Olympic Terror Threat By Chinese Islamic Group
If this is your first time visiting National Terror Alert you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. The National terror Alert feed features breaking news, alerts and bulletins on demand and it's free of charge..
You will only see this message on your first visit to the site. Thanks for visiting!
An Islamic group that has threatened to attack the Olympics released a new video warning Muslims to avoid planes, trains and buses used by Chinese, a US group that monitors militant organizations said Thursday.
The six-minute video, issued two days before the Beijing games open, was purportedly made by the Turkistan Islamic Party, which seeks independence for China’s western Xinjiang region, the SITE Intelligence Group said. The militants are believed to be based across the border in Pakistan, where security experts say core members have received training from al-Qaeda.
“Choose your side,” says the speaker, grasping a rifle and dressed in a black turban and camouflage with his face masked. “Do not stay on the same bus, on the same train, on the same plane, in the same buildings, or any place the Chinese are,” he warns Muslims, according to SITE.
The Washington-based IntelCenter, another agency that monitors militant groups, identified the speaker as Abdullah Mansour from the group’s religious education department. He speaks in the Turkic language of the Uighurs, a Muslim minority with a population of about 8 million in Xinjiang.
Last month, the group issued videotaped threats and claimed responsibility for a series of bus bombings in China in recent months. The latest video features graphics similar to ones used earlier: a burning Olympics logo and an explosion imposed over an apparent Olympic venue.
The latest video claims the communist regime’s alleged mistreatment of Muslims justifies holy war. It accuses China of forcing Muslims into atheism by capturing and killing Islamic teachers and destroying Islamic schools, according to the SITE. It says China’s birth control program has forced abortions on Muslim women.
“I think what they’re doing is they’re trying to capitalize on the buildup to the games,” said Ben Venzke of IntelCenter.
More than 100,000 soldiers and police were guarding Beijing and other Olympic co-host cities. Terrorism experts say the heavy security presence would likely force attackers to target less-protected areas.
“I think the actual Olympics themselves, the venues, the guests, the athletes, are going to be safe,” said Drew Thompson, director of China studies at the Nixon Center in Washington. “I would not be an alarmist.”
Thompson added that Uighur groups haven’t demonstrated they have the capacity to attack Beijing or other host cities during the games.
Additional Links
Warning Muslims to keep children away from games…
Leave a comment!