Al-Qaeda Weapons and Poison Expert Killed – Pakistan

Al-Qaeda’s top expert on chemical and biological weapons is believed to have been killed in a suspected US missile strike in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas on Monday, security officials said.

Egyptian militant Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, had a $ 5 million bounty on his head. He allegedly trained hundreds of extremists at camps in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. Read more

al Qaeda Wants Saudi King killed Over Interfaith Call

A key al Qaeda figure has said Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah should be killed for calling for an interfaith dialogue that amounted to joining a Western crusade against Islam.

“Hurrying to kill this wanton tyrant (King Abdullah) who has announced himself to be a leader of atheism would be among the most pious acts,” Abu Yahya al-Libi said in a video posted on Monday on Islamist websites often used by al Qaeda supporters.

The message followed a groundbreaking Saudi-sponsored interfaith conference in Spain this month in which King Abdullah called on followers of the world’s major faiths to turn away from extremism and seek reconciliation.

“The call for a rapprochement of religions issued by the (Saudi) tyrant … is an integral part of the overt Crusader war against Islam and Muslims,” Libi said. He likened King Abdullah to a “corrupting fountainhead” that had to be buried.

“This in fact is a call to turn one’s back on Islam and … to look for commonalities with Judaism and Christianity so whatever the three agree on would become the new modern religion which would be allowed to be propagated,” Libi said.

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High-Profile Events Put U.S. in Period of Heightened Alert ‘POHA’ for Terrorism

UPDATE 7/30/08 - The Homeland Security Department soon will advise its employees to review security and emergency plans as the country enters a period of heightened alert to last for several months because of the Olympics and U.S. presidential election. Read more

Grenade Found In Car Crossing Bridge From Canada

U.S. Customs officials discovered a grenade in an SUV crossing from Canada into the United States over the Ambassador Bridge late Sunday night.

The Detroit Police bomb squad was called in to examine the grenade, which officials hadn’t yet determined was live or a souvenir, according to one fire official. Read more

Is U.S. Bioterror Attack Just A Matter of Time?

The overriding question is whether the U.S. is “ready” for a bioterror attack. The answer could well rely on the “other” question of what bio-agent and what’s the source? In 1991, 40,000 Russian scientists dispersed throughout the World, with knowledge of what the U.S.S.R. was doing in chemical and biological weapons. The question is to whom did they sell their knowledge? Some believe former Soviet scientists sold technology to countries like Iran, Syria, and North Korea. Lurking is the spectre of al-Qaeda, a group that the Pentagon says continues to pursue biological weapons.

Another scenario is an outbreak of a pandemic. How would the U.S. deal with an infectious disease outbreak? The picture, despite reassurances, is not pretty. Until now, the U.S. has experienced two major biological attacks.

In 1984, the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his followers attempted to take over the town of the Dalles, Oregon by contaminating salad bars in the town. In 2001, there was the as yet unsolved mystery of the anthrax letters that killed five people.

But the question of bioterrorism extends to potential threats against our food supply and our clean water resources. It also extends to the threat of outbreaks of diseases in our animals populations. Here, the concern are diseases that attack animals but that can jump to humans. These are referred to as zoonotic diseases. The World Health Organization defines zonnotic diseases as:

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India Goes on High Terror Alert

India went on high alert yesterday over fears of fresh serial bombing terror. Troops were mobilised after five more bombs were found and a terror group warned of new attacks. The country tightened security in all major cities and stepped up a nationwide hunt for the bombers who carried out the co-ordinated attacks in Ahmedabad and Bangalore, which killed almost 50 people and left more than 150 injured. Read more

Terror Bombing In Istanbul Turkey Shopping Center Kills Several Injures Over 150

At least 15 people were killed and more than 150 injured when two bombs ripped through a popular shopping centre in the Turkish city of Istanbul last night.

The blasts came hours ahead of the start of a court case over the banning of the governing party that has plunged Turkey into political turmoil. Read more

Food Tampering A Very Real Terror Threat

The deliberate contamination of the nation’s food supply is a serious threat.

In January 2004 the Bush administration responded to the threat of contamination of the nation’s food supply with a Homeland Security Presidential Directive, according to an April report from Trust For America’s Health titled “Fixing Food Safety: Protecting America’s Food Supply From Farm-to-Fork.”

The directive calls for a coordinated national approach to countering threats to the food supply. The directive tasked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with leading national food defense efforts while working in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Despite increased responsibility and concern, the Food and Drug Administration has not received additional funding to support food-related anti-terrorism activities, while the USDA has received an additional $150 million, the TFAH report said.

One tool used by the FDA and the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is a computer program that assesses the vulnerabilities within supply systems and infrastructure.

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New York Jihad Birthday Invitations Warn of Terror Threat In Lower Manhattan

New York Jihad… It could be a hoax but it could also be an actual terror threat. At this time, no one is sure but investigators are not taking any chances. Cards that look like birthday invitations, sent to seven New York residents including a Fox News producer contained a serious terror threat and are now being tested for fingerprints and DNA.

The story bears some similarity to the Jihad Boom postcard story we followed last year. Read more

Stopping A Biological Weapon – Scientists Hope For Tularemia Vaccine

Scientists hope a vaccine is on the horizon for tularemia, a fatal disease caused by the pathogen Francisella tularensis, an organism of concern as a potential biological warfare agent. Until recently we knew very little about this bacterium. However, according to the August issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology, research on the bacterium has been reinvigorated and rapid progress has been made in understanding how it causes disease.

Infection with F. tularensis can result in a variety of symptoms, depending on the route of infection. For example, infection via an insect bite can lead to a swollen ulcer or fever, chills, malaise, headaches and a sore throat. When infection occurs by eating contaminated food, symptoms can range from mild diarrhoea to an acute fatal disease. If inhaled, F. tularensis infections can have a 30% mortality rate if left untreated.

“Only very few bacteria are needed to cause serious disease,” said Prof Petra Oyston from Dstl, Porton Down. “Because of this and the fact that tularemia can be contracted by inhalation, Francisella tularensis has been designated a potential biological weapon. Since the events of September 2001 and the subsequent anthrax attacks on the USA, concern about the potential misuse of dangerous pathogens including F. tularensis has increased. As a result, more funding has been made available for research on these organisms and has accelerated progress on developing medical countermeasures.”

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7 Oklahoma Prisons On Lockdown After Possibly Coordinated Fights Break Out

Seven Oklahoma prisons remain on lockdown status after a series of fights state corrections officials think might have been coordinated.

The seven prisons have been on lockdown since the fights broke out between May 20th and June 30th. On the latter day, fights occurred at four separate facilities across the state.

The facilities on lockdown are the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite, where two inmates were stabbed to death during a fight on May 20th, the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and prisons in Hominy, Stringtown, Lawton, Holdenville and Cushing.

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Knoxville Tennessee – Valley Universalist Church – Gunman Kills 2, Wounds 7

A gunman opened fire at a church youth performance Sunday and killed two people, including a man who witnesses called a hero for shielding others from a shotgun blast.

Seven adults were also injured but no children were harmed at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Church members said they dove under pews or ran from the building when the shooting started.

The gunman was tackled by congregants and eventually taken into police custody.

Jim D. Adkisson, 58, was charged with first-degree murder and was being held on $1 million bail, according to city spokesman Randy Kenner, who did not know if the suspect had retained an attorney. Authorities were searching Adkisson’s home in the Knoxville bedroom community of Powell, Kenner said.

The man slain was identified as Greg McKendry, 60, a longtime church member and usher. Church member Barbara Kemper told The Associated Press that McKendry “stood in the front of the gunman and took the blast to protect the rest of us.”

Linda Kreager, 61, died at the University of Tennessee Medical Center a few hours after the shooting, Knoxville city spokesman Randall Kenner said.

Five people remained hospitalized, all in critical or serious condition. Two others were treated and released.

The gunman’s motive is not yet known. The church, like many other Unitarian Universalist churches, promotes progressive social work, such as desegregation and fighting for the rights of women and gays. The Knoxville congregation has provided sanctuary for political refugees, fed the homeless and founded a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, according to its Web site.

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Terror Attacks Threatened During Beijing Olympics – Turkestan Islamic Party ‘ETIM’

A Uighur separatist group has taken credit for a deadly bus bombing in Shanghai in May and warned of new attacks in China during the Olympics. Read more

Man Builds Pipe-Bomb That Nearly Kills Boy On Bike

An 11-year-old boy was riding a bike when a man ignited a homemade pipe-bomb that sent shrap metal flying. Doctors say the boy’s wounds are comparable to serious injuries of soldiers from Iraq.

The 45-year-old man took a pipe that was one and a half feet long, with diameter of four inches and packed it with gunpowder, Thursday around 8:30 p.m. 11-year-old Bridger Hunt was 30-feet away from the bomb when it exploded.

“It shot through the tire of a car and blew the doors open of a trailer. I mean it was a powerful, powerful bomb,” said Bridger’s stepfather Travis Shaw.

Bridger was knocked off his bike and sent to the hospital in critical condition. His leg was bleeding severely. Doctors say the injury looked like a war-wound coming out of Iraq.

“Essentially what happened is, he had an I.E.D. explode,” said Surgeon Eric Scaife. “The immediate threat to his life was bleeding to death.”
This is a piece of metal from a homemade pipe-bomb that struck 11-year-old Bridger Hunt while he was riding his bike. (Four Points Media )
This is a piece of metal from a homemade pipe-bomb that struck 11-year-old Bridger Hunt while he was riding his bike. (Four Points Media )

The boy who is known for his constant activity and avid skateboarding is now unconscious in a hospital bed and remains in critical condition.

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