Threat Matrix: February 2007

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[nwctwx]

How al-Qaida Fared in 2006
-Full Story-

In 2006, agents of al-Qaida, as well as those inspired by its ideology, continued their attacks. Violence in Iraq intensified, and Afghanistan saw its bloodiest year since 2001.

Despite worsening chaos on those fronts, counterterrorist forces arrested and killed high-profile terrorists and kept the West free from attack. But these actions don't appear to have weakened the appeal of al-Qaida's agenda. "Home-grown" militants around the world joined its jihad, as regional fighting heightened perceptions of a global war on Islam.

Here's an assessment of some of the most significant gains and losses for al-Qaida last year: Read more..

	Azzam the American: The Making of an al Qaida Homegrown
	Islamic Cells of Revenge Joins the al Qaida Movement
	Most Dangerous Destinations 2007

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[Oorang]

The media in Serbia is claiming (in their headline) the Utah shooter was muslim:

Bosnian Muslim goes on a killing spree in US mall

[TWhiteBear]

I will do updates if I can find them.
At this time, I am having a hoot reading the discredited MSM talk about 'mall rage'????
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070213/ap_on_re_us/utah_shooting_45

So Sulyman was mad at the Valentine
store??

and on AP, again:
'Ex-Texan charged with aiding terrorists'
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/national/index.ssf?/base/national-80/117141595687100.xml&storylist=national
Ya know, maybe the problem is with all these damn 'ex-Texans' and the evil Valentine and Baby Gap stores in the commercialized malls.

[Cindy]

Actually, a Valentine's angle might be interesting, TWhiteBear.

[Cindy]

http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/13/markets/nasdaq_trades.reut/

"Nasdaq 5000? Nope, a trading glitch
Tech index breaks 2000 record after trading error involving shares of Optimer Pharmaceuticals."
February 13 2007: 12:39 PM EST


ARTICLE SNIPPET: "NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Technology bulls may have thought the heady days of the Internet era were back in swing Tuesday after the Nasdaq composite index surged more than 3,000 points, but the spike was due to a glitch."

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and on another matter...


http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/02/13/ap3423799.html

Associated Press
"Time Change to Bring Computer Glitches"
By BRIAN BERGSTEIN 02.13.07, 3:29 PM ET

[Cindy]

More Details...

http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/43129-1.html

02/13/07 -- 12:28 PM

"VA missing another hard drive"
By Mary Mosquera, GCN Staff

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The hard drive that the Veterans Affairs Department reported missing last week may have contained data on 1.8 million individuals, including sensitive VA data for 539,000 individuals. The agency next week will send notification to those potentially affected.

The investigation also revealed that data for 1.3 million non-VA physicians, both living and deceased, may have been stored on the hard drive. Most of the physician data may be considered readily available to the public, but some of the files may contain sensitive information, VA said.

The agency used the non-VA physician data to analyze and compare information about the health care veterans received from both VA and non-VA health care providers.

VA last week said a portable hard drive used by an employee at a VA facility in Birmingham, Ala., was missing and may have been stolen."

[Oorang]

U.S. postal service warns financial firms of threats
Mon Feb 12, 2007

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is alerting financial firms of potential danger from a would-be letter bomber after companies in Kansas City and Denver were targeted with explosive devices and threatening notes, an agency spokeswoman said on Monday.

Working with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Postal Inspection service is trying to obtain contact information for thousands of financial companies to warn them of the threats, said spokeswoman Wanda Shipp. "The events may be linked, and the recipients were probably not selected at random," the postal advisory reads.

Excerpted

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1240908020070212

Explosives discovered at border (Somalia/Kenya Border)
Wednesday February 14, 2007

Security personnel at the Somalia-Kenya border have recovered more than 300 bullets and several explosives in a forest. The explosives include 15 hand grenades, 19 landmine fusers, one MI landmine activator, an anti-tank, a landmine detonator and 16 rounds of anti-aircraft missiles. The officers from the military, police and Administration Police stumbled on the weapons on Sunday while patrolling the Gangi area of Muma border point.

Excerpted

http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143964846

[Oorang]

Boat carrying 100 kg explosives seized (India)
Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Rameswaram, Feb 13: A boat carrying about 100 kg of explosives that could be used in making land and sea mines has been seized by the Indian Navy off Rameswaram coast.

The seizure included IED (used to make landmines), fuse wire, steel clips, remote control equipment, steel washers and aluminium plates, worth several lakhs of rupees, police said.

Two persons on board have been arrested in this connection, police said. The boat, with a high power motor, was on way to Talaimannar from Tuticorin when a naval patrol vessel intercepted it at around midnight yesterday after it tried to speed away, ignoring warnings.

The arrested persons, on being questioned, stated that Tuticorin-based LTTE militants' brokers had requested them to ferry the boat till their area. The boat was brought here today and inspected by Ramanathapuram district Superintendent of police P Tirugnanam, Naval Assistant Commander S P Singh and Commander Mukherjee (area commander) South. In the wake of the seizure, police have launched a major hunt for LTTE brokers based at Chennai and Tuticorin who used the duo to ferry explosives and other equipment.

Official sources said a general alert had been sounded to all naval units, the Coast Guard and customs along the Gulf of Mannar, Palk Straits and international maritime boundary line. Though Coast Guard had strategically deployed ships since January 27, it had helped control smuggling only to some extent.

They said that such a large quantity of explosives would not have found its way to Tuticorin coast and then on to Rameswaram unless there was slackness on the part of police. The sources said a forward observation point had been set up at Mukuntharayar Chattiram near Dhanushkodi. Strict action was being taken against anyone crossing to Indian waters.

Recently, Commander Mukherjee and Commodore Philip Van Haltren, naval officer in charge, Tamil Nadu, inspected some strategic deployments at Uchipuli and other areas, they said. It may be recalled that Q branch police, acting on a tip-off, recently arrested five Sri Lankans and three Indians for smuggling ball bearings for being used by LTTE militants. The ball bearings had been brought by train from Mumbai to Chennai and were to be smuggled to Sri Lanka via Tuticorin. Police also raided the house of one of their alleged accomplices in Tuticorin and seized from him three tonnes of ball bearings.

A week ago, a man was arrested for attempting to smuggle three bags of steel balls at Thangachimadam near Rameswaram. Investigations revealed that some ferry operators who transport refugees, smuggled explosives and medicines on their way back. A customs official said today's seizure revealed that supplies to LTTE militants was still active on and along the coast and that police were having a problem in containing smuggling to Sri Lanka in view of the vast coastal area.

http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7B8237B0C5-D1CC-4F41-B6D7-03D32D90E1D7%7D&CATEGORYNAME=Tamil+Nadu

[Godzilla]

I suspect that the Iranians recently taken into custody have been singing like birds. It will be very difficult for his milita to function effectively giving the commands from Tehran. He pretty much left his troops to the meatgrinder.

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

Thanks to FairOpinion for the ping to this thread.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1784431/posts


An al Qaeda Photo Album (they are not kidding!)
Jawa Report ^ | FEb. 13, 2007 | Jawa Report

Posted on 02/13/2007 7:37:29 PM PST by FairOpinion

Hidden away on al Qaeda's Labayk media website is what appears to a rather extensive submit your best photo contest. You know, stuff like, "me shooting at the Zionist Crusader infidels" and what not. The kind of stuff you and I have in most of our own photo albums. It's either that, or you can think of it as a kind of yearbook.

Anyway, since al Qaeda is just begging for us to look at these images, I present them below. A helluva lot of pics, but I don't think al Qaeda is all that worried about paying the bandwidth bills. Think of it as your patriotic duty to look at them, so al Qaeda will have a bigger bill.

(Excerpt) Read more at mypetjawa.mu.nu ...

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http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/186529.php

February 13, 2007

"An al Qaeda Photo Album"

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http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/186528.php

February 13, 2007

"Jawa PSA: E-Mail Al Qaeda, Mess with Labayk Media"

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UPDATING 1 link here:

http://internet-haganah.org/hmedia/13feb07/13feb07-salafy_forums.html

ADDING 1 link to post no. 584:

http://labayk-media.net/maa.htm

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1777773/posts?page=584#584

http://internet-haganah.org/hmedia/26sep06-salafy_forums.html



PROPAGANDA On The Net...


http://al-ekhlaas.net
http://al-ekhlaas.net/forum/

http://up-p.net/uploads/f5039497e4.gif
http://al-ekhlaas.net/forum/showthread.php?t=46189


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stepping back in time...

http://www.globalcrisiswatch.com/060917.php

"As-Sahab Releases 'Jihad Poems of Sheikh Abu Yahya al-Libi'"
By Nick Grace
September 17, 2006

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "As-Sahab, al Qaeda's media propaganda unit, today released a new 23-minute video on radical message boards called "Jihad Poems of Sheikh Abu Yahya al-Libi" that features Mohammad Hassan (alias Abu Yahya al-Libi), an al Qaeda fighter originally from Libya who escaped from Bagram prison in July 2005. He appears wearing a suicide vest as he reads handwritten notes in front of at least 14 al Qaeda militants, some of which clutch kalashnikovs. During the introduction of the video the crowd fires the weapons into the air.

This is the fourth known video to feature al-Libi. Previous as-Sahab videos that include him include a sermon in celebration of Eid, a eulogy to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and an interview about his imprisonment and escape from Bagram. Unlike most of as-Sahab's recent video products, this new video is not subtitled in English.

An animated gif banner was posted in advance on the Ekhlaas Forum, the main portal for al Qaeda messaging, on Friday, September 15."


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stepping back in time...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1694213/posts?page=1038#1038

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http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=al-libbi&hl=en

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stepping back in time...

http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/005600.html


10 May 2006
"Al-Qaeda Fugitives from an American Prison in Afghanistan Continue to Promote Jihad via the Internet"


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stepping back in time...

http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP116006

Special Dispatch Series - No. 1160
May 10, 2006 No.1160

"Al-Qaeda Fugitives from an American Prison in Afghanistan Continue to Promote Jihad via the Internet"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "On July 10, 2005, four Al-Qaeda operatives escaped from the American Baghram Prison in Afghanistan. [1] Since then, two of them, Abu Nasser Al-Qahtani and Abu Yahya Al-Liby, have appeared on Islamist websites, in video-taped footage of anti-American operations and in interviews.

The following are excerpts from video footage of Al-Qahtani, which was posted on various Islamist message forums, and from an interview with Abu Yahya Al-Liby, which appeared in the Tora Bora online magazine.

Al-Qahtani Shows Footage of Terror Attack on American Military Post in Afghanistan

As part the Jihad and Terrorism Studies Project, MEMRI's new initiatve, Monitoring Islamist and Jihadist Websites, has translated excerpts from footage of Al-Qaeda member Abu Nasser Al-Qahtani, which was posted on www.alsaha.com on April 23, 2006, under the title: "The Holocaust of the Americans in the Land of Khorasan" series. [2] To view the clip, visit: http://memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1130 ."

[Cindy]

Let's home the singers are singing true songs and actually know something.

[Cindy]

sp= Let's hope...

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=iran
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=bus

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1784476/posts

Note: The following post is a quote:

Bus bombed in southeast Iran, 18 dead: IRNA
Reuters ^ | February 14, 2007

Posted on 02/13/2007 9:46:28 PM PST by MassRepublicanFlyersFan

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Eighteen people were killed on Wednesday when a bomb exploded next to a bus in the southeastern city of Zahedan, the official IRNA news agency reported.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com .

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=iran
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=russia
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=ports

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http://www2.irna.com/en/news/view/line-16/0702149523092049.htm

Today: Wednesday February 14, 2007

"Russian marine transport delegation due to tour Iranian ports"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Tehran, Feb 13, IRNA Iran-Visit-Russia A high-ranking Russian delegation representing Ministry of Transport is expected to arrive in Iran on Wednesday for a three-day tour to Iranian ports of Shahid Rajaei in Bandar Abbas, Bandar Anzali and Bandar Amirabad."

ARTICLE SNIPPET #2: "The Russian delegation and representative of Iran's Foreign Ministry are expected to inspect the port facilities in northern and southern Iran.

Meanwhile, the visiting delegation will confer with the managing director of Iran's Ports and Shipping Organization on expansion of mutual relations in the field."

[Cindy]

Update on bus bombing in Iran:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1784476/posts?page=26#26


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTjY2Mlr8EYc&refer=home

"Bomb Near Iran's Border With Afghanistan Kills 18 (Update2) "
By Ladane Nasseri and Marc Wolfensberger

ARTICLE SNIPPET :Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- A bomb in Iran's southeastern city of Zahedan left 18 people dead, the most deadly incident to hit the country's Sistan-Baluchistan province since 22 people were killed by gunmen in March.

The bomb was placed in a car near a bus belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps ground forces, a provincial official in Zahedan, who declined to be identified, said in a telephone interview. State-run Islamic Republic News Agency IRNA reported the death toll of 18.

The victims were Revolutionary Guard employees, the official said, adding that two people had been arrested. Iran's Revolutionary Guards are the most radical element in the clerically controlled military.

Zahedan is the capital of the province, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan on the east."

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Taking a look at JUNDALLHAH on the net...


http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=jundallah&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d

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http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/005895.html
http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/004159.html


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http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/009682.php
http://www.jihadwatch.org/cgi-bin/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=jundallah


26 posted on 02/13/2007 11:24:06 PM PST by Cindy

[Cindy]

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=Zahedan&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&tab=wn&scoring=d

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=iran
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=russia

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1784512/posts

http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20070213-095004-9879r.htm

"Putin's ravings"
By Helle Dale
February 14, 2007

[Cindy]

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/pdf/MCBrochure2006.pdf

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=24424_Islamic_Supremacism_in_Washington_DC_(Video)&only

Tuesday, February 13, 2007
"Islamic Supremacism in Washington DC (Video)"


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http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/015242.php

February 13, 2007

"D.C. imam glorifies Khomeini, justifies suicide bombing, preaches Islamic supremacism"

[Cindy]

RECAP AND UPDATE:

SLTRIB.com: "TROLLEY SQUARE: SUSPECT RARELY SEEN BY HIS NEIGHBORS A high school drop-out, Talovic's life and motive for the shooting remain a mystery" by Matthew D. LaPlante (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Police say the gunman met his first two victims in the parking lot, firing off two rounds as they fell. "Die, motherf-----," Talovic said to them, according to one witness. Talovic appears to have uttered few further words. Witnesses said he moved deliberately through the ground floor corridors, firing round after round at helpless others, sometimes swearing, sometimes ordering his victims not to look at him. In seemingly random fashion, showing no emotion, he slaughtered five people and seriously wounded four others.") (Last updated February 14, 2007, 01:29 AM MST)

DESERET NEWS.com: "6 MINUTES OF HORROR: SHOOTER AIMED TO KILL AS MANY AS HE COULD" by Pat Reavy and Ben Winslow (ARTICLE SNIPPET: ""His intent was to shoot as many people as he possibly could," said Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank. Police released details Tuesday on Talovic's shooting rampage that left five people dead before off-duty Ogden police officer Ken Hammond and four Salt Lake City police officers killed him in "a shootout," Burbank said. Four other shooting victims are hospitalized. Talovic was armed with a shotgun, a .38-caliber handgun and "a backpack full of ammunition," Burbank said. Around the man's waist was a bandolier of shotgun shells. "He had a pump shotgun," said one witness, DeEtta Barta. "He was shooting, and he shot about four shots.") (February 14, 2007)

WorldNetDaily.com: "UTAH GUNMAN, 18, WAS MUSLIM FROM BOSNIA" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "David Dean, who owns a greeting-card store at the mall, said three or four people died inside his store, which was packed with Valentine's Day shoppers.")(February 13, 2007)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AP): "SALT LAKE CITY: BOSNIAN TEEN WANTED 'TO KILL A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE'" (February 13, 2007)

LittleGreenFootballs.com - weblog: "SALT LAKE CITY KILLER IDENTIFIED Sudden jihad syndrome?" (February 13, 2007)

Google - Search News: "SULEJMAN TALOVIC"

[Cindy]

RECAP

CNS NEWS.com: "CHRISTIANS WILL 'DISAPPEAR' IN AN INDEPENDENT KOSOVO, BISHOP WARNS" (February 12, 2007)

SERBIANNA.com: "INDEPENDENCE: KOSOVO ALBANIAN CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE" by M. Bozinovich (February 11, 2007)

stepping back in time...GLOBAL SECURITY.org: "The International Criminal Police Organization - INTERPOL General Secretariat Written Testimony of Ralf Mutschke Assistant Director, Criminal Intelligence Drectorate International Criminal Police Organization - Interpol" - "General Secretariat before a hearing of the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime December 13, 2000": "'THE THREAT POSED BY THE CONVERGENCE OF ORGANIZED CRIME, DRUGS TRAFFICKING AND TERRORISM'" (December 13, 2000)

stepping back in time...THOMAS.loc.gov: "MOST FAVORED ROGUE STATES ACT OF 1999 (Introduced in Senate) (Note: Regarding S.1271) (June 23, 1999(

OSAC.gov - Consular Affairs Bulletin - Report: "WARDEN MESSAGE: BOSNIA EXPLOSIONS" (February 9, 2007)

[Cindy]

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/foreign/display.var.1190793.0.0.php


"Rushdie’s ‘Valentine’s card’"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "SALMAN Rushdie says he still receives a "sort of Valentine's card" from Iran each year on February 14 letting him know the country has not forgotten the vow to kill him.

His comment came as the author of The Satanic Verses started a five-year appointment with Emory University, one day before the 18th anniversary of the death threat that catapulted him into worldwide fame.

Rushdie was forced into hiding for a decade after the late Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a 1989 fatwa, or opinion on Islamic law, ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie because the book allegedly insulted Islam.

advertisement

In 1998, the Iranian government declared it would not support but could not rescind the fatwa. But the yearly notes continue."