Taliban Threatens To Poison Waziristan Water Supply

Pakistani Taliban have threatened to contaminate water sources and reservoirs with poisonous materials to pressure the army to stop.

The cantonment boards of Rawalpindi and Chaklala received the threat from the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. A letter, faxed to the Directorate of Military Lands and Cantonments in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, said the Taliban had procured 200 litres of poisonous materials that would be used to contaminate water.

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From The Deccan Herald

Confirming reports of the threat from the Taliban, Rafiq Adil Siddique, the CEO of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board, said the Directorate of Military Lands and Cantonments has taken “effective security measures”.

All six wards in the area have been divided into four zones headed by engineers, supervisors, directors, tube-well operators and valve men to ensure the security of water sources.

Tube-well operators and valve men have been issued special instructions to keep the doors of their offices closed and boundary walls of tube-well sections are being raised, the daily reported.

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India Places Nuclear Plants Under Alert

Reuters news reports that India has put its nuclear power plants under alert and tightened security around them after intelligence about possible attacks, a report said on Monday.

The step comes after a man arrested in the United States on charges of plotting attacks in India was found to have travelled to Indian states that have nuclear installations.

The Press Trust of India quoted unnamed sources in the home ministry as saying that state governments had been asked to step up security around their nuclear plants as a “precautionary measure”.

“The step is precautionary in nature. The states have been asked to increase the vigil and patrolling to thwart any sabotage attempt aimed at these vital facilities,” a home ministry official was quoted as saying.

Indian media often reports security alerts based on unnamed intelligence sources.

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Terrorists Smuggle Fatwas Out of Secure Prisons – UK

According to the Times UK, some of Britain’s most dangerous Al-Qaeda leaders are promoting jihad from inside high-security prisons by smuggling out propaganda for the internet and finding recruits. In an authoritative report, Quilliam, a think tank funded by the Home Office, claims “mismanagement” by the Prison Service is helping Al Qaeda gain recruits and risks “strengthening jihadist movements”.

Abu Qatada, described by MI5 as “Osama Bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe”, has published fatwas, religious rulings, on the internet from Long Lartin prison, in Worcestershire, calling for holy war and the murder of moderate Muslims, it reveals. Abu Doha, said to be Al-Qaeda’s main recruiter in Europe, has taken courses in Belmarsh prison, south London, enabling him to mentor other inmates.

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U.S. Extends Alert Over German al Qaeda Threat

U.S. officials extended a travel alert in Germany and urged Americans to remain wary after terrorist organization al Qaeda posted messages in recent months threatening attacks in the country.

The alert issued Thursday will remain in effect until February 10. It replaces one issued in September that expired Wednesday, a news statement said.

It urged Americans in Germany to keep up with news reports and to consider the security procedures in place when they visit hotels, restaurants, and other entertainment and recreation venues.

“Over the past few months, al Qaeda has released videos threatening to conduct terrorist attacks against German interests,” the statement said. “While these threats initially mentioned the German federal elections in September, al Qaeda continues to threaten Germany.”

Germany is investigating all threats, the U.S. State Department said.

via U.S. alert over German al Qaeda threat – CNN.com.

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Italy Busts International Terror Cell 17 Arrested

Italian authorities say they have cracked an international terror cell, with arrests made in several European countries. The group is accused of stealing money from soccer players to fund terrorist activities.

Seventeen Algerians have been arrested in cities across Europe in connection with an international terror cell, according to Italy’s top security official.

“We have proceeded with the arrest of six people in Italy and 17 in total,” Interior Minister Roberto Maroni told a news conference on Thursday. “We have dismantled an Algerian terrorist cell which collected funds to finance terrorist activity outside Italy.”

The ring is alleged to have stolen the identities of Algerian footballers playing in France, carried out armed robberies and burglaries, and sent the stolen goods to Algeria, a spokesman said.

“We think they selected the identities of certain Algerian soccer players playing in France because it was easy to obtain details about well-known people,” he added.

Officials say the group is also suspected of financing terrorist activities in Algeria, since some of their names appear on international watch lists.

The arrests – which were made in Italy, Algeria, Austria, Britain, France, Switzerland and Spain – were the result of an anti-terrorism investigation in Milan that started in 2007.

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India Warns of Possible Terror Attacks In 5 Cities

News sources in India report of an alarming terror threat possibly being planned to take place simultaneously in 5 cities.

Intelligence sources have warned that there could be multiple and simultaneous attacks in five cities that American terror suspect, David Headley, visited. Headley is believed to have had links with the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

Part of the latest assessment is based on FBI leads. The rest is based on human intelligence and electronic surveillance by Indian agencies. Security authorities suggest that there could be perhaps 50 to 60 attackers involved.

The government had last week issued a nationwide alert that another Mumbai-type attack was imminent. The Home Ministry had said there were fresh inputs warning of a similar terror attack. So what is the government doing about it?

For starters, it is retracing Headley’s movements. It is clear now that he visited Delhi during April-May last year. Police in Mumbai have already begun tracking down all the places he went to and the people he met.

In addition, authorities are trying to track down sleeper cells in several cities.

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Could New Jihad Code Threaten al Qaeda

Could a new jihad code change the face and direction of radical Islam? From within Libya’s most secure jail a new challenge to al Qaeda may be emerging.

Leaders of one of the world’s most effective jihadist organizations, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), have written a new “code” for jihad. The LIFG says it now views the armed struggle it waged against Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s regime for two decades as illegal under Islamic law.

The new code, a 417-page religious document entitled “Corrective Studies” is the result of more than two years of intense and secret talks between the leaders of the LIFG and Libyan security officials.

The code’s most direct challenge to al Qaeda is this: “Jihad has ethics and morals because it is for God. That means it is forbidden to kill women, children, elderly people, priests, messengers, traders and the like. Betrayal is prohibited and it is vital to keep promises and treat prisoners of war in a good way. Standing by those ethics is what distinguishes Muslims’ jihad from the wars of other nations.”

The code has been circulated among some of the most respected religious scholars in the Middle East and has been given widespread backing. It is being debated by politicians in the U.S. and studied by western intelligence agencies.

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Passport of al Qaeda 9/11 Plotter Said Bahaji Found

UPDATE: It is now being reported that additional passports were discovered that are believed to have belonged to additional 9/11 plotters. Another passport, from Spain, bears the name of Raquel Burgos Garcia. Spanish media have reported that a woman with the same name is married to Amer Azizi, an alleged Al Qaeda member from Morocco suspected in both the 9/11 attacks and the Madrid train bombings in 2004.

Her family in Madrid has had no news of her since 2001, according to Spanish media. Her passport included visas to India and Iran, and the army displayed a Moroccan document with Burgos Garcia’s photo and other information.

It was impossible to determine whether the passports are genuine, and German and Spanish officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the army’s chief spokesman, said he had not realized the passports matched any prominent names, and declined further comment other than to say European militants were sprinkled throughout the area.

The U.S. has maintained for years that South Waziristan and other parts of the rugged frontier have sheltered Osama bin Laden and his senior lieutenants.

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Pakistani troops fighting Islamist militants in the mountains of South Waziristan may be closing in on the trail of a leading .al-Qaeda figure, Said Bahaji, wanted in connection with the attacks on 9/11.  The army reports it found the passport and other documents of the alleged terrorist in a mud compound in the village of Shawangai.

Bahaji, 34, lived with 9/11 plot leaders Mohamed Atta and Ramzi Binalshibh and was part of their Hamburg, Germany, cell, helping to plan the 9/11 attacks.

Ziad Jarrah, the hijacker of the United Airlines jet that crashed in Pennsylvania, attended Bahaji’s wedding.

Bahaji is believed to be alive and has rank in Al Qaeda as “a senior propagandist,” a U.S. counterterror official told The News.

He also is involved in operational activity.

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Terrorists in Kabul Attack UN Guesthouses and Hotel

UPDATE: Insurgents Wednesday morning attacked two guesthouses and a hotel in downtown Kabul that housed United Nations and other international staff, in one of their most daring attacks on the Afghan capital.

According to the Associated Press, at least seven people were killed in the guesthouse attacks, including three United Nations staff.

There also were sounds of explosions elsewhere in the city, suggesting a large-scale, coordinated attack on the capital.

The assailants managed to take over one of the guesthouses, Bakhtar, but were repelled by security guards at another, the Imperial. According to a U.N. spokesman in Kabul, three U.N. staff members were killed in the Bakhtar attack, and an unknown number was injured.

By midmorning the hostage crisis appeared to be over and the building secured, with firemen trying to extinguish fire amid billowing smoke on the roof.

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UN staff killed in Kabul attack

The attack began at dawn on Wednesday

At least three UN employees have been killed in an attack in the centre of the Afghan capital Kabul, the UN says.

Heavy gunfire and an explosion were heard at a guesthouse used by the UN, after militants entered the building.

An Afghan official later told the BBC that six foreigners and three gunmen were killed in the attack for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.

There are also reports of rockets being fired at the Serena Hotel in the city, which is used by diplomats.

There is no information yet on whether anyone has been injured or killed at the hotel, but about 100 people inside at the time were taken to secure rooms.

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Afghan forces exchanged gunfire with a group of terrorists holed up inside an international guest house in the centre of Kabul on Wednesday, police said.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said it was possible some of its staff and other foreigners were inside.

Intense automatic weapons fire and an explosion resounded in the capital, and plumes of black smoke rose above buildings.

A Reuters witness said a number of streets had been cordoned off by the police as the gunfire continued, and sirens reverberated across the city.

“There are five or six terrorists inside,” said Waheed Sadiqi, a policeman at the scene.

An increasingly resurgent Taliban have vowed to stage attacks ahead of a second-round run-off in Afghanistan’s presidential election on Nov. 7.

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AFP reprts

Afghan police were locked in a stand-off with a “group of terrorists” holed up in an apartment building in central Kabul on Wednesday, a police officer at the scene said.

The police officer told AFP that one of the group detonated an explosives vest before the rest of the group fled into the apartment building in a crowded neighbourhood near Kabul’s Chicken Street.

“We don’t know how many of them there are,” he said.

An AFP reporter and photographer saw a number of wounded being taken from the area to a local hospital, including at least two foreigners.

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Terror Attack Warnings Issued in Pakistan

Pakistan continues to face terrorist threats and intelligence agencies have issued increased security warnings in face of possible terror strikes across the country.

According to local media reports, the county’s major government building, offices and officials from law enforcement agencies have been placed on militant hit lists.

Awami National Party (ANP) leaders including North Western Frontier Province information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain and other leaders are among the target list of pro-Taliban militants, a Press TV correspondent reported on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the military said at least five militants were killed and eight others injured during an offensive in the South Waziristan Agency in northwest Pakistan.

Security forces have also claimed to have seized several landmines and rocket launchers in Quetta city in southwest Pakistan late on Saturday.

via Source.

Terror Threats Closes Pakistan Schools

In the southern Sindh province, which is home to Pakistan’s financial capital Karachi, 50 000 schools and colleges have shut down until Sunday according to several news reports.

Pakistani schools and colleges have closed because of fears about militant attacks after twin suicide bombings at a university campus on Tuesday, officials said.
The federal government and armed forces already announced that they were closing their schools as a precaution against terrorism.

Two suicide bombers attacked the International Islamic University in Islamabad on Tuesday, killing four students and wounding at least 18 others. The bombers struck at mid-afternoon inside a women’s cafeteria and a faculty office in the Islamic law department at the school, which is popular with foreign students.
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“This is an internal security lapse. We have already advised the educational institutions to tighten their security,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters after the Islamabad university blasts on Tuesday.

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Hezbollah May Be Planning Attacks On U.S. and Israeli Targets

According to a leading Turkish news website, Hezbollah is planning attacks against possible targets that include American, Israeli institutions, synagogues and tourist destinations. The planned attacks are said to be in retaliation for assassination of a senior Hezbollah member in 2008.

Intelligence agencies warn against terror attacks planned by Hezbollah  against Israeli and American targets in Turkey, according to a report published on the Turkish news website “Haberturk”.

According to the report, Hezbollah is looking to attack Israeli tourists, Israeli vessels and airplanes, as well as synagogues in Turkey. Citizens are asked to take the necessary precautions.

In addition, Turkish police warned its units in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, saying Hezbollah might have already gathered intelligence ahead of a possible attack on Israeli and American institutions in the three major cities.

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Western Terror Recruits Are On The Rise

A rising number of Western recruits including Americans are traveling to Afghanistan and Pakistan to attend paramilitary terrorist training camps.

Midway through a propaganda video released last month by a group calling itself the German Taliban, a surprise guest made an appearance: a cleanshaven, muscular gunman sporting the alias Abu Ibrahim the American.

The gunman did not speak but wore military fatigues and waved his rifle as subtitles identified him as an American. The video contained a stream of threats against Germany if it did not withdraw its troops from the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. Although the American’s part in the film lasted only a few seconds, it has alarmed German and U.S. intelligence officials, who are still puzzling over his background, his real identity and how he became involved with the terrorist group.

U.S. and European counterterrorism officials say a rising number of Western recruits including Americans are traveling to Afghanistan and Pakistan to attend paramilitary training camps. The flow of recruits has continued unabated, officials said, in spite of an intensified campaign over the past year by the CIA to eliminate al-Qaeda and Taliban commanders in drone missile attacks.

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Militants Pose A Serious Threat To Pakistans Future

An analysis in Sunday’s UK telegraph describes Pakistan’s government and army as being in a state of denial about the extent of the Taliban’s threat, despite nearly a dozen suicide attacks in as many days.

Pakistan’s militants are intent on nothing less than toppling the government, assassinating the ruling establishment, imposing an Islamic state and getting hold of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

The attacks in advance of the army’s ground offensive in South Waziristan were widespread, taking place in three of the country’s four provinces and involving not just Taliban tribesmen from the Pashtun ethnic group, but extremist Punjabi factions who were until recently trained by the Interservices Intelligence (ISI) to fight India in Kashmir.

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