Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

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The Threat Matrix

The title refers to a daily report given to the president of the United States detailing the most serious terrorist threats against the country. To tackle those threats, the government has formed a top-notch task force to infiltrate the terror cells and cut off the danger.

"Every morning, the president receives a list of the top ten terrorist threats - this list is known as the threat matrix."

We here at FR are trying to be in conjunction with the daily reports around the world that involve threats. We try to provide a storehouse of information that takes hours of research.

YOU be the judge and get informed!

Terrorists could be just getting started
Full Story

New York City and Washington. Bali, Indonesia; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Istanbul, Turkey; Madrid, Spain. And now London.

When will it end? Where will it all lead?

The experts aren't encouraged. One terrorism researcher sees the prospect of "endless" war. Adds the man who tracked Osama bin Laden for the CIA, "I don't think it's even started yet."

"I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat."

TM Terrorism Handbook

Link to Thread Twenty-Seven

"Code Red Implications:
Code Red - Stay Home and Await Word."
From Tm'er and Freeper ~MamaDearest~

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Threat Matrix HTML designed by: Ian Livingston

Al Qaida announces presence in the Gaza Strip
World Tribune.com ^ | 8/05/05

Posted on 08/05/2005 3:37:03 PM EDT by Man50D

ABU DHABI — An announcement on an Al Qaida-aligned website said Osama Bin Laden has formed a military presence in Palestinian areas of the Gaza Strip. Israel plans to withdraw from the area by October 2005.

The announcement said Al Qaida has formed a group called "The Jihad Brigades in the Promised Land." The website, which has in the past posted announcements by Iraqi-based insurgency leader Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi, asserted that the group carried out mortar and rocket attacks against Israeli communities in the central Gaza Strip.

The Al Qaida group was said to have used a new rocket called Sajil. The posting did not detail the capabilities of the Sajil. "The Brigades are not a new organization but merely a spirit of faith pushing the jihad fighters in the promised land to close ranks behind an honest and uncompromising leadership," the announcement on Aug. 3 said.

[On Thursday, Al Qaida threatened additional strikes in Britain and said the organization could also attack the United States. In a video broadcast, Al Qaida's No. 2 Ayman Zawahiri said the July 7 suicide bombings in London's mass transit system were the result of British deployment in Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported.]

Israeli military sources dismissed the announcement, which included a videotape of rocket attacks against the Gush Katif bloc of Israeli settlements. The sources said Al Qaida preferred more lethal attacks than mortar and rocket strikes, leaving them to such groups as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

But Israeli and Palestinian sources did not rule out the prospect that the purported Al Qaida group comprised an existing Palestinian militia. They pointed out that Bin Laden adopted Al Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad and renamed it Al Qaida in Iraq. Al Zarqawi has also established cells in Jordan.

One prospect was that the Gaza-based Popular Resistance Committees, founded in 2001, has been adopted by Al Qaida. The PRC, composed largely of Fatah insurgents, have maintained mortar and rocket fire against Israeli targets and issued statements that resemble those of Al Zarqawi.

Palestinian sources said the PRC was directed by Al Qaida-aligned elements. The group was said to be led by Jamal Abu Samhadana, based in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. PRC claimed responsibility for the ambush of a U.S. embassy convoy in 2003 in which three U.S. security guards were killed

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1457759/posts

Note: The following text is an exact quote:
===

http://www.internet-haganah.us/harchives/004667.html

August 04, 2005
Finances for foreign terrorists can flow via Czech Rep
LOAD-DATE: August 2, 2005
Copyright 2005 Czech News Agency (CTK)
CTK National News Wire
August 1, 2005
SECTION: General News
LENGTH: 338 words
HEADLINE: Finances for foreign terrorists can flow via CzechRep - UZSI
BYLINE: HOL
DATELINE: PRAGUE, Aug 1 (CTK)
KEYWORD: Czech intelligence terrorism Randak Iraq

The civilian intelligence (UZSI) has information that finances for foreign terrorist cells can flow via the Czech Republic, UZSI head Karel Randak said in an interview for BBC radio today, without elaborating.
Randak only indicated that his office could react more operatively if an anti-terrorist law were eventually passed in the Czech Republic. He called its absence a fundamental mistake.

"Without an anti-terrorist law and amendments to other interconnected laws...we do not have a tool to fight against terrorism efficiently," said Randak.

He added that other intelligence services, as well as police are in a similar situation.

Randak said that the absence of an anti-terrorist law is reflected in the "so widely discussed problems with bank accounts and their monitoring."

"It means the tools to enable a better monitoring of financial means which flow between particular groups either via NGOs, or via banks," Randak noted.

He said he believed that an antiterrorist law would eventually adopted in the Czech Republic.

Randak indicated that the capacity of his office is limited and should deploy a certain number of people for the fight against terrorism.

Randak also told BBC that the recent attack on a Czech diplomatic car returning from the airport in Baghdad was not directly connected with a similar incident in Iraq in 2004.

He added that the investigation into the first incident was completed and the perpetrator was not identified. His office has no traces in the second case either, he added.

The Czech cabinet has been preparing the action plan for the fight against terrorism since the terrorist attacks on the USA on September 11, 2001.

However, some deputies point out that this plan is still insufficient. They criticise, for instance, the protracted passage of some international documents which should prevent suspicious financial transactions in the Czech Republic.

The anti-terrorist law is to remove these shortcomings.

Posted by aaron at August 04, 2005 02:18 PM

TerroristWarning.com Terrorism Headlines 08/05/2005 # 1

National:

[CNN] USA - Al Qaeda threatens more UK, U.S. attacks

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/08/04/zawahiri.london/

[AP] USA - D.C. Airspace May Be Restricted for Good

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/03/AR2005080301798_pf.html

[AP] USA - Report Says U.S. Held Two Yemeni Prisoners in Secret Underground

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBSM8P9YBE.html

[NWVM] MISSOURI - Northwest Missouri Volunteer Militia

"Defending our liberty, Defending our home"

http://www.nmvm.bravehost.com

[AP] NEW YORK - New York Civil Rights Group Sues, Saying Police Subway Bag Searches Are Useless

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBX642DZBE.html

[AP] MARYLAND - New York Authorities Accuse Maryland Man of Conspiring to Support Terror Group

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB4L49LZBE.html

[The News-Press] FLORIDA - FBI questions 3 passengers at airport

"screener found some suspicious items, including drawings of aircraft and notes in Arabic, in a checked bag at Southwest Florida International Airport"

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050804/NEWS01/508040421/1075

[The Ledger] FLORIDA - Suspicious Bag Delays Amtrak [False alarm]

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050804/NEWS/508040409/1004

[Sun-Sentinel] FLORIDA - Suspicious package forces evacuation of Broward courthouse

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-84courthouseevac,0,5701014.story?coll=sfla-news-broward

[KAKE] KANSAS - Suspicious Device Shuts Down Part of a Kansas Highway [Pipe Bomb]

http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/1773812.html

[LAMonitor.com] NEW MEXICO - Suspicious package shuts down Bridge [ False alarms ]

http://www.lamonitor.com/articles/2005/08/03/headline_news/news03.txt

[WNEP] Suspicious Package Found in Wayne County

http://www.wnep.com/Global/story.asp?S=3684013

[KHOU] TEXAS - Metro Rail bomb scare a false alarm

"man claiming to have a bomb aboard a Metro Rail train was arrested "

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou050804_mh_metroarrest.400374eb.html

[AP] TEXAS - False alarm: Suspicious briefcase at mosque contained cash

http://www.khou.com/news/state/stories/khou050804_mh_mosque.3e91de47.html

[I-Newswire] USA - EFF Urges Appeals Court to Find Secret Subpoena Power Unconstitutional

http://i-newswire.com/pr40338.html

[UPI] WASHINGTON - Woman tries to open airplane door [ In flight ]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopNews&article=UPI-1-20050804-15181500-bc-us-jetdoor.xml

[FrontPageMagazine.com ] USA - Dirty Bomb Doomsday

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=19011

[Wired] FLORIDA - Bogus Homeland Alerts Hit the Air [Accidental EAS radiological alert]

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68363,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2

[Computer Weekly] USA - Security Alert as Cisco Website Hacked

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2005/08/04/211243/SecurityalertasCiscowebsiteishacked.htm

[AP] USA / MEXICO BORDER - FBI, Mexico mum on Laredo meeting on border

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3296918

[Tribune-Review] USA / MEXICO BORDER - Borderline truths II

"When a terrorist attack on American soil is traced to Muslims entering the country illegally from Mexico, a class action lawsuit should be filed against our federal government for
criminal negligence"

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/opinion/letters/s_360362.html

[TheRealityCheck.org / Jim Kouri] MINNESOTA - Al-Qaeda in Minnesota

http://www.therealitycheck.org/GuestColumnist/jkouri062405.htm

[Newsday] NEW YORK - Homeland Security to conduct gas tests in Midtown, subways

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsgas0805,0,4772443.story?coll=ny-top-headlines

[Farm Week] USA - Perspective - Animal rights extremists haven't closed up shop

http://farmweek.ilfb.org/viewdocument.asp?did=8256&r=0.1129267

International:

[New York Times] UNITED KINGDOM - Britain Goes on High Alert, Spurred by Hint of Attack

"latest intelligence information was "specific enough to worry them that something is coming."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/05/international/europe/05london.html

[AGI] ITALY - TERRORISM: BIANCO CONFIRMS HIGH TERRORIST ALERT

"draws a link between attacks in London and the level of terrorist threat in Italy"

http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200508031909-1176-RT1-CRO-0-NF82&page=0&id=agionline-eng.italyonline

[The Border Mail] AUSTRALIA - Suspicious pack explodes [ At bus station ]

http://www.bordermail.com.au/newsflow/pageitem?page_id=1019869

[Jemma Chapman] AUSTRALIA - CFS crews `not ready' for terrorist attack

http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,16158824%255E2682,00.html

[Reuters] FRANCE - Frankfurt-Paris train stopped after bomb alert

http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG4_sub.asp?newscode=113381&catcode=ENG4&subcatcode=

[AP] USA / UNITED KINGDOM - U.S. issues travel warning for UK

http://www.wnd.com/redir/r.asp?http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/04/uk.travel.warning/index.html

[AP] UNITE KINGDOM - Al-Qaida's Deputy Leader Threatens More Attacks in Britain

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB2BL3EZBE.html

[THe Australian] PAKISTAN - Blast kills five Pakistani troops

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16159215%255E1702,00.html

[Reuters] TURKEY - Two killed, five injured in Istanbul blast

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3122450,00.html

[Mosnews] KAZAKHSTAN - 4 Killed by Blast at Explosives Factory in Kazakhstan

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/08/04/kazakhblast.shtml

[Addis Tribune] ETHIOPIA - Blast Kills Five People in Jijiga

http://www.addistribune.com/Archives/2005/07/29-07-05/Blast%20Kills%20Five%20People%20in%20Jijiga.htm

[AP] AFGHANISTAN - American killed in blast in Afghanistan

http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=3682554

[ICWAlES] FRANCE - France expells Islamic radicals [ Also Bavaria, Germany, Italy, UK ]

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0700world/tm_objectid=15817154&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=europe-steps-up-expulsion-of-islamic-radicals-name_page.html

[ABC Online] AUSTRALIA - SMS to alert Sydney CBD site managers of terrorist attack

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1430974.htm

[AAP] AUSTRALIA - No plans to raise terror alert: govt

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/No-plans-to-raise-terror-alert-govt/2005/08/05/1123125888435.html?onfiltered=true

[Haaretz] ISRAEL - Jewish terrorist kills four on bus in Arab town

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/608864.html

[Community-Dispatch] SRI LANKA - Sri Lanka Travel Warning and Alert

http://communitydispatch.com/artman/publish/article_1568.shtml

[AP] JORDAN - Jordan arrests 17 militants linked to al-Qaeda

"allegedly plotting to attack Jordanian intelligence agents and US troops in the kingdom"

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200508050360.htm

[Quadrangle] HONDURAS - Honduras Trip Cancelled Due to Terrorist Actions

http://www.mcquadrangle.org/media/paper663/news/2005/01/26/News/Honduras.Trip.Cancelled.Due.To.Terrorist.Actions-842693.shtml

[RIA Novosti] RUSSIA - Chechen spiritual leaders declare holy war on terrorism in the republic [TW Editors Note- Taking care of their own problem is the best thing they could possibly
do, Muslims everywhere should 'physically annihilate' the terrorist extremists within their ranks so we don't have to.]

"They [Wahhabists] are enemies not only of Islam, but of humanity, since they shed innocent blood and I see no other way of countering them, other than through physical annihilation,"

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050804/41092533.html

ate: 5 Aug 2005 From: ProMED-mail Source: Reuters Alert Net / IRIN _____________________________________________________________ DRC: Unidentified fever kills 12 diamond miners in Maniema, OCHA says --------------------- A local official of the UN humanitarian office, OCHA, said on Friday that 12 diamond miners working in a pit 84 km northwest of the town of Punia in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Maniema Province are dead and many others are seriously ill from what appears to be a hemorrhagic fever. ______________________________________________________________ "Those infected vomit blood," Gerson Brandao, the humanitarian affairs officer for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Maniema, said. _____________________________________________________________ "This is likely an acute respiratory infection that has mutated into a hemorrhagic fever," he added ____________________________________________________________. Brandao said 34 people were currently suspected of having the disease. He said the disease could have been caused by the condition in Punia and at the pit where 10 500 miners recently arrived following news of the discovery of diamonds. He said the health inspector for the Punia Health Zone had reported there was no drinking water in the area and that the miners worked in poor health conditions. _____________________________________________________________ Brandao said UNICEF had sent a mobile health clinic to the area while the NGO Merlin and other humanitarian organisations were informing people on methods to prevent further transmission of the disease. -- ____________________________________________________________ ProMED-mail ________________ [The town of Punia is located in the northern part of Maniema province near the border with Orientale province where there have been outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever in the past (a good map of provinces with major towns can be found at ). _____________________________________________________________ Maniema province has not been implicated in outbreaks of one of the viral hemorrhagic fevers in the past. As can be seen from prior ProMED-mail postings listed below, neighboring Orientale province has had outbreaks of Marburg hemorrhagic fever in the past, and Ebola virus has been implicated in outbreaks more westerly provinces of Bandundu (Kikwit) and Equateur near the border with the Republic of the Congo. ______________________________________________________________ One intriguing mention in the above newswire is that the disease seems to start as a respiratory disease and then becomes ("mutates into") a hemorrhagic fever. This is reminiscent of the outbreak of pneumonic plague in miners in Orientale province (Ituri) earlier this year. Pneumonic plague is associated with hemoptysis (coughing up blood), which may be confused with hematemesis (vomiting up blood). _____________________________________________________________ Further speculation in the absence of more information on the clinical presentation of the cases is hazardous other than to mention that the differential diagnosis of hemorrhagic fevers in the country (Democratic Republic of the Congo) would include yellow fever and malaria among other diseases. _____________________________________________________________ More information on this outbreak from knowledgeable sources (such as our colleagues in humanitarian organizations "on the scene" as mentioned in the newswire above) would be very much appreciated. - Mod.MPP] _____________________________________________________________ [Elsevier reference: Pourrut X et. al. The natural history of Ebola virus in Africa. Microbes and Infection. Jun 2005, 7 (7-8):1005-1014 ] _____________________________________________________________ [see also: Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo Rep. (07) 20050622.1756 Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo Rep. 20050520.1382 Undiagnosed deaths - Congo Rep. (04): Ebola confirmed 20050518.1358 Undiagnosed deaths - Congo Rep. (03): Ebola susp 20050514.1321 Unexplained deaths - Congo Rep: RFI 20050510.1286 Plague, pneumonic - Congo DR (07): (North East) 20050315.0754 Plague, pneumonic - Congo DR (02): (North East) 20050223.0575 Plague, pneumonic - Congo DR (Ituri) 20050218.0537 (there is a long list of other outbreaks, not printed..granny)

(note: according to this, the Palestian ride busses with their loads of rocks, not a pretty report..granny)

Jewish Extremist Opens Fire Inside Bus

By KRISTEN STEVENS, Associated Press Writer
Thu Aug 4, 7:02 PM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050804/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians;_ylt=AhWqOr.hMFFiUlV1KjmXvKOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY-

SHFARAM, Israel - A 19-year-old Israeli soldier opened
fire inside a bus Thursday, killing four Israeli Arabs
in the deadliest attack on Arabs in Israel by a
Jewish extremist since 1990. An angry crowd then
killed the gunman.

Thirteen people, including bus passengers and two
policemen, were wounded in the shooting, which
appeared linked to tensions over the upcoming Israeli
pullout from the Gaza Strip and parts of the
West Bank.

After the attack, the bruised and bloodied body of the
gunman lay on the floor of the bus surrounded by
stones — raising the possibility he had been stoned to
death.

The military identified the dead soldier as Pvt. Eden
Natan-Zada, a resident of the Jewish settlement of
Tapuah in the West Bank. Natan-Zada's father, Yitzhak,
told The Associated Press his son ran away from his
army unit several weeks ago after being told he would
have to participate in the Gaza pullout.

Israel Radio said the gunman was bludgeoned to death
by the crowd. After the attack, the gunman's body lay
on the floor of the bus, and police had covered his
head with a black plastic bag. His shirtless upper
torso was heavily bruised.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon denounced the
shooting as "a despicable act by a bloodthirsty
terrorist." Settler leaders also condemned the attack.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called on Israel to
prevent Jewish settlers from carrying weapons "because
they (the settlers) are dangerous to the security and
peace." Many settlers carry arms, which they say they
need to protect themselves.

Security officials have been warning for months that
Jewish militants, desperate to sabotage Israel's
pullout, might attack Arabs to deflect Israeli forces
away from the Gaza pullout. The police commissioner,
Moshe Karadi, warned the shooting could trigger more
violence.

The attack took place on the No. 165, which shuttles
between the Arab town of Shfaram in northern Israel
and nearby communities. At around 6 p.m., the bearded
gunman, who wore an Israeli army uniform, boarded the
bus and opened fire. Police said the attacker wore a
skullcap, identifying him as an Orthodox Jew.

Four people were killed, including the driver. Police
said the four apparently were all residents of
Shfaram.

The windows of the bus were shattered. Blood covered
the floor and seats of the bus, and stones lay on the
floor. A policeman with a bullhorn, standing near the
body, addressed a crowd of thousands at the scene.

Several hours later, police slowly drove the bus away
as hundreds of Shfaram residents ran alongside the
vehicle. Investigators kept collecting evidence inside
the bus as it was driven out of town.

Yitzhak Natan-Zada, 49, said he had asked the army to
find his son, who fled from his unit after refusing to
take part in the Gaza pullout. The elder Natan-Zada
said he was worried his son's weapons would fall into
the hands of fanatics in Tapuah.

"I wasn't afraid that he would do something. I was
afraid of the others," Natan-Zada said by telephone.
"I spoke to him two days ago and he was a happy and
good-hearted boy and he told me he would find the time
to return the weapon."

Tapuah is one of the most extreme Jewish settlements,
dominated by followers of U.S.-born Rabbi Meir Kahane,
who advocated expelling Arabs from Israel and the West
Bank. Kahane was assassinated in New York in 1990.

Israel TV said Natan-Zada was a deserter from his army
unit who grew up in the Israeli city of Rishon Letzion
and moved to the settlement recently.

There have been several incidents of Jewish extremists
attacking Arabs over the years, but rarely inside
Israel. In 1990, during the first Palestinian
uprising, an Israeli opened fire at a bus stop where
Palestinians gathered for job placements, killing
seven.

In 1994, Baruch Goldstein, an American-born Jewish
settler entered a holy site in the West Bank city of
Hebron and opened fire on Muslim worshippers, killing
29 — the bloodiest attack by a Jewish extremist
against Palestinians.

Israeli Arabs make up about 20 percent of Israel's
population of 6.9 million. They remained in their
homes during the 1948-49 war that followed creation of
the state of Israel, while hundreds of thousands of
others fled or were driven out.

Though Israeli Arabs are full citizens, they have
suffered from discrimination by Jewish-dominated
governments. Many of their towns and villages lack
basic infrastructure, and Arab localities are usually
at the top of Israel's unemployment lists.

Anger spilled over in October 2000, when thousands of
Arabs rioted in support of the Palestinian uprising,
which erupted the month before. Israeli police shot
and killed 13 Arabs, further infuriating and
alienating many Arab citizens.

In southern Israel, meanwhile, opponents of the
pullout ended their second mass protest Thursday,
after police blocked their plan to march to Gaza to
reinforce the settlements. A few hundred protesters
remained behind in the town of Ofakim, including
settlers' council head Bentsi Lieberman, who denounced
the shooting.

"Murder is murder is murder, and there can be no other
response but to denounce it completely and express
revulsion," he said.

Karadi said forces had been diverted to deal with the
demonstrators, leaving the north of Israel
short-handed. "We have sent forces from the center and
those from the south who were supposed to be going
home have now been diverted to the north," he said.

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