Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

Note: The following text is a quote:
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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/20060519_5167.html

Coalition Finds Weapons, Targets Taliban in Air Strike

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2006 – Coalition forces confiscated weapons caches in five Afghanistan locations yesterday, and a U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber struck a terrorist stronghold May 17, military officials reported.
Forces discovered seven mortar rounds, three rocket-propelled grenade rounds and three rockets near Bagram Air Base in Parwan province. A second cache consisting of 100 mortar rounds was discovered near Bagram after an Afghan citizen reported the cache to coalition forces. A coalition patrol sent to the location determined all the rounds were in working order. Afghan National Army soldiers took control of the rounds.

"Recovering and disposing of these weapons increases the safety and security of Afghans, and reduces the danger in the area posed by criminals and insurgents who might use those munitions indiscriminately to cause harm on the Afghan people, Afghan security forces or coalition forces," said Army Lt. Col Paul Fitzpatrick, Combined Joint Task Force 76 spokesman.

During a separate cordon-and-search operation in Puree Khel in Khost province, coalition forces found a small cache of munitions including ammunition, a hand grenade and anti-coalition propaganda.

Near Forward Operating Base Sarkoni, an Afghan citizen turned in a weapons cache to coalition forces. The cache included 29 mortar rounds, 67 mortar fuses, 16 mortar launchers, 22 sighting periscopes, six recoilless rifle rounds and 27 projectile rounds. The cache was deemed unserviceable and destroyed.

The B-1B bomber struck a Taliban-associated compound late May 17 near Kandahar. The bomber responded to an immediate air-support request with one GBU-38, Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM. It destroyed the compound from which Taliban members were attacking coalition ground forces. Officials said 15 to 20 Taliban were killed from the air strike.

Officials said the terrorists were active members of the Taliban network who had conducted attacks against coalition and Afghan forces. They also attacked Afghan government officials and are suspected of building roadside bombs and of training other enemy fighters, officials added.

U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials said this was the first use of a GBU-38 by a B-1B in a combat environment. The Air Force recently added a new software package to the bomber that allows it to carry and deliver this guided weapon, they explained.

The GBU-38, a 500-pound bomb, is a precision weapon that allows warfighters to focus their strikes and minimize collateral damage.

"With the new software package and this precision weapon, we can target and eliminate the terrorist threat in close quarters," said Maj. Gen. Allen Peck, deputy Combined Forces Air Component commander for U.S. Central Command. "We're able to better support our coalition ground forces and significantly reduce the possibility of civilian casualties."

(Compiled from Combined Forces Command Afghanistan and U.S. Central Command Air Forces Forward news releases.)

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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/20060519_5168.html

Forces in Afghanistan Kill 61 Enemy Fighters, Capture 20

American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, May 19, 2006 – A series of continuous offensive operations May 17 and yesterday across eastern and southern Afghanistan left 61 Taliban extremists dead and 20 others captured, military officials here reported today.
Afghan National Police and coalition forces killed a reported 60 enemy fighters and captured 20 during a battle in the village of Musa Qalah in Helmand province May 17, Copmbined Forces Command Afghanistan officials said. The joint force pursued the fighters after receiving reports of a large enemy force moving from Musa Qalah. Sixteen police were killed and 20 were wounded in the conflict.

"Extremists terrorized the town of Musa Qalah overnight, setting fires and attacking government agencies," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 76. "The ANP rapidly responded to drive them out with great success. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the 16 brave police officers who sacrificed their lives defending the people of Musa Qalah."

In a separate operation in the Bahrami District of Ghazni province yesterday, ANP and coalition forces engaged about 30 extremists with small arms and mortar fire in the village of Godale Shamshir in Ghazni province. A policeman and an enemy combatant were killed in the firefight.

During the engagement, coalition attack aircraft provided close-air support and conducted strikes on enemy positions.

"Afghan national security forces are seeking out and destroying the extremists who threaten the Afghan people and who stand in the way of growth and progress," Freakley said. "There will be no sanctuary afforded the enemy, and no respite."

Taliban extremists claim to have mounted a spring offensive in southern Afghanistan, but Afghan and coalition forces "have clearly demonstrated they have seized and maintained the initiative, and are capable of conducting simultaneous combat operations throughout the country where ever the enemy attempts to move," according to a Combined Forces Command Afghanistan statement.

(From a Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news release.)

ON THE NET...

http://www.morgellons.org/

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1635304/posts

"All in the head?"
Times Online UK ^ | May 19, 2006 | Elaine Monaghan, Times Online special correspondent

Posted on 05/19/2006 7:04:32 PM PDT by bd476

Times Online

May 19, 2006

All in the head?

By Elaine Monaghan, Times Online special correspondent

Imagine one day you see strange fibres, usually clear but sometimes blue, red or black, protruding from your skin, like a piece of spaghetti, or a hair where none is supposed to be.

You itch all over, lesions appear and you have an unnerving, infuriating feeling that bugs are crawling under and on your skin.

"Brain fog" and short term memory loss set in. You are plagued by chronic fatigue. You can't work or go outside much because you don't know if you're infectious and anyway, you're too tired.

Doctor after doctor sees the evidence you bring to your visit - the fibres and the scabs - as the "matchbox" sign that you are imaging things because sufferers of delusional parasitosis traditionally bring their "proof" in a matchbox.

Still the lesions appear, and the fibres. Sometimes you see things that can only be called "fuzzballs," or sometimes grains of sand, or other times, black granules. It hurts. You try to pull the fibres out when you can see them but it doesn't help. Years later, you're still searching for a cure. You might get temporary relief from powerful, long-term antibiotics but as soon as you stop taking them, the symptoms return.

It may sound like a scene from Alien, an elaborate hoax or a biblical parable you forgot. But for an estimated 3,500 self-reported cases, many of them in California, Florida or Texas, it is 21st century reality. These sufferers have registered at a website that seeks support for clinical studies into a mystery disease they have named "Morgellons." Cases have been reported in all 50 states here but also all over Europe, including Britain, many of them by nurses and teachers, according to the Morgellons Foundation. Some doctors have been reported to take it seriously, and one says he has had success treating it with antibiotics. Another physician who specialized in treating Morgellons was in the news a lot lately after he had his license revoked."

ON THE NET...

http://www.moon4321.net
http://www.moon4321.net/pages/hiwar5.html
http://www.moon4321.net/pages/letters.html
http://www.moon4321.net/pages/magaz.html

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May 17, 2006

Terrorism Focus

http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2369995

"GSPC Leader Issues New Threat to U.S. Military Bases in North Africa"

By Andrew McGregor

A recent threat from a prominent Algerian jihadist may expand Algeria's 14-year-old Islamist revolt to include U.S. military targets in the African Sahara and Sahel. The statement, issued by Mukhtar Bilmukhtar (Khaled Abu al-Abbas), comes at a time when the movement is under intense pressure from Algerian counter-terrorism units. In an interview on the website of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC), Bilmukhtar, a veteran of the Afghan jihad, pledged his support to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network while recounting the tribulations of a "jihad of conspiracies and disasters" (http://www.moon4321.net/pages/hiwar5.html ).

After rising through the GSPC ranks, Bilmukhtar disappeared from Algeria for two years, during which time it is believed he was in Mali. In June 2003, there were reports that Algerian commandos and Malian security services had broken up a Bilmukhtar-led attempt to attack the U.S. Embassy in Bamako with a truck bomb. After becoming a fugitive in Mali, Bilmukhtar returned to southern Algeria to organize the southern command of the GSPC. He was said to have led the January 7, 2005 attack on a military convoy at Biskra that killed 13 Algerian soldiers and five civilians. In the statement, Bilmukhtar complains of the establishment of U.S. military bases in Mali and Niger and the future creation of bases in Mauritania and Algeria, claiming that they are a response to reports of GSPC contacts with al-Qaeda.

As part of its national reconciliation policy, the second of Algeria's two mass amnesties of Islamist radicals took effect on March 13. As part of the amnesty, 2,200 militants (many of whom were involved in savage atrocities) were released from prison while the families of their victims poured into the streets of Algiers in protest. A general amnesty has been offered to fighters still in the field that expires at the end of August."

UPDATE...

http://www.wtop.com/index.php?nid=104&sid=627427

May 20th, 2006
"New York Mall Shooter Gets 32-Year Maximum"
May 19th - 12:54pm
By MICHAEL HILL Associated Press Writer

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "KINGSTON, N.Y. (AP) - A man who peppered a busy shopping mall with semiautomatic weapon fire, wounding two people, was sentenced Friday to the maximum 32 years in prison.Robert Bonelli Jr. walked through the Hudson Valley Mall on Feb. 13, 2005, calmly shooting off dozens of rounds, according to witnesses. Two people were wounded before Bonelli ran out of ammunition near the center court, dropped his weapon and was tackled.

Bonelli, 26, said he wasn't himself that day because of lack of sleep and drug and alcohol abuse.

"I'm sorry that all this happened. This is not the kind of person that I am," he said Friday.

But state Supreme Court Justice Michael Kavanagh said Bonelli committed a horrendous act even if he didn't intend to kill anyone, saying "you knew precisely what you were doing." Kavanagh noted that Bonelli even reloaded.""

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200605/INT20060519b.html

"Island's 'Ayatollah' Denies He'll Support Extremism"
By Stephen Mbogo
CNSNews.com Correspondent
May 19, 2006

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Nairobi, Kenya (CNSNews.com) - Voters in the Comoros - an island nation in the Indian Ocean -- have elected as president an Islamic cleric who was educated in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. Some are concerned that he may introduce Islamic law, support extremism and provide diplomatic support to despotic Islamic states at the U.N.

President Ahmed Abdallar Mohammed Sambi's background has given rise to media speculation in Africa that he may pursue an anti-Western stance and end the country's support for the U.S.-led anti-terrorism war.

Comoros, located off Africa's southeast coast, is about half the size of Rhode Island. Although small, its location is important.

The U.S. is engaged in efforts to disrupt terror activities along the Indian Ocean coastline, activities known to have contributed to terrorism in East Africa. The waters off Somalia to the north are also a haven for pirates.

Sambi, who was elected this week with 60 percent of votes cast, has sought to quell the concerns.

He told reporters that he was not ashamed to be a Muslim, but that "our country is not ready to be an Islamic state and I will not make anyone wear the veil."

"I am against extremism and terrorism. I am a theologian, I am also a pragmatist. I did not use a single Islamic slogan in my campaign," Sambi said in response to questions.

Shortly before the election, the man nicknamed "Ayatollah" paid a symbolic visit to a Catholic Church. Some 98 percent of the Comoros' 690,000 people are Sunni Muslim, with the remainder Catholics.

Sambi also denied he had links with Iran, despite having studied there. But he also said he would not end relations with Tehran, adding "we need help from everyone.""

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200605/INT20060519c.html
"Gov'ts Look Into North Korean Long-Range Missile Test Reports"
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
May 19, 2006

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) - Reports in East Asia Friday said North Korea may be preparing to test fire a long-range missile, but the Japanese and South Korean governments said they could not confirm their veracity.

The reports appearing in several regional media outlets said satellite pictures indicated activity at a launch site in northeastern North Korea suggested that a missile launch was being readied.

A report by Japanese national broadcaster NHK cited unnamed South Korean officials, while other Japanese outlets -- the Kyodo and Jiji news agency -- cited unnamed Japanese and U.S. sources.

The Korea Herald quoted a military official as saying a joint U.S.-Korean military satellite had picked up increasing movements of trailers and other materials earlier this week.

NHK said the missile may be a Taepodong-2. North Korea is known to be developing a Taepodong-2, but has yet to test one. Defense experts say the variant's design aims for a range that would take in Hawaii and parts of Alaska.

South Korea's defense ministry said it was trying to establish if the reports were accurate, but suggested they were not.

Seoul's foreign ministry spokesman Bae Young-han said the government was "closely watching" the North but had no indication yet that the reports were true.

Japanese government spokesman Shinzo Abe told a regular news conference that Tokyo did not believe a launch was "imminent.""

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http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200605/INT20060519a.html

"North Korea Nuclear Issue Back in the Spotlight"
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
May 19, 2006

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) - After months of stagnation, efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis appear to have returned to the front burner, as reports emerge that the U.S. is ready to discuss an historic peace treaty with the Stalinist regime on a track parallel to nuclear talks.

A New York Times report, citing unnamed presidential aides, said President Bush was likely to approve a "new approach" in a bid to break the impasse with Pyongyang.

White House and State Department spokesmen both stressed, however, the importance of North Korea returning to the nuclear six-party negotiations before anything further could take place.

"Nothing happens until North Korea goes back and participates in the six-party talks," said White House spokesman Tony Snow. "To talk about any further steps [before that] would be premature.""

ON THE NET...

TRAVEL.STATE.GOV - CONSULAR INFORMATION SHEET: "NIGERIA"
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_987.html
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PERSECUTION.ORG - COUNTRY INFO: "NIGERIA"
http://www.persecution.org/newsite/countryinfodetail.php?countrycode=10

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Note: The following text is a quote:
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http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06050093.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com

Friday, May 19, 2006

Rising fears of renewed religious violence in Nigeria's Plateau State

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

JOS, NIGERIA (ANS) -- Tension is rising in Jos, capital of the Plateau State in Nigeria as a predominantly Muslim community continues to resist the efforts of a local congregation to place a fence around its church.
According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), on May 10, attempts by the Gangare branch of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) to build a fence around its church to prevent further encroachment by the predominantly Muslim community onto church property were forcibly resisted by the community.

Although the church appealed for police intervention, this has not been forthcoming. Sources say a tense stand-off has now developed, raising fears of a possible renewal of religious violence.

CSW says that more than 2,000 people are estimated to have died in Jos when orchestrated inter-religious violence broke out in September 2001.

A media advisory states: "The State then experienced regular attacks by well-armed Islamic extremists on Christian settlements until May 2004, when a retaliatory attack on Muslims in Yelwa led to the imposition of six months of emergency rule in Plateau State by the federal government. Although the attacks have decreased since then, relations between the faith communities remain fragile."

The CSW report says: "The ECWA church was constructed at a time when members of the two religious groups lived in mixed communities. Its congregation fled to safer areas after the religious riots of 2001, only returning to the area to take part in church services. However, in the congregations' absence, local Muslims have increasingly begun to construct buildings on church-owned land.

"Over 50,000 people have died in religious violence in Nigeria since 1999 when 12 of the 36 states of Nigeria began to institute the Shari'ah penal code in defiance of the federal constitution. Christians now complain of being second class citizens in Shari'ah States."

During a visit to northern and central Nigeria in April, a CSW team that included MP for Stroud, David Drew, uncovered evidence of a severe regime of religious repression, with Christians in Shari'ah states facing discrimination in education, employment, access to the media and in the provision of such essential services as boreholes and burial sites. Church property is arbitrarily seized and church buildings are routinely bulldozed, often on spurious grounds and without compensation.

CSW continues: "In addition, periodic outbreaks of religious violence are a regular feature of life for Christians in many of these states. Christians claim that a campaign of 'religious cleansing' is underway in some Shari'ah states, pointing out that the regular outbreaks of violence which target Christian homes, churches and businesses force them to move out of town centers and congregate in remote areas."

CSW National Director Stuart Windsor said: "It is unfortunate that once again an issue has arisen that threatens peaceful coexistence in Plateau State. The authorities in the State must act swiftly to end this stand-off and to ensure that the ECWA church regains full use of its property. It is vital that this situation is not allowed to escalate into renewed violence. Following the Cartoon riots the Christian community has been in a state of fear. Now more than ever we need to pray and act in the pursuit of peace."

CSW is a human rights organization which specializes in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.

For more information please call +44 (0)20 8329 0036, or email Khataza@csw.org.uk

** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Explosion In Nutley, NJ

NUTLEY, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- State and federal authorities were investigating a small explosion Friday that damaged a car but did not injure anyone.

The blast occurred around 1:30 p.m. in a parking lot between a single-family home and an apartment building, authorities said, but neither structure sustained much damage.

Lt. Steven Rogers, a Nutley police spokesman, said federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officials believe the bomb was a small, homemade device made up of household chemicals in a glass bottle.

Rogers said his department received several 911 calls from residents who heard the explosion and saw a plume of smoke on the east side of town. A car in the parking lot was damaged, but authorities said the explosion apparently did not occur inside the vehicle.

State police, the ATF and counterterrorism officials were all investigating.

http://www.1010wins.com/pages/37801.php?

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3252772,00.html

"Terror Plot
Terrorists planned to blow up El Al plane"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Swiss security services uncover 2005 plot to bring down Israeli plane during takeoff through RPG attack "
Ynet

ARTICLE SNIPPET #2: "Agent gone AWOL

According to reports from Europe, El Al, which runs three flights a week on the Tel Aviv – Geneva route, did not take any chances, and moved to the Zurich airport for a week. El Al did not respond to the episode and said it does not discuss security matters with the media.

The episode was kept secret for six months, until the Swiss agent exposed it on his own. Kuvasi, who became closer to the head of the Islamic center in Geneva, Hani Ramadan, feared that his new friend will face complications due to the fact that some of his students planned a terror attack. Kuvasi wrote a letter to Ramdadan saying his conscience guided him and he was therefore obligated to reveal how Swiss intelligence spied on him.

The revelation has since taken a bizarre twist, with the Blick newspaper reporting that Kuvasi, who recently carried out a spying job in Syria, escaped his handlers, and is hiding in Egypt. The former agent is now hoping that the current revelation will prevent Swiss intelligence from interrogating and torturing Islamic suspects."

(05.19.06, 13:47)

Saudi Men Who Rode School Bus Arrested

By KEITH MORELLI kmorelli@tampatrib.com Published: May 20, 2006

TAMPA - Two Saudi men were arrested Friday after they boarded a school bus and rode to Wharton High School in New Tampa.

Students on the bus became alarmed, as did the bus driver, who called ahead. Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies met the bus at the school and detained the men. No one was injured and nothing out of line occurred on the bus, deputies said.

Mana Saleh Almanajam, 23, who lives in Apt. 302 in The Point apartments, and Shaker Mohsen Alsidran, 20 Monticello Gardens, Apt. 304-A, each were charged with trespassing on school property. Both remained in Orient Road Jail on Friday evening. Bail for each was set at $250.

"Both defendants gave several versions of the reason they took a school bus to a high school," said Hillsborough County sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway.

"They said they wanted to go to Wharton to look around, and then they said they wanted to go there to have some fun, and then they said they wanted to enroll in the English classes there," Callaway said.

"We're not sure if this was a situation of them just being new to this country, or if they were confused or what it was," Callaway said. "We were unsure as to exactly what the final reason was, but it did cause great concern for the students on the bus and for us. One of the guys was wearing shorts with a black trench coat."

While on the bus, the men laughed and spoke in Arabic, Callaway said.

Ahmed Bedier, Tampa director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the men likely meant no harm and that because "they were from Saudi Arabia, that escalated the situation."

He blamed the incident on cultural differences.

"They didn't differentiate between a school bus and public transportation," he said.

The bus picked up the students and the men at about 7 a.m. Friday at the corner of Fletcher Avenue and 42nd Street, deputies said.

The bus driver, a substitute, reached her supervisors by telephone. They relayed the information to Wharton High resource Deputy Mike Eastman, who met the bus when it arrived at school at about 7:30 a.m., and detained the men.

The sheriff's Homeland Security Division, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Regional Domestic Security Task Force, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI all were notified.

Almanajam and Alsidran at first told deputies they were from Morocco, but later admitted being from Saudi Arabia, deputies said. They said they were enrolled at the English Language Institute at the University of South Florida.

Both arrived in the United States about six months ago and have student visas that require them to be enrolled at the English Language Institute, Callaway said.

Authorities searched the apartments of the two men and found nothing of concern, he said.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS
Muslim student, ACLU
fight graduation prayer
17-year-old: ‘Terms like Jesus Christ, heavenly father … were offensive to me'

Posted: May 20, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

A federal judge in Louisville, Kentucky, granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting a prayer from being said during graduation ceremonies at an area high school after a Muslim student on the planning committee objected and garnered the help of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Arshiya Saiyed, a senior at Russell County High School, said she was working on plans for the ceremony, scheduled for last night, with the senior panel when the issue came up, according to WHAS-TV in Louisville.

"Terms like Jesus Christ, heavenly father, I talked about the fact I was Muslim and the prayers in the past were offensive to me," the 17-year-old said.

Saiyed claimed that almost immediately after objecting to the prayer, she was harassed by a group of students. One student told her he wanted her out of the country, she related to WHAS.

Principal Gary Kidwell, who noted a prayer of some sort has been offered at graduation for years, said he will not tolerate further harassment.

"I'm aware of one isolated incident there was inappropriate conduct I was aware of, and we dealt with those," he said.

The ACLU won't comment specifically on the case, WHAS reported, but a spokeswoman said schools must be careful with graduation speeches.

"The closer it looks like school sponsored, the more likely it's found to be school sponsored," said the ACLU's Lili Lutgens.

Saiyed said she would favor a moment of silence but not a religious prayer.

"We should be able to do that on our own and not at a state-sponsored public school," she said.

Kidwell said he is talking to students and a number of groups to make sure the graduation ceremony is appropriate and legal.

The ACLU contends schools are on safe legal ground if religious prayers or speeches take place in private, voluntary ceremonies outside of graduation.

Related special offers:

Tick off the ACLU!

"Betrayed by the Bench"

Previous stories:

Town rejects National Day of Prayer banner

Bush remarks on National Day of Prayer

Lawmaker sued over use of 'Jesus'

Who says you can't pray in school?

District gives in on prayer, ACLU sues anyway

Praying school board likened to terrorists

ACLU fights school board's prayers

ACLU: Jail school officials for prayer

ACLU: Punish officials for 'un-American' prayer

Four face charges in Vail firebomb By Rebecca Nolan- Saturday, May 20, 2006

A pair of South Eugene (OREGON) High School graduates have been indicted along with two others in the 1998 firebombing of a Vail ski resort that caused $12 million in damage.

A federal grand jury in Colorado indicted Chelsea Dawn Gerlach, 29, of Portland, and Stanislas Gregory Meyerhoff, 28, of Charlottesville, Va., late Thursday for eight counts each of arson for the Oct. 19, 1998, firebombing - considered one of the most devastating acts of eco-sabotage in U.S. history.

Gerlach and Meyerhoff were classmates at South Eugene High. They are accused with Josephine Sunshine Overaker, 31, and Rebecca Jeanette Rubin, 33, of setting a series of fires that destroyed the Two Elks Lodge at Vail, as well as restaurants, ski patrol headquarters and four ski lifts.

Two days after the fire, the Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the blazes, which it said were set to thwart a planned expansion. The group said the project threatened vital habitat for endangered lynx.

The resort has since been rebuilt and the expansion completed.

The whereabouts of Overaker and Rubin are unknown. Federal prosecutors have said the women may have left the country.

All four allegedly were members of a loosely organized group known as "the Family," believed responsible for politically motivated arson fires in five states over five years. A total of 14 people have been indicted in Oregon and Washington since December in connection with the blazes, which did millions of dollars in damage, prosecutors have said. The Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for those fires.

Court papers identify Meyerhoff and another man as informants in the Oregon case.

Eugene attorney Rick Fredericks, who is representing Meyerhoff on the Oregon charges, said Friday that he hadn't seen the Colorado indictment yet. He said the grand jury's decision was not a surprise.

"He has acknowledged his responsibility in connection with this Vail incident," Fredericks said of his client. "He has previously expressed his remorse for his activities."

The federal public defender representing Gerlach did not return a telephone message Friday. Gerlach's family has maintained her innocence, and her sister, Shasta Kearns Moore, has said she does not believe Gerlach has ever been to Colorado.

If convicted, they face five to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.

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