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Palestinian Takes Front Loader on Jerusalem Rampage
A Palestinian man from east Jerusalem rammed a construction vehicle into three cars and a city bus in downtown Jerusalem near the luxury hotel where presidential candidate Barack Obama is supposed to stay Tuesday night as he kicks off a visit to Israel. The attacker injured four people before an Israeli civilian shot and killed him, police and witnesses said. A Palestinian man from east Jerusalem rammed a construction vehicle into three cars and a city bus in downtown Jerusalem near the luxu... more
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Israel: Al Qaeda-linked suspect may have targeted Bush
Israeli authorities have arrested six Arabs suspected of trying to build an al Qaeda-linked cell -- including one person who allegedly asked about targeting President Bush's helicopter.
Shin Bet, Israel's security service, said in a news release that a 24-year-old student of Hebrew University in Jerusalem decided in January to try to attack a helicopter of a senior official landing on a helipad, and took video of the helipad with a cell phone. Bush used that helipad -- near the dormitories at the university's Givat Ram campus -- during a visit in January, it said.
The student, identified as Muhammad Najam, allegedly turned to an Internet forum identified with al Qaeda and asked about the possibility of targeting an aircraft carrying Bush, Shin Bet said.
There was no immediate public statement on Najam's behalf.
Shin Bet said the six people arrested have been indicted on various charges, including membership in a terrorist organization.
The six include two Israeli Arabs and four Palestinians from East Jerusalem, all "suspected of planning to set up an al Qaeda-linked infrastructure," the news release said.
The suspects used the Internet to go to radical Islamic Web sites, including some identified with al Qaeda, it said, adding that the computers of some of those arrested had been used to download from the Internet instructions for preparing bombs. Israeli authorities have arrested six Arabs suspected of trying to build an al Qaeda-linked cell -- including one person who allegedly... more -
US troops forced out of Afghan base after attack
KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. and Afghan troops have abandoned a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan where militants killed nine American soldiers this week, officials said Wednesday.
Compounding the military setback, insurgents quickly seized the village of Wanat in Nuristan province after driving out the handful of police left behind to defend government offices, Afghan officials said.
Some 50 officers were headed to the area to try to regain control, said Ghoolam Farouq, a senior provincial police official.
Sunday's attack by some 200 militants armed with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars was the deadliest for the U.S. military in Afghanistan in three years. Rebels fought their way into the newly established base, wounding another 15 Americans and suffering heavy casualties of their own, before the defenders and warplanes could drive them back.
The assault underlined how Islamic militants appear to be gaining strength nearly eight years after the ouster of the Taliban, and the difficulties facing foreign and Afghan forces trying to defeat them.
NATO said the post, which lies amid precipitous mountains close to the Pakistan border, had been vacated, but insisted that international and Afghan troops will "retain a strong presence in that area with patrolling and other means."
Story continues below KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. and Afghan troops have abandoned a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan where militants killed nine America... more -
US Not leaving Iraq:No Deal
U.S negotiators have abandoned efforts to conclude a comprehensive agreement governing the long-term status of U.S troops in Iraq before the end of the Bush presidency, according to senior U.S. officials, effectively leaving talks over an extended U.S. military presence there to the next administration.
The failure of months of negotiations over the more detailed accord -- blamed on both the Iraqi refusal to accept U.S. terms and the complexity of the task.
The Us administration wants to secure permanent military bases in the region and have control over the government.
Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), the presumptive Democratic nominee, has said he would immediately begin withdrawing combat troops at a rate of one or two brigades a month, a pledge he has softened recently by saying he would consult with U.S. commanders on the ground. But he has said that after 16 months in office, the U.S. presence in Iraq would be far smaller than the 144,000 troops there now, with only a "residual" number remaining.
The status-of-forces negotiations have been sharply criticized by Democrats, and some Republicans, as an attempt to tie Bush's successor to the president's policy in Iraq. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, supports the administration position. He has said he hopes to bring U.S. combat troops home by 2013 but has insisted that any timeline or lessening of U.S. control over its own operations would undercut recent military gains and aid U.S. enemies. U.S negotiators have abandoned efforts to conclude a comprehensive agreement governing the long-term status of U.S troops in Iraq befo... more -
Gitmo's youngest detainee revealed
Secret documents were unsealed this week showing for the first time the extent of Canada's federal government's knowledge of the treatment of Omar Khadr inside of Guantanamo Bay prison camp. Khadr is Canada's only prisoner detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay.At age 17, Khadr was placed in a special program at the camp that intentionally deprived him of sleep, and moved him every 3 hours for 21 days in order to prepare him to speak to government officials.It is reported that the document release is just ahead of a release of video tapes of the interviews with those government officials that will give the first look at a detainee being questioned at the prison.From the Canadian news The Globe and Mail:"On a number of occasions, the teenager was observed crying uncontrollably, and claiming he was at least partly blind. He removed his shirt to show interviewers bullet wounds, one of them still seeping blood, that he had suffered to his back and stomach during a battle in Afghanistan.The documents show that:Mr. Khadr was subjected to what was known as a "frequent flyer program," which moves a prisoner from cell to cell every three hours 24 hours a day. The idea is to keep prisoners from resting, making them more susceptible to interrogation. A Foreign Affairs document states that Mr. Khadr was placed in the program prior to a set of interviews and “will soon be placed in isolation for up to three weeks and then he will be interviewed again.†The effectiveness of the method was questionable in the eyes of the Canadians."Certainly Umar did not appear to have been affected by three weeks on the 'frequent flyer' program. He did not yawn or indicate in any way that he was tired throughout the two-hour interview. It seems likely that the natural resilience of a well-fed and healthy 17-year-old are keeping him going."During the first Canadian visit, in February of 2003, Mr. Khadr recanted certain admissions claiming "all the information provided in his previous interviews was said only due to 'torture.'"During that same visit, Canadians agents questioned Mr. Khadr about his family. The cameras caught the teenager complaining about his wounds, his eyes and a shoulder, and dabbing “at a small spot on his shoulder that was seeping blood.â€Foreign Affairs kept records of the visits under intelligence files marked "UBL" or "Bin Laden." The Khadr family once lived with the al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan. A forensic psychologist told DFAIT that Mr. Khadr was "a Mama's little boy."(more...) Secret documents were unsealed this week showing for the first time the extent of Canada's federal government's knowledge of the treat... more
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Abuse of Khadr changes nothing for Harper
Captured at age 15, Omar Kadhr, the only citizen of a western country left in guantanamo, will get no help from Canada's Harper government, even with evidence of abuse.
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Documentary filmmaker held hostage for three months at terrorist training camp
Channel 4 paid a £150,000 ransom to secure the release of a documentary film maker who was held hostage for three months after trying to make contact with Al-Qaeda’s second in command.
Sean Langan, 43, was held by criminals linked to the Taliban at a terrorist training camp in a lawless border region of Pakistan. He and his Afghan interpreter were kept in a darkened cell, measuring 8ft by 8ft, within earshot of a Taliban firing range.
“It was a constant barrage,” a close friend in Kabul said. “They could hear machineguns, antiaircraft guns and rocket-propelled grenades going off the whole time. But they weren’t being shot in a contact [firefight] – it sounded like training.”
His captors eventually made Langan call a friend in Kabul and explain that he was a hostage and that he would be killed if their demands were not met.
The two men, who were working for Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, were released after an Afghan go-between hired by the broadcaster delivered a briefcase full of cash to their kidnappers. The Foreign Office is believed to have warned Channel 4 against paying any money, fearing that it could inspire copy-cat abductions of westerners.
Channel 4 paid a £150,000 ransom to secure the release of a documentary film maker who was held hostage for three months after trying ... more -
Swiss shredded nuke documents
Normally placid Switzerland has been caught up in uncharacteristic intrigue since the government announced that it secretly destroyed highly technical blueprints for producing nuclear weapons. At a press conference on May 23, President Pascal Couchepin said the documents had been shredded to prevent them from falling into terrorists' hands. "The information contained in these papers presented a considerable risk to the security of Switzerland and the international community as a whole," he said.
But that explanation has only enlivened controversy over who ultimately ordered the shredding, and to what end. "There are more questions about this affair than there are answers," says Ken Egli, an editor at the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
In 2004 Swiss authorities, acting on a tip from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrested engineer Friedrich Tinner and his sons Marco and Urs on the suspicion of helping to supply gas centrifuge parts for use in Libya's now abandoned nuclear weapons program. They allegedly acted between 2001 and 2003 through the trafficking ring operated by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's atom bomb. Khan, under house arrest in Pakistan, last week claimed he'd been coerced into his 2004 confession to helping Libya, North Korea and Iran with nuclear weapons.
The tens of thousands of pages of blueprints and technical information, reportedly secured on Urs Tinner's property, were to be used as evidence against the Tinners, who are still incarcerated pending further investigation. Swiss authorities said the documents were shredded under IAEA's supervision on November 14, 2007. Contacted by TIME, IAEA's spokesperson refused to comment on its role or involvement in the affair. Couchepin too declined to answer further questions.
The official stonewalling has fueled speculation that the United States, and specifically the CIA, has pressured the Swiss government to destroy the documents to aid its own efforts to stop nuclear smuggling, whatever the effect on the Tinners' trials. "The decision to destroy evidence related to an ongoing investigation is highly unusual and has raised questions over the possibility of CIA involvement," Egli says, pointing out that during his press conference Couchepin conceded that the Swiss government had also blocked an investigation into charges levelled by the federal attorney that Urs Tinner was engaging in illegal actions for a foreign country.
---read rest of article at link--- Normally placid Switzerland has been caught up in uncharacteristic intrigue since the government announced that it secretly destroyed ... more -
Exeter explosion: 'bomber' Nicky Reilly was sent text of encouragement
A Muslim convert accused of trying to set off three homemade nail bombs in a packed shopping centre in Exeter received a text message of encouragement on the day of the attacks, the Daily Telegraph has learned.
Investigating officers suspect Nicky Reilly, 22, who has learning difficulties, planned to commit suicide but do not think he could have constructed the bombs without help.
He received a message on his mobile phone on the day of the attacks which officers believe amounted to a "message of encouragement."
“He has a very low IQ and has received treatment on more than one occasion for mental illness. He would be very easily led," a police source said.
“This really does mark a low point for Muslim extremists. We are all horrified by what has happened here."
The comments came as armed police investigating the bombing arrested two men outside a cafe today.
Eyewitnesses said the arrests took place this afternoon in Old Town Street, in the centre of Plymouth, Reilly's home town.
Both men were reportedly searched and put into paper suits before being placed in unmarked cars
Reilly had allegedly been using a type of rudimentary bomb not employed by Muslims extremists in Britain before which was constructed from sodium hydroxide, aluminium foil strips and an essential oil, combined with kerosene.
The source confirmed that there were nails in the bag containing the devices, one of which partially detonated in the toilets of a restaurant in the Princesshay centre. The other two failed to go off.
“It could be set off by shaking the mixture but we are still not sure if he was priming the device or actually planned to set it off in the toilets, believing it would blow out the whole restaurant" the source added.
“If it had gone up it would certainly have caused a huge fireball and the idea he was doing that in a family restaurant packed with children is awful."
Special Branch officers were monitoring a group of alleged radicals in Plymouth, where Reilly lives with his mother, which was based at a local mosque but Reilly was on the fringes of the group.
The source said: "As part of our operations to monitor the activities of radical groups across the country we were aware of this group and of Reilly himself but he was right on the fringes of a group that did not appear to be planning any attacks.
“At the moment we are looking at 200 separate groups and this was just one of those. We were observing them at a local level but had no detailed surveillance."
Local people claim Reilly, who changed his name to Mohammed Rasheed, was"brainwashed" by a group that met at a fish and chip shop. A Muslim convert accused of trying to set off three homemade nail bombs in a packed shopping centre in Exeter received a text message ... more -
ETA's 'Number One' has been arrested
In a joint Spanish-French operation, Javier Lopez Pena, alias "Thierry" the suspected political leader of the Basque separatist movement has been arrested.
Could this re-instate the ceasefire? In a joint Spanish-French operation, Javier Lopez Pena, alias "Thierry" the suspected political leader of the Basque separatist moveme... more -
Muslim countries condemn Jaipur terror attacks.
Muslim countries across the globe have condemned the terrorist attacks in Jaipur which were created with the intent to sabotage communal harmony in India.
President of Afghanistan, Karzai said in his statement:
"The people of Afghanistan who have suffered from terrorism over the past several years share the pain and sadness of the people of India,”
Other Muslim countries who have condemned the blasts include Bangladesh, Pakistan and UAE along with Non-Muslim countries such as Canada and Austrailia. Terrorism is un-Islamic as it violates the sanctity of life by killing innocent people. Muslim countries across the globe have condemned the terrorist attacks in Jaipur which were created with the intent to sabotage commun... more -
Indian Muslim organizations condemn Jaipur blasts, demand impartial enquiry
Muslim organisations across India have condemned the horrific terrorist attacks.
Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadees Hind has called the Jaipur bombings inhuman, barbarous and condemnable.
Maulana Asghar Ali Imam Mehdi Salfi secretary of the organisation in a statement said people behind attacks want to sabotage communal harmony in the country, and demanded the government to conduct a impartial enquiry into the attacks, and bring the culprits to book and urged people to maintain peace. He also expressed his sympathy with the relatives of the victims.
Other Muslim organisations which condemned the blasts include; The Aligarh Alumni Association of Metropolitan Washington (AAA), Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK), Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH). Terrorism violates the Quran as terrorism does not value sanctity of life. Muslim organisations across India have condemned the horrific terrorist attacks. ... more -
Jaipur: A harmonious city
With the terrorist attacks putting Jaipur in the spotlight how is the city normally?
Muslims and Hindus live peacefully side by side according to NDTV news. Peace groups have been formed to keep the peace consisting of both Hindu's and Muslims. The community liaison group has 150 members.
''Mine is the only Hindu house in this lane but I feel no threat or fear,'' said Mohan Prasad Ranavat, community liaison group member (CLG).
However The terrorist attack in Jaipur has scared many people especially women.
''The population of Ramganj is four and a lakh people... But you've seen how everyone works together like brothers,'' said Hukum Chand, convenor.
''Our blood is the same and no one can divide us. We are taking on the terrorists and their terror,'' said another local.
With the terrorist attacks putting Jaipur in the spotlight how is the city normally? ... more -
Bombings in Western India have left several dead
JAIPUR, India - Five bombs ripped through crowded parts of an ancient city in western India on Tuesday, killing at least 30 people and wounding 100 others, police said.
The explosions in Jaipur took place in markets and several other areas of the city in Rajasthan, a region dotted with palaces and temples that draw hundreds of thousands of Indian and foreign tourists every year, said A.K. Jain, a top police official in Jaipur.
Rajasthan's police chief, A.S. Gill, put the death toll at 30.
"Obviously, it's a terrorist plot," he told reporters. "The way it has been done, the attempt was to cause the maximum damage to human life."
He added bicycles may have been used in the bombings. But he did not say if the explosives were detonated by suicide bombers riding through the crowds or if the bombs had simply been planted on parked bicycles.
Authorities put New Delhi, India's capital, and Mumbai, the country's financial center, on high alert along with several other cities shortly after the bombings, which began just before 7:30 p.m.
One the blasts in Jaipur reportedly hit a market near a temple dedicated to the Hindu monkey god Hanuman. Tuesday is the day of worship set aside for Hanuman, and the temple was packed with people offering prayers on the way home from work.
The Press Trust of India news agency said another blast took place near the Johari Bazaar — the city's jewelry market, a popular destination for tourists. The tourist season ended in March and there were no immediate indications that foreigners had been caught in the explosions.
Bombings have plagued India since 2005. Last year, two explosions killed 43 people in the southern city of Hyderabad; seven bombings along Mumbai's commuter rail network killed nearly 200 people in July 2006, and three New Delhi markets were bombed in October 2005, killing 62 people.
There have also been a number of smaller explosions, and India has repeatedly blamed the attacks on Islamic militant groups backed by neighbor and rival Pakistan — an allegation Islamabad routinely denies.
While Indian officials had not yet openly blamed Pakistan-based militants for Tuesday's attack, Jaiswal, the junior home minister, suggested the bombings were connected to previous explosions
"The blasts are part of a big conspiracy," he told reporters. JAIPUR, India - Five bombs ripped through crowded parts of an ancient city in western India on Tuesday, killing at least 30 people and... more -
Rush on Denvers most wanted list
I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
It seems that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper called Limbaugh a "dangerous domestic terrorist" that should be locked up.
So if Rush shows up in Denver he can and will get arrested.
I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. ... more -
Muslim doctor plotted terror attacks in London and Glasgow
A Muslim doctor who died after a failed terror attack on Glasgow airport had plotted a campaign of “spectacular” terrorist car bomb attacks designed to devastate Britain, a court heard today.
Kafeel Ahmed, 28, had targeted city nightclubs with explosives made at his home in Glasgow before turning his attention to the airport on its busiest day of the year.
Two car bombs left near nightclubs in the West End of London at the end of June last year had failed to explode when activated by mobile phone.
The next day, knowing the police were closing in, Ahmed launched the airport suicide mission and drove another car bomb into Glasgow Airport.
Full details of the terror plot emerged for the first time today after Kafeel’s brother Dr Sabeel Ahmed, 26, an NHS doctor, admitted failing to disclose information to police after the attacks. A Muslim doctor who died after a failed terror attack on Glasgow airport had plotted a campaign of “spectacular” terrorist car bomb at... more -
LIE DETECTORS VS. TALIBAN
The Pentagon is doling out handheld lie detectors to Army troops in Afghanistan in a bid to uncover hidden Taliban and al Qaeda operatives, according to a report.
So far, the Army has bought 94 of the $7,500 machines, called Preliminary Credibility Assessment Screening Systems.Overall, the Pentagon has spent $2.5 million on the program.
The Defense Department says the device will primarily be used to screen local police officers, interpreters and other forces who have access to US military bases in the country, according to MSNBC.com.
It would also be used to identify suspects following assaults, like roadside bombings. The Pentagon is doling out handheld lie detectors to Army troops in Afghanistan in a bid to uncover hidden Taliban and al Qaeda operat... more -
Casablanca bomb convicts escape
Casablanca bomb convicts escape
map
Nine people convicted of involvement with suicide bombings in Casablanca have escaped from a Moroccan prison, officials say.
Prison authorities at Kenitra, 40km (25 miles) north of the capital, Rabat, noticed the escape on Monday morning, the Justice Ministry told state media.
An interior ministry source told AFP news agency that the prisoners had tunnelled their way out.
The 2003 attacks left 45 people dead, including 12 bombers, and many injured.
Most of the nine men were serving life sentences for involvement in the bombings, a group which supports Islamist prisoners said.
The men are reported to have escaped just after morning prayers on Monday.
A source close to Islamist prisoners told the BBC the nine men had left a message on the wall of their jail.
It said they had suffered injustice and were escaping because they saw no other solution to their woes, stressing that they had received no outside help for their prison break.
All possible measures were being taken to find the fugitives, the Justice Ministry said in a statement on state news agency MAP.
Officials had been sent to the prison to investigate how the convicts had broken out, it said.
In December 2007, drugs baron Mohammad Ouazzani escaped from the same jail.
Eight prison guards were subsequently convicted of helping him. Casablanca bomb convicts escape map ... more -
Water Board Veto Stands
House fails to over ride veto of Waterboarding ban. Read it and weep, my fiends. Read it and weep.
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