Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

Thread Twenty-Nine (Index)

Yahoo News : Yahoo Images : News Hotlinks

The Threat Matrix

The title refers to a daily report given to the president of the United States detailing the most serious terrorist threats against the country. To tackle those threats, the government has formed a top-notch task force to infiltrate the terror cells and cut off the danger.

"Every morning, the president receives a list of the top ten terrorist threats - this list is known as the threat matrix."

We here at FR are trying to be in conjunction with the daily reports around the world that involve threats. We try to provide a storehouse of information that takes hours of research.

YOU be the judge and get informed!

Was Bomber's "New York" Shirt A Message?
Full Story

It's hardly a unique fashion statement for a mass transit rider: a Yankees-style cap, and a "New York" sweat shirt.

But the New York Police Department is teaming with British authorities to determine whether those items were worn by suspects in the London terror cases to send a "purposeful message" to the city, according to an NYPD officials.

David Cohen, the NYPD's deputy commissioner of intelligence, raised the concern earlier this week at a security briefing for business leaders at police headquarters in Lower Manhattan.

"I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat."

TM Terrorism Handbook

Link to Thread Twenty-Eight

"Code Red Implications:
Code Red - Stay Home and Await Word."
From Tm'er and Freeper ~MamaDearest~

Arabic Links and Resources

TM 'Be on the Lookout'

ExSoldier's Invaluable Tips

Threat Matrix Book List

Godzilla's Summaries

Tracking the Chatter with TM

TM Code of Conduct

Threat Matrix HTML designed by: Ian Livingston

Note: The following text is an exact quote:
===

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2005/20050815_2443.html

Iraqi Policeman Engages Suicide Bomber in Mahawil

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2005 – An Iraqi police officer identified a suicide bomber in Mahawil, Iraq, Aug. 14 and attempted to kill him before the bomb could be detonated, according to a multinational forces report.
Despite the policeman's best efforts, the Syrian suicide bomber was able to detonate his bomb, killing two civilians and injuring four others in the town, which is located about 16 kilometers north of Hillah.

The report indicated the officer's actions likely prevented many more deaths and injuries.

The same day in Hit, Iraqi army and coalition forces got help from local citizens during a combined cordon-and-knock operation. Iraqi soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force, and U.S. Marines from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, detained three suspected insurgents during the search.

The troops confiscated 14 ammunition magazines, AK-47 assault rifles and an unspecified number of police uniforms from two of the suspects.

The patrol had received information from local citizens alleging the suspects' ties to the insurgency. All three suspected insurgents were transported to a secure facility for questioning.

Later in the day, the same patrol located an improvised explosive device near a bridge in Hit. The IED consisted of a 130 mm artillery round, a one-liter container of flammable fluid, a trigger mechanism, and a 12-volt car battery. The troops secured the area while an explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the IED in place. No injuries or damages were reported.

In Mosul, Iraqi soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, and U.S. soldiers with 1st Battalion, 25th Infantry Regiment, discovered a small cache during a raid today.

The cache consisted of an AK-47 automatic rifle, a Glock pistol, a revolver, and a large amount of small-arms ammunition. Seven suspected insurgents were detained and transported to a secure facility for questioning. No injuries or damages were reported.

Elsewhere in Iraq, Iraqi army and coalition forces conducted a cordon-and-search operation in Baghdad to disrupt anti-Iraqi activity.

On Aug. 14, Iraqi soldiers with 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and U.S. soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, found seven AK-47 automatic rifles and a machine gun during a search in Baghdad. Eight suspected insurgents were detained.

(Compiled from Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq news releases.)

Related Site:
Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq

Note: The following link (minus the photo) is an exact quote:
===

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2005/20050815_2444.html

Task Force Baghdad Troops Foil Separate Attacks, Detain Suspects

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2005 – Task Force Baghdad soldiers thwarted three car bomb attacks within five hours in southern Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 13.

Iraqi and U.S. soldiers seized these weapons after a failed terrorist attack on a combined patrol base in southwest Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 11. In addition to the weapons, the combined force took six of the attackers into custody for questioning. U.S. Army photo (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.
Soldiers on patrol at 6:20 a.m. discovered a blue truck with a dead body inside it parked near an intersection in southern Baghdad. The back of the vehicle appeared to be packed with explosives.

The patrol secured the site and called in a team of explosives experts, who verified there were munitions in the back of the truck. The team safely detonated the car bomb.

Less than three hours later, another Task Force Baghdad unit working in southern Baghdad found bombs on both sides of a major highway.

The soldiers cordoned off the area and called in explosives experts to dispose of the bombs. While the explosives team was examining the bombs, a vehicle sped toward the outer perimeter of the cordon around the bomb site. The soldiers shouted and waved for the car to stop. After the soldiers fired warning shots, the driver stopped about 400 yards away and the car exploded.

When the explosives team on site inspected the car, they determined it had contained four mortar rounds and had detonated prematurely, killing the suicide bomber.

Just after 11 a.m., a third Task Force Baghdad patrol in the same area found a parked car with explosives in the front seat. Within minutes, the soldiers had secured the area and an explosive ordnance disposal team was at the scene to investigate.

The team found a bomb in the front door of the car and more munitions hidden in the trunk.

The explosives experts safely detonated the car bomb. "Our soldiers continue to work hard, which is evident by these significant finds. We are making great strides in defeating the terrorists here. We are making a difference," Army Command Sgt. Maj. Grady Gayton, 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment, 48th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, said.

Soldiers from Task Force Baghdad captured terror suspects and discovered weapons caches during a series of pre-dawn combat operations in the capital city Aug. 13.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment, conducted the largest operation at 4 a.m. The soldiers cordoned off a number of suspected terrorist safe houses and searched house to house. The unit detained 10 suspects thought to be involved in terrorist activities in southern Baghdad.

Later in the day, coalition forces, acting on tips by Iraqi citizens, found two weapons caches in northwest and southeast Baghdad.

Soldiers from the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, found the first cache at around 4 p.m. in southeast Baghdad. The cache contained rocket-propelled grenades and two launchers, as well as 16 mortar rounds and a launcher. An explosives ordnance disposal team safely destroyed the munitions.

Just before 11 p.m., soldiers from B Company, 1st Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment, responding to another Iraqi citizen's tip, found five boxes of anti-aircraft ammunition hidden in northwest Baghdad.

Task Force Baghdad soldiers also thwarted attacks and captured suspects Aug. 12. Three separate combat operations in northern and southern Baghdad resulted in the capture of six terror suspects and the seizure of a car bomb before terrorists could use it.

The largest operation of the morning occurred at 3:20 a.m. in northern Baghdad. Task Force Baghdad soldiers manning an observation post were fired upon by terrorists hiding in a house about 100 yards from the soldiers' position.

The soldiers returned fire and surrounded houses in the area. Within six minutes, the patrol secured the site, searched two of the five houses in the area, and found spent shell casings in one of the homes. When the soldiers searched the other three homes they found an AK-47 assault rifle that was still warm and more shell casings. The unit took three suspects from the homes into custody for questioning.

In other combat operations, terrorists fired on coalition forces patrolling in southern Baghdad at 6:15 p.m. The soldiers fired back and moved to cordon off the house the shots were coming from. In 10 minutes, the patrol had the house surrounded. Fifteen minutes later, the soldiers moved into the house, detained the three attackers, and seized an AK-47.

Two hours later, three men standing near a parked car fired on another coalition unit in southern Baghdad.

The soldiers returned fire and the terrorists fled. The soldiers found blocks of plastic explosives inside the car the men staged the attack from, with wires running to the trunk of the car. A team of explosives experts safely detonated the car bomb.

On Aug. 11, Iraqi and U.S. soldiers squelched a terrorist attack on a combined patrol base in southwest Baghdad by capturing six of the attackers and taking their weapons. The attack began just after 7:50 p.m., when terrorists fired five rocket-propelled-grenade rounds at the patrol base. The attackers then fired rifles sporadically at the base for about 10 minutes.

The Iraqi and U.S. soldiers organized a patrol and set out toward the origin of the attack. Within minutes, the combined patrol came upon a group of people gathered around three vehicles a short distance from where the attack began. When the soldiers investigated, they discovered the cars' engines were warm. They also found two RPGs and three rifles with ammunition hidden nearby. The combined patrol took six people at the site into custody.

"We have been making a definite impact in our area of operations", said Army Lt. Col. Steve McCorkle, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry, 48th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.

In other combat operations Aug. 11, Task Force Baghdad soldiers in the Aamel district of central Baghdad found a parked vehicle thought to have been involved in an earlier attack against coalition forces. The vehicle had bullet holes in the windshield and the same license plate number as the car seen in the earlier attack.

As the soldiers watched the car from a distance, a man tried to enter the vehicle. They captured and took him into custody for questioning.

Iraqi police made another arrest in central Baghdad shortly before midnight Aug. 11 when they detained a man with a black bag containing what the police thought was TNT. When the police questioned the man, he admitted he had planned to place a bomb somewhere in the area. Task Force Baghdad explosives experts were called to the scene to dispose of the bomb and take the suspect into custody for questioning.

(Compiled from Task Force Baghdad news releases.)

Related Site:
Multinational Force Iraq

eadly terrorist bombing recounted in former professor's trial
an Associated Press report 08/15/05

http://www.abcactionnews.com/stories/2005/08/050815alarian.shtml

TAMPA - Gruesome eyewitness testimony about a 1995 double suicide
bombing in Israel took center stage Monday in the federal trial of a former
Tampa college professor accused of being a key player in the notorious
Palestinian terrorist group that claimed responsibility.

An Israeli police officer who witnessed the blasts testified that he
heard an explosion among a crowd of people waiting for buses at Beit Lid
Junction, then heard another one shortly afterward that came as
rescuers were trying to help victims.

Yuval Avargil, an intelligence officer with the Israeli national
police, described a horrific scene, in which twisted bodies lay in puddles of
blood and the sky rained body parts at the busy junction between Tel
Aviv and Haifa.

"I opened my eyes, I heard something rolling near me, I saw a head of a
soldier with his eyes open on the side," he said.

Prosecutors say that Sami Al-Arian, a former University of South
Florida professor, and three other defendants on trial raised money and
supported the deadly mission of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist
group blamed for more than 100 deaths, including 22 at Beit Lid on Jan.
22, 1995.

Last week an FBI agent testified that less than three weeks after the
Beit Lid bombing, Al-Arian, in a letter to a Kuwaiti legislator,
referred to it as "the latest operation, carried out by the two mujahideen
(holy warriors) who were martyred for the sake of God." Prosecutors say
the letter sought money for the families of the suicide bombers.

Before and during Avargil's testimony, defense attorneys objected on
grounds that its graphic nature would be inflammatory and prejudicial.
The judge allowed some graphic testimony from Avargil, but ruled that the
prosecution should limit graphic descriptions from other witnesses.
(snipped)

Today in History:
August 15, 2005 - Indonesia
Peace Agreement
Indonesia's government and Aceh rebels expected to sign a truce on 08/15/2005 to
bring peace to the province after a 30-year-conflict that has taken over 12,000 lives.

August 15, 1986 - Iraq, Turkey
Turkish Troops Raid Camps
Turkish troops raided Kurdish rebel camps in Iraq.

August 15, 1984 - Turkey
First PKK Attack On Government
August 15, 1984 is considered to be the first time that Kurdish Workers Party (PKK)
elements launched an attack against Turkish government installations.

August 15, 1975 - Bangladesh
Mujibur Rahman Assassinated
No information provided.

August 15, 1975 - Indonesia
FRETILIN Begins Insurgency
The Revolutionary Front for East Timor Independence (FRETILIN) began its insurgency
aimed at gaining independence for the Portuguese territory.

August 15, 1971 - Bahrain
Independence Day
No information provided.

August 15, 1964 - Colombia
ELN Begins Armed Struggle
The National Liberation Army (ELN) begins its armed struggle.

August 15, 1960 - Congo
Independence Day
Celebrates the overthrow of the Youlou regime.

August 15, 1947 - India
Independence Day
No information provided.

August 15, 1945 - Indonesia
Agreement On Irian Jaya
The Netherlands agreed to transfer administration of Irian Jaya to Indonesia.

August 15, 1945 - Korea (Republic of)
Independence Day
Also known as Liberation Day or Kwang Bok Jul.

August 15, 1945 - Netherlands
Agreement On Irian Jaya
The Netherlands agreed to transfer administration of Irian Jaya to Indonesia.

August 15, 1945 - North Korea
Liberation Day
Also known as Independence Day or Kwang Bok Jul.

August 15, (year ?) - Burundi
Assumption Day
No information provided.

August 15, (year ?) - Guadeloupe (French Antilles)
Assumption Day
No information provided.

August 15, (year ?) - Martinique (French Antilles)
Assumption Day
No information provided.

Upcoming Significant Events:
August 16, 1960 - Cyprus
Independence Day
No information provided.

August 17, 1988 - Pakistan
President Zia Dies In Air Crash
An airplane carrying President General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and U.S. ambassador
Arnold Raphel crashed, killing everyone aboard.

August 17, 1945 - Indonesia
Independence Day
Indonesian leaders Soekarno and Mohammed Hatta, with the acquiescence of Japanese
occupation officials, proclaim the independence of Indonesia as World War II ends in the
Pacific.

August 17, 1960 - Gabon
Independence Day
No information provided.

August 18, 1987 - Sri Lanka
Grenade Attack On Parliament
One legislator was killed in a grenade attack on the Sri Lankan parliament.

August 18, 1991 - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Attempted Coup
Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, who was vacationing in the Crimea, was held
incommunicado while senior Soviet officials attempted to stage a coup. Gorbachev was
reinstated on August 22, 1991.

August 19, (year unknown) - Philippines
Manuel Quezon Day
Commemorates Manuel Quezon, the first President of the Commonwealth.

August 19, 1919 - Afghanistan
Independence Day
Commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi on August 8, 1919 in which
Britain gave up control of Afhanistan's foreign policy. Celebrated by Afghans as
Independence Day.

August 19, 1945 - Vietnam
August Revolution
No information provided.

August 19, 1974 - Cyprus
U.S. Ambassador Murdered
U.S. Ambassador Roger Davies was killed by a sniper in Nicosia.

August 19, 1981 - Libya
U.S. Shoots Down Libyan Jets
U.S. aircraft shot down two Libyan fighters over the Gulf of Sidra.

August 19, 1986 - Afghanistan
Army Day
No information provided.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-afghan-gunmen-for-rent,0,1249061,print.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

Cash Said to Drive
Afghanistan's Militia

By DANIEL COONEY
Associated Press Writer

August 14, 2005, 4:32 PM EDT

ASADABAD, Afghanistan -- It doesn't take
much money to set up a militia force in
Afghanistan. A few dollars a day buys the
loyalty of impoverished villagers, and
weapons are cheap and available.

It's so easy that one Afghan province,
Kunar, near the eastern border with
Pakistan, has 10 illegally armed groups,
U.S. military officials say. Though each has
its own agenda, they are believed to share
a common aim: to disrupt or even stop
landmark legislative elections next month.

"I got them all: Taliban, al-Qaida, Hig,
foreign fighters, smugglers and other
criminals," said Lt. Col. Peter Munster, a
U.S. Army commander in Kunar. "They are
like the Mafia."

Hig refers to a militant network led by
renegade former premier Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar, who is wanted by the United
States.

Munster said the militias "are against the elections. ...
They are coming in with money and throwing it around.
This is a poor area. People can be bought."

The Sept. 18 elections are Afghanistan's next key step
toward democracy after a quarter century of war and
subverting them would be a highly symbolic blow to the
U.S.-backed nation-building process that is slowly
marginalizing the Taliban and other extremist groups.

The amount being spent on recruiting new fighters and the
number of foreign militants coming into the region has
spiked in the lead-up to the vote, said Kirimat Tanhah, an
Afghan Special Forces commander in Kunar.

"This area is full of foreigners: Pakistanis, Chechens,
Arabs. Weapons caches have been hidden and the local
villagers are being paid to fight," he said, before a joint
operation with U.S. Marines into Korengal Valley, a militant
stronghold in remote mountains in Kunar.

The U.S. military in Afghanistan suffered its deadliest blow
in the valley on June 28, when militants killed three Navy
SEAL commandos in an ambush and shot down a special
forces helicopter with 16 troops on board who had gone to
rescue them.

The attacks came amid a major upsurge in fighting
nationwide that since March has left nearly 1,000 people
dead, more than half of them suspected militants -- some
of the bloodiest months since the Taliban's ouster by
U.S.-led forces in late 2001.

To counter the worsening violence and the threat of
attacks during the elections, the U.S. military has brought
in extra troops and gone on the offensive, launching major
operations in southern and eastern regions, where most of
the militants are based.

"We want to keep the bad guys off-balance in the lead-up
to the elections. We want to disrupt them," Lt. Col. Jim
Donnellan, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine
Regiment, said in an interview with The Associated Press
at a U.S. base in Asadabad, the main town in Kunar.

"We want to show villagers before the elections that there
is security, that they have nothing to fear," he added.

One such operation is the deployment of hundreds of
Marines and Afghan Special Forces into Korengal Valley to
flush out Taliban rebels suspected in the June 28 assaults.

The U.S. military and the Afghan government also have set
up local militia forces of their own. In Kunar, nearly 1,000
villagers have been recruited, trained and armed in the
past month to provide security. This force is in addition to
the police and Afghan army.

And the military has launched a string of reconstruction
projects for roads, schools and medical clinics, that employ
poor villagers so they won't become militants.

But persuading them to vote won't be easy.

Militants have distributed leaflets in some regions,
threatening to kill anyone who takes part in the election.
They've even tried to intimidate Afghan troops by tuning
into their radio frequencies and threatening to attack, said
Tanhah, the special forces commander.

"They accuse us of being bodyguards for the Americans,"
he said. "They say we are brothers and should join them.
But we radio back and tell them that we are fighting for our
country and that they are fighting for foreigners who want
our country ruined."

The militants have extensive resources in some areas,
including satellite phones and digital cameras, which they
use to record attacks and then post them on Web sites,
Tanhah said. Other communication methods are more
basic.

"The bad guys pay little kids to flash mirrors from hilltops
to warn them of approaching troops," Munster said. "Many
villagers are paid good money to work with the militants."

Tanhah said that while most of the militants claim to be
fighting for Islam, many are just in it for the money.

"Many foreign fighters are only here to be paid," he said.
"And the locals don't care who pays them, whether it be
the Taliban, al-Qaida or the U.S. military. They just want
to earn money."

Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.

Opinion:

Questions regarding the Greek plane crash.
1. how often does an airplane slam into the side of a mountain when on auto pilot?

2. “The pilot hasn’t been found yet.” Shouldn’t he be in the cockpit? At all cost in the cockpit. Shouldn’t he?

3. “rejecting earlier reports that its pilots and crew were refusing to fly.” Why would they be refusing to fly? What’s the story behind that?

4. “The voice recorder was badly damaged by the crash and ensuing fire. It's in a bad state and, possibly, it won't give us the information we need," and . . . “the aircraft was manufactured in the United States”... The voice recorders manufactured in the US, assuming this was standard equipment on this US built plane, are for all intent purposes, indestructible. I have personally seen how these things are made and seen the destruction they can withstand. I don’t believe for a minute it has been that damaged to “not give “us” the information we need.”

5. …”his cousin on board the plane sent him a cell-phone text message minutes before the crash saying: "Farewell, cousin, here we're frozen. . . . Authorities said Monday they had determined he was lying" . . . how could he know they were freezing, or froze? Before the news came out with these sketchy details? I read about that text massage yesterday. I agree with SlowBoat. How did he know so quickly?

6. Plus a raid and an arrest has been made?

The factoids on this whole crash incident don’t pass the smell test with me. I’m afraid that this might have been something other than they imply. Things just aren’t adding up. I’m also afraid its just going to fade into just another “unfortunate plane crash”. </rant>

onday, 15 August 2005, 11:13 GMT 12:13 UK

McDonald's bomber jailed for life

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4152942.stm

A court in Indonesia has sentenced a man to life in jail for the
bombing of a McDonald's restaurant in 2002, which left three people dead.

The man, Agung Abdul Hamid, was found guilty of financing and
co-ordinating the attack, which took place in Makassar, in South Sulawesi.

Prosecutors had asked Makassar's district court for the death penalty.

The bombing occurred on 5 December 2002, just weeks after the Bali
attacks that killed more than 200 people.

Chief judge Andi Haedar said Hamid was "legally and convincingly guilty
of planning or inciting other people to carry out an act of terrorism
that resulted in casualties and destruction of public facilities."

Prosecutors said he had paid other people to take part in the attacks,
and illegally possessed firearms and explosives.

Hamid insisted he was innocent, and said he would appeal the verdict.

"I reject the sentence because all these charges are false," he told
the Associated Press. "The trial is engineered, and full of American
intervention."

Hamid was arrested on the island of Java last October, after being on
the run from the Indonesian authorities for almost two years.

Police claim he has links to the regional militant group Jemaah
Islamiah, which has been blamed for several attacks in Indonesia, including
the Bali bombings.

Russia reports bird flu in 6th region ----------------------------------------- A bird flu outbreak in Russia appeared to be spreading westward on Monday [15 Aug 2005], after officials confirmed the virus had broken out in a 6th region since the epidemic struck the country in mid-July 2005. _____________________________________________________________ It was unclear whether the virus found in the Urals region of Chelyabinsk was the deadly H5N1 strain that has killed more than 50 people in Asia since 2003. It has been confirmed in a number of Siberian regions and neighboring Kazakhstan. _____________________________________________________________ Interfax news agency quoted Andrei Gasilov, vice-governor of Chelyabinsk, as saying the virus had killed 60 birds in the village of Oktyabrskoye on the Kazakh border since Saturday [13 Aug 2005]. _____________________________________________________________ Other Russian regions hit by the flu include Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Omsk, Kurgan and Altai. Chelyabinsk, which borders Kurgan on the east side of the Ural mountains dividing Europe and Asia, is the westernmost region to have been struck so far. The Emergencies Ministry in Moscow, contacted by Reuters, could not confirm the Chelyabinsk outbreak. _____________________________________________________________ Although no humans have yet been affected, there are fears the disease could spread to humans on the Eurasian landmass, possibly unleashing a global influenza pandemic. _____________________________________________________________ Interfax quoted Gasilov as saying domestic birds were being culled in the village to prevent the virus, which has killed more than 10 000 birds countrywide, from spreading further. _____________________________________________________________ Officials said wild birds, increasingly active in August as they prepare to migrate to warmer regions in Europe, Asia and America, were to blame. _____________________________________________________________ "Results of epizootic checks have shown that they (migrant birds) are the main source of infection," Ria-Novosti news agency quoted an official with the Novosibirsk state consumer rights watchdog as saying. -- ProMED-mail _____________________________________________________________ ****** [2] Date: Mon 15 Aug 2005 From: ProMED-mail Source: Reuters, 15 Aug 2005 [edited] _____________________________________________________________ Russian bird flu outbreak advances towards Europe ----------------------------------------------- Russia cordoned off roads and slaughtered hundreds of birds on Monday [15 Aug 2005] to contain the advance of a bird flu epidemic towards Western Europe. _____________________________________________________________ The outbreak, previously confined to 5 remote areas of Siberia, has now struck a major industrial region -- Chelyabinsk -- in the Ural mountains, which separate Asia from Europe. "All ill and infected birds are being slaughtered there," the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement. _____________________________________________________________ It was unclear whether the virus found in Chelyabinsk was the deadly H5N1 strain that has killed more than 50 people in Asia since 2003 and has hit Russia's Siberia as well as neighboring Kazakhstan and Mongolia since mid-July 2005. _____________________________________________________________ Carried by flocks of wild birds migrating from Siberia to warmer regions, the virus has been steadily moving westward through the regions of Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Omsk, Kurgan and Altai. Chelyabinsk, separated from European Russia by the Ural mountains, and technically still in Siberia, is the westernmost region to have been struck so far. It lies about 1000 km (600 miles) from the region where the 1st flu outbreak was reported. ______________________________________________________________ Although no humans have yet been affected, there are fears the disease could spread to humans on the Eurasian landmass, possibly unleashing a global influenza pandemic. _____________________________________________________________ Media reported that roads leading to the infected village of Oktyabrskoye in Chelyabinsk had been cordoned off to prevent the virus from spreading further. _____________________________________________________________ In other affected regions, police boosted road checks, and 400 domestic birds were culled in Chelyabinsk alone to block the virus that has killed more than 10 000 birds countrywide. _____________________________________________________________ There was no word on Monday [15 Aug 2005] on the situation in Kazakhstan and Mongolia, where bird flu has also been registered along their sprawling borders with Russian Siberia. [Byline: Maria Golovnina] -- ProMED-mail _____________________________________________________________ ****** [3] Date: Mon 15 Aug 2005 From: ProMED-mail Source: RIA Novosti, 15 Aug 2005 [edited] _____________________________________________________________ 2 large regions in Western Siberia hit hardest by bird flu ----------------------------------------------- 2 major regions in Western Siberia are conducting measures to localize bird flu, a regional official said on Monday [15 Aug 2005]. _____________________________________________________________ More than 18 000 head of poultry have been slaughtered in the Tyumen region, where bird flu was identified in 6 populated areas, an official from the local Emergency Situations Ministry said. He added that other measures were being taken to prevent the disease from spreading, such as quarantining affected farms and stopping unauthorized personnel from entering them. _____________________________________________________________ A local official in the Altai territory said 10 regions had been hit by the virus. However, he added that no new cases had been registered in 9 of the 14 affected villages. The official said migrating birds were thought to have spread the infection, and so the source would disappear when they left when cold weather arrived in fall. He said measures to eliminate the disease and prevent it from spreading were continuing in the territory. No cases of people falling ill with the virus have been registered. _____________________________________________________________ -- ProMED-mail [Russia's last follow-up report to the OIE on the HPAI outbreak there was sent on 5 Aug 2005, notifying of cases in 3 villages in Novosibirsk. A new update is due to assess the accuracy of the media news on the alleged spread of the virus westwards into 5 additional regions (oblasts). - Mod.AS]

ate: Sat 13 Aug 2005 From: ProMED-mail Source: NY Newsday [edited] ______________________________________________________________ Listeria case found in the Capital region --------------------------------------------- A sometimes fatal strain of _Listeria_ has turned up in the Capital region, and state investigators are looking for links to 3 cases found in July 2005 in the Syracuse area. Schenectady County health officials confirmed the single case on Fri 12 Aug 2005. _____________________________________________________________ "It looks like it's coming from the same source," said Kathy Sen, supervising community health nurse at the Schenectady County Health Department. Sen said the unidentified patient is thought to have been hospitalized with the illness in July 2005 before recovering. Health officials would not provide details about the patient, citing federal confidentiality rules. _____________________________________________________________ State health officials say the cases in Onondaga and Schenectady counties are the only ones they know of. They are looking for a food item, restaurant or other common denominator among the 4 victims. _____________________________________________________________ Listeriosis can be fatal, but severe symptoms are unusual in healthy adults and children. The disease most often affects pregnant women, newborns or people with weakened immune systems. _____________________________________________________________ In 1998, 16 people died in a multistate outbreak of listeriosis linked to contaminated hot dogs and deli meats, including a 75-year-old Liverpool woman. -- ProMED-mail _____________________________________________________________ [Elsevier on-line reference: Methods for the isolation and identification of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes: a review. FEMS Microbiology Reviews, ] _____________________________________________________________ [It has become clear in the past few years that sporadic cases of listeriosis are almost always part of a larger food-borne cluster. When small numbers of cases are recognized, the source of the cluster can be more difficult to find. - Mod.LL]

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