cell phones. They are hard workers," said Karim, who works in a phone shop near the now-shuttered store where the arrested Moroccans worked. Karim did not want to give his last name.

Police searched five properties overnight, Acebes said.

Authorities have been tracking Islamic extremist activity in Spain since the mid-1990s and say it was an important staging ground, along with Germany, for the Sept. 11 attacks.

Associated Press writer John Leicester in Madrid and Nicolas Marmie in Rabat, Morocco, contributed to this report.

I think I'll pass on the conversion too

Saudi Sermon: Time for Christians and Jews to Convert to Islam

No thanks for the invite. We'll pass-over that one!

Your a busy little beaver tonight. Thanks for the posts :)

Reference 572:

Beta-M type RTGs put out 230 Watts of power. The weight of a standard RTG is 560 kilograms altogether, and the weight of the radioactive portion is around 5 kilograms. This active portion contains 35,000 to 40,000 Ci of activity. The radioactivity of an RTG at the distance of 0.02 to 0.5 meters is 800 to 1000 roentgens per hour. These radioactive sources can reach temperatures of up to 500 degrees Celsius.

That is one NASTY source. I sure hope that device doesnt find its way into some terrorist radiological dispersion device. That would literally take years to clean up.

With the source exposed, within a half meter it will kill, even though you would live for about 4 weeks. If it were dispersed, it would be a nightmare.

I wonder if any of the sources are missing?

No, the report about the Italian intelligence services mentioned that the Italians had found out about the Spanish attack plot some days ago (probably not with all the details, of course, because I'm sure if they were certain of it, they would have informed Spain), and that it involved somebody with connections to Iraq.

Other swamps are afghanistan and iraq.

True CJ.

Things sure seem to be heating up.

Bump!

LOL. Weird lookin thing, isn't it? I don't blame you for not touching it. I left that one I saw, alone. :) It'll probably take runnin over them in a car, to kill it. :)

Hummm. To show up soon in a NYC close to us? It's hard to accept people did things like that, and have no sense of responsibility for what happens.