A sinister twist emerged in the doctor bombings case last night when it emerged two of the UK suspects tried to get jobs in Australia.
Brothers Kafeel Ahmed and Sabeel Ahmed applied for jobs with the Western Australia Health Service but were rejected on character grounds. It was also revealed the pair were cousins of Gold Coast Hospital registrar Dr Mohammed Haneef, who remains in custody.
WA medical officials confirmed one of the brothers applied using different names on "several occasions". "We are co-operating with the AFP and doing everything we can to assist them," Australian Medical Association WA spokesman Geoff Dobbs said. It was also revealed by Channel 9 News that the second man arrested in Queensland, Mohammed Asif Ali, had also applied in WA and was rejected.
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http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22024288-5006009,00.html
Fake bomb eludes airport test
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Federal inspectors were able to slip a fake bomb through a checkpoint at Albany International Airport during a test of the facility's Transportation Security Administration screeners, according to individuals familiar with the incident. The unannounced inspection by TSA officials took place early last week. The airport's security measures failed in five of seven tests, most of the problems occurring at the passenger checkpoint, the sources said.
In one test, TSA inspectors hid the components of a fake bomb in carry-on luggage that also contained a bottle of water. Passengers are prohibited from carrying containers holding more than three ounces of liquids, gels or aerosols through airport checkpoints. The screeners at Albany International confiscated the water bottle but missed the bomb. In all, the inspectors slipped four banned items through the main checkpoint during the test, sources said.
The TSA, which took over security at the nation's commercial airports after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, conducts random tests of its workforce on a regular basis and failures are common, officials said. Paul Varville, the TSA's security director at Albany International, could not be reached for comment. Ann Davis, a TSA spokeswoman, declined to discuss the circumstances of the covert test at Albany International. "We don't discuss the results because they tend to paint an inaccurate picture of the competency of our work force," she said. "The tests are designed to be incredibly difficult and TSA does anticipate a fair level of failure." Screeners who flunk the test routinely receive immediate training on the mistakes to improve their detection skills, according to officials familiar with the spot checks.
Last October, the Star-Ledger newspaper of Newark, citing unnamed federal security officials, reported screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport flunked 20 of 22 tests, including failing to detect bombs and guns in luggage at checkpoints. The TSA responded to the report by launching an internal investigation in which federal employees were interrogated about whether they had leaked the results, the newspaper said.
Not all of the TSA's checks are done at passenger checkpoints. In some instances, TSA inspectors try to gain access to restricted airport areas and see how many employees they can get by before someone asks to see or verify their credentials. At two airports in Houston last month, TSA officials swarmed the facilities as security and "behavior detection" officers conducted random screening of approximately 5,200 employees and passengers at boarding gates, according to the TSA.
Five employees with expired airport security badges were found as were two who did not have credentials. The expired badges were confiscated and the employees in violation were escorted off airport property, according to a TSA news release. Davis said security screeners who fail tests must undergo extra training in addition to annual recertification exams. "These covert tests conducted by security personnel simply augment their training regimen," Davis said.
Islamabad - The deputy leader of Pakistan's radical Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) Abdul Rashid Ghazi has said that he and several hundreds militants and students holed up in the complex would surrender provided the security forces did not storm the complex.
The about-face came as darkness fell in Islamabad after Pakistani security forces launched a full commando operation and blew holes in some of the outer walls. Speaking to local television, Ghazi said he was willing to hand over the mosque and seminaries to the government's federal religious board but that he and his family wanted to remain on the premises.
Nineteen people have been killed in three days of clashes at the mosque, where several hundred students remain. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao Thursday said women were forcibly held inside Lal Masjid by armed students of the mosque. He told a news conference that some 50 to 60 hardcore armed students were still inside the mosque and seminary complex and they have hand grenades, petrol bombs and automatic guns.
A total of 1,146 students - 745 male and 401 female - have come out and surrendered before the law enforcing agencies until 2 p.m. local time, according to officials. Sherpao ruled out any talks with the Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, deputy chief of Lal Masjid, who still remained inside the mosque. His brother Maulana Abdul Aziz was captured on Wednesday as he tried to escape the mosque clad in a burqa. Government officials have asked for total and unconditional surrender of the Lal Masjid personnel.
Earlier, after the passing of the deadline given to the Lal Masjid administration for surrender, security forces had cordoned off the mosque complex in Islamabad. The parents of female students in Lal Masjid, have appealed the president to further extend the deadline.
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.432560604&par=0
Two Abu Sayyaf Commanders Killed In Southern Pillippines
July 5, 2007
Barangay Bohebesi - Two alleged commanders of al-Qaeda linked Muslim rebel group Abu Sayyaf were killed on Thursday in a gun battle with government troops in the southern Philippines, marine general Ramiro Alivio said. Alivio said the fighting erupted when marines ran into 20 Abu Sayyaf rebels in the town of Akbar in the island province of Basilan, 900 km south of Manila. The marines also seized two high-powered rifles, a machine gun and assorted live ammunition abandoned by the fleeing rebels, he said.
Alvio also stated that the slain alleged Abu Sayyaf commanders were identified as “Commander Panjang” and Ladji Mohammad. A military pursuit operation of the rebels was reported to have begun in forested and mountainous areas surrounding Akhbar, the Philippines News agency said.
Excerpted
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.432533867&par=0