Radicalism heating up in the Caribbean
Monday, June 4th 2007
WASHINGTON - From Argentina to Haiti, the rise of radical Islam in the Caribbean and Latin America is alarming U.S. counterterror officials and leaders in the region, who say the JFK bomb plot should be a wakeup call. All four suspects in the plot had ties to the region. Two were arrested in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, including ex-Guyanese lawmaker Abdul Kadir.
Senior U.S. counterterrorism officials confirmed fears that Islamists in Trinidad and Tobago could turn the nation "into another Mogadishu," referring to the Somali capital ruled until last year by Islamic fundamentalists with Al Qaeda ties. "Trinidad and Tobago have been a high concern for us since the late 1980s," said Michael Scheuer, who created the CIA's Osama Bin Laden unit in 1996. Scheuer said the Caribbean is not home to major terror groups aside from Trinidad's Jamaat al Muslimeen, but a "loose-knit" confederation of extremists have found it easy to move around the tourist-friendly islands.
New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the Caribbean is a region "of increasing concern to us. It's an area we should take a closer look at." "What happened in New York was very educational," a former Caribbean leader told the Daily News. Muslim extremists in Trinidad and Tobago pose a "growing danger" to Prime Minister Patrick Manning's government, he noted. But it is strife-torn Haiti that is considered "the weakest point in the area," said the former leader, who asked not to be identified.
Before 9/11, intelligence services reported that Palestinians possibly involved in terror strikes against Israel used Haiti to lie low, he said. And suddenly, in recent years, a surprising number of mosques have sprouted up in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Haiti is predominantly Catholic. "We don't understand why there are so many mosques in Haiti," the former leader said.
In Latin America, most attention of U.S. counterterror agents is focused on Argentina, its notorious border with Paraguay and Brazil, and northern Chile. But the FBI has only about 25 legal attachés, called legates, positioned in embassies throughout the Americas, a source said. Two G-men based in Trinidad's Port-of-Spain led efforts to nab the JFK plotters.
"The threat in South America is growing," said a top counterterror manager. "Lebanese Hezbollah is gaining a real foothold there." Most of Hezbollah's efforts there are aimed at fund-raising rather than plotting attacks, sources said. But there have been exceptions. In 1992, terrorists believed connected to Hezbollah blew up the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and killed 29 people. Two years later, another bomb at a Jewish aid group's offices slaughtered 85.
Last March, five Iranians and one key Hezbollah operative, Imad Fayez Mugniyah, were targeted for the 1994 bombing in an Interpol "red notice," which alerts all law enforcement that there are warrants for their arrest.
In the mid-1990s, the CIA disrupted a plot by Middle Eastern terror group Gama'a al-Islamiya to strike in its native Egypt. The group's spiritual leader, Omar Abdel-Rahman, known as the "Blind Sheik," was convicted of plotting to destroy New York City landmarks in 1995. "The order to attack Egypt came out of the tri-border area," an intelligence source said.
Venezuela's close ties to Iran - which supports Hezbollah - have also drawn scrutiny, particularly when President Hugo Chavez recently announced direct flights with a visa waiver program from Caracas to Tehran and Damascus. "That's not for tourism - they have all the sunshine they need over there," a counterterrorism official said. "Obviously, there are a large number of people going back and forth."
Venezuela's neighbor Guyana also is home to many who have accepted scholarships to study in Iran. "It's something we want to watch very closely," said the former Caribbean leader.
Good article and map.
Thanks Oorang.
Thanks to all linkers/researchers. Outstanding thread.
PESHAWAR: The Frontier police was put on maximum alert following warnings by security agencies of possible suicide attacks on important government installations, senior officials and politicians, official sources told Daily Times on Saturday.
“Two Uzbeks with explosive-laden belts are planning suicide attacks,” the officials quoted security agencies as informing the government. However, the security agencies have not yet been able to identify the bombers’ targets. Security was increased around government offices in general and offices of law enforcement agencies in particular in Peshawar and no private car was allowed to park in parking areas of several government buildings.
“The bomber who hit the military convoy in Bannu on Wednesday, killing six soldiers, was Uzbek. The attack on another army convoy in Dir district on Friday in which four soldiers including a major and a lieutenant were killed was conducted by a timed device,” the official said, asking not to be named. The warning comes following NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai’s demand from the tribesmen to identify Wednesday’s bomber. “Under the law and tribal tradition, the tribal people are under obligation to maintain law and order in the area,” the governor told a jirga of clerics and elders from Bannu at Governor’s House.
According to a communiqué, the governor expressed anger at the attack on the military convoy in Bannu. He asked the jirga members not to shelter foreigners. “Law and order is deteriorating in North Waziristan and the Utmanzai elders have to critically review the ongoing situation and find a solution,” he said.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007/07/08/story_8-7-2007_pg7_21
Capital sealed for fear of suicide attacks (Pakistan)
Sunday, July 08, 2007
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad administration sealed the capital early on Saturday to avoid possible suicide attacks. Policemen have been deployed at all entry and exit points of the city and they have been ordered to check all vehicles and people thoroughly before allowing them into the capital. About 10 to 15 policemen are manning each entry and exit points and four-member teams have been formed to patrol the areas close to Rawalpindi, especially Sector I. Daily Times learnt that intelligence agencies have informed the Interior Ministry that there is a possibility of suicide attacks in the city in reaction to the Lal Masjid operation.
Policemen have been deployed at markets, important buildings and other public places. Gates of several police stations were closed and visitors were being thoroughly checked before they entered the buildings.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007/07/08/story_8-7-2007_pg7_8
Security forces dynamite Lal Masjid wall
Sunday, July 08, 2007
ISLAMABAD: Security forces besieging the Lal Masjid late on Saturday blew up part of the wall of the compound, a security official said, AFP reported. There was also an intense exchange of fire before midnight between security forces and militants holed up inside the mosque complex, the official said. “Security forces dynamited the wall to allow people inside to come out if they want to,” he told AFP. People inside the compound who wished to leave risked being shot by hardline students if they attempted to climb the wall, which is seven to eight feet high, he said. Breaching the wall also gave security forces a clearer picture of what was happening, he added.
Security forces blew up another section of the wall early Sunday with the deafening blasts heard several kilometres away. “There has been another round of intense firing but there have been no casualties on the security forces’ side,” the official said. An AFP photographer at the scene said heavy firing between the security forces and the militants continued for more than 45 minutes late Saturday with several bullets hitting the walls of several houses.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao warned Ghazi Abdul Rashid to let the hostage children come out otherwise he would be held responsible for any harm to them. A source at the mosque told AFP that one student was killed in the battle lasting around an hour. The official death toll from five days of fighting stands at 19.
Staff report adds: Earlier in the day, the security forces increased their presence in Sub-Sector G-6/1 and erected sandbag bunkers in front of the main street after gunshots were fired from a nearby mosque. The incident, which could not be confirmed by independent sources, took place in the morning as the curfew was relaxed from 8:00 to 9:30 am to allow local residents to go to their offices and buy food. Security sources told Daily Times that 13 people had been arrested for violating the curfew in G-6/2. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz chaired a meeting where he directed security forces to exercise restraint to minimise the loss of life. He also formed a three-member committee to supervise the situation.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007/07/08/story_8-7-2007_pg1_3