Cars of Death?
Not again...
Posted on 11/21/2003 6:08:45 PM PST by TexKat
The heightened threat of suicide bombings was last night forcing UK embassies around the world to re-evaluate their defences against what an al-Qaida statement described as its "cars of death".
The explicit warning of fresh "martyrdom operations" was published as police in Istanbul detained seven suspects in connection with the devastating blasts at the British consulate and the HSBC bank.
All are understood to be Turkish passport holders.
Two of them, tentatively identified by the Turkish media as Azad Ekinci and Feridun Ugurlu, were close friends of Mesut Cabuk and Gokhan Elaltuntas, the men who carried out the suicide bombings of two synagogues in Istanbul last Saturday.
Ekinci, who fought in Chechnya and Bosnia, and Ugurlu, who trained in camps in Pakistan, reportedly hired the cars used in the synagogue attacks.
All four came from Bingol, in south-eastern Turkey and had connections to an Islamist paramilitary group renowned for killing liberal opponents.
The size of the car bombs assembled by the men could force an extensive rethink about the perimeter security of embassies and consulates.
The device which levelled two buildings in the Istanbul consulate is understood to have contained at least 225kg (500lb) of explosives.
Because of constricted road space near the consulate, a protective concrete block had been placed inside the main gates. Lessons about where barriers should be placed in future will now be studied by the security officers in every mission around the world.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We have instructed all departments, particularly those in the region, to review security practices".
It would be impossible for Britain to carry out its diplomatic, consular and visas responsibilities if security was the only consideration, she added. "Balancing the operational requirements against risks is very difficult."
In Jakarta, for example, the British ambassador, Richard Gozney, said that his mission was "trying to guard most of all against car bomb or parcel bomb attacks". The security at the consulate general was being "further tightened".
A Whitehall source warned that because al-Qaida had struck British interests abroad rather than at home did not imply that Britain was safe from attack.
The intelligence services and Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch have consistently advised that an al-Qaida atrocity in the UK is a matter of when, not if. "We share that sentiment", said the source. "We can do our very best, but it is difficult. We must be prepared for it."
The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, who inspected the ruined HSBC building yesterday and met the widow and elder daughter of Roger Short, the murdered British consul general, said the bombings were evidence of a "global threat" to the civilised world. "We who represent the civilised world are facing a global threat, and we have to deal with it in a global way."
One leading Turkish commentator last night said he believed al-Qaida had targeted Istanbul because it was the ultimate "symbolic city" that bridged the east and west, Islam and Christendom.
"The attacks send a message to the Islamic world that those countries which reform and acquire democratic values, like Turkey, will be a target of Islamic radicalism," Hussein Bagdi, a security expert at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, said.
A group close to the heart of al-Qaida yesterday claimed to have deliberately assassinated Mr Short. The Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades posted a statement on its website saying it had targeted him because he was the "mastermind of the British policy in Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran because of his extensive experience in... combating Islam".
In what amounted to a highly unusual apology to Muslim victims, the statement - outlining Operation Islamic Iron Hammer, a sarcastic reference to the US military clampdown on guerrillas in Iraq - said: "We admit that the cars of death that targeted the British bank were put in an inappropriate place, which caused some casualties among innocents." But it promised further "cars of death".
The Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack on the UN offices in Iraq in August.
I had two roommates from South Bend in college, but I've never been in the state.
The most telling phrase in the entire article IMO.
Prairie
Yeah.
I heard a rumor that they all had "Property of the DNC" stencilled on them.
Is that true?
And thanks for the post, Ragtime Cowgirl.
I'll put this on the refrigerator, so all members of my household can "consult" it. :-)
Updated: 22 November 2003--More than 12 hours after the above was posted, and a full 13 days after our initial alert regarding cargo planes, the US government has warned of an increased risk of terror attacks on Americans at home and overseas, with a particular warning that al-Qaeda could try to hijack cargo jets and crash them into targets. Terrorist bombings overseas and an increased volume of threats against US interests at home and in foreign countries led the Homeland Security Department and FBI to issue the public warning. It said that "al-Qaeda's continued interest in aviation, including using cargo jets" to attack targets is of particular concern. The warning added that "increased vigilance here at home is prudent and may be key to deterring or disrupting terrorist attacks".
22 November 2003-- Message Intercept: Additional Bomb-Laden Vehicles Enter Iraq: Islamic terrorists have communicated that at least fifteen-(15) explosive laden vehicles have entered into Iraq through the Turkey and Syria. Vehicles (including ambulances, police vehicles and sanitation trucks) are to be used to carry out terror operations against US and coalition forces. Targets include police stations, security forces. MORE
22 November 2003--Turkey-Operation Iron Hammer Response; expect more attacks. "Everybody should know that what is coming will even be worse."
al Qaeda to Use Chemical Weapons Against Our Military? 22 November 2003--"A Ruling" About Qatar: Because of the Iraqi resistance unexpected, it is the desire of the Pentagon to return of the middle command of the American army to Al-Adid Base in Qatar. And from here they are to attempt to remove themselves from the Iraq swamp through the use of airplanes against the Iraqi resistance strongholds in the Sunni triangle which means bigger casualties. And what is recalled is the image of the fissionable and vacuum bombs of up to ten tons that were used at the beginning of the last war on Iraq against all life, we are reminded also of the bodies pictures of children and the women and the Sheikhs who burnt inside their homes.
The bombardment on the night 19 / 11 / 2003 c. to Beakouba City by 15 airplanes that took off from Qatar base where the one weight bombs dropped from it 500 pounds through the attack that continued two hours.
The question that presents itself here, do we hit the base to be in Qatar? Is the command base among the targeted sites approved by the rule?????
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The brother - qualified to state - it is intended for Al-Qaeda to use a new way to fight - a chemical attack a proverb that is now discussed in the forums. A thankfulness on your passage .
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Oh Allah he will destroy the Americans!
22 November 2003-- Osama bin Laden, al Zawahiri ARE IN IRAN. AS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED by Northeast Intelligence Network and independent analyst Ryan MAURO (who is also the owner of the web site www.WorldThreats.com), the location of Osama bin Laden and his top aide, al Zawahiri was made clear (1) via Internet communications monitored by our network, and (2) a carefully written, previously published article written by Mr. MAURO titled "Al-Qaeda Leadership in Iran." "Given the latest strikes in Istanbul and the ongoing guerilla war in Iraq, it appears clear that there is an operational leadership behind Al-Qaeda...Only one thing is for sure--Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism, now more than ever." (Ryan MAURO). In an article published 21 November 2003 by WorldNetDaily, it appears that Fox News analyst Mansoor Ijaz agrees.
Next time ya need a Stoodybaker pic, let me know and I'll toss up a pic of the one in my driveway.
Mine's a '62 Lark Daytona. My dad is original owner on it. 200K plus miles, still runs like a top (it just don't stop so good with those old drum brakes . . . )
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