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Terrorism Summary 06/25/05

After a month’s absence, here is a summary of recent events. My work load is stabilizing (a little), permitting me more time to track news. I’ve tried to follow, but my record and memory is spotty. Thanks for all the pings.

General observations indicate that activity has increased, as predicted, in Afghanstan. However, while the Taliban/AQ have had limited suc cesses, they have taken it in the perverbal shorts through leadership and personnel losses. US battle operations in Iraq, contrary to the nay sayers in the congress (Kennedy, et al) are progressively working outward, following the terrorist supply lines to the Syrian border. Not how Fallujah has dropped off the MSM radar screen. Al Zarqwai may have been wounded in one of these operations. Also note that Iraqi forces are increasingly leading these operations and greater support and tips are coming in.

Let me know if you want on or off the Ping list.

06/25/04 Current National Homeland Defense threat level is YELLOW

1. Attack threat windows - America
06/25/04 Primary Window: July 1-5, 2005, Independence day celebrations.

06/25/04 Secondary windows: None currently identified.

2. Attack Indicators - America
06/25/05 Zarawhai issued a video played on Al J on 6 June 05. Although his threats were towards Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, American interests across the world should be alert. Although the no discernable act of terror was committed with the last video tape he released (February 2005), there have been significant attacks that may have been linked to the release of the messages in the past. Unconfirmed that Zarawhai said in this recent video that OBL will issue a tape shortly.

06/21/05 The FBI has alerted police about vague, unverified reports of a possible plan to attack power plants and electric grids around New York City this month, according to a confidential FBI memo. The memo, written by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and read by The Advocate, warns of a written threat from a single source that New York-area power plants will be attacked this month.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.threat2jun17%2C0%2C4656739.story

3. Current Terrorist Operations

AQ / OBL
06/25/05 06/07/05 New video with Zarawhai threatening Egypt, Pakistan and S.A.

Southern ASIA Region

Indonesia - Updated State Dept. Travel Warning issued 05/10/05 06/25/05 No significant updateds

Thailand
Monitoring - AQ attack watch #2 through 12/31/05
06/23/05 ARTICLE SNIPPET: "BANGKOK, Thailand (AHN) - A suspected Islamic militant beheads a Buddhist clothing vendor in Southern Thailand Wednesday, in the eighth such incident in 18 months, which have been plagued with separatist violence.
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/cgi-bin/news/newsbrief.plx?id=2238875298&fa=1

06/21/05 A suspected car bomb exploded in the parking lot of the Tanyongmas branch of Krung Thai Bank in the Ra-ngae district of Narathiwat during the morning of 21 June 2005. Three cars sustained significant damage as a result of the blast, but there were no reports of casualties. Also on 21 June, five suspected Islamic militants broke into a house in Pattani and shot dead three Muslims as they were praying. The motive for the attack is unknown. While violence -- including bombings and shootings -- occurs almost daily in southern Thailand, it is usually targeted against Buddhists, police officers or soldiers. Commercial establishments and civilian Muslims are generally not targeted for such violence.
http://www.airsecurity.com/hotspots/hotspots.asp#107781

Malaysia
06/21/05 Malaysia declared victory on Tuesday in its internal campaign against Southeast Asia's most feared Islamic militant group, but said there was room for improved U.S. cooperation in the global war on terror. "We have dismantled the JI basic structure," Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak told Reuters, referring to Jemaah Islamiah, a group blamed for a series of attacks in neighbouring Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. "But we cannot be too complacent," he added.
http://www.reuters.co.in/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp;:42b81529:ee65fa87cecb986e?type=worldNews&localeKey=en_IN&storyID=8851007

Australia
06/24/05 Counter-terrorism agencies believe extremists who may have been planning to attack the Melbourne Stock Exchange were also looking at targets in Sydney. The Herald Sun has been told a radical Islamic network carried out reconnaissance missions on central Melbourne, Sydney Harbour Bridge and two Sydney oil refineries.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,15711594%255E661,00.html

06/23/05 Australian counter-terrorism officers raided four homes in the southern city of Melbourne after an investigation revealed Islamic extremists were planning to attack city landmarks, local media reported on Thursday. The raids on Wednesday, following a 10-month investigation by the Australian Secret Intelligence Organization, were aimed at disrupting the group and no arrests were made, local media said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SYD64341.htm

East ASIA Region

Phillipines
06/24/05 Police stepped up its campaign against the Abu Sayyaf and crime groups in Basilan and has concentrated its forces in two towns. Supt. Abdulwahab Karimuddin, Basilan police director, said that the operation has focused on what he said was a ragtag band of the Abu Sayyaf and “lost command” forces of two major Moro revolutionary groups operating in the island and other Moro-populated areas. “Although they are no longer active and aggressive like before, the Abu Sayyaf and lost command rebels are still a concern,” Karimuddin said over television station ABS-CBN on Friday.
http://www.mindanews.com/2005/06/20nws-police.html

06/24/05 A member of the al-Qaeda-linked Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebel group was killed on Thursday in a clash with government troops searching for an Indonesian hostage in the southern Philippines, the military said.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20050623161555&irec=6

N. Korea
06/25/05 Saga continues about the potential nuclear development. Good news is the a predicted nuclear test hasn’t occurred -yet.

Middle East / SW Asia

Pakistan
06/25/05 Pressure bearing to support terrorists against the stated wishes of Musharrif.

Iran
06/25/05 Elections were held and we have a winner. I don’t have the current details, but will have analysis ready for next summary.

Saudi Arabia
06/23/05 Saudi forces yesterday killed two alleged militants suspected of murdering a counter-terrorism security agent in the holy city of Makkah on Saturday, officials said. Three policemen were wounded, one seriously, during a gunfight in which the two suspects were killed, according to an interior ministry statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. The two slain men were members of a “deviant group”, it said, using the Saudi authorities’ term to refer to the Al Qaeda terror network which is blamed of a wave of attacks in the kingdom over the past two years.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=41683&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56

Afghanistan
06/23/05 Afghan forces are closing in on a number of senior Taliban commanders after a big U.S.-backed offensive in southwestern Afghanistan that killed more than 100 militants, officials said on Thursday. The commanders included Mullah Dadullah, a member of the Taliban's 10-man leadership council headed by elusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, and Mullah Brother another commander thought close to Omar, a Defence Ministry spokesman said.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=764737§ion=news&src=rss/uk/worldNews

06/22/05 US and Afghan forces have killed about 60 suspected militants in clashes in southern Afghanistan, officials say. The 11-hour battle came after suspected Taleban rebels attacked a security patrol near Daychopan district in Zabul province, a US military statement said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4117944.stm>
Godzilla - this area is in southeastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border. Taliban pop up, we play wack-a-terrorist.

06/21/05 In the last three months, fighting with Taliban raiders in the south has left 260 rebels, and 29 American troops, dead. Bands of Taliban gunmen, riding in pickup trucks and SUVs, drive around country roads, shooting at troops and police, or trying to raid government offices. Some of these groups just drive around for a few days, not really making much of an impression, and then go back to their bases in Pakistan. But those that make contact, are soon being pursued by helicopter gunships, UAVs and bombers.
http://www.strategypage.com//fyeo/qndguide/default.asp?target=afghan.htm

Iraq
06/23/05 A survey on casualties of foreign insurgents active in Iraq show that more than half of them are Saudi citizens, while the next most populous group is Syrian militants, at 13 percent, and Kuwaitis following with 5.3 percent.
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.179552768&par=0

06/23/05 A purported communique from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi posted online by the head of Al-Qaida's Media Wing in Iraq claims that Shaykh Abdullah al-Rashood--a top wanted leader of Al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia--has been killed in recent fighting near the western Iraqi city of Al-Qaim. A translation of the communique and excerpts from a video of Shaykh al-Rashood will be made available for download later today.
http://counterterror.typepad.com/

06/22/05 The Iraqi government has announced that it has arrested two senior members of Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaeda in Iraq operating in the northern city of Mosul. The government said the two men were arrested on June 19 and were candidates to replace al-Qaeda's leader in Mosul who had been captured on June 14. They two men were identified as Salim Mohammed Ahmed, also known as Abu Nabhan, and Mohammed Thaer Ibrahim, also known as Abu Sarhan.

06/22/05 Brigadier General Abid Dawood Sulaiman, the military consultant of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and his son Captain Raid were arrested. They were captured while planting roadside bombs against Iraqi forces in the Khadiya area of Falluja, west of Baghdad. An Interior Ministry official did not give details about the arrest operation.
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=7116

06/22/05 Meanwhile, Al Qaeda and Sunni Arab terrorists are seen battling each other in towns and villages along the Syrian border. Closer to Baghdad, the terrorists are knocking each other off on a more personal level. Some tips, about where terrorists are hiding, are believed to have come from rival terrorist groups. The Sunni Arabs are under pressure from other Sunni Arab groups because of these continued al Qaeda attacks. The Sunni Arab terrorists are being told, by other Sunni Arab groups, that if al Qaeda is not stopped, the majority of the Sunni Arab community, in addition to the 80 percent of the population representing the Kurds and Shia Arabs, will come after the Sunni Arab terrorist groups. That would be very bad for the Sunni Arab terrorists. But they are finding that al Qaeda does not care. The al Qaeda guys are on a mission from God, and are basically unreachable when it comes to discussing compromise. It's this characteristic of al Qaeda that has caused it's defeat in so many other countries. It's deja vu all over again.
http://www.strategypage.com//fyeo/qndguide/default.asp?target=IRAQ.HTM

Godzilla - As has been pointed out in previous summaries, tensions between AQ (foreign lead) and local terrorists had been excalating, particularly because increased targeting of Iraqi civilians and not Allied military

Israel
06/23/05 Israeli security sources have uncovered evidence the Iranian-sponsored Islamic Jihad has established a network of recruits, weapons and suicide bombing facilities in the West Bank. The sources said Jihad has been financed by Iran and Hizbullah to launch a series of suicide attacks against Israeli civilian targets, Middle East Newsline reported.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453541.504166667.html

06/22/05 Israel's military has been preparing for the increasing prospect of a war with Syria in a confrontation expected to include Iran and Hizbullah.
The General Staff has discussed an assessment by the military's Northern Command of an emerging threat from Syria and Hizbullah over the next year. Northern Command said a weakened Syria, under pressure from the United States to withdraw from Lebanon, was likely to approve an Iranian-Hizbullah campaign against Israel.
Military sources said this assessment was the latest by several senior officers who envision a major war with Syria by 2007. The sources said Iran and Syria have used Hizbullah to weaken Israel strategically and erode its morale. The sources said the General Staff has not discussed an Israeli strike on Iran.
http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2005/june/06_21_4.html

06/22/05 Israel will resume its program of hunting down and killing terrorist leaders and technicians. Israel believes that the Palestinian terrorists have no intention of honoring any peace deal, and have not even suspended their terrorist attacks. Israel believes the terrorists are rebuilding their organizations and planning a larger terror campaign against Israel.
http://www.strategypage.com//fyeo/qndguide/default.asp?target=ISRAEL.HTM

Africa

Algeria
06/22/05 The Algerian authorities have arrested six Yemeni students they suspect of belonging to al-Qaeda and of having formed an al-Qaeda cell in the city of Annaba, eastern Algeria, the al-Khabar daily reported. The arrests, which security forces made over the past few days, followed phone taps of calls the men made on their line to Peshawar in Pakistan, as well as to Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
The Yemeni arrests follow a recent swoop in Annaba in which police arrested six Tunisians seeking to join the radical Algerian terror formation Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). In early June, Algerian police arrested five men suspected of belonging to a GSPC cell they believe masterminded a series of ambush attacks against Algerian military convoys and police road blocks in May.
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.179013632&par=0

Europe

Great Britain
06/22/05 Complex trail of terror from Europe revealed as anti-terror officers seize suspect in Manchester allegedly tied to an insurgent who was killed fighting coalition forces . Police are hunting for the British support network behind a Manchester-based suicide bomber who was killed in Iraq after an attack on coalition forces.
An armed raid on the bomber’s safe house yesterday was the first confirmation that militants from Britain have been recruited for suicide missions in Iraq. Anti-terror police arrested a French-Algerian man who allegedly shared the terraced house in Moss Side with the suspected bomber, named as Idris Bazis, 41.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1664007,00.html

Amsterdam/b>
06/24/05 A 22-year-old man has been arrested in Amsterdam as part of the investigation into a suspected Muslim terror group in the Netherlands. The suspect was armed with a loaded machine pistol, Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner told Parliament on Thursday. Donner said the man of Moroccan ancestry has been of interest to the police since November 2004, the month filmmaker Theo van Gogh was assassinated in Amsterdam. He is suspected of being a member of the Hofstadgroep, described by the police as a terrorist organization. ….snip…

The arrests in Amsterdam, Donner said, were connected to the detention of a 32-year-old Dutchman by police in London on Wednesday. This older man was arrested at the request of the Dutch authorities. He is wanted for questioning in relation to the investigation into the Hofstadgroep.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=21331&name=Terror+suspects+held+in+Amsterdam+and+London

Russia
06/24/05 The Federal Security Service (FSB) prevented more than 70 terrorist attacks in the first three months of 2005, said service official. "Fifty-eight militants were killed, 296 individuals were arrested on suspicion of engaging in terrorist activities and 149 militant bases were discovered and destroyed in FSB operations conducted during the period," said Yury Sapunov, head of the FSB's Anti-terrorism Department. The FSB is currently focusing its efforts on tracking down warlords and international terrorist organization emissaries. Ten activists of the organization known as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan have been identified and extradited to Uzbekistan in recent years.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050623/40749961.html

Western Hemisphere

United States
(06/24/2005) ARTICLE SNIPPET: "It has been called “the most significant terrorism trial” since 9-11: the first time alleged leaders of Islamic Jihad, self-confessed killers of more than 100 Israelis and two Americans, are being tried in an American court; the first time the controversial Patriot Act has lassoed jihadists of this magnitude; and the first time that Arab professors in an American university who have claimed “academic freedom” for their pro-Palestinians views have been indicted for using their university offices to direct and finance terrorist activity.
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=11044

06/22/05 Lodi ice cream truck driver and his son pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges they lied to FBI agents about their alleged links to an al-Qaida terrorism training camp in Pakistan. Umer Hayat, 47, and his son, Hamid Hayat, 22, both U.S. citizens, were arraigned in federal court in Sacramento on Tuesday. Sitting shackled and handcuffed, neither spoke during the hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Nowinski. Their attorneys entered pleas for them.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_2816452?rss

06/21/05 Violence by environmental and animal rights extremists against U.S. drug makers has increased so much in recent years that it's currently the FBI's top domestic terrorism issue, a top agency official says. "There has been an increase in the use of incendiary devices as well as explosive devices," said John Lewis, FBI deputy assistant director in charge of counterterrorism. "There's a very clear indication that there's no move to slow down or stop - in fact, just the opposite is true."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050621/ap_on_bi_ge/biotech_conference

Mexico
06/22/05 Mexico has arrested Amer Haykel, a British man of Arab extraction sought by US authorities in connection with the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. Haykel was arrested in Todo Santos, a town in the northeastern Mexican state of Baja California, the office of Mexico's Attorney-General (PGR) said today. "The PGR arrested ... Haykel, whom US authorities have linked to extremist groups presumably involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York," the office said in a statement.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15694789-401,00.html

4. Attack method.
11/23/04 No real change in the preferred method of choice of AQ which are bombs - the bigger the better. There are special concerns regarding the use by terrorists of the following types of vehicles:

1. Uhaul type cargo trucks.
2. Gasoline / Propane supply / tanker trucks.
3. Emergency vehicles (ambulances, police cars, fire trucks)

5. Significant meetings canceled:
06/25/04 No new cancellations.

6. Security has been heightened in specific cities
06/25/04 NYC is at a locally declared ORANGE where it had been since. 9/11/01.

7. Military operations.
06/25/05 No announced operations out of normal.

8. Dept of Homeland Security. / State Department
06/25/05 PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Sat Jun 25 2005 00:41:23 GMT-0700.
Malaysia
June 24, 2005

This Public Announcement reiterates the Department of State's ongoing concern about the safety of American citizens, especially those contemplating travel along the east coast of the Malaysian state of Sabah and overland travel into southern Thailand. The Department of State strongly urges American citizens to defer all non-essential travel to Eastern Sabah’s coastal areas and offshore islands. This supersedes the May 17, 2005 Public Announcement and expires on December 23, 2005

There are indications of continued planning of kidnappings, including of foreigners, in eastern Sabah's coastal areas and offshore islands. Several kidnappings and piracy incidents have occurred in this area, most recently in March 2005. The terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), based in the southern Philippines, has been responsible for some of these incidents; other incidents have been attributed to unidentified criminals. Emergency assistance in the area may not always be available. For this reason, American citizens should defer all non-essential travel to eastern Sabah’s coastal areas and offshore islands.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1164.html

06/25/05 Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
This information is current as of today, Sat Jun 25 2005 00:43:54 GMT-0700.
NEPAL
June 24, 2005

This Travel Warning is being issued to alert American citizens to ongoing security concerns in Nepal. The Department of State continues to urge American citizens to defer non-essential travel to Nepal. This supersedes the Travel Warning issued on October 26, 2004.

The Department of State remains concerned about the security situation in Nepal, and continues to urge American citizens to defer non-essential travel to Nepal. Travel via road in some areas outside of the Kathmandu Valley continues to be dangerous and should be avoided. On June 6, 2005 Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) members detonated a landmine underneath a crowded bus in the Chitwan district, killing or injuring over a hundred people. In addition, there have been attacks in the countryside involving foreigners. Maoist extortion of tourists along some popular hiking trails continues. Trekkers and other individuals who resist Maoist extortion demands are threatened, sometimes assaulted and risk being detained.

Maoist supreme commander Prachanda issued a press statement on July 1, 2004, threatening to use "more violent means" if peace talks with the Government of Nepal are not forthcoming or are unsuccessful. The U.S. Department of State continues to regard this as an ongoing statement of intent. The Embassy has periodically received information that the Maoists might attempt to attack or take actions specifically against U.S. citizens, particularly in regions of the country where Maoists are active.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_927.html

06/20/05 Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
This information is current as of today,Tue Jun 21 08:22:47 2005.
ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK AND GAZA
June 20, 2005

This travel warning is being issued to update information on travel restrictions for U.S. government personnel in the West Bank and to reiterate threats to American citizens and interests in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. It supersedes the Travel Warning issued April 7, 2005.

The Department of State urges U.S. citizens to carefully weigh the necessity of their travel to Israel in light of the risks noted below. The Department also urges U.S. citizens to defer unnecessary travel to the West Bank and avoid all travel to Gaza.

Terrorist attacks within Israel have declined in both frequency and associated casualties. However, the potential for further violence remains high. Resentment against efforts to promote peace, and ongoing Israeli military operations in the Occupied Territories could incite further violence in Israel and the Occupied Territories. Israeli security services report that they are investigating between 40 and 60 planned terrorist attacks at any given time. The February 25 suicide bombing of a Tel Aviv nightclub is a reminder of the precarious security environment, even when a cease-fire has been declared.

The anticipated evacuation of Israeli settlers from Gaza could lead to violence in Israel by settler groups. Settler organizations have already organized a series of large-scale demonstrations and are reportedly planning acts of civil disobedience and other protests that at best will be severely disruptive and at worst may result in physical confrontations leading to violence.

The U.S. Government has received information indicating that American interests within Israel could be the focus of terrorist attacks. For that reason, American citizens are cautioned that a greater danger may exist in the vicinity of restaurants, businesses, and other places associated with U.S. interests and/or located near U.S. official buildings, such as the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem. http://travel.state.gov./travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_922.html

9. Suspicious Domestic Incidents Not Currently Linked to Specific Terrorism Attempts
06/25/015 Nothing to report.