U.S. Army Brigade Deploys For Homeland Mission

For the first time ever, the US military is deploying an active duty regular Army combat unit for full-time use inside the United States to deal with national emergencies, including terrorism, natural disasters and civil unrest.

Beginning today, the First Brigade Combat Team of the Third Division will be placed under the command of US Army North, the Army’s component of the Pentagon’s Northern Command (NorthCom), which was created in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with the stated mission of defending the US “homeland” and aiding federal, state and local authorities. Read more

Man Who Plotted Cherry Vale Mall Terror Attack Gets 35 Years

Twenty-four old Derrick Shareef has been sentenced to 35 years for plotting to put hand grenades in garbage cans at Cherryvale Mall at Christmas time. Bob Holley with the FBI Counter-Terrorism Ops said,”35 years on a guy that had the intent to hurt people – we’re happy with this sentence.” But Shareef told the court quote, “My intention was to bring victory to Islam, not to hurt people”.

His attorney argued quote,”the punishment is supposed to fit the crime, and in this case, no one was hurt”. The defense also described Shareef as quote,”An impressionable young man who fell under the sway of an informant who suggest the underlying events in this case.”

Shareef had planned to set off several grenades at the CherryVale Shopping Mall, near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 39 on the east side of Rockford, about 90 miles northwest of Chicago. The mall, which has approximately 130 retail stores, is owned by CBL & Associates Properties, Inc., based in Chattanooga, Tenn. The mall was among several potential targets that Shareef allegedly discussed during the course of the investigation – the others were primarily local government facilities. At all times Shareef allegedly was acting on his plan between Nov. 29 and Dec. 6, 2006, Shareef was in contact with an acquaintance, who unbeknownst to him was cooperating with the FBI, and an undercover agent who was posing as the cooperating individual’s friend.

Sergio Acosta, the Assistant U.S. Attorney says,”It’s not typical in terms of some of the other cases we do, but I know there was nothing inappropriate done in this case, the informant and agents acted professionally and responsibly in this investigation.” Inside the courtroom Judge David Coar said, “if it wasn’t for the governments intervention, he believes this terrorist attack would have happened, and that’s why the sentence had to be tough.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sergio Acosta said, “35 years is a pretty big hit.. that should act as a deterrent to anybody out there who’s contemplating any type of act like this.” Acosta believes justice was served today.

Shareef also told the judge, he thinks his former roommate in Arizona, Hassan Abujihaad was the true target of this investigation. Abujihaad is accused of passing U.S. Military secrets to terrorists. Shareef insist his relationship with Abujihaad was brotherly, and there was never talk of terror plots. Shareef mom was present today, as she has been for all the hearings. After Shareef was sentenced and was heading back to jail, he smiled at his mother and gave her a “peace” sign. She, however did not want to comment today.

Terror and Torture In Mexico

Eight dead bodies were found Tuesday alongside messages from drug gangs in the northern Mexican city of Tijuana, where 16 dead bodies were found a day earlier. Six of the bodies found Tuesday in the city along the US border were inside barrels with sulfuric acid in the city center, while the two others were found in the suburbs.

The public prosecutor’s office in the state of Baja California said the barrels included a message.

“This is what happens to the engineer, and we will make stew with all those who are with him,” the message said.

The two other bodies were wrapped in blankets which had the message, “here are your people, Duarte.” Read more

School Bus Reported Stolen – Delaware

State police are asking for the public’s help in locating a big yellow school bus stolen from a New Castle-area lot.

Bus No. 67 was discovered missing about 4 a.m. Monday from the LeHanes bus service lot on New Castle Avenue.

The bus number is displayed on the rear door and two front corners of the bus.

State police spokesman Cpl. Jeff Whitmarsh said the sides of the bus are plain with no school or company name displayed.

The registration reads Delaware CL67029.

Police are asking anyone with information about the missing bus or knows its wherebouts to call detectives at 834-2620, ext. 6, or Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333.

In previous posts, we have discussed the possibility of a terrorist attack involving or using school buses. While this school bus theft will most likely not be related to terrorism, it’s still a reminder of the potential threat.

It is clear that schools are a possible target for terrorists.  Aside from Beslan and the dozens of other school attacks over the past 37 years, it has been reported that the U.S. military has found information in Iraq pertaining to U.S. schools, and in September 2004 the FBI notified school districts in six states that photographs, diagrams, and emergency plans had been found in the possession of unidentified individuals. With institutions as large and prepared as the Georgia Institute of Technology posting their entire emergency plans on the internet, this is not surprising.

In addition, there have been hundreds of thefts of school bus radios in two states, along with an increase in thefts and vandalism of school buses and equipment across the U.S.  This has obvious implications, including but not limited to the possibility that unknown individuals may be able to monitor or interfere with school bus communications, and even feed them false and dangerous instructions during or before an attack. At the very least, this would allow terrorists to better understand and plan around the communications equipment of an intended targe.

School Bus Terrorism – A Practical Analysis

Report – Al-Qaeda May Be Plotting Attack At Star-Studded Event At Dubai’s Atlantis Hotel

Arabian Business.com is reporting the Atlantis hotel’s grand opening party may be at the center of a terrorism scare after British spies uncovered plans to target the lavish event in Dubai, to be attended by 2,000 VIPs.

There are fears Al-Qaeda is planning to bomb the event on Nov. 20 because it is seen by Islamic extremists as a symbol of decadence in a Muslim country, according to the UK’s Sky News television.

Business leaders, politicians, actors, musicians and members of the Dubai royal family have all been invited to the grand opening, which is estimated to be costing $28 million and will be headlined by pop princess Kylie Minogue.

British spies are reportedly monitoring talk of an attack in internet chatrooms and have a number of suspects who pose a credible threat under surveillance.

The Atlantis hotel’s grand opening party is at the centre of a terrorism scare after British spies uncovered plans to target the lavish event in Dubai, to be attended by 2,000 VIPs.

There are fears Al-Qaeda is planning to bomb the event on Nov. 20 because it is seen by Islamic extremists as a symbol of decadence in a Muslim country, according to the UK’s Sky News television.

Business leaders, politicians, actors, musicians and members of the Dubai royal family have all been invited to the grand opening, which is estimated to be costing $28 million and will be headlined by pop princess Kylie Minogue.

British spies are reportedly monitoring talk of an attack in internet chatrooms and have a number of suspects who pose a credible threat under surveillance.

Neither Atlantis or the British embassy in Dubai were immediately available for comment when contacted by Arabian Business.

The resort, located on the Palm Jumeirah, officially opened on Sept. 24, despite a recent fire on Sept. 2 that destroyed the hotel lobby roof and caused smoke damage to the outside of the main hotel building.

The launch of Atlantis has become one of the most talked about events on the Dubai calendar, with several global superstars linked with the grand opening, including Michael Jackson and Madonna.

The 1,539-room resort encompasses a 46-hectare site with 17 hectares of water-themed amusement parks, an open air marine habitat, beaches, boutiques and restaurants.

Source – ArabianBusiness.com

Terror Suspects Pictures Reportedly Discovered On Camera Sold On Ebay

The Foreign Office has confirmed that police are investigating the sale of a digital camera on eBay said to have contained MI6 images of terror suspects.

A bidder, who bought the camera for £17 on the auction website, discovered photos of terror suspects, their names and fingerprints and even snaps of rocket launchers and missiles, The Sun newspaper reported.

The unsuspecting 28-year-old from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, only found the secret images when he downloaded his own holiday snaps from the Nikon Cool Pix device.

He told local police about the find and was shocked when Special Branch officers arrived at his home days later to seize his new purchase.

Officers have made five visits to his home in the last week to quiz him and his family, the paper reported.

A spokeswoman for Hertfordshire Police said: “We can confirm we seized a camera after a member of the public reported it. Intelligence officers are investigating.”

The Foreign Office said: “We can confirm a police investigation is under way.”

But the spokeswoman said she could not confirm or deny the intelligence service’s involvement in the probe.

She refused to comment on reports that the camera was sold by an MI6 agent.

Among the images which are reported to have been found on the camera is a document, marked “top secret”, which gives details of the encrypted computer system used by MI6’s agents in the field.

Sourse

Thermobaric Bombs – al Qaeda’s New Weapon of Terror

Thermobaric bombs, al Qaeda’s new weapon of destruction, raises the stakes in the war on terror.

Investigators now believe the bombing on Sep. 21 that killed dozens and left massive damage at the Islamabad Marriott, including a gaping hole in the ground in front of the building, was a crude form of a device that intensifies and enhances an explosive, a thermobaric bomb.

The bomb was delivered in a truck that contained what investigators believe was aluminum powder in addition to grenades and artillery shells. The aluminum power is believed to have been responsible for the acceleration and expansion of the impact of the bomb.

While barriers around the hotel kept the truck bomb at some distance from the structure, the devastation indicated that there had to be something capable of raising the devastation level considerably

Source

Aluminum powder has long been used to boost the power of explosives. Blast weapons like the 15,000-pound BLU-82 Daisy Cutter and the 21,600-pound “Mother of All Bombs” use it to increase their destructive force.

Devices with a high proportion of metal powder to explosive are termed “thermobaric.” When the explosive goes off, the metal powder at the leading edge of the fireball burns as it contacts the air. With a crude device, the powder simply burns and adds to the fireball. In more advanced weapons, the burning metal produces a sub-sonic shockwave (known as deflagration); the most advanced produce a detonation (supersonic shockwave) of tremendous destructive power.

Normal, condensed explosives produce a very short pressure pulse. A “volumetric” one, from a detonating fireball, produces an extended blast pulse that is far more damaging to buildings. The Marriott attack left a large crater, indicating that much of the blast came from a point source. The metal powder seems to have contributed only to the incendiary effects. According to the Guardian, “the temperature had reached 400C, investigators said, which made the hotel’s sprinkler system and the fire service useless.”

By all accounts, there was a long delay before the device went off, with the truck burning sometime before the explosion.This was not a device built by master bombmakers. And the hotel’s security barrier performed a vital function of keeping the bomb away from the building. Distance is life in these situations. (Compare the Marriott blast with the Oklahoma City bombing; there was a lot of structural damage to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, because McVeigh was able to drive right up to it.) However, a thermobaric blast would extend the radius of effect of such a truck bomb significantly.

The blast and fire damage at the Islamabad Marriott were severe enough as it was. But a similar device with enhanced engineering could have leveled the building and caused far worse casualties. Terrorists showed that one of the most secure buildings in Islamabad was still vulnerable to attack, but there was far less damage than there might have been.

Source

Thermobaric weapons distinguish themselves from conventional explosive weapons by using atmospheric oxygen, instead of carrying an oxidizer in their explosives. They are also called high-impulse thermobaric weapons (HITs), fuel-air explosives (FAE or FAX) or sometimes fuel-air munitions, heat and pressure weapons, or vacuum bombs. They produce more explosive energy for a given size than do other conventional explosives, but have the disadvantage of being less predictable in their effect

The effects produced by FAEs (a long-duration high pressure and heat impulse) are often likened to the effects produced by low-yield nuclear weapons, but without the problems of radiation. However, this is inexact; for all current and foreseen sub-kiloton-yield nuclear weapon designs, prompt radiation effects predominate, producing some secondary heating; very little of the nominal yield is actually delivered as blast. The resulting injury dealt by either weapon on a targeted population is nonetheless great.

Source

FBI Watching For Possible al Qaeda Trained Americans

World Net Daily is reporting the FBI is on the lookout for Americans who may possibly be returning to the US from al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan.

A coast-to-coast dragnet has been launched partly in response to leads developed in the arrest of one of al-Qaida’s “fixers” in the U.S., say FBI officials. Read more

Osama bin Laden’s Son Saad Has Returned To Pakistan

Osama bin Laden’s son, Saad has returned to Pakistan according to messages posted on a Jihad web forum.

Al Qaeda is consolidating its leadership in the territory under its control in Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden’s son and heir apparent, Sa’ad bin Laden, has returned to Pakistan from his safe haven in Iran, according to messages posted on a Qaeda jihad Web forum known as al-Hesbah.

An organization that tracks and translates discussions on such forums, the SITE Institute, provided its subscribers with a summary of messages describing what it said was an escape by Sa’ad bin Laden from an Iranian prison. American counterterrorism officials, however, have considered him to be under a permissive version of house arrest since the American invasion of Afghanistan, in 2001.

The move of Sa’ad bin Laden to Pakistan tracks with the movements of other senior jihadists to the country since Al Qaeda re-established a safe haven in the 10,500-square-mile area that comprises the provinces along the border with Afghanistan.

It also could signal a new phase of Iran’s relationship with Al Qaeda. For the last year, public messages from the terrorist organization’s second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri, have accused Iran of collaborating with America in fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq. Leaders of the Iraqi tribal uprising against Al Qaeda, however, have said Iran has collaborated with their foes.

While Al Qaeda, a Sunni Salafist organization, regards the Shiite theocracy of Iran as an apostate form of Islam, the two sides in the past have worked together through Iran’s Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian army. In 2001, following the American invasion of Afghanistan, most of Al Qaeda’s leadership fled to Pakistan. But others, including Sa’ad bin Laden and Saif al-Adel, fled to eastern Iran.

Source

Mystery Cargo – Somali Pirates Dying Aboard Hijacked Iranian Ship

Somali pirates who have taken over a  Iranian merchant ship laden with a mysterious cargo have suffered skin burns, lost hair and fallen gravely ill “within days” of boarding the MV Iran Deyanat. Reports are also stating that several have died.

Andrew Mwangura, the director of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme, when asked about the situaion reponded: “We don’t know exactly how many, but the information that I am getting is that some of them had died. There is something very wrong about that ship.”

The vessel’s declared cargo consists of “minerals” and “industrial products”. But officials involved in negotiations over the ship are convinced that it was sailing for Eritrea to deliver small arms and chemical weapons to Somalia’s Islamist rebels.

The drama over the Iran Deyanat comes as speculation grew this week about whether the South African Navy would send a vessel to join the growing multinational force in the region.

A naval spokesman, Lieutenant-Commander Greyling van den Berg, told the Sunday Times that the navy had not been ordered by the government to become involved in “the Somali pirate issue”.

About 22000 ships a year pass through the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aden, where regional instability and “no-questions-asked” ransom payments have led to a dramatic rise in attacks on vessels by heavily armed Somali raiders in speedboats.

The Iran Deyanat was sailing in those waters on August 21, past the Horn of Africa and about 80 nautical miles southeast of Yemen, when it was boarded by about 40 pirates armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades. They were alleged members of a crime syndicate said to be based at Eyl, a small fishing village in northern Somalia.

The ship is owned and operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, or IRISL, a state-owned company run by the Iranian military.

According to the US Treasury Department, the IRISL regularly falsifies shipping documents to hide the identity of end users, uses generic terms to describe shipments and operates under various covers to circumvent United Nations sanctions.

The ship set sail from Nanjing, China, at the end of July. According to its manifest, it was heading for Rotterdam where it would unload 42500 tons of iron ore and “industrial products” purchased by a German client.

At Eyl, the ship was secured by more pirates — about 50 on board, and another 50 on shore.

But within days those who had boarded the ship developed mysterious health trouble.

This was also confirmed by Hassan Allore Osman, minister of minerals and oil in Puntland, an autonomous region of Somalia.

He headed a delegation sent to Eyl when news of the toxic cargo and illnesses surfaced.

He told one news publication, The Long War Journal, that during the six days he had negotiated with the pirates, a number of them had become sick and died.

“That ship is unusual,” he was quoted as saying. “It is not carrying a normal shipment.”

The pirates did reveal that they had tried to inspect the ship’s cargo containers when some of them fell sick — but the containers were locked.

Osman’s delegation spoke to the ship’s captain and its engineer by cellphone, demanding to know more about the cargo.

Initially it was claimed the cargo contained “crude oil”; later it was said to be “minerals”.

And Mwangura has added: “Our sources say it contains chemicals, dangerous chemicals.”

But IRISL has denied that — and threatened legal action against Mwangura. The company has reportedly paid the pirates 200000 — the first of several “ransom instalments”, but that, too, has been denied.

Source

Sudan Kills Egypt Kidnappers After Desert Chase

UPDATE: All hostages are reported to have been released.

Sudanese forces have killed six kidnappers who abducted 11 European tourists and eight Egyptian guides in a remote desert in southern Egypt nine days ago, Sudan’s presidential advisor has said.

“Sudanese forces followed the tracks of the kidnappers … and found them on the Chad border,” Mahjoub Fadl Badri said on Sunday.

“Sudanese forces killed six, including the commander of a Darfur rebel group, and arrested two,” he said.

“What the [captured] kidnappers say is that the hostages are still in Chad, they put them in a hideout and are still negotiating about them, but we have no details whether the Chadian army has moved in.”

A Sudanese soldier was also injured in the clash, Egypt’s official MENA news agency quoted the Sudanese army as saying, adding that the hostages were now being held at a place called Tabbat Shajara, just inside Chad.

Full Article

Police Investigate Bomb Threat On Airplane At Denver Airport

Authorities are investigating after a passenger allegedly made a comment on Saturday that he had an explosive device on an aircraft at Denver International Airport.

According to officials as DIA, the passenger was accused of making the comment as the airplane pulled away from the jetway, but before it was able to take off. Read more

U.S. Increases Raids To Thwart al-Qaeda October Surprise Terror Plot

It appears that speculation of an October Surprise terror attack by al Qaeda is being taken seriously by U.S. secret service forces.

According to the Telegraph, US secret forces are intensifying their cross-border raids into Pakistani tribal areas because of fears of a high-profile al-Qaeda attack during the American election campaign.

The Pentagon has ordered that raids on suspected terrorist targets within Pakistan be stepped up to pressurise al-Qaeda leaders and distract them from preparing attacks on American targets elsewhere.

“The aim is to disrupt their scope for planning and keep their leaders on the move so that it is more difficult for them to co-ordinate complicated plots,” a senior US intelligence official told The Sunday Telegraph.

[...]

The approach of the US election has fuelled fears that al Qaeda or its allies, including the increasingly active Haqqani network, will seek a headline-grabbing strike against a symbolic American target such as an overseas embassy.

Last week’s devastating truck bomb attack on Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel further highlighted security concerns in Pakistan. The blast claimed the lives of 53 people, including two US military personnel, the Czech ambassador and a Danish intelligence officer.

“The level of sophistication and destruction was a message to the international community and the Pakistanis that we can pretty much hit you any place, any time,” said Seth Jones, a senior regional analyst with the Rand Corporation, a leading security think-tank.

Kamran Bokhari, Middle East director at Stratfor, an intelligence analysis company, said that the scale of the attack – involving up to 1,000 kilogrammes of explosives – was a clear indication that al Qaeda or its allies were involved.

“The target and modus operandi have the signature of a sophisticated jihadi operation,” he said. “The hotel is in a very sensitive area. If they can hit the Marriott, why can’t they hit courts or ministries or the prime minister’s house?”

Against this backdrop, a senior US intelligence official said that al Qaeda was seeking to stafe a major attack on an American target close to the election, to test the new president-elect.

“Their goal would not be to influence the election but merely to send a message that they are still a force to be reckoned with,” the official said. “They know that a successful attack in the election season will have maximum impact, and they want to give the new president the jitters.”

Any attack in the weeks before the Nov 4 election – what is known in American political circles as an “October surprise” – would almost certainly give a decisive boost to John McCain, the Republican candidate who already holds a commanding lead on questions of national security.

The US has for several years attacked suspected militant bases inside Pakistan with missiles fired from Predator drones. Tribesmen regularly shoot at the unmanned aircraft, although both the US and Pakistan rejected claims that a drone that crashed near the border last week was broight down by gunfire.

But in July, Mr Bush approved classified orders authorising special operations forces to conduct ground assaults inside Pakistan without seeking Islamabad’s approval after his commanders presented him with evidence about the militants’ increasingly secure bases in the tribal areas. Small commando units are flown in and out by helicopter for precisions raids.

[...]

US steps up Pakistan raids to thwart al-Qaeda ‘October surprise’ plot – Telegraph

Car Bomb – Several Killed In Damascus Near Syrian Airport

At least 17 people have been killed and at least 14 injured in a car bomb attack in the Syrian capital Damascus, Syrian television reports.

The car bomb, which Syrian public television said contained about 200kg of explosives, detonated in a southern suburb of the capital on Saturday.

The bomb exploded close to a security post in the Sidi Qada district near the airport road, an Al Jazeera correspondent in Damascus reported, but all of the victims are believed to be civilians.

No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Next Page »