Berlin - A coup plot against Syrian President Bashar al- Assad was quietly crushed without the world noticing, the German newspaper Die Welt was set to report Saturday, quoting German and "foreign" intelligence sources. It said Syria's military intelligence chief, Assef Shaukat, had plotted to seize power while Assad was hosting an Arab League meeting in Damascus in February. Shaukat, who is an in-law to the president, and 100 intelligence officers had been arrested.
Die Welt said Assad had been tipped off by Imad Mughniyah, a senior member of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah organization in Lebanon. Mughniyah was killed a few days later in a bomb blast on February 12 in Damascus. The sources said it was possible that associates of Shaukat had assassinated him in revenge. Releasing the story Friday in advance of going to print, Die Welt said some of the plotters were allegedly linked to violent Islamist groups.
Die Welt said the Syrian embassy in Berlin had rejected the coup story as utterly untrue. Without naming a source, the newspaper said German diplomats were aware of the coup story but had not been able to confirm it as fact.
US targets al Qaeda operatives with links to Iran, Pakistan
June 6, 2008
The US Treasury Department has added three al Qaeda operatives from the Gulf States to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorist Individuals. The three operatives have provided logistical, financial, and material support to al Qaeda and the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group throughout the Middle East. Two of these operatives have provided direct support for al Qaeda leaders based in Iran and two have operated in the tribal regions in Pakistan.
The US has designated Khalifa Muhammad Turki al Subaiy, a Qatari national; and Adil Muhammad Mahmud Abd al Khaliq and Abd al Rahman Muhammad Jaffar 'Ali, Bahraini nationals, as Specially Designated Global Terrorist Individuals under Executive Order 13224. The designation allows the US to freeze their assets, prevent them from using financial institutions, and prosecute them for terrorist activities.
Excerpted
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/06/us_targets_al_qaeda.php
MOSCOW - A recent gas leak in northeast China near the Russian border that killed three people contained phosgene, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday citing environmental experts. "An expert evaluation confirmed that the leak contained phosgene gas," Andrei Nesterenko said, adding that eight people had been poisoned as a result of the leak.
Phosgene is a chemical warfare agent with a lethal concentration of 0.01-0.03 milligrams per liter. There is no known antidote. Earlier Friday, a Russian emergencies ministry spokeswoman quoted Chinese authorities as saying the chemical leak in the town of Qiqihar in the Heilongjiang province was no threat to the environment.
Irina Andrianova quoted the Chinese general consulate in the Russian Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk as saying that on June 5 a cylinder containing unidentified gas "disintegrated" causing a gas leak. "Local authorities and environmental experts disposed of the cylinder and dealt with the consequences of the accident," she added.
Excerpted
http://en.rian.ru/world/20080606/109426611.html
1,000 kilos of explosives seized near Pakistan capital
Jun 6, 2008
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Police seized two vehicles carrying about 1,000 kilograms of explosives, foiling a possible terror plot near Pakistan's capital. Senior police officer Rao Mohammed Iqbal said several suspects were arrested in the operation late Thursday in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Two security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media, said Friday at least three men were arrested, suspected of wanting to target "sensitive installations."
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