Threat Matrix: February 2007

Previous Thread ^

[Cindy]

NOTE: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=3212

Eight Terrorists Killed, Six Detained in Iraq Raids Today

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2007 – Coalition forces killed eight suspected al Qaeda terrorists and detained six today in operations northeast of Taji, Iraq.

As coalition forces moved into the area, several armed men in a nearby palm grove reportedly moved toward them. Coalition forces called in close-air support to kill the terrorists. Two suspected terrorists were detained.

Also today, coalition forces captured two suspected terrorists in Amiriyah and two more in Baghdad, all with alleged ties to the al Qaeda.

In operations throughout Iraq yesterday:

-- Samarra Iraqi police and coalition forces captured a suspected insurgent bomber yesterday southwest of Samarra. The suspect was captured during operations targeting an insurgent improvised-explosive-device cell. Iraqi police detained three other suspects for questioning.

-- In southeastern Ramadi, 30 locals and one Iraqi soldier suffered wounds from flying glass and debris from an intentional detonation of recovered explosives yesterday. The wounded were evacuated to a nearby coalition aid station. The more seriously injured were flown to a nearby military hospital. None of the injuries were reported as life threatening. Iraqi and U.S. forces had uncovered 15 bags of explosives and were disposing of them. The resulting blast was larger than expected and shattered glass in surrounding buildings.

Elsewhere in Iraq earlier this week:

-- Paratroopers freed two hostages and uncovered an insurgent safe house and weapons cache south of Baghdad on Feb. 26. Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, found the hostages and safe house near Mahmudiyah. The cache contained three AK-47s, 14 30-round magazines, one 100-round magazine drum, and two fragmentary grenades.

-- In the Wardiyah district of Hillah, an Iraqi SWAT team caught eight suspected members of the Mahdawiyah insurgent group Feb. 26. The suspects are believed to have attacked Iraqi civilians and security forces in the area.

-- In the Ameriya district of Baghdad Feb. 24, soldiers found the largest weapons cache to date in that area. U.S. soldiers in the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, working with Iraqi soldiers in the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi army, found the cache in a school near the Fridas mosque. The find uncovered 17 improvised rocket-propelled grenades, 10 Kutusa rockets, five 60 mm mortars, 13 81 mm mortars, one 81 mm mortar tube and two 60 mm mortar tubes.

So far in February, soldiers from Multinational Division Baghdad have found 150 weapons caches and 417 improvised explosive devices.

On Feb. 23 Iraqis celebrated the re-opening of a Yusufiyah mosque. The mosque was closed after an attack by terrorists in October. U.S. soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), and Iraqi soldiers the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and the Iraqi police secured the area for the event. No major violence was reported.

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=wot
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=waronterror

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Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=3214

Terror, Iran, North Korea Top List of Threats

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2007 – Terror remains the No. 1 threat to the United States and its interests, the new U.S. director of national intelligence said in congressional testimony yesterday.

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Retired Navy Vice Adm. John M. “Mike” McConnell gave a tour of the world from a threat level.

Al Qaeda remains the terrorist network that poses the greatest threat to the United States, he said. “While many of al Qaeda's senior leadership have been killed or captured, its core elements are resilient,” he said. “They continue to plot attacks against the homeland and other targets with the aim of inflicting mass casualties.”

Al Qaeda and other terror groups continue to seek chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons or materials, he said. “Al Qaeda also is forging stronger operational connections that radiate outward from their camps in Pakistan to affiliated groups and networks throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Europe,” the admiral said.

Hezbollah, the Shiite organization backed by Iran and Syria, remains a source of serious concern to the United States also, McConnell said. “Last summer, hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have increased Hezbollah's self-confidence,” he said.

Cooperation among nations remains the best defense against these terror organizations, McConnell said. “Our ability to prevent attacks abroad and at home has been aided considerably by cooperation from many foreign governments, among them Iraq, the United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he said.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States faces challenges exacerbated by terrorism.

In summarizing a national intelligence estimate on the situation in Iraq, McConnell said the current security and political trends in Iraq “are moving in a negative direction.” The Samarra mosque bombing in February 2006 caused sectarian violence that has become self-sustaining. “Unless efforts to reverse these conditions gain real traction during the 12- to 18-month timeframe of this estimate, we assess that the security situation will continue to deteriorate at a rate comparable to the latter half of 2006,” he said.

Success by the stronger and more loyal Iraqi security forces supported by the coalition in reducing violence “could give Iraqi political leaders breathing space to pursue political compromise needed for progress and stability,” McConnell said.

However, he added, even if violence declines, the current level of sectarian animosity will make political reconciliation difficult over the next 12 to 18 months.

If the coalition withdraws rapidly, intelligence officials foresee a significant increase in the scale and scope of sectarian conflict, he said. A withdrawal would also intensify Sunni resistance to the Iraqi government and have adverse consequences for national reconciliation. In addition, al Qaeda almost certainly would use Anbar province to plan for increased attacks.

While outside actors are not likely to be a major driver of either violence or stability, Iranian lethal support for select groups of Iraqi Shiite militants clearly intensifies the conflict in Iraq. Syria also continues to provide safe haven for expatriate Iraqi Baathists, McConnell said.

In Afghanistan, 2007 is a pivotal year, the admiral said. “They must build central and provincial government capacity, confront perverse drug cultivation and trafficking, and, with NATO and the United States, arrest the resurgence of the Taliban,” he said.

Progress in Afghanistan will not be easy. “There is a chronic shortage of resources and of qualified, motivated government officials,” he said. “Once more, although the insurgency probably does not now directly threaten the government, it is deterring economic development and undermining popular support for President (Hamid) Karzai. The drug trade contributes to endemic corruption and undercuts public confidence. In addition, a dangerous nexus exists between drugs, the insurgents, and warlords who derive funds from cultivation and trafficking.”

McConnell said that Iran and North Korea are of particular concern to the United States. These regimes have pursued nuclear programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council restrictions. “We assess that Tehran seeks to develop nuclear weapons and has shown greater interest in drawing out the negotiations rather than reaching an acceptable diplomatic solution,” he said.

In addition, a nuclear Iran could cause a nuclear arms race in the region, McConnell said. “While our information is incomplete, we estimate Iran could produce a nuclear weapon by early to mid next decade,” he said.

With North Korea, six-party talks have produced an agreement intended to lead to a declaration of all North Korean nuclear programs and to the country’s disabling all existing nuclear facilities. “The agreement is the initial step in the denuclearization process and will be closely observed as we watch for its implementation,” McConnell said.

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=lebanon
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=liquidexplosives

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Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1792977/posts


Liquid Explosives Hunted Across the Atlantic Busted in Lebanon
naharnet.com ^ | February 28, 2007

Posted on 02/28/2007 4:06:27 PM PST by HAL9000

Nearly six months after feverish search by U.S. and European intelligence agencies for lethal "liquid explosives" Lebanese police confiscated the first batch of such deadly weapons, sources told Naharnet Tuesday.
One source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said each of the 31 confiscated explosive devices is made up of two tubes filled with blue liquid, fitted on a board and connected to a timer-detonator.

A police communiqué said a squad of its intelligence branch carried out a "swift operation during which it confiscated 31 explosive sets."

The communiqué said the confiscated sets included "sophisticated electro-chemical timers-detonators that can be timed to explode after as late as 124 days."

The sets were confiscated in an area "in the vicinity" of the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, near the southern port city of Sidon, 45 kilometers from Beirut, the communiqué said.

The sets were to be "smuggled and used in terrorist acts," the communiqué added.

The source, however, told Naharnet the sets were busted nearly 12 days ago in the Sikkeh district of Ain el-Hilweh in a "daring, swift and clean raid."

The sets, according to the source, were "assembled and awaiting a squad to smuggle them to another location. Police, apparently, postponed issuing a communiqué on the bust in an effort to tail members of what is believed to be a major network of terrorists operating between various sectors of Lebanon."

He said material used in the sets is of an "eastern European origin." He refused to elaborate.

British, U.S. and European Union intelligence agencies have been searching since August for the lethal liquid explosives after London said it unveiled a scheme to blow up passenger aircraft on flights across the Atlantic.

Stringent security measures have been applied at almost all western airports, banning air passengers from carrying any liquids, even food for infants.

The Lebanese police operation was the first ever reported bust of liquid explosives in the world.

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

http://global-war.bloghi.com/
http://global-war.bloghi.com/tag/19

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http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2141

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http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MikeSAdams/2007/02/28/me_and_julio_down_by_the_schoolyard

TOWNHALL.com: "ME AND JULIO DOWN BY THE SCHOOLYARD" -Column by Mike S. Adams
(February 28, 2007)

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http://markedmanner.blogspot.com/2007/02/julio-pino-teaching-jihad-at-kent-state.html

MarkedManner.blogspot.com: "JULIO PINO TEACHING JIHAD AT KENT STATE"
(February 28, 2007)

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http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=24623_Jihad_Professor_at_Kent_State&only

Wednesday, February 28, 2007
"Jihad Professor at Kent State"

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stepping back in time...

http://web.archive.org/web/20020417035656/http://stater.kent.edu/today/monstories/guestcolumn.html

4/15/02

"Singing out prayer for a youth martyr"
By Julio César
Guest Columnist

[Cindy]

UPDATE...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1792690/posts?page=39#39

To: Alouette
Thanks alouette for posting that link:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1792690/posts?page=25#25

http://asmalldoseofreality.bloghi.com/2006/04/09/fbi-running-muslim-sting-operation-through-kent-state-university-associate-professor-julio-assad-jibril-pino.html
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http://asmalldoseofreality.bloghi.com/2006/04/09/fbi-running-muslim-sting-operation-through-kent-state-university-associate-professor-julio-assad-jibril-pino.html

2006/4/9

"FBI Running muslim Sting Operation Through Kent State University Associate Professor Julio Assad Jibril Pino"
@ 07:50 PM (10 months, 25 days ago)

BLOG ENTRY SNIPPET: "As part of the Department of Homeland Secuity's errort to uncover terrorists and radical muslim sympathizers, the FBI has had Pino create and monitor a HATE website catering to muslim extremists. Much like the sting operations run to uncover and prosecute pedaphiles, Pino's website attracts and indentifies muslim extremists. Facing prosecution for his HATE activities, Pino was turned and is now being used against his own kind. All hits on his website are monitored by the FBI who refuse to identify exactly how many are investigated and to what extent. The FBI says that there have already been more than six successful prosecutions and that there are dozens of ongoing investigations as a result of this operation."


39 posted on 02/28/2007 5:26:54 PM PST by Cindy

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1777773/posts?page=1405#1405

Ping.

[fanfan]

link

Oscar Mayer chicken strip recall expanded: USDA

Wed Feb 28, 2007 7:58pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal agriculture officials on Wednesday said the Kraft Foods (KFT.N: Quote, Profile , Research) contractor Carolina Culinary Foods has expanded its recall of cooked Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich chicken breast cutlets and strips because of ongoing concerns some packages may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

About 2.8 million pounds of meat will be taken off the market, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The West Columbia, South Carolina, company first agreed to a smaller recall on February 18 after an inspection found the bacteria in a single package.

So far federal officials have received no reports of illnesses associated with the products which were distributed to retail establishments nationwide.

Kraft said it opted to expand the recall after it sampled more product at a non government laboratory.

[Cindy]

Thanks for the update fanfan.
I do appreciate it.

[Cindy]

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&tab=wn&q=%22New+Breeds+Street+Gang%22&filter=0

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http://chicago.fbi.gov/pressrel/2007/feb26_07.htm

"PUBLIC'S HELP SOUGHT IN SEARCH FOR GANG FUGITIVE"
(February 26, 2007)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=mississippi
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=chicago
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=gangs

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1793020/posts

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_059134417.html
AP

Feb 28, 2007 3:59 pm US/Central

"Feds Bust Insterstate Gunrunning Ring
Ring Allegedly Bought Guns In Mississippi For Chicago Gangs"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "(AP) CHICAGO Nineteen people have been charged with taking part in Mississippi-to-Chicago gun-running operations that provided high-powered weapons to street gangs, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

"When you add illegally obtained firearms to the already volatile mix of gangs and drugs on the streets of Chicago the result is an unacceptable level of violence," said Gary S. Shapiro, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago.

At a news conference, prosecutors displayed a table of weapons similar to those confiscated in the crackdown, including AK-47s, Tech-9s, MAC-10s and a sinister-looking, assault-style shotgun.

Fourteen of those accused were charged in a complaint unsealed in Chicago on Wednesday. Three of those charged were arrested in Chicago on Wednesday, and 10 were arrested in Mississippi. One other was already in jail, authorities said.

Five others were charged by federal officials in Mississippi."

[Cindy]

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_013_2007_Release/index.asp

"Nevada Firm Recalls Semi-Boneless Ham Steaks for Possible Listeria Contamination"

Recall Release CLASS I RECALL
FSIS-RC-013-2007 HEALTH RISK: HIGH

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2007

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=cuba
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=biologicalweapons

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1792958/posts

http://www.miamiherald.com/581/story/26337.html


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http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/02/cuban_bioweps_a_threat_to_us.php

"Cuban Bio-Weps a Threat to US?"
By Bill West
(February 28, 2007)

[Cindy]

http://www.trans-int.com/news/uploads/saddam-chirac.jpg

http://www.trans-int.com/news/archives/229-16-Words,-500-Tons,-28-Kilograms.html

Wednesday, February 28, 2007
"16 Words, 500 Tons, 28 Kilograms"
BY John Rosenthal

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http://www.worldpoliticswatch.com/article.aspx?id=586

Wednesday, February 28, 2007
"16 Words, 500 Tons, 28 Kilograms"
BY John Rosenthal

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stepping back to 1991...

http://www.iraqwatch.org/un/IAEA/s-23283.htm

"S/23283"
11 December 1991

[Oorang]

Thanks for the info Cindy. This is a very interesting case IMO as the explosives seem quite sophisticated. Just a assumption on my part, I don't know anything about explosives. It just doesn't seem to be a "low-level" operation. The article about this that was posted earlier to TM stated:

Ain el-Hilweh is home to 70,000 refugees. Security inside is controlled by Palestinian factions, but reports say the camp has seen the establishment of Sunni fundamentalist groups loyal to al-Qaeda, most of whom are Lebanese running from justice.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1777773/posts?page=1378#1378

[Oorang]

Suspect Held in Chemical Scare (Georgia)
2/28/2007

Suspected chemical leaks forced the evacuations of two separate medical buildings in two Metro Atlanta counties Wednesday morning. In Clayton County, police arrested a 24-year-old man suspected of leaving a chemical liquid on the first floor of the Women's Center at Southern Regional Hospital.

Sixty-three people, including seven babies, had to be moved out of the Women's Center as hazardous materials teams arrived after hospital security called them about 6:30 a.m. to report that a man dropped off a suspicious container. A robot was used to extract the device, which was described as a glass container containing a paste mixed with a chemical liquid inside it. The container was being taken to a lab for further testing. It did not have a detonator, police said.

The suspect being questioned by detectives was identified as Jeremy Collier. Police officials who held a late morning news conference would only say that Collier is known to them.

Excerpted

http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=93004

Counter-terrorism raids in Waltham Forest (U.K.)
Feb.28.2007

ANTI-TERROR raids took place in Waltham Forest yesterday (Tuesday) morning. Two residential addresses in Walthamstow were raided by Met Police counter terrorism officers. Following one of the 6am raids, police arrested a 27-year-old man on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. He was taken to a central London police station where he remains in custody.

The man was arrested in connection with the alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners. One of the houses raided is still being searched by officers.

Excerpted

http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/mostpopular.var.1224461.mostviewed.breaking_news_counterterrorism_raid_in_waltham_forest.php

Switzerland: Seven Al-Qaeda Suspects Acquitted

Lugano, 28 Feb. - A court in southern Switzerland on Wednesday cleared seven defendants from Yemen, Somalia and Iraq of links to the al-Qaeda terror network in the country's first ever trial of al-Qaeda suspects, the Swissinfo website reported. The federal criminal court in Lugano rejected the prosecution's allegations that the defendants belonged to a criminal organisation run by the principal defendant - who admitted having had contact with a known al-Qaeda member Abdullah el Rimi, involved in attacks on the American naval destroyer USS Cole in 2000 and in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh in 2003.

The main defendant was found not guilty of the charge of offering to obtain a passport for el Rimi. Two other defendants were acquitted of charges they had maintained contacts with al-Qaeda.

Excerpted

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.390919670&par=0

[Oorang]

Moroccan Enters Al-Qaeda North Africian 'Board'

Rabat, 28 Feb. 2007 - For the first time, a Moroccan has entered into the leadership of the Organisation of al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, which was born out of the Algerian terror formation, the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). Sources within the Islamic militant group, quoted by pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat, said that after swearing loyalty to Osama bin Laden, the group decided to set up an operative structure for all North Africa. Sources told the paper that among the 16-member "board" this was a Moroccan, known as Abu al-Bara, from Tangiers.

The creation of a single al-Qaeda cell for the entire north Africa region has been met with great concern by security services there who fear an escalation of attacks. Along with the GSPC, two other Jihadi formations from Morocco and Libya, have also joined in the new single cell.

The intelligence and security services of the nations involved have intensified contacts and information exchange to try to ascertain the precise composition of the new formation. It is believed that they may be operating terrorist training camps in Mauritania, and one is said to have been identified about 50 kilometres north of Nouakchott.

Other camps are reported to have been established in Mali and in Chad, as well as those in Algeria, and sources in the Moroccan secret services say they fear there group may seek to set up training bases in the desert areas of southern Morocco.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.390699414&par=0

,b>Bosnia: Muslims Step Up Drive To Abolish Serb Entity

Sarajevo, 28 Feb.2007 – Bosnia’s majority Muslims have stepped up their drive for the abolition of the Serb entity Republika Srpska (RS). Created under the 1995 Dayton accord that ended Bosnia's civil war, the RS has been called a "genocidal creature" by Muslim member of Bosnia's three-man rotating state presidency, Haris Silajdzic. Due to the unstable situation in the country, the mandate of the high representative of the international community in Bosnia (OHR) was on Tuesday extended by a year. But the European Union has meanwhile decided to reduce its forces in Bosnia (EUFOR) - from the present 6,000 to 2,500 by the end of the year.

Excerpted

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.390815762&par=0

[Seadog Bytes]

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Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
Apache/1.3.37 Server at www.jihadwatch.org Port 80

[Cindy]

Yeppers...all gone.

[Cindy]

No, it doesn't seem "low-level" to me, either.

[Cindy]

http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=93004

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The suspect being questioned by detectives was identified as Jeremy Collier. Police officials who held a late morning news conference would only say that Collier is known to them."


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Adding 1 link:

http://www.news-daily.com/local/local_story_059221838.html?keyword=topstory

Published: February 28, 2007 10:18 pm

"63 evacuated during scare at Women’s Life Center"
By Daniel Silliman
dsilliman@news-daily.com


ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Clayton County Police arrested Jeremy Collier Douglas, 24, three hours after the glass had been left in the nurses station."