Threat Matrix: September 2007

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2007 – Several suspected militants were killed and four others were detained today during an operation by Afghan and coalition forces in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province.

The combined forces suspected the compounds, located in the Gairo district, were providing sanctuary to anti-coalition militants. AK-47 rifles, hand grenades and rocket-propelled grenades were found during a search of the site. Precision munitions were employed to destroy a building and the weapons inside it.

“Violent extremists who keep weapons like these disrupt the efforts for peace in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman.

Before the strike on the building, the combined force escorted women and children from the targeted area to a safe distance. They were permitted to return after the strike was complete.

Separately, in a two-day operation ending Sept. 17, elements of the 201st Afghan National Army Corps and Afghan National Police assisted by coalition forces killed one insurgent and found and destroyed an improvised explosive device factory and weapons cache in the Sorobi district of Kabul province.

A 40-year-old noncombatant was shot in the knee by the insurgents during an exchange of gunfire during the operation. He was treated at the scene and transported to a local hospital.

The weapons cache contained numerous rockets, mortars and about 50 feet of detonation cord. The combined force destroyed the IED factory and weapons cache.

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1898507/posts

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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297168,00.html
(AP)

“Pneumonia Vaccine Spurs ‘Superbug’ Infecting Children”
Tuesday, September 18, 2007

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “CHICAGO — A vaccine that has dramatically curbed pneumonia and other serious illnesses in children is also having an unfortunate effect: promoting new superbugs that cause ear infections.”

Another Policeman killed:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1898538/posts

Note: There are active recalls, so please take a moment to check this site.
Thanks.

RECALLS.GOV
http://www.recalls.gov

How truly sad.
Prayers for the family, texpat72.

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

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

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1898311/posts

“NUKES IN SYRIA?”
NY Post ^ | September 18, 2007 | Peter Brookes

Posted on 09/18/2007 6:18:54 AM PDT by presidio9

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1898540/posts

“BBC: The Syria-North Korea ‘connection’”
BBC ^ | Tuesday, 18 September 2007, 13:37 GMT 14:37 UK | Jonathan Marcus Diplomatic correspondent, BBC News

Posted on 09/18/2007 1:40:13 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1898393/posts

“Attacking Syria: Focusing on Iran(Israel)”
humanevents.com ^ | 09/18/2007 | Chuck Freilich

Posted on 09/18/2007 8:16:22 AM PDT by kellynla

Note: This topic is a recap, but in case anyone here missed this topic, please take a moment to read it. Thanks.

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Thanks to RDTF for the ping to this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1898555/posts

“Terrorism arrests made on Texas border”
The Daily Texan ^ | September 13, 2007

Posted on 09/18/2007 2:17:05 PM PDT by pwatson

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=uniform
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=purpleheart
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=texas

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Thanks to RDTF for the ping to this post - quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1898574/posts?page=4#4

To: Cindy
missing...

“Laying in the front seat was his dress blue uniform with his five medals and Purple Heart.”

4 posted on 09/18/2007 2:57:53 PM PDT by RDTF (Republicans believe every day is July 4th, but Democrats believe every day is April 15th. - Reagan)

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and thanks to RDTF for the ping to this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1898574/posts

“Marine’s Car Found; Purple Heart & Uniform Still Missing”
kltv ^ | Sept 17, 2007 | Danielle Capper

Posted on 09/18/2007 2:53:05 PM PDT by RDTF

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

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RECAP:

http://www.khou.com/news/local/crime/stories/khou070827_tj_buses.781ef2b7.html

“School bus thefts raise security concerns”
11:25 AM CDT on Tuesday, August 28, 2007
By Jeff McShan / 11 News

Jeff McShan’s 11 News report

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The Houston Police Department’s Criminal Intelligence Division, the FBI and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office are all concerned about a large number of school buses that have been stolen in the Houston area over the last several months.

Seventeen large, yellow school buses were stolen recently from various charter schools, business schools and private bus companies. Not one has disappeared from HISD.

Most, if not all, were taken from locations on Houston’s north side. One off west Tidwell, another from the Lopez bus company off Melrose and Berry streets.”

Note: The following text is a quote:

September 12, 2007

http://houston.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/ho09122007.htm

EXAS A & M GRAD CONVICTED OF HACKING INTO ALMA MATER’S COMPUTER SYSTEM

(HOUSTON, Texas) - A December 2006 graduate of Texas A & M University has been convicted of recklessly accessing and causing damage to the protected computer system of his former alma mater, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew R. Bland, III, announced today.

At a hearing this afternoon before U. S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt, Luis Castillo, 23, who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in computer science from Texas A & M University in December 2006, admitted to recklessly gaining unauthorized access to the University’s domain controller, code named “Ajax,” a protected computer system, and capturing 133,000 Net ID’s and passwords of unsuspecting students and employees of the University.

Following the hearing, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle said, “Computer systems have simplified our lives and we rely upon them, particularly those within our academic institutions, to be safe, informative and secure. When, as here, that security is breached, federal felony convictions will result. The Department of Justice will continue to work together with our State and Local law enforcement partners to prosecute cyber criminals.”

“This successful investigation exemplifies the FBI’s steadfast commitment to allocate the appropriate resources and expertise needed to address the FBI’s number three priority, which is cyber crimes,” said FBI Houston’s Special Agent in Charge Andrew R. Bland, III. “ The FBI continues to work closely in cooperation and collaboration with state and local law enforcement, area universities, and the private sector to ensure that insidious crimes of this nature, as well as cyber crimes that jeopardize the safety of our children, are investigated successfully by professionals who specialize in cyber crime matters.”

“We appreciate the FBI’s commitment to investigating this type of crime. Such action and results should certainly serve as a deterrent to anyone else who might be contemplating such activities,” said Dr. Pierce Cantrell, vice president and associate provost for information technology at Texas A&M University. “We heartily thank everyone who participated in the investigation.”

On February 28, 2007, Texas A & M University officials discovered that the domain controller of its virtual private network (VPN), code named “Ajax,” had suffered multiple unauthorized computer intrusion incidents. Steps were taken by the University to prevent the illegal or fraudulent use of the captured information and a criminal investigation was initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the University’s administration and law enforcement authorities.

Through their joint investigation, agents learned that in mid-February 2007, Castillo logged on to the University’s VPN utilizing his own ID and password from a wireless account located at an apartment in Oregon where Luis Castillo was living while working in the area. Thereafter, Castillo began logging on to the protected system from the same computer using unauthorized netIDs and passwords and ultimately accessed the University’s VPN server to gain unauthorized access to the “Ajax.” Once access to the Domain Controller “Ajax” was established on February 24, 2007, Castillo injected malicious (Malware) computer programs into the University’s protected computer system which operated to capture 133,000 Net ID’s and passwords of unsuspecting students and employees of the University. Thereafter, the program dumped the captured netIDs and passwords into a temporary file on the system where Castillo could have access. An analysis of the injected Malware ultimately tied Castillo to the intrusions.

As a result of the intrusions and injection of the malicious software by Castillo, the University incurred a loss of over $67,000 in its efforts to protect students and faculty from the illegal or fraudulent use of private account information obtained through Castillo’s unauthorized access to the University’s protected computer system, including the retrieval of the captured files. To date, no known use or misuse of the captured information has been reported.

Castillo faces a maximum of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for this conviction and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 10, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. The court has entered an order permitting Castillo to be released on a $25,000 unsecured bond pending his sentencing.

The charges against Castillo are the result of the investigative efforts of the Houston division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Houston Area Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Bryan resident agency of the FBI, the Texas A&M University Police Department, and the Portland, Oregon division of the FBI, with the cooperation of Texas A&M University administration. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U. S. Attorney Bret Davis.

sp= TEXAS (post no. 1634)

September 14, 2007

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://houston.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/ho09172007.htm

PAKISTANI STUDENT SENTENCED FOR UNLAWFULLY POSSESSING FIREARM

(HOUSTON, TEXAS) – Syed Maaz Shah, 20, a Pakistani national in the United States on a student visa, was sentenced today for two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today.

Convicted by a Houston jury in approximately one hour following the three-day trial before United States District Judge Melinda Harmon in May 2007, Shah was sentenced to serve 78 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. In arriving at this sentence, Harmon upwardly departed from the 21 to 27 month sentence Shah faced under the United States sentencing guidelines. Shah will likely be deported from the United States upon completion of his prison term. Shah has been in federal custody since his arrest in November 2006.

“This case demonstrates the United States’ continued efforts to detect, disrupt and dismantle groups of individuals contemplating and training with an eye toward jeopardizing our national security,” DeGabrielle stated.

During the trial, the United States introduced photographs of Shah holding and firing an Armalite M-15, .223 caliber semi automatic rifle during firearms training sessions held over the weekends of Jan. 13 and March 10, 2006, on private property located near Willis, Texas. Through the testimony of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, the United States proved that Shah, a citizen of Pakistan, last entered the United States in August 2005 as an F-1 student visa holder. Given Shah’s status as a non-immigrant student visa holder, Shah is prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm. A special agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATFE) further related that the Armalite M-15 possessed by Shah in January and March 2006 was operable and manufactured in Illinois and thus, traveled in interstate commerce.

In finding the defendant guilty, the jury rejected Shah’s claim that undercover officials working with the Houston Joint Terrorism Task Force impermissibly entrapped Shah. In arguing Shah was not entrapped, but rather, was predisposed to commit the firearms violations, the United States presented evidence that at the time of Shah’s arrest Nov. 28, 2006, Shah orally confessed he had an interest in weapons and had engaged in the firearms training weekends to prepare for “what may come.” Shah went on to state that he viewed American forces in Iraq as “invaders” and felt it was his duty to prepare for “Jihad,” described during the trial as armed combat. The United States also presented evidence showing that Shah had literature regarding Jihad on his computer, seized by FBI personnel at the time of Shah’s arrest.

During Shah’s testimony, he claimed he did not give an oral confession to the FBI, that many people had access to his laptop computer and that he went to Willis “to fish” on Jan. 13-14 and March 10-11, 2006. In fact, Shah denied knowing that firearms training would occur over the January weekend.

The United States offered multiple recordings made by an undercover police official which demonstrated Shah’s interest and knowledge that the January and March weekends would focus on military-style firearms and combat training. One of the recordings revealed Shah had paid $30 for ammunition prior to engaging in the military-style combat training and target practice Jan. 14, 2006. The recordings further revealed Shah and his companions, which included Houston residents Kobie Williams and Adnan Mirza, attended the second training session in March 2006, again for the purpose of participating in military-style training.

Williams pleaded guilty Nov. 28, 2006, to conspiracy charges relating to funds earmarked for the Taliban and related firearms offenses. Williams is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 12, 2007. Mirza, also charged with conspiracy and firearms offenses, is scheduled for trial Oct. 29, 2007. A related defendant, Shiraz Syed Qazi, a nonimmigrant F-1 student visa holder who also attended the Willis firearms training camp, was sentenced May 17, 2007, to 10 months incarceration for his unlawful possession of a firearm.

The investigation was led by the FBI and the agency’s Joint Terrorism Task Force with participation by ATFE, ICE, the Houston Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant United States Attorneys Shelley J. Hicks and Glenn Cook prosecuted the case.

# # #

Terror suspect can do no wrong! (UK)

The father of Alva based Islamic terrorist Mohammed Atif Siddique has claimed his son did nothing wrong and that he was simply “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The views of Mohammed Siddique senior who runs a licensed grocers in Alva were echoed by the solicitor Aamer Anwar when he claimed that the guilty verdict against Siddique was “a tragedy for justice and for freedom of speech.”

Siddique referred to as Atif by his father, was arrested while trying to board a plane for Pakistan with his uncle Rafik on the way to link up with an Islamic terror cell whose mission it was to behead the Canadian Prime Minister, but his father insisted the family were treated unjustly during the raid that took place on the family home after Siddique’s arrest.

Ominously Anwar claimed it was not a crime to be an “angry young Muslim” and that Siddique was found “guilty of doing what millions of young (Muslim) people do every day.” (snip)

http://www.bnp.org.uk/reg_showarticle.php?contentID=2702

>>Ominously Anwar claimed it was not a crime to be an “angry young Muslim” and that Siddique was found “guilty of doing what millions of young (Muslim) people do every day.” (snip)<<

Daddy probably taught jihadijr all he knew. Gee, too bad it won’t be enough for a bunch of ANGRY YOUNG AND OLD AMERICANS!

People like that don’t deserve to be breathing our air.

SNIPPET from your article:

""Ominously Anwar claimed it was not a crime to be an “angry young Muslim” and that Siddique was found “guilty of doing what millions of young (Muslim) people do every day.”"

OPINION: Let's hope the moderate muslims jump all over this statement. Their silence would be implied agreement, in my opinion.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/018176.php
(EXPATICA.com)

September 18, 2007

“Jihadist in the Netherlands convicted...again”

THE HAGUE (AFP)