Terrorists May Be Planning Attacks Using Para-gliders

We reported on this in January of this year and now according to several news reports, the Union Government  is admitting that it has intelligence inputs about terrorist groups who have acquired sophisticated technologies and may be planning to use para-gliders to carry out terror attacks.

Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs M. Ramachandran said: “Indian Security Forces have equipped their troops with ultra-modern and sophisticated equipments to detect and neutralize such contingency.”

In January, intelligence agencies warned that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has purchased paragliders and its members are training to use them for suicide attacks on India.

According to intelligence inputs, fifty paragliders have reportedly been bought from Europe.

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Green Prince – Son of Hamas Founder Spied for Israel

The son of one of Hamas’s founding members was a spy in the service of Israel for more than a decade, helping to prevent dozens of Islamist suicide bombers from finding their targets, it emerged yesterday.

Codenamed the “Green Prince” by Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of the Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, supplied key intelligence almost daily from 1996. He tracked down suicide bombers and their handlers from his father’s organization, the Haaretz newspaper said.

Information supplied by him led to the arrests of some of the most- wanted men by Israeli forces, including Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader tipped as a potential president, who was convicted of masterminding terrorist attacks, along with one of Hamas’s top bomb-makers, Abdullah Barghouti, who is no relation of the jailed Fatah chief.

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State Department Updates Travel Alert – Urges Worldwide Caution

The Department of State has issued this Worldwide Caution to update information on the continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence against U.S. citizens and interests throughout the world. U.S. citizens are reminded to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness.

The Department of State remains concerned about the continued threat of terrorist attacks, demonstrations, and other violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests overseas. Americans are reminded that demonstrations and rioting can occur with little or no warning. Current information suggests that al-Qaida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. interests in multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings, and bombings. The following incidents illustrate the continuing desire of extremists to strike American targets and perceived interests: On January 25, terrorists exploded a bomb outside three major hotels favored by Western journalists in the center of Baghdad, killing at least 37 and wounding more than 100; on October 5, 2009, five people were killed and about 10 were injured, including one U.S. citizen, by a bombing near the offices of the United Nations World Food Program in Islamabad, Pakistan; on August 15, 2009, a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Headquarters, not far from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, killing at least seven people and injuring nearly 90 more.

Extremists may elect to use conventional or non-conventional weapons, and target both official and private interests. Examples of such targets include high-profile sporting events, residential areas, business offices, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, public areas, and locales where Americans gather in large numbers, including during holidays. On January 1, 2010, a suicide bomber attacked spectators at a volleyball game in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The attack killed at least 95 people. On December 28, 2009, a suicide bomber attacked a Shiite religious procession in Karachi, killing at least 22 people and injuring more than 60. On October 28, 2009, a UN guest house in Kabul was attacked, killing five UN workers, including one American. On the same day, two rockets struck the foreigner-frequented Serena Hotel and the President Palace, also in central Kabul city.

Americans are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems. On December 25, 2009, a Nigerian national attempted to detonate a bomb on board a U.S. airliner landing in Detroit; Yemen-based al-Qa’ida affiliates claimed responsibility for the incident. Police officers arrested a man with explosives at the New Delhi Railway station in New Delhi, India on August 25, 2009; and suspected Maoist rebels detonated several explosives at the railway station in Orissa, India on the same day. Other incidents include multiple anti-personnel mine detonations on passenger buses in June 2008 in Sri Lanka, multiple terrorist attacks on trains in India in 2006, the July 2005 London Underground bombings, and the March 2004 train attacks in Madrid. Extremists also may select aviation and maritime services as possible targets, such as the August 2006 plot against aircraft in London, or the December 2006 bomb at Madrid’s Barajas International Airport. In June 2007, a vehicle was driven into the main terminal at Glasgow International Airport and burst into flames, but the bomb failed to detonate.

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Female Homicide Bomber Kills 54 in Baghdad

A female homicide bomber walking among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad detonated an explosives belt on Monday, killing at least 54 people and wounding more than 122, officials said.

The bombing was the first major strike this year against pilgrims making their way to the southern city of Karbala to mark a Shiite holy day. It came as security official warned of a possible increase in attacks by insurgents using new tactics to bypass bomb-detection methods.

The bombing raises fears of an escalation of attacks as hundreds of thousands of Shiites head by Friday to the southern holy city of Karbala to mark the end of 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the death Imam Hussein, a revered Shiite figure.

The bomber hid the explosives underneath an abaya — a black cloak worn from head to toe by women — as she joined a group of pilgrims on the outskirts of Baghdad’s Shiite-dominated neighborhood of Shaab, said Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, Baghdad’s top military spokesman.

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Terrorists May Be Planning Paraglider Attacks in India

A paraglider terror attack? It may seem to be a little far-fetched at first blush, but for those who don’t believe that terrorists are continually devising new and surprising ways to launch their attacks, this story may change your mind. The Times Online reports that Indian intelligence officials suspect that the terrorist group behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks is planning another audacious strike on the country, this time from the air, using suicide bombers flying paragliders.

U. K. Bansal, an Indian Home Ministry official, told reporters that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba faction was thought to have acquired a number of the gliding parachutes.

“We have intelligence reports that LeT has purchased 50 paragliding kits from Europe with an intention to launch attacks on India,” he said.

No other details were given, but security levels have been hiked across the country ahead of tomorrow’s Republic Day celebrations, one of India’s biggest holidays.

via Read Full Article – Times Online.

al Qaeda Training Women for US Suicide Attacks

Additional details have been released since we first reported airline security officials are on the lookout for possible female suicide bombers traveling with western passports on U.S. bound flights.

Intelligence officials issued the alert believing the women may have been trained by Al Qaeda in Yemen.

“U.S. intelligence does believe that there are other suicide bombers out there who have been give missions to attack the United Sates and they have not been found,” said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke.

Authorities told ABC News they received the information from accused Northwest airlines bomber, Umar Abdulmutallab. He provided the FBI with specific names and descriptions of others who trained with him in Yemen.

“There are also women who have been trained. So Al Qaeda is looking to put together an attack using people that would not fit a profile that we'd be looking for,” said Clarke.

US officials say in one 48-hour period last weekend, six different people on the no-fly list were stopped from boarding US flights.

Two of them at London's Heathrow airport attempting to board flights on American Airlines to Miami and a United Airlines flight to Chicago.

The four others were stopped attempting to board flights in Nairobi, Kenya, the Caribbean island of Saint Maarten, in Fort Lauderdale and Minneapolis.

via Al Qaeda training women for US suicide attacks – Source – abc7.com.

What Prompted UK To Raise Terror Alert

What prompted the UK to raise it’s terror alert status to severe over the weekend? It appears it may have been more than just a single, isolated threat.

First, the UK’s Times Online reports that it was raised by authorities fearing that Islamist terrorists planned to hijack an Indian passenger jet and crash it into a British city.

Indian hijack plot caused new UK terror alert

MI5 was told by the Indian authorities early last week about a suspected plot by militants linked to Al-Qaeda in Pakistan to hijack an Air India or Indian Airlines flight from Mumbai or Delhi.The warning, which came after the capture of a suspected Islamic leader, was contained in a detailed “threat assessment” sent to MI5 by the Indian Intelligence Bureau.

It did not state that Britain was a specific target. But police security sources said it had raised fears in London that a British city might be attacked.

via Indian hijack plot caused new UK terror alert – Source.

However; The Independent reports:

Yemen Meeting Caused Switch To Severe Terror Alert

The terror threat to the UK was raised to “severe” after intelligence suggested this week’s London conferences on Yemen and Afghanistan could be used by al-Qa’ida as an opportunity to strike at the West, Whitehall sources said yesterday.

The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, announced that Britain is on its second-highest alert level – meaning an attack is considered “highly likely” – on Friday evening amid concerns in London and Washington that al-Qa’ida is planning a renewed push against US and UK interests.

Other, anonymous, sources keen for levels of public awareness, or anxiety, to be raised gave different accounts. The Sunday Telegraph said that a group of female terrorists, who may have a “non-Arab” appearance, had been trained to attack western targets. The Sunday Times reported MI5 fears that Islamic terrorists planned to hijack an Indian airliner and crash it into a British city.

Source

And as if those those were not sufficient reasons, there is also a threat of women suicide bombers, as reported in the Sunday Telegraph.

Al-Qaeda has trained female suicide bombers to attack West, US officials warn

Al-Qaeda terror cells have trained a group of female suicide bombers to attack Western targets, US officials have warned.

The women, who may have a “non Arab” appearance and be travelling on Western passports, have been prepared for their missions by the Yemeni group responsible for the operation to blow up an airliner over the United States on Christmas Day.

Details of the bombers emerged just hours after British spy chiefs raised the UK threat state to “severe” amid fears that al-Qaeda was planning a wave of attacks against western targets.

Source

Jihadists Groom Children In The UK Under 10

If you want to eliminate terrorism, you must eradicate the terrorists, their safe havens and their ability to indoctrinate future generations. There will never be enough safeguards or security measures in place to stop terrorism. For every method or process we create to prevent their attacks, they will come up with another to surprise us. This is a prime example.

Police have identified children as young as seven being groomed for terrorism, with some expressing a wish to become suicide bombers.

Up to 10 primary school pupils, aged between seven and 10, have been placed on a government outreach program for individuals considered at risk of being radicalised and turning to violence.

Some have taken inspiration from jihadi websites or after viewing extremist material in Islamic bookshops.

One child was referred to the program by his teacher after writing on a school book: “I want to be a suicide bomber.”

Related Links

* Plane bomb suspect 'joined al-Qaeda in London'

* How Britain's mosques foster extremism

Other youngsters were identified by their parents after suddenly adopting traditional Muslim dress or espousing extremist views.

At least 228 people, mostly teenagers and young men aged 15-24, have been referred to the anti-terrorism Channel project after being singled out as “potentially vulnerable to violent extremism”.

“For people to be identified there have to be distinct changes in behaviour and warning signs,” said Craig Denholm, deputy chief constable of Surrey police who oversees the programme. “We assess each one on its own merits. There is a very small number of children aged seven, eight and nine.”

via Jihadists groom children in the UK under 10 – Times Online.

Double Agent Lured CIA Agents to Their Deaths

ABC reports the details of how suicide bomber Al-Balawi convinced American CIA agents he was their friend and a high value informant. A deception that would lead to the tragic deaths of 7 of the country’s top agents involved in the hunt for al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

As the CIA mourns its dead from a devastating suicide bombing in Afghanistan, the questions grow about how professional spies could have been so taken in, failing to spot a double agent and letting a bomber into their midst.

Some 13 CIA operatives, including private contractors from the company once known as Blackwater, had gathered to hear the informant’s report when the bomb went off. Among the nine people killed were seven CIA operatives, the informant, and a Jordanian intelligence officer, a cousin of Jordan’s King Abdullah, who had been the liaison between the informant and the CIA.

The suicide bomber, who killed some of the CIA’s top al Qaeda hunters, lured the agents to the meeting by claiming he had just met with Ayman al-Zawahiri, this country’s most wanted terrorist after Osama bin Laden, sources told ABC News.

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The UK’s Times Online Has More…

Mahmood Shah, who served as security chief of Pakistan’s lawless tribal region, agreed: “The attack may have been planned by al-Qaeda, but it could not have been possible without the help of the Haqqani group.”

What has alarmed the US is the fact that al-Qaeda and the Taleban managed, despite an intense US bombing campaign, to mount an operation that wiped out the top CIA experts involved in the hunt for bin Laden. “It’s a huge blow,” a former CIA officer said. “If you are Osama bin Laden, your biggest enemy is the CIA. This is a big hit.”

The attack was carried out by Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, who came to the CIA via Jordanian intelligence. He had already provided accurate information on the whereabouts of lower-level al-Qaeda and Taleban operatives but he was allowed on to the CIA’s Forward Operating Base Chapman without undergoing a security check and then permitted access to more than ten CIA employees, an extraordinarily high number to congregate around an Islamist informant. He detonated his bomb soon after entering the base, killing four CIA field agents, three CIA security guards and a Jordanian intelligence officer. One of the dead was the CIA’s chief at the base, a woman in her mid-thirties.

“Several of the [dead] were … among the top five experts on al- Qaeda in the United States,” Mr Scheuer said. “When you lose that type of expertise, it’s very hard to replace it; impossible in the near term.”

Former CIA officials told The Times that the high number of CIA officers travelling from Kabul to meet al-Balawi reflected how desperate the agency was for information on bin Laden.

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Death Toll at 95 in Pakistan Volleyball Bombing

Police say a suicide bomber drove onto crowded volleyball field in North-West Frontier Province town of Lakki Marwat and detonated an explosive-laden vehicle, killing at least 95 and wounding over 100 others.

More bodies are being pulled from the rubble of a sports complex in northwestern Pakistan, raising the death toll in Friday's attack on a volleyball game to at least 95.

Survivors prepared for funerals Saturday, while officials warn the number of victims is likely to increase as recovery efforts moved through their second day.

Police say the suicide bomber drove onto a crowded field in the North-West Frontier Province town of Lakki Marwat Friday and detonated his explosive-laden vehicle while hundreds of spectators watched the match, including women and children.

The blast caused nearby homes to collapse and damaged a nearby mosque where tribal elders were meeting.

Police say that meeting may have been the attacker's intended target.

Some officials have raised concerns about meager medical facilities in Lakki Marwat. Doctors from surrounding areas have come to the town to help treat the more than 100 wounded.

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High Alert in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Gujarat

India - According to news, Kolkata, Mumbai and the national capital, besides Gujarat, have all been put on high alert following intelligence inputs that Taliban-trained terrorists have sneaked into these cities to target vital installations.

A top Union Home Ministry official on Monday said that Taliban-trained ‘fidayeen’ (suicide squad) have entered the country to carry out attacks at “specific” installations, including Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, defence establishments among others.

Bombay Stock Exchange, RSS headquarters are also among the likely targets of the “Pashtoon-looking” terrorists, the official said adding that instructions have been issued to lay a tighten security net around these installations.

He said the police forces have been put on high alert following the inputs and efforts are on to nab the terrorists at the earliest.

via Source.

Terror Alert Warning at Mumbai’s Radio Club

The Times of India reports that police have received specific intelligence inputs about a terror attack on one of the oldest clubs near Hotel Taj here following which

The reports have warned of a possible fidayeen attack on Bombay Presidency Radio Club which has a pier surrounded by sea on three sides.

Radio Club is easily approachable by sea and a 26/11 type attack can be possible. An alert was issued yesterday asking Radio Club to step up security and screen people and members visiting its premises, they said.

Source

Americans Expect Islamic Terror Strike Within 6 Months

According to a new poll, two-thirds of Americans expect an Islamic suicide bomb attack on American soil within six months.

Fritz Wenzel of Wenzel Strategies said one of the most shocking findings of his recent polling on the subject was that 65 percent are expecting an attack within six months.

“Some of the communication between Fort Hood shooter Hasan and al-Qaida figures included discussion of such attacks inside the United States, and it has been a common form of violence in the Middle East for years,” he said. “Now, Americans appear resigned to the fact that these attacks will soon come to our shores.”

He asked a series of questions in a WorldNetDaily/Wenzel Strategies survey regarding the recent Fort Hood attack, allegedly carried out by Muslim Maj. Nidal Hasan. The survey, Nov. 13-16, used an automated telephone technology calling a random sampling of listed telephone numbers nationwide. The survey has 95 percent confidence interval. It included 806 adult respondents and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

“More than one-third of respondents – 36 percent – said they think it is ‘very likely’ that such an attack will take place in the next six months, while another 29 percent said it is ’somewhat likely,’” he reported.

via Source.

Suicide Bomber Strikes Near Nuclear Facility in Pakistan

A Taliban suicide bomber has killed seven people near a nuclear weapons complex in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Bill Roggio at The Long War Journal has the details .

The suicide bomber detonated outside a security checkpoint near the Kamra Air Weapon Complex in the district of Attock, Geo News reported. Three security personnel and four civilians were killed in the blast, and 12 more were wounded.

[...].

The Kamra Air Weapon Complex is one of three military industrial production facilities in the Wah Cantt, according to Global Security. The Pakistani Ordnance Factories, a collection of 14 factories that produce arms and ammunition for the Pakistani armed forces, and Heavy Industries Taxila are also contained within the Wah Cantt. More than 40,000 Pakistanis are employed at the factories.

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UPDATE: A Taliban suicide bomber killed seven people outside a key Pakistani air force facility yesterday, with officials quick to deny suggestions the target was linked to the country’s nuclear program. Source

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