Brazilian police forces announced the dismantling of a network specialized in manufacturing fake IDs, forged passports and documents permitting naturalization in Brazil:
· The network is composed in majority of Lebanese and Arab nationals
· 1 of the members of the network is a former Lebanese consular employee, Souheil Mouzer
· Authorities are investigating the possible links between this network and Islamist organizations
· Hezbollah in Latin America’s alleged treasurer, Asad Barakate, is among the recipients of this traffic, a most troubling fact
http://thecroissant.com/sample_articles.php?action=viewarticle&id=313
A new young mullah gaining popularity in Pakistan
Le Temps, Switzerland, 03/20/2007
Young mullah Fazalullah illegally preaches on radio every evening to a large audience.
His radio headquarters:
· Are in Mingora, a small city in the valley of Swat, 250km North-West of Islamabad, close to the tribal zones near the Afghan border
· No women and cameras are allowed
Mullah Fazalullah:
· Thinks the police cannot arrest him because of his popular support
· Said he lives in a country which does not respect Islam
· Said that since women must remain locked up, he teaches them how to live in accordance with the sharia principles
Mullah Fazalullah vehemently criticizes the anti-polio vaccination campaign organized by the authorities:
· He believes that vaccinations are incompatible with Islamic laws,
· Because if one dies of a disease, one becomes a martyr and the government wants to prevent people from dying with this honor
· After a doctor in charge of vaccination in the tribal zone of Bajaur, not far from Swat, was recently assassinated, Fazalullah suggests the reason he was killed was because he acted against the will of God
Pakistani authorities watch him closely:
· They are worried about the rise of extremism in a region relatively quiet until then
· Mohammad Yamin, Police chief:
- Thinks that mullah Fazalullah is dangerous
- He has an increasing influence on the population, especially in the villages where people are uneducated
http://thecroissant.com/sample_articles.php?action=viewarticle&id=322
If you want to bring a community to its knees, aim for the stomach. Farms -- Michigan's second biggest industry, in which Ottawa County ranks first in sales -- are vulnerable to agri-terrorism, officials say. But representatives from only a handful of the 1,291 farms in Ottawa County turned out this week for a seminar designed to bring those in agriculture together with those they might someday call for help.
"Most people believe, 'It's not going to happen to me,"' said Bill Robb, MSU extension dairy educator and acting Ottawa County extension director. "The vast majority of them are self-proprietors, and it's one person doing everything. You combine those two things, and it makes it a back-burner thing," Robb said. The Dairy, Meat & Poultry Agri-Terrorism Seminar held at Howard Miller Library was organized by Ottawa County's Local Emergency Planning Committee. Bill Smith, the county's emergency coordinator, said he was happy with the turnout of 41 farm operators and emergency responders. Last fall, a similar seminar in Kent County targeted the food processing industry, Robb said.
Excerpted
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1174661248308380.xml&coll=8
Al-Qaeda names cell leader (MOGADISHU)
March 23, 2007
A leader of the Council of Islamic Courts, the radical militia ousted from Somalia in December, has been named as al-Qaeda’s leader in the country, according to government intelligence.
Aden Hashi Ayro has been directing the insurgency in the capital, Mogadishu, Salad Ali Jelle, the Deputy Defence Minister, said yesterday.
Counter-terrorism experts believe that Ayro, who is in his mid30s, had al-Qaeda training in Afghanistan. United Nations officials have linked him to the killings of 16 people, including Kate Peyton, a BBC journalist. He was also believed to have been involved in a failed plot to bring down an Ethiopian airliner.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1555541.ece