Seaports Still At Risk of Biological and Chemical Threats

U.S. Customs and Border Protection should consider taking additional steps to counter biological and chemical threats in maritime cargo, according to the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general.

The IG recommends that the agency update its guidance for inspecting sea cargo containers for biological and chemical threats, and assess the benefits of deploying new detection devices in a maritime environment, according to a redacted version of a report released Nov. 2.

CBP is responsible for examining cargo containers entering the country. During a performance audit conducted between November 2008 and March, the IG’s office observed different operating procedures at several ports that were visited, the report states.

As a result, the IG recommended that CBP develop and issue guidance to help ensure its officers use consistent examination processes for all potential threats. The agency agreed with the recommendation and said it was making updates.

Meanwhile, CBP officials said new technologies are being developed and tested to help officers rapidly identify such threats during inspections, according to the report. However, CBP hasn’t formally identified the pathways through which biological and chemical threats are most likely to enter the country, the IG said.

via Read Full Story.

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India – Discrepancy Over Alert, Warning of Sea Based Attack

Union Home Ministry on Monday refused to confirm any intelligence alert suggesting a possible 26/11 like attack in the country, a Times Now report said.

Earlier, it was reported that the intelligence agencies had issued an alert warning of possible sea-based terrorist strike.

The alert was reportedly issued for Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata following information that 30 to 40 terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba are planning a sea based strike.

It had also stated that local police and Coast Guard have been put on a specific alert in view of the intelligence inputs.

The warning comes only a few weeks prior to the date exactly one year ago that terrorists struck Mumbai India in a similar style attack.

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Soldier Arrested After C4 Military Explosives Found At Home

An Army Special Forces soldier was arrested in Tennessee on Monday following the discovery of 100 pounds of C4 explosives outside his home. Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Eric Kehn said he expects the man will face more charges related to the discovery of the explosives according to news reports on News Channel 5. Authorities say the explosives have no known link to terrorism. Video Link

The explosives were found in crates. The material was sealed in watertight containers and partially buried.

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From The Leaf Chronicle

Timothy Ryan Richards of the 5th Special Forces Group, has been charged with knowingly receiving and possessing firearms not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Federal and military officials searched Richards’ home early Monday morning after a pair of hunters found the C-4 plastic explosives in a field by the house, at 1880 Johnson Road, on Sunday at about 4:30 p.m.

Maj. April Olsen, 5th Group spokeswoman, said Richards was taken to the county jail and was transferred to federal custody. He was cooperating with authorities in the investigation, Olsen said.

Eric Kehn, special agent and public information officer with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the investigation is ongoing.

“Our explosive recovery effort investigation continues,” Kehn said. “He is appearing in court on some different charges, and that outlines what he’s currently being charged with.”

Those charges included Richards’ having a Saber, 5.56mm-caliber rifle with a barrel less than 16 inches long and a Swedish K .45-caliber machine gun, according to the criminal complaint filed by ATF Special Agent Jamie Smith.

The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, in Nashville.

Olsen said the search was conducted by agents from the ATF, the FBI and U.S. Army Criminal Investigations

via Read More -The Leaf Chronicle.

WRTAC Warns Of Reprisals After Radical’s Islamic Leaders Death

The Washington Times reports Federal officials have issued a warning that the shooting death of a radical Sunni Islamic leader in Michigan last week may engender retaliatory violence against law enforcement officers there as well as in the Washington area, though law enforcement officials played it down as a routine measure.

Gunfire erupted during the arrest of Ummah leader Luqman Abdullah and members of his group after Abdullah pulled a gun and shot and killed an FBI canine, according to a document obtained by The Washington Times from the Washington Regional Threat and Analysis Center (WRTAC).
FBI agents returned fire at the warehouse in Dearborn, Mich., and killed Abdullah, who was charged with selling stolen goods and illegal possession and sale of firearms.

“Abdullah’s death and associated arrests may foster resentment, violent rhetoric, and threats from Ummah adherents,” said the raw intelligence document issued by the WRTAC.

“Because of the group’s anti-law enforcement sentiments, law enforcement officers should be particularly mindful of this change in the threat environment and the possibility for retaliation,” the WRTAC said.

As for implications in the D.C. area, the WRTAC said that “Ummah sympathizers or other similar groups may be operating in the National Capital Region. Officers should be alert for possible retaliatory actions as a result of the FBI Detroit raid.”

Supervisory Special Agent Katherine W. Schweit of the FBI’s Washington office declined to comment or even confirm the contents of the document.

But, speaking in general terms, she said, “Any time an incident occurs elsewhere in the country, information is provided to all state, federal and local offices to provide them with the status, and urging them to be cautious regarding similar incidents.”

via Read Full Article.

Al Qaeda Calls For Home-made Bomb Attacks in West

The leader of al Qaeda’s wing in the Arabian Peninsula called on militants to attack airports and trains in the West and said they could easily make bombs from household materials, the group’s Internet magazine said.

The Islamist group has been trying to secure small victories to maintain its feared image after its leaders’ threats to carry out large-scale attacks on Western targets have been discounted as words without deeds, analysts say.

Abu Basir Nasser al-Wahayshi, in an article in the e-magazine Sada al-Malahem, also urged militants to assault secular media figures and columnists who promote the policies of rulers in the world’s top oil exporting region.

“You do not need to exert great effort or spend a lot of money to make 10 grams of explosives, more or less. Do not spend a long time searching for materials as they already exist in your mother’s kitchen,” Wahayshi wrote in the article, posted on an Islamist website on Sunday.

“Make them (bombs) in the shape of a bomb you hurl, or detonate through a timer or a remote detonater or a martyrdom-seeker belt or any electrical appliance.”

Wahayshi said bombers should attack countries involved in wars in Muslim countries as well as government figures and security bodies in the Middle East.

via Al Qaeda calls for home-made bomb attacks in West | Reuters.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-02

• Second Life Raises Awareness With Disaster Zone Project : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/1ApCtw #
• 2 Chicago Men Charged in Terror Plot Over Muhammad Cartoons : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/3iaFb1 #
• Beltway Sniper John Allen Muhammad Scheduled for Execution : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/1nX9zf #
• Security Checks Friday for MARC Commuter Train Stations : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/436Ln0 #
• FBI Lacks Translators For Terror Intelligence : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/1xYgOk #
• TSA Viper Training Exercise Held at CBBT : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/coLmM #
• Queens Man Is One of Two Accused of Trying to Supply Hezbollah : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/28KJRE #
• Growing Up Bin Laden, Osama’s Son Omar Speaks : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/4wlb9K #
• Detroit Imam Killed During FBI Raid : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/4ANmn5 #
• Alleged Assault of News Photographer Outside Detroit Mosque : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/IDcAv #
• Is Osama Bin Laden Accidentally In New Al Qaeda Video? See pics and you decide… http://bit.ly/3QjaRl #
• PhoneSnoop – DHS Warns Blackbnerry Users About App http://tinyurl.com/yl5hl6t #
• Passport of al Qaeda 9/11 Plotter Said Bahaji Found http://tinyurl.com/yjppm62 #
• Terrorists Using Blogs To Engage Counter-terrorist Experts Online : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/46C6PS #
• Modern Warfare 2 Terrorism Footage Stirs Controversy : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/1VA2VF #
• 6 Passengers Faint on British Airways Flight : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/1goASu #
• Small Scale Terrorism Plots Pose New Threat : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/2qJR6F #
• Deadline Looming – How Will Airline Cargo Get Screened : Homeland Security News http://bit.ly/4oRHyv #

1,600 Are Suggested Daily For Watch List

The Washington Post reported that during a 12-month period ending in March of this year, 1,600 people were recommended daily by the U.S. intelligence community to be put on the list due to ‘reasonable suspicion.’  It’s important to know,  each nomination does not necessarily represent a new individual, but may instead involve an alias or name variant for a previously named to the watchlist.

Newly released FBI data offer evidence of the broad scope and complexity of the nation’s terrorist watch list, documenting a daily flood of names nominated for inclusion to the controversial list.

During a 12-month period ended in March this year, for example, the U.S. intelligence community suggested on a daily basis that 1,600 people qualified for the list because they presented a “reasonable suspicion,” according to data provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee by the FBI in September and made public last week.

FBI officials cautioned that each nomination “does not necessarily represent a new individual, but may instead involve an alias or name variant for a previously watchlisted person.”

The ever-churning list is said to contain more than 400,000 unique names and over 1 million entries. The committee was told that over that same period, officials asked each day that 600 names be removed and 4,800 records be modified. Fewer than 5 percent of the people on the list are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Nine percent of those on the terrorism list, the FBI said, are also on the government’s “no fly” list.

via Read Full Article.

Modern Warfare 2 Terrorism Footage Stirs Controversy

Terrorism footage from a leaked version of the new Call of Duty – Modern Warfare 2 video game has apparently stirred a great deal of controversey overseas.

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2″ community manager Robert Bowling wasn’t kidding when he said this week might be a good time for players to look away from the Internet if they want “a spoiler free and pure ‘Modern Warfare 2′ experience.” A leaked video involving what are ostensibly terrorist operations from the game has stirred up plenty of controversy, and voices in Australia, a worldwide leader in game censorship, are on the front lines.

“Expecting game designers to be responsible by not glorifying terrorism will always lead to disappointment,” South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson said, according to The Age.

In rundown over on GamePolitics.com, several Australian sources issue grievances with the game for allowing players to presumably act as terrorists in “Modern Warfare 2,” at least one of whom expects video game content to be evaluated as a “leisure activity” instead of an entertainment medium or artform on par with films or novels.

“The consequences of terrorism are just abhorrent in our community and yet here we are with a product that’s meant to be passed off as a leisure time activity, actually promoting what most world leaders speak out publicly against,” Australian Council on Children and the Media president Jane Roberts told the Australian publication.

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Tom Hoggins provides analysis of the controversial new Call Of Duty – Modern Warfare 2 game at The Telegraph.

As soon as the controversial footage of Modern Warfare 2 made it into the public eye this week, there was no doubt a sharp intake of breath from the gaming population the world over. Played from the first-person, the player apparently takes control of a terrorist gunning down innocent civilians in an indiscriminate attack on a public airport.. As he emerges from an airport elevator with his squad, the terrorists open fire on a group of travellers gathered in the baggage reclaim area.

As the footage continues, the player joins in the attack, turning his machine gun on civilians attempting to pull other injured people away from the carnage and even propelling grenades across the airport concourse.

Let’s not beat around the bush here, I’ve seen the footage and even as a lifetime gamer – supposedly ‘desensitised’ to this kind of thing – I was shocked. It was harrowing, terrifying, despicable and made me feel intensely uncomfortable just watching it. It echoes the recent Mumbai killings all too obviously.

So, here’s the big question; has this scene done its job in the way it was intended? While it will cause intense controversy and reignite the debate over video game violence, it could also be a watershed moment for video game storytelling.

Source

Small Scale Terrorism Plots Pose New Threat

For some time now intelligence experts have warned of a disturbing trend towards homegrown terrorism. Coupled with an additional trend towards smaller scale plots and terror cells comprised of only 1 or more people, authorities are concerned.

After disrupting two recent terrorism plots, American intelligence officials are increasingly concerned that extremist groups in Pakistan linked to Al Qaeda are planning smaller operations in the United States that are harder to detect but more likely to succeed than the spectacular attacks they once emphasized, senior counterterrorism officials say.

The two cases — one involving two Chicago men accused this week of planning an attack on a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of the prophet Mohammad, the other a 24-year-old Denver shuttle bus driver indicted in a plot to use improvised explosives — are among the most serious in years, the officials said.

In both, the officials said, the main defendants are long-term residents of the United States with substantial community ties who traveled to Pakistan’s tribal areas, where they apparently trained with extremist groups affiliated with Al Qaeda. The officials, from American military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, spoke on the condition that they not be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the cases.

Read Full Article.

Terrorists Using Blogs To Engage Counter-terrorist Experts Online

This is an interesting article from the UK. Although I have never received any response from known terrorists on this site, I’ve often wondered if someone like Adnan G. el Shukrijumah, Adam Gadahn or others go online to research and read stories and posts about themselves. When someone like Gerald Posner does an in-depth investigative piece on a terrorist like el Shukrijumah, does el Shukrijumah see it? My assumption has always been that he does. Many well known terrorists have an obvious strong desire for attention in the media and this article makes that case.

A senior Arab Afghan adviser to al Qaeda and the Taliban has openly challenged an Australian counter-terrorism expert in a series of blog posts. Abu Walid al Masri has written direct responses to Leah Farrall, an Australian academic who writes the All things Counter Terrorism blog and has years of experience fighting terrorism with the Australian Federal Police.

Farrall recently described al Masri as “one of Mullah Omar’s most trusted advisers” in an op-ed for the Australian. He has written 12 books in Arabic relating to Afghanistan and al Qaeda, and has just re-emerged as an author for the Taliban’s flagship magazine publication, in which he recently encouraged the Taliban to engage in the kidnapping of British and American soldiers. Because of this, Al Masri has been one of Farrall’s “main academic interests for many years” and she was shocked read his blog posts about her: “To say that I am blown away by this would be a pretty massive understatement”.

In his first blog post, Abu Walid al Masri joked that Farrall’s “focus on academic research will give us a bit of comfort and space so we can work safely in the field (terrorism). Therefore I thought it would be a good to distract her with these dialogues so the rest of the gang can do the work.”

He compares Farrall to the “beautiful female soldiers” who tortured “our brothers” in Abu Ghraib, and then begins the dialogue sardonically:

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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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Original Post

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.

Source

AJC Condemns Attack on Los Angeles Synagogue

AJC strongly condemned the gun attack on a Los Angeles synagogue early this morning, in which two Jewish worshippers were wounded. “One day after President Obama signed into law a new hate crimes law, the Jewish community in Los Angeles experiences a horrific attack which law enforcement authorities are investigating as a hate crime,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris.

A gunman shot at worshippers entering the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic synagogue in North Hollywood. “We are relieved to learn that both victims are in stable condition and pray for their full recovery,” said Harris. “We salute law enforcement for their quick response, their decision to consider this assault a hate crime, and their efforts to investigate and apprehend those responsible.”

Detroit Imam Killed During FBI Raid

According to several new reports, the leader of a Detroit mosque, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, 53 years old, who had previously been known as Christopher Thomas,was fatally shot Wednesday during a Federal Bureau of Investigation raid on what authorities called a criminal gang run by U.S. converts to Islam.

An FBI spokeswoman said six men were arrested in the raid on a suburban warehouse and two Detroit homes. The men were arrested on suspicion of a variety of offenses, including illegal possession of firearms, trafficking in stolen goods and altering vehicle identification numbers.

Three suspects remain at large.Luqman Ameen Abdullah, 53 years old, who had previously been known as Christopher Thomas, refused to surrender. He shot a police dog before he was fatally shot by authorities, the U.S. attorney’s office in Detroit said in a statement.

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This news release was issued today by Gina Balaya of the United States Attorney’s Office and Sandra Berchtold of the FBI:

11 Members/Associates of Ummah Charged with Federal Violations One Subject Fatally Shot During Arrest

United States Attorney Terrence Berg, Eastern District of Michigan, Andrew G. Arena, Special Agent in Charge (SAC), Federal Bureau of Investigation, (FBI), Detroit, Michigan, and Police Chief Warren Evans, Detroit Police Department (DPD), Detroit, Michigan announced a federal complaint was unsealed today charging Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a.k.a.Christopher Thomas, and 10 others with conspiracy to commit several federal crimes, including theft from interstate shipments, mail fraud to obtain the proceeds of arson, illegal possession and sale of firearms, and tampering with motor vehicle identification numbers.

The eleven defendants are members of a group that is alleged to have engaged in violent activity over a period of many years, and known to be armed.

In light of the information that the charged individuals were believed to be armed and dangerous, special safeguards were employed by law enforcement to secure the arrests without confrontation.

During the arrests today, the suspects were ordered to surrender. At one location, four suspects surrendered and were arrested without incident. Luqman Ameen Abdullah did not surrender and fired his weapon. An exchange of gunfire followed and Abdullah was killed. An FBI canine was also killed during the exchange.

Abdullah was the leader of part of a group which calls themselves Ummah (“the brotherhood”), a group of mostly African-American converts to Islam, which seeks to establish a separate Sharia-law governed state within the United States.

The Ummah is ruled by Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rapp Brown, who is serving a state sentence in USP Florence, CO, ADMAX, for the murder of two police officers in Georgia. As detailed in the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint that was unsealed today, Abdullah has espoused the use of violence against law enforcement, and has trained members of his group in use of firearms and martial arts in anticipation of some type of action against the government.

Abdullah and other members of this group were known to carry firearms and other weapons.

Additionally, two federal search warrants were executed at 4467 Tireman Avenue, Detroit Michigan, and 9278 Genessee Street, Detroit, Michigan. The affidavits for these search warrants are sealed.

This case was jointly worked by the FBI, DPD, JTTF, and the United States Attorney’s Office – Eastern District of Michigan. We would like to express our appreciation to the Detroit Public Schools, Dearborn Police Department, Madison Heights Police and Fire Departments, and the members of JTTF for their assistance in this matter.

At the time of this release, Mujahid Carswell, Mohammad Alsahi and Yassir Ali Khan were still at large. Anyone with information regarding the location of these individuals should contact the FBI at (313) 965-2323

A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A trial cannot be held on felony charges in a complaint. When the investigation is completed a determination will be made whether to seek a felony indictment.

Source

Tags: abdullah, christopher thomas, detroit mosque, fbi, fbi raid, homeland security, imam, terror, terrorism

Growing Up Bin Laden, Osama’s Son Omar Speaks

October 27, 2009 by Homeland Security NTARC News  
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Time magazine takes a look at the life of Omar Bin Laden, the fourth eldest of Osama bin Laden’s 20 known children

For Omar Bin Laden, the fourth eldest of Osama bin Laden’s 20 known children, the awful realization that his own father was a terrorist mastermind plotting a global conspiracy that would destroy the lives of thousands of innocent people and even his own family came gradually.

Of course, there were warning signs: Omar’s childhood was marked by regular beatings and survivalist training; there was the growing army of ruffians and retainers who called his father “Prince”; and then there was that Afghan mullah who had given his father an entire mountain in Tora Bora.

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Tags: al qaeda, al qaida, growing up bin laden, omar bin laden, Omar Osama bin Laden, osama bin laden, terror, terrorism, terrorist, Terrorist Organizations, Tora Bora

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