More embassies get bomb threats
Police reinforced security at several embassies in Metro Manila on Wednesday after some reported receiving bomb threats a day after the US Embassy closed due to “plausible threat information.”
Police Chief Supt. Wilfredo Garcia, in charge of diplomatic security, doesn’t believe the telephone threats came from terrorists, but he didn’t elaborate.
He said whoever called the US, Singaporean and Swiss embassies “talked about a car bomb,” prompting police to deploy additional officers in those sites.
The Israeli Embassy also requested extra security measures, although it had received no threats, he said.
“We heightened security at these embassies,” Garcia said. “But I don’t think this is coming from terrorists. We don’t have any history of car bombings in the Philippines.”
The US Embassy closed to the public on Tuesday, citing “plausible threat information.” It said in a statement it would reopen on Thursday.
Although often mentioned as a potential terrorist target, the embassy has rarely closed in the past.
The Philippines is home to the al-Qaeda-linked Muslim group Abu Sayyaf, which is on a US list of terrorist organizations.
US intelligence chief John Negroponte, the former US ambassador to the Philippines, arrived unannounced late Tuesday and met that same night with President Arroyo, embassy spokesman Matt Lussenhop said.
Negroponte was also due to meet with other top security officials on intelligence matters and the terrorism threat.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Mrs. Arroyo had dinner with Negroponte on Tuesday, but would not say what the two had discussed.
Negroponte’s visit is believed not to be linked to the threat that prompted the US Embassy to close on Tuesday. It remained shut on Wednesday, and it was still evaluating when it could reopen, Lussenhop said.
During his visit, Negroponte, 65, who heads some 15 US intelligence agencies, will discuss “the full gamut of [security] issues, but obviously terrorism is the highest on the list,” the spokesman added.
The nature of the threat to the embassy has not been disclosed, but police have dispatched bomb squads to scour the area.
Bunye reassured the public that “deep intelligence gathering and preemptive measures are already in place to foreclose any serious breaches in our peace and order situation.”
He said security forces were working with foreign embassies to neutralize any threats, but he did not identify who might be behind the threats.
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2005/dec/08/yehey/top_stories/20051208top5.html
Albania Seizes Assets Of Bin Laden Associate
TIRANA (AP)--The Albanian government has seized the assets and bank accounts of a man who allegedly worked with Osama bin Laden and others to provide support to terror networks in Albania, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
Abdul Latif Saleh, who holds Jordanian and Albanian citizenship, was placed on a U.N. sanctions list in September, requiring all U.N. members to impose a travel ban on him and block his assets.
Albania earlier had blocked 33 bank accounts in three commercial banks as well as assets and investments in Saleh's businesses and civic organizations he was involved with. Saleh used six different names, said spokeswoman Eva Simoni.
She said she did not know how much money was in the accounts.
The Finance Minister's order also required people to report any link to Saleh or his businesses and prohibited them from doing business with him.
The U.S. Treasury Department alleges that bin Laden provided Saleh with funds to encourage the creation of extremist groups in Albania, where he is believed to be closely associated with groups linked to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, a group connected to al-Qaida.
It said Saleh founded an Albanian jihadist group that has been bankrolled by the Al Haramain Foundation, an Islamic charity with alleged links to al-Qaida.
Saleh is believed to be associated with Yasin al Qadi, a Saudi businessman that the U.S. accused of being a terrorist in October 2001. The department said Qadi was an active fund-raiser for Saleh's jihadist group.
Saleh is also being investigated for alleged money-laundering for al-Qaida. He left Albania more than three years ago.
Earlier this year, Albanian authorities seized property and froze the assets of four foundations and a married couple accused by the United Nations of funding terrorist activities.