Posted on 01/18/2009 5:04:40 PM PST by Joiseydude
ANTI-TERROR bosses last night hailed their latest ally in the war on terror — the BLACK DEATH.
At least 40 al-Qaeda fanatics died horribly after being struck down with the disease that devastated Europe in the Middle Ages.
The killer bug, also known as the plague, swept through insurgents training at a forest camp in Algeria, North Africa. It came to light when security forces found a body by a roadside.
The victim was a terrorist in AQLIM (al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb), the largest and most powerful al-Qaeda group outside the Middle East.
It trains Muslim fighters to kill British and US troops.
Now al-Qaeda chiefs fear the plague has been passed to other terror cells — or Taliban fighters in Afghanistan
(Excerpt) Read more at thesun.co.uk ...
My wife contracted a case of "plague" from the Pasteurella pestis (aka Yersinia pestis) minor organism. Her Red Tail hawk had picked it up while hunting in the field. The hawk passed it to my wife. Both were treated and recovered. We were lucky that the veterinarian diagnosed the plague infection in time for rapid treatment. A hot strain of the "real thing" can kill in hours. Especially if passed as pneumonic plague from coughing/sputum vs rat flea bites.
Well, this is nothing to “sneeze at” — so to speak. I mean, it could spread in civilized societies, too. I’ve also heard that there are plans to spread highly infectious diseases by terrorists flying around to the world to many Western Countries and spreading the disease that they’ve been infected with. I wonder if that’s the aim here... (and that the newspaper has got the story wrong about it being something unintended — but rather for spread in Western countries).
That Black Plague killed about 1/2 of the population of Europe (estimates are 30 to 60%). That would be no fun to have it over here in the United States...
I doubt any connection at least with biowarfare. The Somalis who died after breaking into timelocked cargo holds had teeth and hair fall out, bleeding sores etc. All consistent with radiation poisoning. It was the MV Iran Deyant.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2103708/posts
no, thats pubic lice...
Oh, great. I’m a public school teacher in Los Angeles. If it hits here, I’m the canary in the mine that dies first.
Pneumonic plague is spread person to person and is quickly deadly,,this sounds like pneumonic rather than bubonic which is the kind of plague we see occasionally in this country,,people hiking out west, prarie dogs and stuff like that.
This is scary,,once the plague goes pneumonic it is deadlier and spreads fast.
Tied to sunspots? Min or Max?
It can be in the body for more than a week — highly contagious but not revealing tell-tale symptoms.
Maybe one of their weapons escaped.
Seems likely to me. What is the normal incidence of pneumonic plague in North Africa? I sure don't like the sounds of this though I welcome the reduction in forces of the Islamists.
Bring one to Gitmo.
Do they still get their 72 virgins if they die of Plague?
Thank you for the reminder. That's one, just one, of things I love about FR.
But you, know though those germs had to come from someplace and I doubt the average terrorist would have the knowledge to handle something as virulent as the plague without running the risk of making mistakes.
The plague was carried by flea-borne microbes, wasn't it?
Believe it or not I had microbiology in college, but that was a long time ago!
Seems appropriate, somehow, that a group whose ideology is rooted in the Middle Ages should fall victim to a disease of the Middle Ages.
Ironic, too.
Not to mention damn funny!
ping
Oh, shucks......
ping
“At least 40 al-Qaeda fanatics died horribly after being struck down with the disease that devastated Europe in the Middle Ages.”
I love a happy ending...
Act of God?
> Act of God?
Or “work accident”.
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