Threat Matrix: June 2007

Al Qaeda may attack US, UK embassies in Pakistan
June 04, 2007

Security forces in Pakistan have been put on high alert after intelligence agencies warned of attacks by Al Qaeda and Taliban militants on embassies, consulates and citizens of US and UK. Al Qaeda and the Taliban are planning suicide and rocket attacks on the embassies, consulates, NGOs, firms and citizens of the US and UK in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, intelligence agencies warned in reports submitted to the Interior Ministry.

The Interior Ministry had directed the Home Secretaries and Inspectors General of Police of these provinces and the Islamabad Chief Commissioner to enhance the security for the suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban targets. They have been directed to ensure regular searches of areas housing the US and UK installations and monitor madrassas, hotels and guesthouses, the Daily Times said, quoting intelligence sources. The Islamabad administration has been directed to ensure daily patrolling of the Diplomatic Enclave besides deployment of extra police force in areas housing diplomats, missions and foreign NGOs, firms and citizens.

http://ia.rediff.com/news/2007/jun/04attack.htm

685 anti-personnel mines, explosives recovered from eastern Sri Lanka
06.04.07

Sri Lankan soldiers have recovered 685 anti-personnel mines, bombs and other explosives during search operations in three eastern Sri Lanka villages, the military said Monday. The explosives, recovered Sunday in Verugal, Pankudaveli and Panichchankerni villages, were seized from separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, an official at Defense Ministry information center said on condition of anonymity, citing policy.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3408285,00.html

04/06/2007 Egyptian police seize 1.5 tonnes of explosives in central Sinai
Jue 4, 2007

Egyptian police seized 1.5 tonnes of explosives in central Sinai on Monday, Egyptian security officials said, adding they suspected the material had been destined to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip.

One Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that security forces on a routine patrol found the explosives packed in 40 sacks and hidden in a mountainous area. Egyptian police routinely find large quantities of explosives and ammunition in Sinai, sometimes hidden in tunnels near the border with neighbouring Gaza.

Excerpted

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/866915.html

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_941.html

Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520

This information is current as of today, Mon Jun 04 2007 18:25:19 GMT-0700.

COLOMBIA

June 4, 2007

This Travel Warning updates ongoing security concerns in Colombia and reminds American citizens of those concerns. This supersedes the Travel Warning issued January 18, 2006.

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the dangers of travel to Colombia. Violence by narcoterrorist groups and other criminals continues to affect all parts of the country, urban and rural.

Violence has continued to decrease markedly in most urban areas, including Bogotá, Medellin, Barranquilla, and Cartagena. The level of violence in Cali, Buenaventura, and the surrounding areas remains high, largely as a result of the illicit drug trade. Many rural areas of Colombia remain extremely dangerous due to the presence of narcoterrorists and Colombian government operations against them.

Terrorist groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), and other criminal organizations, continue to kidnap civilians for ransom or as political bargaining chips. No one can be considered immune from kidnapping on the basis of occupation, nationality, or other factors. The FARC have held three American official contractors hostage since February 2003. Although the U.S. government places the highest priority on the safe recovery of kidnapped Americans, it is U.S. policy not to make concessions to or strike deals with kidnappers. Consequently, the U.S. government’s ability to assist kidnapping victims is limited.

U.S. government officials and their families in Colombia are permitted to travel to major cities in the country, but only by air. They are not allowed to use inter- or intra-city bus transportation. They also are not permitted to travel by road outside of urban areas at night. All Americans in Colombia are urged to follow these precautions.

As the Department develops information on potential security threats to U.S. citizens overseas, it shares credible threats through its Consular Information Program documents, available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov . U.S. citizens should consult warden messages for Colombia at http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsc093.shtml , as well as the Department of State’s Consular Information Sheet for Colombia and Worldwide Caution Public Announcement at http://travel.state.gov . U.S. travelers can also get up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 in the U.S. or Canada or on a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.

FBI warns on al-Qaida's English messages
June 4 2007

The FBI says al-Qaida is issuing video messages in English to get Muslim extremists in the United States to carry out terror attacks.

Speaking on C-SPAN Television, FBI Director of Public Affairs John Miller said al-Qaida leaders have stepped up the tempo of their public messages in an effort to inspire others to compensate for their network's reduced ability directly to execute attacks. "You see that they put out more communications than they used to, that they have picked up the tempo and pace a great deal," Miller said. He said al-Qaida's "ability to function as a corporate structure" had been impaired "because of the capture and killing of so many of its key leaders."

As a result, "al-Qaida has tried to put the message out to get others to step forward ... and do things in its name," Miller said. "I think what al-Qaida is counting on now ... is trying to develop and execute the major (attack) plan while at the same time putting out the propaganda fodder and hoping that others will take that ball and run with it. And they're counting on both happening at once."

He said the result was plots like the one foiled at Fort Dix, N.J. -- hatched by "people who not only have no connection to al-Qaida but couldn't contact al-Qaida if they wanted to." "Yet," he added, "they're acting on al-Qaida's propaganda-driven instructions, or at least inspired by al-Qaida." Miller said al-Qaida was issuing more messages in English, or with English subtitles. "They have realized that they are reaching out to a diverse audience of people," he said. "They don't want to discriminate through language."

http://www.upi.com/Security_Terrorism/Briefing/2007/06/04/fbi_warns_on_alqaidas_english_messages/8991/

JFK airport plot suspects appear in Trinidad court
Mon Jun 4 2007

PORT OF SPAIN - Two suspects in a foiled plot to blow up New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport appeared in court in Trinidad and Tobago on Monday and were accused of conspiring to commit terrorism.

Abdul Kadir, a citizen of Guyana and former member of its parliament, and Kareem Ibrahim, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, are among four suspects in the case, which has raised the possibility of Islamic radicalism taking root in the Caribbean. They were led into a packed Port of Spain court in handcuffs at about 9:30 a.m. EDT/1330 GMT for a brief initial appearance before Chief Magistrate Sherman McNichols.

"They have been accused of an offense to commit a terrorist act under the laws of the United States," David West, an attorney representing the U.S. government, told the judge. Kadir and Ibrahim, who were bearded and clad in loose-fitting traditional Muslim clothing like many of the courtroom spectators, looked calm and kept mostly silent during the 20-minute hearing. McNichols told them they faced possible extradition to the United States.

McNichols set a hearing on formal extradition proceedings for August 2. There was no request for bail at Monday's hearing and Rajiv Persad, a defense lawyer, said he needed more time to prepare the case.

Excerpted

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070604/ts_nm/usa_plot_trinidad_dc;_ylt=Am.VjOciWeqY9fAtUxMAx67MWM0F

Trinidad group denies terror plot link
June 4, 2007

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad - The leader of a radical Trinidadian Muslim organization said Monday his group had no connection to four men accused of planning to attack New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Yasin Abu Bakr, the leader of Jamaat al Muslimeen, told The Associated Press he knew nothing about the alleged plan to bomb a fuel pipeline feeding the airport, a plot authorities say was hatched by a group that included a former opposition member of Guyana's parliament. "I know nothing about these men, and I have nothing to do with whatever they are being charged for," Abu Bakr said in his first public comments since U.S. authorities disclosed the plot on Saturday.

Two of the suspects — Abdul Kadir, the former Guyanese lawmaker, and Kareem Ibrahim of Trinidad — are in custody in Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean island nation off the coast of Venezuela. Both were arrested there on Friday. A third suspect, Abdel Nur of Guyana, is believed to be at large in Trinidad where authorities are searching for him. The fourth suspect, Russell Defreitas, is former JFK air cargo employee who was arrested in New York. He is a U.S. citizen native to Guyana, a former Dutch and British colony on the northern coast of South America. U.S. court documents allege the four were plotting to bomb a fuel pipeline feeding the New York airport.

U.S. authorities claim the alleged plotters sought support in Trinidad from Jamaat al Muslimeen, which staged a deadly coup attempt in the Caribbean nation in 1990. The men did not receive such support, according to court documents. But according to the documents, Nur said he met in May with Abu Bakr at his compound in Trinidad and the Islamic leader suggested that he return later with others involved "to discuss the plan in detail."

Nur allegedly said the Jamaat al Muslimeen leader also wanted to do further checks on Defreitas, the 63-year-old alleged mastermind of the plot, and an unidentified confidential informant who had infiltrated the group, according to the documents. Abu Bakr declined to say whether he knew the men and denied any involvement. "I know nothing about these matters," he said in a phone interview.

Excerpted

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070604/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/terrorism_plot_trinidad

Note: The following text is a quote:

June 1, 2007

http://baltimore.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/ba060107.htm

MS-13 GANG MEMBER SENTENCED TO 35 YEARS ON RACKETEERING CHARGES

MS-13 Gang Operated in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties Through
Racketeering Activity That Included Six Murders in Maryland and One in Virginia

Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Edgar Alberto Ayala, age 29, of Suitland, Maryland, today to 35 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise and conspiracy to commit assaults with a deadly weapon, in order to maintain and increase his position in MS-13, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said, “Today’s lengthy sentence is the result of a coordinated effort by federal, state and local authorities to combat violent gangs in Maryland. The RICO statute allows us to prosecute gang members in federal court for the activities of the criminal organization they chose to join. Most Maryland jurisdictions have adopted anti-gang strategies that combine law enforcement, education and community awareness in a coordinated program to deter gang violence.”

Special Agent in Charge Gregory K. Gant of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stated, “ATF has stated, and will continue to state that we will not tolerate gang violence. Together with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we will continue to dismantle the gangs that terrorize our communities. Today’s sentencing shows how serious we are in bringing every violent member of MS-13 to justice, so that our law abiding citizens can feel safe where they live and work.”

Chief Melvin C. High, Prince George’s County Police Department, said, “Sharing the intelligence our gang unit had developed over two years on six homicides was put to best advantage through this regional partnership of local state and federal partners. The commitment and skill of the federal prosecutor’s office to forge ahead on these most challenging cases has resulted in the guilty verdicts that all our communities want and are demanding.” High added, “I want to congratulate U.S. Attorney Rosenstein. This and every victory like it substantiates the need and importance of a unified response to gangs and other criminal activity.”

Colonel David Rohrer, Chief of Police, Fairfax County Police Department, said, “Nothing can compensate a family or a community when a young person such as 14-year-old Anthony Campos is murdered, but I hope this conviction and today’s sentence bring those who loved Anthony some measure of solace. At least one of the gang leaders responsible for Anthony’s senseless killing won’t be walking free among us, able to inflict more pain on innocent children and their families, for many years.” Colonel Rohrer added, “The Fairfax County Police Department remains committed to combating violent criminal gangs and I commend the cooperative efforts of my detectives, other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland for this investigation and conviction.”

“This sentence is another good step in the efforts to eradicate the violence perpetrated by gangs in our region. Through the thorough teamwork of our local, state and federal law enforcement partners we will apprehend, arrest and prosecute these perpetrators wherever they are in the region. Gangs know no borders, law enforcement must work cooperatively across those borders. I commend Deputy State’s Attorney Laura Gwinn, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson and James Trusty on their tremendous work prosecuting this case,” commented Glenn F. Ivey, State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, Maryland.

John McCarthy, State’s Attorney for Montgomery County said “I welcome the opportunity to work with our federal partners in addressing the growing presence of gangs in Maryland. It is only through coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies that we can ensure public safety and effectively address the dangers posed by gangs.”

A federal jury convicted Ayala and co-defendant Oscar Ramos Velasquez, in November, 2006, after a six week trial. According to testimony at the trial, the defendants conspired to operate an MS-13 enterprise in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties through a pattern of racketeering activity which included six murders in Maryland and one in Virginia; the use of deadly weapons including firearms, baseball bats, machetes, bottles or knives in the commission of numerous murders, attempted murders and assaults; assaults on an MS-13 gang member from El Salvador, juvenile females and rival gang members; kidnaping; robbery; obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

Ayala falsely testified before a state grand jury in Prince George’s County that was investigating the May 2004 murder of Ashley Antonio Urias. On January 21, 2005 Ayala picked up other MS-13 gang members and drove with them to an apartment building in Fairfax, Virginia to look for rival gang members. Two MS-13 gang members, Jose Hipolito Cruz Diaz, a/k/a “Pirana,” age 28, of Lanham, Maryland and Omar Vasquez, a/k/a “Duke,” age 28, shot at the crowd of youths sitting outside the apartment building, injuring two juveniles and murdering a third juvenile. Cruz Diaz and Vasquez were convicted on April 27, 2007 of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.

Velasquez, age 21, of Baltimore is scheduled to be sentenced on July 23, 2007 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise. Velasquez was also convicted of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering and use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

To date, this office has charged 41 gang members with various federal offenses, with 27 defendants charged in this RICO conspiracy case. Fourteen MS-13 gang members have been convicted in this RICO conspiracy case. Cruz Diaz, Omar Vasquez and Henry Zelaya, age 20, who was also convicted on April 27, 2007 face life in prison at their sentencings on August 10, 2007, August 6, 2007 and July 30, 2007, respectively. Seven defendants, all of Maryland, have pleaded guilty, including Barahona, age 23, of Hyattsville, who was sentenced on April 16, 2007 to 14 years in prison; Ronaldo Diaz Vasquez, age 26, of Wheaton, who was sentenced on April 2, 2007 to nine years in prison; Franklin Mejia Molina, age 23, of Silver Spring, who was sentenced on December 4, 2006 to over 9 years (114 months)in prison; and Juan Lopez, age 21, of Riverdale, who was sentenced on October 16, 2006 to 87 months in prison, all for racketeering conspiracy. Jose Pena Aguilar, age 25, of Beltsville, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on November 6, 2006 for using a firearm in furtherance of a racketeering conspiracy, to be served consecutive to a 20 year sentence received in the Circuit Court, Prince George’s County for attempted murder.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Prince George’s County Police Department; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Montgomery County Department of Police; the Howard County Police Department; the Maryland National Capital Park Police; the Maryland State Police and the Fairfax County, Virginia Police Department for their investigative work.

Mr. Rosenstein thanked Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, and Fairfax County, Virginia, Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert F. Horan, Jr., for the assistance that they and their offices provided.

Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson, James Trusty and Chan Park, Prince George’s County Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Gwinn, and Trial Attorney David Jaffe, a prosecutor for the Justice Department’s Gang Squad, who are prosecuting these cases.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1844925/posts

http://www1.wsvn.com/images/news_articles/389x205/070604_Abdelaziz_Hamze.jpg

http://www1.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI50308/

“Woman dragged to death after Fort Lauderdale traffic collision”

Related Links
“Video: Man arrested in dragging death of woman”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A man was being detained in New York for the death of a woman who was dragged for several miles under a minivan after trying to stop the driver from fleeing a collision, officials said Monday.

Abdelaziz Bilal Hamze, 24, was detained on Delta flight 132 bound for Athens, Greece, Broward County Sheriff’s spokesman Elliot Cohen said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained him while the plane was pulling away from the gate at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Cohen said.

Broward sheriff’s deputies were en route to New York to interview Hamze, who is a U.S. citizen, Cohen said. He will be charged with first degree murder, Cohen said.

Hamze has been accused in the dragging death of 44-year-old Sandra Hall, of Fort Lauderdale. She was in a Cadillac struck by the minivan Sunday night, Broward County sheriff’s officials said.

Hamze was identified after a man called authorities and told investigators he had been contacted by Hamze. The caller said that several months ago he sold Hamze the 1999 Dodge minivan involved in Hall’s death, and that Hamze had contacted him after the killing.

Details of the conversation between the men were not released.”

Don’t know if this has been posted:

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Judge Throws Out Charges in Guantánamo Prisoner Case

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/04/world/americas/04cnd-gitmo.html?ei=5065&en=9465c46443b1d7d6&ex=1181620800&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print

GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba, June 4 — A military judge here dismissed the war crimes charges against a Canadian detainee today, saying there was a flaw in the procedure the military has used to file such charges against Guantánamo detainees.

The ruling in the case of the Canadian, Omar Khadr, is likely to stall the military’s war crimes prosecutions here. Critics of the prosecutions immediately called for Congress to reexamine the system it set up last year for military commissions to try detainees.

The military judge, Col. Peter E. Brownback III of the Army, said that Congress authorized the tribunals to try only those detainees who had been determined to be unlawful enemy combatants. But the military authorities here, he said, have determined only that Mr. Khadr was an enemy combatant, without making the added determination that his participation was “unlawful.”

Military lawyers here said the same flaw would affect every other potential war crimes case here. The ruling, the latest in a history of legal setbacks for the government’s effort to bring war-crimes charges against detainees, appeared to raise far-reaching questions, because it involved central principles of detention procedures.

Under directives from President Bush and senior Defense Department officials, military officials here have held detainees after finding simply that they were “enemy combatants.”

Those procedures have long drawn criticism, with some opponents of administration policies saying that they appeared to ignore principles of the international law of war, which permits the violence of battle without classifying it a war crime.

A military official said the Pentagon disagreed with the ruling, saying it had always been “implied” that Mr. Khadr was an unlawful combatant. The official said the Pentagon planned to appeal Colonel Brownback’s ruling. “This is just a semantic decision, is the way we are viewing it,” the official said.

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