Threat Matrix: March 2008

Previous Thread ^

[nwctwx]

Petraeus: Al Qaida Trying to 'Come Back In'

U.S. military officials said there will be no significant reduction in coalition troops in the Baghdad area as part of an effort to stop the Al Qaida offensive in northern Iraq.

They said Al Qaida was trying to reenter Baghdad and reverse its losses in 2007.

"Al Qaida is trying to come back in," U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus said. "We can feel it and see it, and what we're trying to do is rip out any roots before they can get deeply into the ground." Read More

	Militants Assert Themselves in Pakistan
	U.S. Optimistic about Afghanistan Reinforcements
	‘You Have to Rethink War’

Threat Matrix:
March 2008

February 2007

Threat Matrix Index

Theat Matrix Handbook

Theat Matrix 'BOLO'

Invaluable Tips

Preparedness

[Cindy]

Note: The following newsbrief is a quote:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3518518,00.html

2 Qassam rockets fired at Israel; no injuries reported
Published: 03.13.08, 07:35 / Israel News

Palestinians fired two Qassam rockets from the northern Gaza Strip into Israel on Thursday morning.

One of the rockets landed outside the southern town of Sderot, and the other fell in Palestinian territory. There were no reports of injuries or damage. (Shmulik Hadad)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/china/

#

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080313/NATION/330455152/1001

“Hayden takes China to task”
By Bill Gertz
March 13, 2008

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Mr. Hayden also criticized China’s pursuit of Sudanese oil supplies, even at the cost of backing a government that the United States accuses of participating in genocidal activities in the Darfur region of Sudan.

But in a nuanced appraisal of the Asian communist giant, Mr. Hayden also expressed professional “admiration” for the speed and sophistication of its military buildup, suggested its behavior is an outgrowth of its historical role in Asia, and opined it is “not inevitable that they will be an enemy.””

[Cindy]

http://www.satp.org
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org

http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/searchb10.asp?search=mumbai&searchtype=all&B1=Submit

http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/searchb10.asp?search=Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami&searchtype=all&B1=Submit

#

http://in.news.yahoo.com/indiaabroad/20080312/r_t_ians_nl_general/tnl-terror-sleeper-cells-hidden-in-mumba-b9e311f_1.html

#

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/020283.php

March 13, 2008

India: Police in Mumbai on alert for sleeper cells of jihadists
Or, alternatively, narcoleptic inner spiritual strugglers.

“Terror sleeper cells hidden in Mumbai, say police,” from the Indo-Asian News Service:

Mumbai, March 12 (IANS) Many terrorist sleeper cells are hidden in Mumbai with designs to blow up top business and political hubs in the city, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Mumbai Police disclosed Wednesday.

The revelations follow preliminary investigations after two Bangladeshi terrorists were gunned down late Tuesday night in Mira Road, in adjoining Thane district by the ATS.

‘The targets include the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Jeejeebhoy Towers Building, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) headquarters, the Mantralaya, the Maharashtra government headquarters, all in south Mumbai, and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in suburban Bandra-Kurla Complex,’ Additional Commissioner of Police (ATS) Param Bir Singh told IANS.

According to Singh, the two killed Bangladeshi terrorists had close ties with the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI). One of them has been identified as Mohammad Ali.

The police also recovered fake Indian currency notes, two small firearms and a white powdery substance suspected to be RDX from the two gunned down Bangladeshis.

‘We have sent this powder to the lab for analysis to ascertain whether it is RDX or not,’ Singh said.

‘The Mumbai police have gone on a high alert following the encounter and security at all important places has been beefed up,’ Singh said.

Posted by Marisol at March 13, 2008 12:19 AM

###

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai_2_Bangladesh_terrorists_killed/articleshow/2856224.cms

[Cindy]

ADDING links to post no. 422 -- RECAP:

DEFENSElink.mil (AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE): Washington - "CHINA MILITARY EXPANSION COULD HAVE GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS" by Fred W. Baker III (March 3, 2008)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "CHINA SPEEDS PACE OF MILITARY BUILDUP" by Bill Gertz (March 3, 2008)

Link

[Cindy]

Here you go.
I found the link in Bulgaria-related web site of all things.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=58532

[Cindy]

UPDATE:

http://www.serbianna.com/news/2008/01704.shtml
(AP)

“Danish court acquits Bosnia based terror plotters”

JAN M. OLSEN
March 10, 2008 1:49 PM

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “COPENHAGEN, Denmark-A Danish court on Monday acquitted a teenager of involvement in a Bosnia-based terror plot to blow up an unidentified target in Europe.

The ruling by the Eastern High Court in Copenhagen was the second verdict to clear Elias Ibn Hsain in the case.

The 19-year-old Dane of Moroccan origin was acquitted of terror charges last year, but was retried after prosecutors said they found stronger evidence, including digital recordings and bomb manuals on his computer and on a CD-ROM.

However, the Eastern High Court said the new evidence was not enough to link Ibn Hsain to two men convicted in Bosnia of planning a terror attack aimed at forcing foreign troops to pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Those two, Swedish national Mirsad Bektasevic and Abdulkadir Cesur, a Turk who had been living in Denmark, were arrested in 2005 when police raided a Sarajevo apartment. Police said they found a “suicide belt” rigged with a powerful homemade explosive device, pistols, ammunition and a videotape outlining how to build a bomb.

Two Bosnians were also convicted in the plot, the exact target of which remains unclear.

Four suspected accomplices were put on trial in Denmark, but only one, Abdul Basit Abu Lifa, was convicted, and sentenced to seven years in prison.”

[Cindy]

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=610693BA-4E49-4B2F-9837-B552C3D54A6C

“Al Qaeda in Iraq Under Saddam”
By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | Thursday, March 13, 2008

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Osama al-Magid, a former police officer in Iraq (1992- 2003). He can be contacted at osamaalmajid@yahoo.com.

FP: Osama al-Magid, welcome to Frontpage Interview.

Al-Magid: Thank you Mr. Glazov. I hope to provide information to the American public that will help them understand that terrorism in the U.S. from Al Qaeda did not end on September 11th, 2001. There are currently supporters of Al Qaeda not only outside of the U.S. but also inside of it.”

[Cindy]

DEAD TERRORISTS Update:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984933/posts

“41 Taliban killed in south Afghanistan”
AP ^ | 03/13/08 | AMIR SHAH
Posted on 03/13/2008 3:19:33 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

“41 Taliban killed in south Afghanistan”
By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer

15 minutes ago

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Afghan and international forces killed 41 Taliban militants in a battle in southern Afghanistan, and a suicide car bomb attack on a convoy of U.S. troops left six Afghan civilians dead in Kabul, U.S. and Afghan officials said Thursday.

None of the four American troops traveling in the two armored vehicles of the convoy was badly wounded in the Thursday attack, said Lt. Col. David Johnson, a spokesman for U.S. forces. The troops were traveling in one SUV and one truck, he said.

Six Afghan civilians were killed and up to 20 others wounded in the blast, Deputy Interior Minister Munir Mangal said. The attacker was driving a white Toyota Corolla, he said, a favorite among suicide car bombers.

In a mobile phone text message to an Associated Press reporter in Pakistan, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid identified the suicide bomber as Abdullah.

The suicide car bomb turned into a fiery hull that burned on the main airport road long after the attack, which also damaged several other vehicles.

U.S. troops and international security contractors surrounded the area after the blast.”

[Cindy]

Let’s do an early morning check on the “peace” process.

#

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1205261318531&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Mar 13, 2008 6:51 | Updated Mar 13, 2008 10:35
“At least 15 Kassams pound western Negev, shattering calm”
By JPOST.COM STAFF

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “At least 15 Kassam rockets slammed into the western Negev early Thursday morning, shattering a period of calm during which the IDF refrained from conducting operations in the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian gunmen largely kept from launching attacks against Israel.

Following the rocket barrage, the IAF launched pinpoint air strikes against Kassam rocket launchers in northern Gaza. It was not immediately known if anybody was wounded in the attacks.”

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/russia/

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/iran/
http://www.truthusa.com/IRAN.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/nuclear
http://memritv.org/subject/en/121.htm

###
###

Note: The following blog entry is a quote:

http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/6148.htm

Russian Ambassador To U.N.: We’ll Guarantee Nuclear Fuel Supply To Iran

Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vitaly Churkin has said that Iran does not need to enrich uranium because Russia will guarantee to supply it with nuclear fuel for many years to come.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Resolution 1803 was a serious message to Tehran regarding the need to cooperate with the Security Council, following the decisions by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Source: Sobh-e Sadeq, Iran, March 10, 2008

Posted at: 2008-03-12

[Cindy]

http://www.truthusa.com/MoreThanCartoons.html

#

Note: Photos included.

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2008/s08030069.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net — E-mail: assistnews@aol.com

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Pakistan Suicide Bombs Claim 31 Lives
Blasts Damaged Federal Building, Missionary Schools, Cathedral Church and Relief Agency

By Sheraz Khurram Khan
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service in Pakistan
LAHORE, PAKISTAN (ANS) — Twin suicide bombs killed at least 31 people and injured 200 in the eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday.

A story by the Chicago Tribune’s Kim Barker said the incidents deepened the crisis in the troubled nation, and increased the pressure on embattled President Pervez Musharraf, blamed by many for instability in the country.

The Tribune reported that in Lahore, police officials said one bomb targeted the seven-story headquarters of the federal police, which investigates terrorism and human trafficking, and killed at least 16 officers.

According to the Tribune, another car bomb exploded at a house near the rented Lahore home of Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, which won the largest amount of seats in last month’s parliamentary elections. There was no clear target for the blast, which killed a gardener and his two children at the home of a man who runs an advertising company.

The federal police building sits opposite to the Catholic Church’s leading non-governmental organization, Caritas, the front side of which was razed.

Caritas International is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service organizations helping the poor and oppressed.

“The explosion was so powerful that it was heard within the one-two kilometer range. It felt as an earthquake had hit the area. The blast left the window panes shattered,” said Sohail Johnson, the chief coordinator of the Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan (SLMP), speaking from the scene of the incident..

According to Johnson, whose team visited the Convent of the Dominicans sisters, located close to the Caritas building, at least eight nuns suffered critical injuries in the wake of the blast.

Pictures from the Pakistan bombing

Nuns were too fear-stricken to say anything, Johnson said.

Johnson said he saw injured people wailing for help. He said that human limbs were scattered all over the place in a pool of blood. Johnson said there were about 500 people in the federal building when the bomber struck.

The blasts also panicked teachers and students in the Sacred Heart School, a Catholic Church school close to the targeted federal building, he said.

“We saw blood stained floors of the school classrooms,” Johnson said. “A school teacher who did not wish to be named told (us) that it took her some time to (realize) what had happened. (After a while) ... we asked the students to leave the classrooms. Shards of glass left several students of the school injured.”

Johnson said the explosion also damaged the Cathedral Church, which is close to the Caritas building. The main door of the church was broken, and window panes of the nearby buildings totally shattered.

Center for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement Chief Joseph Francis said that following the blast, the generator located on the Caritas building fell down, adding to the damage. He said that the blast also destroyed an office in the Caritas building.

Anila Gull, the National Executive of Caritas Pakistan said in a news release, “We condemn this act of terror, which has killed indiscriminately and injured many, including Caritas staff. There can be no justification for this crime. Caritas Pakistan is committed to building peace in every way it can.”

Caritas International President Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez said in a news release, “It’s with great sadness that we see the bloodshed continue to destabilize Pakistan. That Caritas staff who are committed to building peace have been caught up in the blasts only adds to the tragedy. The country needs strong leadership at this time to find peace through dialogue. Violent attacks such as these can never bring about just, peaceful solutions.”

The Chairman of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (AMPA) condemned the blast. He did not rule out the possibility of attacks on Churches and Christian properties amid continuing protests by angry Muslims over cartoons of Prophet Muhammad.

Sheraz Khurram Khan has been reporting from Pakistan for ASSIST News Service on Christian persecution and minorities’ situation since 2005. He is also a representative of the International Press Association (IPA), USA.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

[Cindy]

PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org

[Cindy]

http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_4165.html

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

This information is current as of today, Thu Mar 13 2008 04:30:32 GMT-0700 (PDT).

CAMEROON

March 12, 2008

[Cindy]

Note: The following news brief is a quote:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3518671,00.html

Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at Sderot
Published: 03.13.08, 13:15 / Israel News

Two Qassam rockets were fired at Sderot Thursday.

Security forces are searching for the rockets’ landing sites; no injuries or damage were reported at this time. (Shmulik Hadad)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984954/posts

#

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=0B3C0C2C-B7B8-4951-8CCB-256547645735

“Texts of Hate”
By Arlene Kushner
FrontPageMagazine.com | Thursday, March 13, 2008

[Cindy]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html

“Worldwide Caution”
January 17, 2008

[drymans wife]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,337427,00.html

raq: Body of Kidnapped Catholic Archbishop Found

Thursday, March 13, 2008

BAGHDAD — The body of a Chaldean Catholic archbishop kidnapped in Iraq last month was found just outside the northern city where he was abducted, Iraqi police and a morgue official said Thursday.

Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was seized in Mosul and three of his companions were killed Feb. 29 when gunmen attacked them soon after he left mass. It was the latest violence in what church members call a series of attacks against Iraq’s small Christian community.

snip..

[drymans wife]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,337417,00.html

Five Cuban Soccer Players From Under-23 Team Missing After Florida Match

Thursday, March 13, 2008

TAMPA, Fla. — Five Cuban soccer players went missing Tuesday night after the under-23 team played a key match against the United States, a team official said Wednesday.

The missing men had not yet reported to authorities.

Zachary Mann, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, said it’s unlikely the agency will learn the men’s whereabouts until they come forward. The players likely would be granted political protection under the United States’ “wet foot, dry foot” policy that typically allows Cubans who reach U.S. soil to stay.

The Cuban team is in Tampa to play in qualifying games for the Beijing Olympics this August, sponsored by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, or CONCACAF.

A CONCACAF spokesman declined comment, saying only that the situation is under review.

snip..

[drymans wife]

Certainly not terrorism related but worth the WOW!!!!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,337232,00.html

Kansas Police: Woman Pried From Boyfriend’s Toilet After Sitting on It for 2 Years

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

WICHITA, Kan. — Deputies say a woman in western Kansas became stuck on her boyfriend’s toilet after sitting on it for two years.

Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman’s skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.

“We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital,” Whipple said. “The hospital removed it.”

Whipple said investigators planned to present their report Wednesday to the county attorney, who will determine whether any charges should be filed against the woman’s 36-year-old boyfriend.

“She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body,” Whipple said. “It is hard to imagine. ... I still have a hard time imagining it myself.”

He told investigators he brought his girlfriend food and water, and asked her every day to come out of the bathroom.

“And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,”’ Whipple said. “According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom.”

SNIP..

[drymans wife]

BREAKING NEWS

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,337550,00.html

Man Wearing Backpack Arrested After Running Onto Heathrow Airport Runway

Thursday, March 13, 2008

LONDON — British police say a man has been arrested after getting onto a runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Police say the man was spotted on the northern runway, he was detained and a bag was recovered. One of the airport’s two runways was closed after the incident.