Jordan Police Kill Four Terror Suspects (WMDs Jordan)

AP ^ | April 20, 2004 3:55 PM | JAMAL HALABY

[Anti-Bubba182]

AMMAN, Jordan - Authorities stormed a basement in a poor neighborhood of the Jordanian capital Tuesday, killing four men believed to have ties to an al-Qaida-linked cell that plotted simultaneous bombing and chemical attacks against the U.S. Embassy and other targets.

Three other men were detained at the hide-out, according to an Associated Press photographer at the scene.

It was not immediately clear what relationship the detained men had with the slain terror suspects. Three of the dead were foreigners, government spokeswoman Asma Khader said without giving their nationalities.

The bomb plot was disclosed earlier this week and was said to have been foiled following the arrests of several suspects in two raids in late March and early April. Had the chemical bomb exploded, it could have killed at least 20,000 people and wrecked buildings within a half-mile radius, government officials say.

Jordan, a moderate Arab nation with close ties to the United States and a peace treaty with Israel, has been targeted by al-Qaida and other groups.

The nearly four-hour operation began in Tuesday afternoon when hundreds of policemen, acting on a tip, surrounded a one-mile area around the one-story, white-brick building in the eastern Hashemi district of Amman, a predominantly Palestinian area.

Police called for the suspects to surrender, but they responded with gunfire, the statement said.

About 2 1/2 hours into the operation, police fired several volleys of tear gas at the hide-out.

"Open the door! Surrender!" shouted a Special Forces security man in black uniform through a loudspeaker after police arrested one of three men trying to escape from the back of the house.

Shortly afterward, about six Special Forces men wearing gas masks stormed the house, breaking down the door with an iron bar. Smoke, apparently from a tear gas canister that was fired by the security forces, was seen rising from the basement.

Two men, one bearded, were dragged out of the house. Authorities handcuffed them and forced them to lie on their bellies on the ground next to the first suspect. An official in civilian clothes slapped the men on the face and screamed abuse at them.

Joyful women on balconies of nearby buildings ululated and boys clapped and whistled as police took the three away. Some security forces were slightly injured in the operation.

A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AP that the four killed were believed to have links to a group that plotted to detonate a powerful chemical bomb against Jordan's secret service, and use poison gas against the prime minister's office, the U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic missions.

"Information made available to security authorities pointed to the presence of an armed group which had plotted to carry out terror attacks," the police statement said.

The U.S. Embassy in Amman declined comment on Tuesday's shootout. But other Western diplomatic officials contacted by AP said they believed there was a link between the al-Qaida-linked terror threat and the slain suspects.

Authorities have said the suspects in the earlier raids entered Jordan from Syria, which denies the allegation.

Police said several of the terror suspects arrested last month confessed that the plots were hatched by Jordanian militant Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, thought to be a close associate of al-Qaida boss Osama bin Laden.

U.S. officials have offered a $10 million reward for al-Zarqawi's capture, saying he is trying to build a network of foreign militants in neighboring Iraq to work on al-Qaida's behalf.

Twenty-two Arab men were convicted in a plot that targeted U.S. and Israeli tourists in the 2000 millennium celebrations in Jordan.

---

Associated Press reporters Hussein Malla and Shafika Mattar contributed to this story.

[Nita Nupress]

Be on the lookout for these words in news reports: choline, phosphorous pentasulfide and diisopropylamine. They are precursors to VX.

[Nita Nupress]

Oh, and this makes for interesting reading: http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic900.htm

[oceanview]

Batchelor with a different guest (not Loftus, Malcolm Somebody) talking about the Jordanian WMD attack now. sticking with the same general story, saying the Jordanians are being very tight about releasing details.

talking about the planned stadium bombing in London - another story getting almost zero media attention, the media simply isn't interested in attacks that are thwarted.

[fella]

Joyful women on balconies of nearby buildings ululated and boys clapped and whistled as police took the three away.

This sounds as if these thugs have been terrorizeing the neighborhood. But we all know that islame is love and peace.

[oceanview]

good post describing the binary nature of how its assembled.

[Boot Hill]

•"no further talk about the jordanian WMD. Hmm..."

It will be interesting to see if this story has legs. I would love it to be true, but...

•"the 727 in africa..."

Variations on the story about a missing 727 in Africa have been floating around the internet ever since 9-11. The original versions were effectively debunked, but are still being promoted by the conspiracy whacko's to the gullible. Be skeptical, know your sources, check the facts, don't get sucked in to that tar pit.

--Boot Hill

[Anti-Bubba182]

Speaking of Debka:

Terrorists Lose Rantisi, But Learn to Beat Border (Debka Alert)

[Anti-Bubba182]

Also, there was a thread earlier about a foiled attack on Great Britain planned by al Qaida. The attack involved the use of a compound suitable for small enclosed areas and mentioned that there are plans for chemical attacks in their training manuals. The significance is twofold, one al Qaida is upping the stakes with chemical attacks and that they are fielding operatives who can improvise chemical agents.

UK: Poison gas attack plot foiled

[Boot Hill]

•"Speaking of Debka"

Ah, an opportunity for dueling quotes!

DEBKA:   "...there can be no doubt that Syrian president Bashar Assad and the head of his security bodies knew what was going on and may even have abetted in the plot."

King Abdullah:   "I'm completely confident that Bashir did not know about it."

--Boot Hill

[Boot Hill]

•"Also, there was a thread earlier about a foiled [chemical] attack on Great Britain planned by al Qaida."

That was debunked here.

Just to show you that I'm not blind to the possibilities you suggest, you may find it interesting to review this thread from nearly a month ago: "Ashdod Strike May Have Been Attempted Chemical Attack". This attack was also a suspected al-Qa'ida operation that may have been orchestrated out of Syria.

--Boot Hill

[Travis McGee]

Another WMD and Iraq-AQ linking story the lamestream media will shred and drop into the memory hole.

[Anti-Bubba182]

".. That was debunked here."

That really doesn't debunk the GB attack. A few casualties from any kind of chemical attack could cause panic. Everything does not have to be on a 911 scale.

[ValerieUSA]

update:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3672891.stm

Friday, 30 April, 2004

'Al-Qaeda' denies Jordan WMD plot

Allegations that al-Qaeda was planning a chemical attack against Jordan have been denied in a new audio message.
But a voice said to be Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a senior member of the group, does say an assault was considered on Jordan's intelligence headquarters.

The tape was broadcast on the internet and Arabic television four days after Jordan said it had uncovered a chemical terror plot against targets in Amman.

Washington accuses Mr Zarqawi of being behind terrorist bombings in Iraq.

"[Reports] that there was a chemical bomb to kill thousands of people is a mere lie," the taped voice says.

"If we had such a bomb - and we ask God that we have such a bomb soon - we would not hesitate for a moment to strike Israeli towns, such as Eilat, Tel Aviv and others."

The voice says the Jordanian authorities fabricated the story in order to create a smokescreen to hide "the sordid face of the Jordanian intelligence services".

He said the bomb was intended was made of primary substances available on the market - but it was intended not to harm ordinary people but to destroy the "Jordanian Mossad", referring to Israel's spy service.

"The Jordanian intelligence lied twice... to protect their masters and sponsors from the Jews and Christians," the voice says.

Correspondents say there is no way to verify the authenticity of the tape, which was made available on al-Minbar website.

Mass rally

On Thursday, Queen Rania joined thousands of Jordanians in a mass street protest against the alleged plot.

The protest was said to be the largest in recent history, attracting tribal, religious and business leaders and political activists.

Reports of the size of the match varied markedly, from conservative estimates of 20,000 to 80,000 according to Queen Rania's office, to 250,000 according to the Jordanian news agency, Petra.

Jordanian TV reported on Monday that the authorities had uncovered the chemical plot and raided the house from which the alleged al-Qaeda cell was operating on 20 April.

During the raid, four people were killed and six others were arrested. They included Azmi al-Jayusi, who was shown on TV confessing to the plot.

Officials said the plot involved attacking the intelligence department in Amman, using trucks loaded with 20 metric tons of chemicals.

The attack could have killed 80,000 people and injured twice that amount in an area of two square kilometres (a square mile), officials said.

Other possible targets included the US embassy and the prime minister's office, although officials did not provide details on these alleged plots.

[ValerieUSA]

ping

[ValerieUSA]

ping

[Grampa Dave]

Our mediots and in particuliar C BS continue to ignore this story while going ballistic on the treatment of the Iraqi prisoners.

Sounds like we should allow Jordan to handle future and present prisoners.

[Cap Huff]

Thanks for the ping.

[ValerieUSA]

Ricin is always interesting, too

An Al Qaeda 'Chemist' and the Quest for Ricin

[Cap Huff]

Oh. Original story from weeks ago. It came to the surface with an update.

[ValerieUSA]

I thought it is a good idea to focus on the terrorists in the war against terror every once in awhile.