Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread 5

CNN ^ | March 12, 2004

[thecabal]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- This week's deadly train bombings in Spain will not lead to a rise in the U.S. color-coded terror threat alert system, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said Friday.

"Based on the current intelligence, we have no specific indicators that terrorist groups are considering such an attack in the U.S. in the near term," said department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.

[JustPiper]

5 held in Italy anti-terror raids
04/01/04 02:33 AM, EST
Italian police say they have arrested five people as part of an investigation into international terrorism.
FULL STORY
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/04/01/italy.arrests/index.html

[Cindy]

I've heard something like that before.

I wonder how many foreign country leaders, military figures, anti-Americans (in general) drop by to soak up a few rays and pay Castro a visit?

[Cindy]

NEWS - RECAP - UPDATES:

AGAPE PRESS: "THE SEXUAL ASSAULT ON AMERICA" -Commentary by Rev. Mark H. Creech (March 29, 2004) (Read More...)

FORTWAYNE.com (AP): "AUTHORITIES CHECK WHY SUSPECT HAD VIDEOS OF BUILDINGS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Authorities in Ohio were investigating why a Yemen national accused of shooting at a fellow countryman had videos showing the outside of buildings. The videos were found in Adel Al Yazidi's car when he was arrested Friday about 50 miles southeast of Cleveland, said Trumbull County, Ohio, Sheriff's Department Sgt. Jeff Orr. They appear to show various buildings, said Orr, who heads a three-county law enforcement task force. The videos also contained scenes of what appear to be tanks blowing up.") (March 31, 2004) (Read More...)

GOOGLE Search Term: "YAZIDI" (Read More...)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "N.J. FIRM BACKED TERRORISTS LINKED TO HAMAS, AL QAEDA" by Jerry Seper (March 29, 2004) (Read More...)

BUSH COUNTRY.org - Opinion Corner: "DO YOU YAHOO? AL QAEDA DOES" by Jeremy Reynalds (March 29, 2004) (Read More...)

INTERNET HAGANAH (CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER): "UM, NEVERMIND..." (March 28, 2004) (Read More...)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE - Office of the Spokesman - PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT: "WORLDWIDE CAUTION" (March 23, 2004) (Read More...)

On The Net...JIHAD WATCH.org (Read More...)

On The Net...SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: "ATTACK ON AMERICA!" (Read More...)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "CHICAGO, L.A. TOWERS WERE NEXT TARGETS" by Paul Martin (March 30, 2004) (Read More...)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com (UPI): Chicago - MYSTERY ILLINOIS PLASTIC EXPLOSIVES PROBED" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Two men looking for deer antlers came across 4 pounds of C-4 and other devices March 11 at a 4,000-acre horse farm north of Chicago. The puttylike C-4 was among objects found inside three green metal boxes under the covering. The boxes also contained a smoke grenade, eight cluster flares, six blasting caps, four booby-trap simulators, a lithium battery and an M-16 military gun-cleaning kit, the Chicago Tribune said Wednesday.") (March 31, 2004) (Read More...)

NBC30.com: East Lyme, Conn.: "RADIOACTIVE CANNISTER FOUND IN EAST LYME YARD" (March 30, 2004) (Read More...)

YAHOO! News - Business - INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY: "'SUITCASE NUKE' FEARS PRESENT A STERN TEST FOR DEFENSE EXPERTS" by Doug Tsuruoka (March 31, 2004) (Read More...)

THESTAR.com - THE TORONTO STAR: "TERROR CHARGES LAID" (March 31, 2004) (Read More...)

GOOGLE Search Term: "KHAWAJA" (Read More...)

WorldNetDaily.com - WND Books Excerpt, Part 1: "BORDER-AREA WAR ZONE 'Illegals' Details Incidents of Mexican Bullets Targeting Americans" (March 30, 2004) (Read More...)

WorldNetDaily.com - WND Books Excerpt, Part 2: "AN INVADER'S 'HATEFUL STARE' 'Illegals' Tells Harrowing Story of Man Protecting Property from Aliens" (March 31, 2004) (Read More...)

CHRON.com - HOUSTON CHRONICLE.com: "EXPLOSIONS RATTLE BP REFINERY IN TEXAS CITY" (March 31, 2004) (Read More...)

KRNV.com: "LAS VEGAS VIRUS TOLL HITS 1,581" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The number of people,  mostly Hawaii residents, who reported catching a gastrointestinal illness in Las Vegas has risen to 1,581, county health officials say.") (March 31, 2004) (Read More...)

THE IOWA CHANNEL.com: "HEALTH OFFICIALS CONFIRMS 'MEASLES OUTBREAK'" by Diane Kockler (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "This third case was connected to an air traveler on a March 12 Detroit-to-Cedar Rapids flight. The traveler had come from New Dehli, India. Friday, the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory confirmed that a second person had measles. That case was also connected to the March 12 passenger.") (March 30, 2004) (Read More...)

CDC.gov - Infectious Disease Information: "MEASLES" (Read More...)

1010WINS.com - Top Stories: "NYPD STEPS UP SECURITY FOR PASSOVER" (March 29, 2004) (Read More...)

1010WINS.com - Top Stories: "TA INVESTIGATING EXPLOSION ON SUBWAY TRAIN" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "There were some anxious moments on a Northbound "F" train in Manhattan this morning. The was an explosion and small fire under a seat in the front car of the train as it pulled into the Broadway-Lafayette Station around.") (March 29, 2004) (Read More...)

BLE.org (TOPEKA CAPITAL JOURNAL): "CLEANUP MOVING ALONG" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "One by one, 38 rail cars left the tracks near N.W. 70th and Valencia Road and dropped into the creek. Two other cars also derailed -- one on each side of the collapsed bridge -- leaving about 5,500 tons of coal and metal below.) (March 30, 2004) (Read More...)

KANSAS CITY.BIZ JOURNALS.com: "BNSF TRACKS HAVE THIRD DERAILMENT IN TWO WEEKS" (February 20, 2004) (Read More...)

WRALcom - News: "ALLEGED THREAT FORCES AMTRAK TRAIN TO MAKE BRIEF STOP IN SELMA" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "RALEIGH, N.C. -- CBS News' national desk received telephone threats Tuesday against some specific plane flights and scheduled trains.") (March 30, 2004) (Read More...)

GOOGLE Search Term: "TRAIN OF DEATH"

CLICK ON DETROIT.com: "BOMB THREAT PROMPTS SEARCH OF 4 PLANES" (Updated Mardh 30, 2004) (Read More...)

FOX NEWS.com (AP): "NAVY JETS CRASH IN TENNESSEE, SAN DIEGO" (March 29, 2004) (Read More...)

KANSAS.com: "BTK STRANGLER" (ARTICLE SNIPPET - TIPS TO POLICE: "If you have information about the identity of the BTK strangler: Call 316-263-0138. The hotline is not traceable, so callers can remain anonymous. E-mail coldcase@wichita.gov. Write to PO Box 9202, Wichita, KS 67277-0202") (Continuing Coverage) (Read More...)

TOWNHALL.com: "A CLOSER LOOK AT LEFT-WING THUGGERY" -Column by Michelle Malkin (COLUMN SNIPPET: "An estimated mob of 800 protesters trampled on Rove's lawn to demand passage of Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch's abominable "DREAM" Act granting amnesty to illegal alien college students and allowing them to receive in-state tuition discounts. The Washington Post reported that after chanting and knocking on Rove's door, the "crowd then grew more aggressive, fanning around the three accessible sides of Rove's house, tracking him through the many windows, waving signs that read 'Say Yes to DREAM' and pounding on the glass." An angry Rove called the authorities and berated the protest leaders for driving the children inside his home to tears.") (March 31, 2004) (Read More...)

On The Net...AZSTARNET.com - ARIZONA DAILY STAR: "HOURLY UPDATE" (Read More...)

On The Net...BORDERLAND NEWS.com - EL PASO TIMES.com (Read More...)

SLTRIB.com - SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: "AUTHORITIES WONDER HOW TRUCK CRASHED, LEFT DRIVER A MILE BEHIND" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: Troopers were investigating whether the driver first got out of his truck and it rolled away, or if he lost control and jumped out. The driver apparently only spoke Russian. "Somehow, he got out of his vehicle. We haven't been able to speak to him and get a rendition of what occurred, " Judd said. The male driver, age unknown, was taken to LDS Hospital. Judd said the man was in critical condition at the scene.") (March 29, 2004) (Read More...)

OREGON LIVE.com - THE OREGONIAN: "FEDS UNCOVER DRIVER'S LICENSE FRAUD OPERATION Officials Say Illegal Immigrants Were Brought to Oregon and Supplied with Fake Addresses to Get IDs" (March 28, 2004) (Read More...)

TUCSON CITIZEN.com: "4 SENTENCED IN 4-TON POT CASE" (March 27, 2004) (Read More...)

FOX NEWS.com (AP): "NICHOLS SPREAD FERTILIZER, WITNESS SAYS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: " Ammonium nitrate fertilizer and fuel oil were used in the bomb that destroyed the Oklahoma City federal building on April 19, 1995, killing 168 people.") (March 30, 2004) (Read More...)

WorldNetDaily.com: "WND EXCLUSIVE STORIES ON OKLAHOMA TRAGEDY" (Read More...)

FBI.gov - War On Terrorism: "SEEKING INFORMATION" (Read More...)

FBI.gov: "MOST WANTED TERRORISTS" (Read More...)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE: "CURRENT TRAVEL WARNINGS" (Read More...)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "POLICE INTERROGATE 'THE ENEMY WITHIN'" by Paul Martin (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Sheik Bakri said he believes Muslims have an unwritten contract not to attack the countries in which they live and get social and educational benefits. But other extremists believe that Britain, like the United States, is now a "Dar al Harb," or zone of war in which violence is permitted.") (April 1, 2004) (Read More...)

On The Net...MUHAJIROUN.com: "AL MUHAJIROUN"

On The Net...MUHAJIROUN.com: "Audios and Videos"

WorldNetDaily.com: "6-YEAR-OLD WANTS TO BE 'MARTYR'" (March 31, 2004) (Read More...)

MEMRI.org - MIDDLE EAST MEDIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE Special Dispatch Series No.686: "A TESTIMONY ON SUICIDE BOMBERS' RECRUITMENT TO ANSAR AL-ISLAM" (March 25, 2004) (Read More...)

SMH.com.au: "AL-QAEDA ATTACK AT SEA ON CARDS: EXPERT" by Mark Coultan (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The al-Qaeda fleet was believed to include small fishing trawlers and large freighters, he said. Mr Muraviev quoted a US intelligence official as saying that, like German raider ships in World War II, Osama bin Laden's vessels constantly changed their names, flags and appearances. Of particular concern was an attack by suicide scuba divers. In May 2002 the FBI sent out an alert about terrorists developing an "offensive scuba diver capability". Last August the US Coastguard Marine Safety Office issued a special bulletin about suspicious individuals asking marine shops and schools about equipment and training. When the US caught al-Qaeda's alleged chief of naval operations, Abdulrahim Mohammed Abda Al-Nasheri, they said they had found a 180-page dossier that was apparently al-Qaeda's plans. It listed so-called targets of opportunity, including Western merchant shipping and cruise liners.") (March 30, 2004) (Read More...)

ARAB TIMES Online.com: KUWAIT - "SISTANI FATWA THREAT ON TRANSFER" (March 30, 2004) (Read More...)

THIS IS LONDON.com: "BOMB CHEMICAL FOUND IN TERROR RAIDS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Police have seized more than half a tonne of ammonium nitrate fertiliser which could have been used to carry out a terror bombing on UK soil. Eight suspected Islamic terrorists, all British citizens of Pakistani descent, were arrested as 700 officers carried out 24 raids across London and the Home Counties. Anti-terrorist detectives believe an al Qaida-supporting cell could have been plotting a "spectacular" attack.") (March 30, 2004) (Read More...) (March 30, 2004) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (REUTERS): "GUNMEN SEIZE EXPLOSIVES IN THAILAND'S MUSLIM SOUTH" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Heavily armed raiders stole a large quantity of explosives from a quarry in Thailand's largely Muslim south, just days after a bomb attack in the region and prompting fears of another, officials said on Wednesday. "With this amount of fertilizer, you could blow up a whole town," Pallop Pinmanee, deputy chief of the Internal Security Operations Command, told Reuters at the scene of the robbery, which included 1.4 tonnes of ammonium nitrate.") (March 31, 2004) (Read More...)

CNS NEWS.com: "'MADRID-LEVEL' ATTACK AVERTED IN THE PHILIPPINES" by Patrick Goodenough (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Thirty-six kilograms of TNT was seized.") (March 30, 2004) (Read More...)

YAHOO! News (AP): "TERROR ATTACKS IN UZBEKISTAN KILL 19" (March 29, 2004) (Read More...)

INSIGHT ON THE NEWS Online - Fair Comment: "FOREIGN JIHADISTS ADD FUEL TO THE ANTICOALITION FIRE IN IRAQ" by Notra Trulock (March 29, 2004) (Read More...)

REWARDS FOR JUSTICE.NET - WANTED: "ABU MUS'AB AL-ZARQAWI" (VIEW PHOTOS and READ MORE...)

Web.MID-DAY.com: Lahore, Pakistan: "65% PAKISTANIS SUPPORT OSAMA, SAYS REPORT" by Khalid A-H Ansari (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Lahore: Nearly two thirds of people in Pakistan hold favourable views of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and 86 per cent approve of President Pervez Musharraf, according to a survey by a major American organisation. Nearly half of those interviewed said suicide bombings against Israelis and, in Iraq, against Americans and other Westerners are justified. The report by the Washington-based Pew Global Attitudes Project survey found that 65 per cent favoured Osama and that pluralities of 47 per cent believed Palestinian suicide attacks on Israelis were justified. Forty-six per cent thought attacks on Westerners in Iraq were justified.") (March 27, 2004) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "PAKISTAN: OFFENSIVE AGAINST AL-QAEDA 'UN-ISLAMIC'" (March 27, 2004) (Read More...)

english.AL JAZEERA.net: "AL-QAIDA LEADER URGES PAKISTAN REVOLUTION" (March 26, 2004) (Read More...)

DAILY TIMES.com.pk (AFP): "SMELLS LIKE AL QAEDA" (PHOTO CAPTION: "A bottle of cologne with a picture of Osama Bin Laden is displayed at a cosmetics shop in Lahore on Monday.") (View a photo of Usama Bin Laden cologne here.) (March 22, 2004)

A Discussion on FREEREPUBLIC.com regarding a NYT article: "4 FROM U.S. KILLED IN AMBUSH IN IRAQ; MOB DRAGS BODIES" (WARNING: THE PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE ARE TERRIBLE AND GRAPHIC.) (March 31, 2004) (Read More...)

~~~

CBN.com - "OPERATION PRAYER SHIELD" (Click Here.)

DEFENSElink.mil: "SUPPORT OUR TROOPS" (Click Here.)

FREEREPUBLIC.com:"SUPPORT OUR TROOPS" (Click Here.)

FOX NEWS.com: "FALLEN HEROES OF OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM" (Click Here.)

"GOTTA SEE THIS" (Photo Essays and Discussions at FREEREPUBLIC.com) (Read More...)

REUTERS.co.uk: Havana - "CUBA REJECTS U.S. BIOWEAPONS CHARGE" (April 1, 2004) (Read More...)

LA NUEVA CUBA.com (CUBA DAILY) (AP, Washington): "US: CUBA TRYING TO MAKE BIOWEAPONS" (May 7, 2002) (Read More...)

NewsMax.com - Hot Topics: "CASTRO/CUBA" (Read More...)

An Interesting Discussion on FREEREPUBLIC.com regarding this topic: "THE FIRE DOWN SOUTH...(LATIN AMERICA)" (Read More...)

CNN.com (AP): "MYSTERY OVER NEW RUSSIAN WEAPON" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The statement reported Monday was in line with claims by President Vladimir Putin's that experiments performed during last month's maneuvers proved that Russia could soon build strategic weapons that could puncture any missile-defense system. At the time, Col-Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, the first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, explained that the military tested a "hypersonic flying vehicle" that was able to maneuver between space and the earth's atmosphere. Military analysts said that the mysterious new weapons could be a maneuverable ballistic missile warhead or a hypersonic cruise missile.") (March 29, 2004) (Read More...)

MOSNEWS.com: "FIFTY HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL EMISSION IN STAVROPOL" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The fire was put out that same day, and the unknown substance was identified as highly toxic white phosphorus, Emergency Ministry said in a statement. Sergei Vlasov, a spokesman from the Emergency Ministry, told MosNews that excavating work was held in the area in January, and the container was found underground. He said that it remains unknown why the container was left standing out in the open. Another source from the Ministry told MosNews that the container had been underground for at least 20 years near a railway station. He declined to say who might be held responsible for the accident.") (March 24, 2004) (Read More...)

INFECTOLOGY.spb.ru: "NEWS OF INFECTOLOGY AND PARASITOLOGY" (Read More...)

MENA REPORT.com: "EGYPT'S LUXOR AIR BANNED FROM FRENCH SKIES" (March 29, 2004) (Read More...)

THIS IS LONDON.com (EVENING STANDARD CRIME): "POLICE STING ON GOLD GANG" (March 29, 2004) (Read More...)

CNN.com (REUTERS): "IRAN STARTS UP URANIUM SITE" (March 27, 2004) (Read More...)

"THE IRANIAN STUDENT MOVEMENT UP TO THE MINUTE REPORTS" -Discussion Thread on FREEREPUBLIC.com (Read More...)

IRAN PRESS SERVICE

NewsMax.com: "CHINA PUTS GUN TO HEAD OF U.S. TECH COMPANIES" by Dave Eberhart (March 27, 2004) (Read More...)

CNS NEWS.com: "US GRANTS KEY 'ALLY' STATUS TO PAKISTAN" by Patrick Goodenough (March 18, 2004) (Read More...)

PAKTODAY.com - PAKISTAN TODAY (Read More...)

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

http://www.islamonline.net/Discussion/English/bbs.asp?aParID=305&action=topic&aPathID=242

http://www.islamonline.net/fatwaapplication/english/display.asp?hFatwaID=79793

http://forums.gawaher.com/index.php?showtopic=7442&

http://forum.ymuk.net/showthread.php?s=d4c7708cb8457908ce869abac8bd9402&threadid=6911

[Indie]

I wonder if that's the last thing we'll see when an ICBM reenters prior to it exploding above the ground.

[freeperfromnj]

Photos of unexploded Madrid bomb (cell phone)

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/WNT/Investigation/madrid_bombing_blunder_040329-1.html

[4thygipper]

The boarding area of the Fort Wayne International Airport was evacuated for about two hours this afternoon after a suspicious package was found near a restroom there.

The bomb squad was called in after the package was put through a screening device at the airport.

Operations director Mike Olson said police decided to detonate the package as a precaution. Olson says the evacuation delayed two flights.

[4thygipper]

Fort Wayne, IN) - A bomb scare last night forced the evacuation of two planes and the secured area of Fort Wayne International Airport.
All the passengers had to be re-screened through the security checkpoint once the suspicious metal case had been blown up.

More than fifty people had already made it past the security checkpoint here at the airport when they were taken off planes and away from their gates, and evacuated to another part of the building while the bomb squad examined the suspicious metal case.

A custodian found the ten by twelve metal carry-on bag in the upstairs women's bathroom in the secured area of the terminal.

There's no way to tell how long it had been there.

Since the metal case had no nametag, and no one came to claim it after several announcements were made over the intercom, the bag was examined at the security checkpoint.

Sandra Lux is with the Fort Wayne International Airport and says, "They sent it through the security checkpoint a couple of times, through the X-rays. It was determined there was a lot of wiring inside, some unidentifiable objects that they weren't sure was inside."

So did the bag get past the security screeners at Fort Wayne International, or did it come in on another flight?

Operations Director Mike Olson, with the Fort Wayne International Airport says, “When we imploded the case, there was snack food that's given on an aircraft. We found wrappers of snack foods that are given on aircraft. So it probably came from an inbound flight."

Aaron Batt from the Transportation Security Administration says one of the reasons they're fairly sure the bag did not originate here in Fort Wayne, was that once it was found, they got all of the screeners together and none of them remembered seeing the bag.

Normally, a bag containing suspicious items, like wiring and electronics, would be opened and checked by hand.

This once appeared to contain electronic devices like a game-boy.

But since it was locked, with no owner, they weren't sure it wasn't booby-trapped.

Aaron Batt, with the Transportation Security Administration says, "The items in it were perfectly legal, were able to be through, could process through the security check point. However, because we could not determine any ownership of the bag, we wanted to err on the side of safety."

The Fort Wayne bomb squad blew up the case on the tarmac, and passengers were allowed back on the planes and to their gates after about an hour delay.

A woman has since called the airport, looking for her metal case, and was dismayed to learn it had been destroyed.

This is just one more reason not to leave your bags unattended. (Edited by Nicole Hahn.)

(http://www.wpta.com/morenews/default.asp#2)

[freeperfromnj]

HOLY WEEK FEARS AT VATICAN

Vatican City, April 1 (UPI) -- As Pope John Paul II prepares to preside at all Holy Week celebrations, there are terror fears at the Vatican, Italian and Catholic publications report.

According to Adnkronos News Service, the CIA urged the pontiff to wear a bulletproof vest at his public appearances next week and on Easter Sunday. The pope has always refused to do this.

http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/04010000aaa05eeb.upi&Sys=siteia&Fid=WORLDNEW&Type=News&Filter=World%20News

[freeperfromnj]

Have you seen any follow-up to this story in any of the New Jersey papers?

TWO BUILDINGS AT FORT MONMOUTH EVACUATED AFTER SUSPICIOUS DEVICE IS FOUND

Published in the Asbury Park Press 3/31/04
By Alison Waldman
Coastal Monmouth Bureau

FORT MONMOUTH -- The Route 35 entrance to Fort Monmouth was closed for about two hours yesterday and two buildings were evacuated as authorities investigated a "suspicious device" found in a vehicle entering the base.

Personnel from Fort Monmouth investigate a suspicious device spotted in a car entering the base yesterday. Although two buildings were evacuated, the device turned out not to be an explosive.

The device was not a bomb and the driver, a base employee, was later released without charges, said Timothy Rider, a base spokesman. He said the incident is being investigated by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.

The man, whom authorities would not identify, tried to enter the base at 12:30 p.m. yesterday from Route 35 and presented Army civilian identification, Rider said. Department of Defense security guards noticed a device with wires sticking out of it in his beige Ford Escort, Rider said.

The driver was taken into custody and the 754th Ordnance Disposal Company, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, based at Fort Monmouth, investigated the device, Rider said.

http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,935217,00.html

[TexKat]

Madrid Names Suspected Terrorist Leader

By MARIA JESUS PRADES, Associated Press Writer

MADRID, Spain - Investigators believe that a Tunisian being sought under an international arrest warrant is the leader of the group suspected in the March 11 railway bombings in Madrid, according to court documents released Thursday.

The investigation into the bombings that killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,800 has focused on the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group.

The court documents identify Sarhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet as "leader and coordinator of the different people implicated" in the attacks.

Sarhane was one of six men named on international arrest warrants issued by Judge Juan del Olmo on Wednesday. Others were Moroccans Jamal Ahmidan, alias El Chino; Said Berraj; Abdennabi Kounjaa, alias Abdallah; Mohammed Oulad Akcha, and his brother Rachid Oulad Akcha.

Del Olmo's documents said all are wanted for murder and belonging to a terrorist group.

Moroccan Jamal Zougam, already jailed and charged with mass murder, had been seen as the prime suspect so far.

Zougam has been linked to members of an al-Qaida cell in Spain. Police traced a cell phone found attached to an unexploded bomb in one of the targeted trains, to the shop he ran in Madrid.

The document said Moroccan suspect Berraj met with three al-Qaida suspects in Istanbul in October 2000 and had ties with Basel Ghayoun, a Syrian who is already jailed on charges of mass murder and belonging to a terrorist organization in connection to the Madrid attacks.

Berraj left his home March 9 and told people March 12 that he was leaving Spain reportedly to attend the funeral of a sister in Morocco, the documents say. Subsequent police investigations showed he does not have a sister.

Interior Minister Angel Acebes on Tuesday said the investigation was focusing on the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, a forerunner of Salafia Jihadia, which Morocco blamed for last year's Casablanca bombings. Those attacks killed 33 people and 12 suicide bombers.

Two days after the attacks, police found a videotape in which a man claiming to speak on behalf of al-Qaida said the group carried out the bombings in reprisal for Spain's collaboration with the United States and for "crimes in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan."

French private investigator Jean-Charles Brisard said last week that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian linked to al-Qaida and suspected of heading a terrorist network in Iraq, is now believed to have masterminded the Madrid bombings.

Brisard is an internationally known counterterrorism expert who has testified before the U.S. Congress and represents some family members of victims of the Sept.11 terror attacks on the United States.

Police believe some of the chief perpetrators are already in custody.

Spanish police are holding 19 people, 14 of whom have been charged. Excluding Otman El Gnaout, a detainee whose nationality has not been announced, there are 11 Moroccans or Moroccan-born Spaniards, two Indians, two Spaniards and three Syrians in custody.

Four suspects were to have been brought before del Olmo on Thursday but the session was postponed until Friday. The four are El Gnaout, Syrians Walid Altaraki and Mohamad Badr Ddin Akkad, and Moroccan Fouad Almorabit, who had been questioned and released Tuesday and was re-arrested Wednesday.

Del Olmo has also ordered the reappearance Friday of Spanish detainee Antonio Toro Castro, brother-in-law of a Spaniard already charged with supplying dynamite to the bombers.

[freeperfromnj]

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian linked to al-Qaida and suspected of heading a terrorist network in Iraq, is now believed to have masterminded the Madrid bombings.

Isn't that an interesting piece of information.

[TexKat]

Europe Terror Dragnet Hauls in 41 Suspects

By SELCAN HACAOGLU, Associated Press Writer

ANKARA, Turkey - Italy, Turkey, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands arrested 41 militants in a coordinated crackdown Thursday on a Turkish Marxist group considered a terrorist organization by Washington, Turkey's Interior Ministry said.

Police in Istanbul arrested 25 suspects of the Marxist Revolutionary People's Liberation Army/Front, or DHKP-C, while security forces in the other countries detained 16 others, an Interior Ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Turkish and German police have been preparing for the crackdown for the past year, while the Italian police became involved more recently, the official said.

German and Italian police discovered during their investigations that the group also was active in the Netherlands and Belgium and coordinated the European crackdown outside of Turkey, the official said.

The DHKP-C seeks to topple the Turkish government and replace it with a Marxist one. The group and its forerunner, Dev Sol, have claimed responsibility for a number of bombings in Turkey, including two suicide attacks in 2001 that killed three Istanbul policemen and an Australian woman. It has also carried out attacks in Germany and has targeted U.S. military personnel and diplomatic missions.

The group, which is branded as a terrorist organization by the State Department and by the European Union, was active before the 1980 coup in Turkey but has become increasingly marginalized due to a harsh police crackdown.

Several leading members of the group fled to Europe, where it is believed the group has hundreds of sympathizers.

In Istanbul, suspected DHKP-C militant Hasan Midilli was injured Thursday, reportedly when a bomb he was making exploded, police said. The explosion occurred in the low-income Gaziosmanpasa district.

In Italy, police arrested five people Thursday in the central town of Perugia, Italian Prosecutor Nicola Miriano said. About 100 police and Carabinieri paramilitary forces took part in those raids.

Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said the operation broke up the movement's cell based in Perugia, and showed links between the Turks and Italian far-left militants. He said three of those detained were Italian.

Miriano said the three Italians were believed to have provided the suspected Turkish militants with money, equipment, cell phone cards and other logistical support. One of the three is a woman who married a Turkish suspect only to help him get papers, he said.

In the Netherlands, police searched five addresses throughout the country at the request of Italian authorities in Perugia, said spokesman Wim de Bruin of the Dutch national prosecutor's office.

De Bruin said evidence will be handed over to Italy but no arrests were made.

Belgium's RTL-TVI television reported a half dozen people were detained in Belgium and documents were seized.

One of those detained was Fehriye Erdal, who was arrested in 1999 in Belgium in the slaying of a Turkish businessman in Istanbul and placed under house arrest.

Erdal's lawyer, Jan Fermon told RTL-TVI that it appeared that Erdal was detained after she was discovered outside of the house where she was under house arrest.

[TexKat]

Isn't that an interesting piece of information.

Yes, this is the second time I have read this reported. I believe earlier last week it was reported.

[TexKat]

Canada Says Finds Bird Flu on Seventh Chicken Farm

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada said on Thursday it had found bird flu on a seventh commercial chicken farm in British Columbia and warned it could not rule out uncovering more cases in the province.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the farm was within a control area where the virus was first discovered in Canada in February, but the it was not of same virulent strain that killed scores of people and wiped out millions of poultry in Asia.

"The risk to human health remains low," the agency said in a statement. The farm's flock has already been slaughtered.

It quarantined the Fraser Valley farm on Monday, and has also quarantined another farm in the same area where it is still doing tests.

The virus has been confirmed on seven commercial farms and in three noncommercial flocks in British Columbia, the food inspection agency said. Most are within the high-risk five-kilometer radius of where the first case of the disease was discovered.

"Given the highly contagious nature of the disease the possibility of finding further cases cannot be excluded," the agency said.

Officials have already imposed bans on transporting chickens through and out of the high risk Fraser Valley area, but British Columbia is not a major international exporter of poultry products.

[TexKat]

Fire doused after blast at Baytown chemical plant

April 1, 2004, 7:59AM

Reuters News Service

A naphtha processing unit exploded at the Exxon Mobil chemical plant in Baytown early this morning, but there was no indication of foul play and the fire was extinguished in an hour, company spokeswoman said.

The explosion in a "naphtha rerun unit" occurred at 1:30 a.m. CST, said Exxon Mobil spokeswoman Tricia Thompson.

A fire following the explosion was out by 2:30 a.m. CST, Thompson said.

"There is no indication of foul play," Thompson said.

Other units at the chemical plant continue to operate normally as does the adjoining 525,000 barrel per day Exxon Mobil refinery, the largest in the United States.

This is the second explosion at a refinery/chemical plant complex in Texas this week.

On Tuesday night, an ultraformer at BP Plc's 460,000 bpd refinery in Texas City blew up and burned. The cause of that blast is believed to be accidental.

BP said the Texas City refinery was operating at near normal rates Wednesday.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation warned refiners in Texas last week of an unsubstantiated threat to attack a refinery in the state before the U.S. national elections in November.

Refiners have been constantly increasing security at their plants since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

[TexKat]

U.S. promises punishment even as convoy attacked

April 1, 2004, 7:33AM

Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Insurgents attacked a U.S. military convoy and a Humvee was burned today near Fallujah, witnesses said, a day after the grisly killing and mutilation of four American contract workers in the city. The top U.S. administrator in Iraq said the deaths would not go unpunished.

It was not clear if there were any casualties in today's assault. Associated Press Television News footage showed smoke pouring from the vehicle that had been abandoned on a roadside just outside the city. Witnesses said the Humvee was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

U.S. officials said they could not confirm the attack.

Also Thursday, two explosions near a U.S.-escorted fuel convoy in northern Baghdad wounded at least one Iraqi, witnesses said. APTN footage showed U.S. soldiers putting a wounded person on a stretcher inside an armored vehicle.

In Fallujah, police retrieved the remains of the four slain Americans on Wednesday night, wrapped them in blankets, and gave them to U.S. forces, said Iraqi police officer Lt. Salah Abdullah.

"We were shocked because our Islamic beliefs reject such behavior," he said referring to the abuse of the bodies.

The top U.S. administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, today condemned the killings and said "their deaths would not go unpunished."

"Yesterday's events in Fallujah are dramatic examples of the ongoing struggle between human dignity and barbarism," he said at a graduation ceremony for police cadets. "The acts we have seen were despicable and inexcusable. ... They violate the tenets of all religions, including Islam, as one of the foundations of civilized society."

Iraqi police manned roadside checkpoints in and around Fallujah, but no U.S. troops could be seen inside. Shops and schools were open.

Some residents vowed to repel any U.S. forces.

"We will not let any foreigner enter Fallujah," said Sameer Sami, 40. "Yesterday's attack is proof of how much we hate the Americans."

Another resident, Ahmed al-Dulaimi, 30, said, "We wish that they would try to enter Fallujah so we'd let hell break lose."

Iraqi Interior Minister Nori al Badran vowed to send forces into Fallujah "to bring killers to justice," but did not say when that would happen.

"Forces will be sent to Fallujah ... from the army, the police and from the civil defense (force)," he said.

There was no sign of a military buildup near Fallujah by midafternoon Thursday.

At a U.S. base about two miles` east of the city, 1st Lt. Wade Zirkle said Wednesday's attack was carried out by a "few bandits and terrorists ... who are terrorizing the city."

"It is our job to go there and maintain security in the city and we are making sure that something like that will not happen again," he said, when asked whether U.S. forces would enter Fallujah.

Frenzied mobs dragged the burned, mutilated bodies of the four American contractors through the streets and strung two of them up from a bridge after rebels ambushed their vehicles.

It was similar to the scene more than a decade ago in Somalia, when a mob dragged corpses of U.S. soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu, eventually leading to the American withdrawal from the African nation. The images were broadcast worldwide and became the subject of the book and movie "Black Hawk Down."

U.S. officials denounced the Fallujah violence and vowed to stay the course in Iraq.

The White House blamed terrorists and remnants of Saddam Hussein's former regime for the "horrific attacks."

"It is offensive, it is despicable the way these individuals have been treated," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.

Referring to the planned June 30 transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis, McClellan said "the best way to honor those that lost their lives" is to continue with efforts to bring democracy to Iraq.

State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the contractors, all men, "were trying to make a difference and to help others." Officials did not identify the dead or the nature of their work because the next of kin had not yet been notified.

The four worked for Blackwater Security Consulting of Moyock, N.C., which provides training and guard services to customers around the world. The company, a subsidiary of Blackwater USA, referred calls to a spokesman in suburban Washington who declined comment beyond a statement that said Blackwater was a government subcontractor providing security for the delivery of food in the Fallujah area.

Privately owned Blackwater USA's range of services include providing firearms and small-groups training for Navy SEALs, police department SWAT teams and former special operations personnel.

Fallujah, about 35 miles west of Baghdad, has been the scene of some of the worst violence on both sides of the conflict since the beginning of the U.S.-led occupation a year ago.

Five U.S. soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division also died Wednesday when a bomb exploded under their M-113 armored personnel carrier in Malahma, 12 miles northwest of Fallujah, making it the bloodiest day for Americans in Iraq since Jan. 8.

Their deaths raised the number of U.S. troops killed in March to at least 48, making it the second-deadliest month for U.S. troops since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1. The deadliest month was November, when 82 U.S. troops were killed.

[4thygipper]

Are America's Trains Safe?
March 31, 2004


Since the Sept. 11 attacks, there have been dozens of plots to blow up trains or subways in major cities around the world. But Americans didn’t really pay attention until nearly 200 people died a few weeks ago in Madrid.

It didn’t surprise terrorism experts, who’ve been warning that rail systems are among the softest targets in Europe and America.
But despite the fact that, in New York alone, more people pass through Penn Station each day than through all three New York airports combined, almost every penny of transportation security money has gone toward airline safety.

Are the trains safe? The simple answer is no, nothing is. But can anything be done to make them safer? Correspondent Bob Simon reports.

---

"You can't do the things that you can do at an airport," says New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. “It’s a daunting challenge. We have 468 subway stations right here in New York City. It’s a tremendous challenge.”

To try to find some solutions, Kelly has sent detectives to Madrid to study the terrorist attacks there, since that city's commuter rail network resembles that of New York: several regional trains converging in one station, making one big target.

“We've done some adjustments in the tactics that we use as a result of that,” says Kelly.

But ask any train rider and they will probably register surprise that there hasn’t been some kind of rail attack in this country already, given the apparent ease with which it was done in Spain.

And what a lot of people don’t know is that there have been serious threats to the rails in the United States. Domestic terrorists derailed a train in Arizona in the '90s and left close to 100 injured and one person dead.

There have been other plots that have been foiled. One in particular came straight from the architect of Sept. 11: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was arrested in Pakistan last March.

Interrogators got the name of a U.S. citizen, Iyman Faris, from him, and he was quickly picked up last year. One of those plots was to derail trains.

“My client admits that Khalid Sheikh Mohammad told him to check these things out,” says Faris’ lawyer, David Smith.

Faris was ordered to check out derailing a train and finding the necessary tools for the job. According to Faris’ plea, the code word was “mechanics shops.”

“That was a code that had been -- that Khalid Sheikh Mohammad told my client to use in messages back to Pakistan, and 'mechanics shops' was a reference, was a reference to these tools,” says Smith.

“Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was particularly interested in the possibility of causing a derailment on a curve on an elevated line, like on a mountainside. And why? Not because that would kill more people, but because he thought it was spectacular.”

Another spectacular plan Faris was asked to investigate was the possibility of bringing down the Brooklyn Bridge – a plot apparently inspired by, of all things, the Godzilla films.

“Both of these two plots by Khalid Sheikh Mohammad involved spectacular ‘Hollywood-like’ effects. And it seems to fit in very nicely with the World Trade Center attack,” says Smith.

Faris was sentenced to 20 years; Smith is appealing the case since Faris claims he never implemented al Qaeda’s plan.

---

"Iyman Faris is a good example that transit is a target of the terrorist," says Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary of Homeland Security.

Hutchinson admits the plots go well beyond al Qaeda’s Hollywood-inspired scheme: “There has been a specific threat in the past in regard to the subway system that was addressed. It was not carried out, and there was a security response to that particular threat.”

In 2002, the FBI even warned that “al Qaeda is targeting the U.S. railway sector” after pictures of American trains were found in al Qaeda’s possession.

But it’s taken the dramatic images of Madrid to get Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge to announce some new rail security measures last week: “The security environment for trains will never resemble that for aviation. Having said that, in a post-9/11 and post 3/11 world we want to see if there’s a way to engineer access in a better way.”

Ridge and Hutchinson have announced a pilot project to screen bags at train stations, and to develop better bomb detection technology. It’s a small step, though, considering that Amtrak still has only 350 officers to police tracks and stations in 46 states.

“This is an example of where a federal minimum standards of security would have some impact, and Amtrak has invested, more needs to be invested,” says Hutchinson.

While $11 billion has been spent on air security, only about $110 million has gone to subways and commuter rails.

Since 2000, there have been bomb plots on trains in India, Russia, the Philippines, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Israel, Germany, and now Spain. A bomb was found on the French rails just a few days ago. Is there concern that the United States might be next?

“Well, we certainly have to be concerned about it, and it's been a subject of serious effort by the department,” says Hutchinson, who adds that most rail security is still funded by cities and states, unlike airline security, which the federal government took over after Sept. 11.

---

New York has set up its own counter-terrorism transit units, which, since the Madrid attack on March 11, have stepped up subway sweeps.

“We do this several times every day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all over the city,” says Inspector Vincent DeMarino, head of the subway anti-terrorism unit.

Last week, he let 60 Minutes II tag along as his team was doing a routine check in Brooklyn. The train was stopped. Cops dressed in full battle gear, automatic weapons at the ready, got on board. They scoured the trains, and dogs sniffed around. But these days, in New York, no one even seemed surprised.

Like many subway cops around the nation now, DeMarino carries a radiation detector. Hidden somewhere in the subway tunnels are biological and chemical weapon detectors, and transit workers are getting trained on how to evacuate a train in case that kind of weapon goes off.

But when it comes to regular old bombs – the terrorist’s weapon of choice — this is still the state of the art: man’s best friend. The reality is that cities like New York can only afford to do occasional spot checks, and Amtrak has only 12 dogs to police 22,000 miles of track.

“We’re learning what maybe could’ve been done to prevent it,” says DeMarino.

But the biggest lesson may be awareness. Some survivors of the Madrid attacks say they saw unattended backpacks, but just didn’t pay any attention. Are people more aware in New York now?

“We see it increasing. We see the public becoming more aware of their surroundings,” says Commissioner Kelly. “We have a counter-terrorism hotline that people call. We have the capacity to respond with investigators 24 hours a day. And indeed we do.”

Kelly has also asked all of his cops – even those not specifically tasked for counter-terrorism – to keep an eye out for possible terrorist activity on the rails. It paid off last November, when an officer spotted two suspicious Iranians with a video camera at a train platform in Queens. The Iranians, who turned out to be diplomats, were deported persona non grata.

“We all take risks in our lives these days. We do live in a somewhat dangerous world,” says Kelly. “But I think we’re doing everything that we can to protect the system.”

Kelly’s next big challenge is the upcoming Republican National Convention, which will be held this summer in New York's Madison Square Garden, right on top of Penn Station.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/31/60II/printable609695.shtml

[TexKat]

West Nile Found in 2 Birds in California

Posted on Thu, Apr. 01, 2004

Associated Press

FULLERTON, Calif. - Two birds in Orange County tested positive for the West Nile virus, marking the first discovery of the mosquito-borne disease in California so far this year, health officials said.

The virus turned up in two adult female house finches captured March 2 at Craig Park in Fullerton.

"We just have to start preaching mosquito control," said James P. Webb, technical director at the Orange County Vector Control District.

West Nile typically causes flu-like symptoms such as fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches - and in rare cases, inflammation of the brain and even death.

Health officials urge people to take precautions, particularly to avoid attracting mosquitoes.

"They need to be careful of breeding sources in the backyard. Anything that will hold water for a week can produce mosquitoes. When it's as warm as it has been this past week, they can go from egg to mosquito in less than a week," said vector control spokesman Michael Hearst.

The virus first appeared in the United States in 1999, killing seven people in the New York area.

Last year, two men tested positive for the virus, one in Orange County and the other in Riverside County.

Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas were the hardest hit states in 2003. Together, they accounted for more than half of the 231 deaths nationally and two-thirds of 9,566 diagnosed cases, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

[Indie]

Witnesses said the Humvee was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

LIKE I SAID BUSH> STOP THE PC AND BRING OUT THE TANKS. NOW. Unless you want to lose in November. A humvee shouldn't even be IN that town after yesterday. Get a clue, ok?