Threat Matrix: December 2006

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[nwctwx]

Fighting Jihad in Cyberspace
-Full Story-

The setting is familiar to anyone who watches the evening news. A large, executive-style desk, a laptop perched on top, a logo in the background and a screen showing shifting images to reinforce the newsreader's message. The only difference is the presenter, who is swathed in an Arab headdress and masked to hide his identity, and the subject of the broadcast, a call for an Islamic state for Iraq and a vow to use Iraq as a launching pad to crush the "Zionists" in Israel.

Welcome to the "Voice of the Caliphate", the latest offering from the Global Islamic Media Front, widely regarded as the mouthpiece of al-Qaeda and the worldwide jihadist movement.

Distributed over the internet, the mock news format is just one of many employed by al-Qaeda's highly sophisticated propaganda arm.

	Mystery Surrounds Zawahri’s Silence
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	Significant Terrorist Incidents, 1961-2003: A Brief Chronology

Thread Forty-Three

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[Cindy]

TKB.ORG - GROUP PROFILE:
"New People's Army (NPA)
Base of Operation: Philippines"
http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=203

===

Google - Search News - by date: "NPA"
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=NPA&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d

===

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=philippines

[Cindy]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53130


"'Shooting Back' published in America for 1st time
Biblical defense of bearing arms by man who fired on terrorists attacking church"
Posted: November 28, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

[Cindy]

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

===
===

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06120006.htm

Saturday, December 2, 2006

"Pakistani court acquits Christian woman of blasphemy charges"
By Sheraz Khurram Khan
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service in Pakistan
KASUR, PAKISTAN

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=59667

you are here: Home > Reports > Safety and Security Reports > Report
Bangladesh Weekend Demonstrations (December 2 -3)
Safety and Security
South / Central Asia - Bangladesh
2 Dec 2006

Printer Friendly Email Article
Related Reports
30 Nov 2006
Bangladesh Demonstrations November 30
29 Nov 2006
Bangladesh Demonstrations November 29
28 Nov 2006
Bangladesh Demonstrations November 28
27 Nov 2006
Bangladesh Demonstrations November 27-28
26 Nov 2006
Bangladesh Demonstrations November 26
The Regional Security Office at U.S, Embassy Dhaka released the following on November 30, 2006:

Police have stated that the following groups have planned demonstrations on the weekend.

The Awami League announced a countrywide indefinite siege program starting Sunday, December 3rd if their demands are not fulfilled by Saturday, December 2, 2006. The police are expecting demonstrations across the country during this weekend either in favor or against the siege.

We recommend that American citizens avoid areas where large crowds are gathered, especially the Paltan Maidan, Motijheel, Muktangan, Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, Naya Paltan, Bangabandhu Avenue, Russel Square, and the Dhaka University.

We also recommend that American citizens continue to monitor announcements that are published in the local press or announced in the local media.

English language news is available on the following channels at the following times:

ATN - 18:00
Banglavision - 21:05
BTV - 22:00
BTV - 23:30 (also broadcast by all local Satellite stations: ATN, Channel I, NTV, RTV, Banglavision Channel 1, Boishaki)

[Cindy]

http://www.airportbusiness.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=5&id=9112

Updated: December 1st, 2006 11:58 AM PDT
Home > Airline and Airport Security News
"Security Official Admits Taking Bribes"

Matthew Barakat
The Associated Press

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A former supervisor at the Department of Homeland Security pleaded guilty Thursday to accepting at least $600,000 in bribes to provide fraudulent citizenship documents to hundreds of Asian immigrants.

Robert T. Schofield, 57, who once supervised as many as 50 employees in the Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Fairfax, Va., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to bribery and to aiding and abetting the illegal procurement of citizenship.

He faces as many as 25 years in prison when he is sentenced in February. Prosecutors said they will seek the maximum sentence."

[Cindy]

Mumbling to myself...I wonder where these guys are now? Don't you?

===
===

ON THE NET...

http://www.rewardsforjustice.net

http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/index.cfm?page=Wanted_Terrorist

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/fugitives.htm

http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/terrorismsi.htm

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=aclu

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=Guatemala

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=RhodeIsland

===
===

Thanks to Jay777 for the ping to this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1747705/posts

---

http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO35747/

"ACLU sues State Police over videotape of traffic stop"

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The videotape shows the first five minutes of a 70-minute stop on Interstate 95 in July by a trooper who pulled over a van with 14 Guatemalan immigrants after the driver failed to use a turn signal.

Trooper Thomas Chabot detained the 14 people and brought them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Providence, where they now face deportation. An internal investigation reported that Chabot acted appropriately.

The ACLU and civil-rights organizations raised concerns of racial profiling, and pushed for release of the videotape and copies of the department's policies governing enforcement procedures."

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...



http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=23521_Profiting_from_9-11
Saturday, December 02, 2006
"Profiting from 9/11"

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=23521_Profiting_from_9-11#comments

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=philippines

---

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/014279.php

December 02, 2006

Philippines: Convert to Islam linked to jihadists arrested

Add Ustadz Abubakar's name to the growing list of converts to Islam who misunderstand their new religion, and somehow get the harebrained idea that it enjoins them to commit acts of violence against unbelievers. Imagine! They read verses such as the one commanding that Muslims wage war against Jews and Christians until they are subjugated (Qur'an 9:29) and they actually take them to mean that they should wage war against Jews and Christians until they are subjugated! The fools! What a silly, obvious misunderstanding -- one they could have avoided with just minutes of study of Islam! If only they could borrow Ibrahim Hooper's secret Qur'anic decoder ring!



"Muslim convert linked to extremists nabbed in Basilan," from AFP, with thanks to Twostellas:

A Filipino Muslim convert linked to an extremist group suspected of plotting a series of bombings in the country was arrested Saturday, a military spokesman said.

Ustadz Abubakar, formerly known as Feliciano de los Reyes, was arrested while trying to flee to the southern island of Basilan, a known bastion of the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist group blamed for the worst terror attacks in the Philippines.

Abubakar is a key leader of the radical Rajah Solaiman group, whose members are Filipinos who worked in the Middle East and later converted to Islam, Lieutenant Colonel Ariel Caculitan said.

Intelligence officials have said the Rajah Solaiman group poses a major security threat to the country and has plotted terror attacks against government and US targets.

It helped the Abu Sayyaf carry out the 2004 firebombing of a ferry near Manila that killed over 100 people and bomb attacks in the financial center of Makati and two southern cities....

Intelligence officials warn that members of the group are more dangerous than other Muslim extremists as they can blend in easier with the largely-Christian populace of this country.


Posted by Robert at December 2, 2006 07:00 PM

[Cindy]

Off Topic...

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/Doha_2006/Doha_2006_3066.html

"Doha 2006 Asian Games Fact Sheet

The Doha 2006 Asian Games will take place in and around Doha, Qatar, December 1-15, 2006."

[Cindy]

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

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Sun Dec 03 2006 01:05:15 GMT-0800.

Worldwide Caution
October 11, 2006

[Cindy]

UPDATE...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1747745/posts


"Putin wanted Blair to gag poisoned spy"
The Sunday Times ^ | December 3, 2006 | David Cracknell, Mark Franchetti and Jon Ungoed-Thomas

Posted on 12/03/2006 1:25:58 AM PST by MadIvan

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "THE Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has expressed his anger at Britain’s failure to gag Alexander Litvinenko in the final hours of his life, the cabinet has been told.

Margaret Beckett, the foreign secretary, told ministers that the Russian government had “taken exception” to the poisoned former spy’s deathbed letter accusing the Putin regime of murdering him.

This weekend a potential suspect — Andrei Lugovoi — admitted he had been contaminated with the radioactive poison polonium-210 but insisted: “I’ve been framed.”

Beckett, who spoke to her Russian counterpart before Thursday’s cabinet meeting, said the Russians had “seemingly failed to understand” that Litvinenko was under police supervision rather than in custody.

Amid signs that his death could cause a diplomatic row, Tony Blair concluded the cabinet meeting by saying “the most important issue” was likely to be Britain’s long-term relationship with Moscow.

Another minister present said: “It caused some alarm that this case is obviously causing tension with the Russians. They are too important for us to fall out with them over this.”

Putin’s aides see Litvinenko’s letter, in which he described the Russian president as “barbaric and ruthless”, as a carefully orchestrated public relations stunt, timed to coincide with the leader’s appearance at the Russia-European Union summit in Helsinki.

Foreign Office officials yesterday confirmed the Russians had raised the issue of Litvinenko’s letter with Beckett and British diplomats. Until now, the government has admitted only that the Russians had agreed to assist Scotland Yard with its inquiries.

John Reid, the home secretary, told the cabinet “not to make assumptions” about Litvinenko’s death, pointing out that the former spy had been “involved with” organised crime as well as the KGB, Chechens and exiled Russian oligarchs.

With more than 200 people tested for suspected radiation contamination and 3,000 calls handled by NHS Direct, Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, said there was a risk the NHS could be “overloaded”.

Reid said the contamination by polonium-210 — a highly radioactive isotope, which has so far been found at 12 sites in London — could have come from more than one person."

[Cindy]

Note: The following news brief is a quote:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3335374,00.html

Cleared for publishing: 2 Palestinians arrested for terror plans
Published: 12.03.06, 11:48

An IDF force arrested two Palestinians Saturday for their involvement in planning a suicide terror attack in Israel, as was cleared for publishing.

The two, Usama Sabah (19) and Ahmad Tahama (21) were arrested west of Jenin, and transferred for investigation by security forces. (Efrat Weiss)

[Cindy]

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881802554&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Dec. 2, 2006 20:26 | Updated Dec. 3, 2006 11:41
"Israeli tourists urged to leave Sinai"
By JPOST.COM STAFF


ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The National Security Council's Counterterrorism Division on Sunday urged Israeli tourists in Sinai to leave immediately, as Egyptian security forces began a large-scale search throughout Sinai on Saturday for four Palestinian terrorists suspected of planning attacks against Israelis.

"Egyptian security received intelligence regarding the four Palestinians, who belong to one of the extreme Palestinian factions and have infiltrated Egyptian territory through the Rafah Crossing," a security source said."

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1747324/posts?page=72#72

---

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1747654/posts

"Focus: Cracking the code of the nuclear assassin (incredibly comprehensive article on Litvinenko)"
Sunday Times (U.K.) ^ | Dec 2, 2006 | Sunday Times Reporting Team from London, Moscow and Rome

Posted on 12/02/2006 5:43:22 PM PST by jdm

[Donna Lee Nardo]

Thanks Ian.

[fanfan]

Thanks for the post Mama and the ping Cindy.

Canada ping to post #48.

Please send me a FReepmail to get on or off this Canada ping list.

[Cindy]

You're welcome Fanfan.

[Cindy]

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1747949/posts


Zion Woman Shoots, Kills Home Invader
WBBM 780 - Chicago ^ | Dec 3, 2006

Posted on 12/03/2006 3:32:07 PM PST by KeyLargo

WBBM 780 - Chicago

Zion Woman Shoots, Kills Home Invader

ZION, Ill. (STNG) -- A Zion woman fired two shots at a 16-year-old home invader Friday night, killing him, police said.

The suspected robber, Gerrall N. Davis, had forced open the back door of the home at 1721 Jethro Ave., shattering the doorjam, according to a press release from Zion police. Saffiyya A. Darr and her husband told police they heard knocking at their front door, yelled out to see who it was and shortly thereafter the back door of their home was forced open.

Mrs. Darr retrieved a 9mm handgun from her bedroom and fired two shots at the armed and masked invader, the release said. Both shots hit Davis, who was on juvenile probation for Aggravated Battery at the time, the release said.

When officers arrived at the home at 10:17 p.m., they found Davis lying on the kitchen floor of the home, wearing a black ski mask, black knit gloves and with a .22 caliber rifle next to him. He was taken to Victory Hospital in Waukegan, where he was pronounced dead at midnight, the release said.

The release did not say if Darr faces any charges for the shooting.

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2283


Iraqi Forces Taking Lead in Fight Against Terror

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2006 – Iraqi forces are getting more results as they move into the lead in many areas of the country.
Many Iraqi units have embedded coalition trainers with them, and those units are killing or capturing more insurgents, more arms caches and shutting down more terror cells.

In Baqubah, the 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division worked with U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division on coordinated offensive operations against anti-Iraqi forces today.

The Iraqi soldiers began operations targeting terror cells responsible for improvised explosive devices, sniper operations, kidnapping and murder.

"This is a great indicator of the commitment of Iraqi army officers and soldiers to protect and secure the people of the province," said Army Col. David W. Sutherland, 3rd Brigade Combat Team commander. "These operations are intelligence-driven and target specific terrorist cells that are attempting to destabilize the government and economic growth in the province. Some individual targets are also responsible for instigating the sectarian violence in the province."

The operation seeks to eliminate the terror cells, which will allow Iraqi police to enforce the rule of law.

"This military operation is designed to separate the terrorists from the honorable people of Baqubah, and better enable the Iraqi security forces to maintain a secure and stable environment," Sutherland said.

In the eastern portion of Baghdad, Iraqi and coalition soldiers captured 12 terror suspects and uncovered an arms cache Dec. 1.

Iraqi soldiers, supported by the 3rd Battalion, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, captured a weapons cache and detained 12 terrorist suspects Dec. 1 in Narwahan.

The U.S. soldiers are part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team based at Forward Operating Base Loyalty. In the cache they discovered 10 AK-47 assault rifles, two machine guns, two mortar tubes with 70 60 mm rounds, one illumination round, five cases of 12.7 mm ammunition and 61 explosive primers.

FOB Loyalty soldiers also helped Iraqi police conduct a Dec. 2 cordon-and-clear operation in Rusafa.

The joint operation, coined "Operation Armadillo," began in the early morning hours, searching for a cell of car-bombers.

The operation -- still going on -- has uncovered one car bomb and a small weapons cache containing assorted weapons.

Iraqi Special Forces soldiers, with coalition advisors, captured a member of a terrorist cell Dec. 2 in the Jihad district of Baghdad. Officials believe the man is responsible for improvised explosive device and car-bomb attacks against Iraqi security forces within Baghdad. The terrorist cell is also allegedly involved in weapons trafficking in the Baghdad area.

Iraqi forces detained five additional suspects during the raid and confiscated several assault rifles.

Soldiers from 7th Iraqi Army Division, with coalition advisors, captured a member of an insurgent cell Dec. 2 in Tameem, south of Ramadi, who is believed to be responsible for coordinating and conducting multiple small-arms and rocket attacks against Iraqi security forces.

The terrorist cell also allegedly is responsible for producing and placing improvised explosive devices that injure and kill Iraqi civilians. The cell is linked to al Qaeda in Iraq, officials said. Iraqi forces detained three additional suspects during the raid.

Units of the 5th Iraqi Army Division, with coalition advisors, captured a suspected insurgent leader during a raid Dec. 1 near Baqubah, targeting insurgents linked to al Qaeda in Iraq in Diyala province.

The detainee is suspected of leading and financing insurgents operating and conducting attacks against Iraqi civilians, Iraqi security forces and coalition forces in Baqubah and throughout Diyala province. While searching for more insurgents at the objective, Iraqi forces found an insurgent armed with an assault rifle.

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)