UK Suspected terrorist granted bail over ‘change of heart on terrorism’ claim

Strasbourg Cathedral at sunset. Image by Giant Ginkgo via Flickr

Great. Have they actually considered this guy could be lying?

London, Aug 13 (ANI): A suspected terrorist has been granted bail in Britain after he claimed in black and white that he had changed his mind on terrorism.

The Algerian, who can be identified only as “U”, was detained in 2001 after arriving in Britain from Afghanistan in 1999.

“U” has been officially classified as an “active terrorist head of a group of individuals in the UK with an international reach”, and MI5 believe that he had direct links to killed al-Qaeda leader Bin Laden and other terrorists who had planned to bomb Strasbourg Cathedral in France and Los Angeles Airport.

British lawmakers have termed the decision as “insane”, while a terror expert called it “worrying”.

“This insane decision shows our courts have turned to mush,” Tory MP Douglas Carswell said, while terrorism expert Neil Doyle added: “It is very worrying.”

Britain wants to deport him to Algeria, where he could be jailed over fears that he could prove to be danger here. He is appealing to the Supreme Court against the move.

via Suspected terrorist granted bail in UK over ‘change of heart on terrorism’ claim – Yahoo!.

Anyone suggesting any measures to control this guy? He could have changed his mind, but it is really improbable…

Yemen: Barack Obama warned that al-Qaeda planning ricin attack

Carunculate seed of Ricinus Communis. Image via Wikipedia

Well, I am anxious to know what Obamamessiah has said about this:

The New York Times, citing classified intelligence documents and unnamed officials, reports that terrorist operatives have been making efforts to buy large quantities of castor beans – which contain the toxic ricin protein – and shift them to a remote tribal area controlled by insurgents for processing.

Ricin is so poisonous that inhalation of a few minute grains is enough to kill an adult. It was used in deadly incidents including the 1978 assassination in London of Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov and, in 2002, was the subject of a bioterrorism scare in the UK capital following a police raid on a facility said to be plotting its manufacture.

US officials are reported to have told Mr Obama that an attack is not imminent and that the terrorist arm has yet to formulate a means for dispersing it as a weapon.

They believe that the ultimate goal is to find an effective means of packing the white powder around explosives and detonating the devices in packed public areas such as shopping malls and airports, the New York Times revealed.

via Yemen: Barack Obama warned that al-Qaeda planning ricin attack – Telegraph.

Philippines: Bomb blast rocks Cotabato while conversations are ongoing with MILF

Map of the Philippines with Cotabato highlighted. Image via Wikipedia

A bomb exploded yesterday evening at the residence of a gun store owner in the southern Philippines, where a homemade bomb killed two people and wounded 10 others four days ago, officials said today.

Lawyer Cynthia Guani-Sayadi, city administrator, said the explosion occurred around 8 p.m. Saturday outside the house of JV Martinez along De Mazenod Street in the southern city of Cotabato occurred but no casualty was reported.

“The explosive was left outside Martinez residence. He was not around that time,” said Sayadi.

Martinez is the owner of a gun store along the city’s Quezon Avenue where a bomb went off Tuesday killing two people and wounding 10 others.

“He (Martinez) already gave his side to the police. He told investigators that he has no idea why his shop was attacked. But we know that he has several grudges,” said Sayadi.

via Bomb blast rocks Cotabato – Home » Other Sections » Breaking News.

Nonetheless,  Philippine President Benigno Aquino is in talks with MILF’s leader Murad Ibrahim. We have to remember that MILF’s objective is to create an Islamic state in Mindanao.

Terrorism: Bali bombing mastermind finally captured… in Pakistan

Image via Wikipedia

Umar Patek, 40, who has a US bounty of $1 million on his head and is Indonesia‘s most wanted fugitive, was arrested by Pakistani security agencies who have said they are investigating him for links to militant groups in Pakistan.

A Pakistani official said: “Right now he is being interrogated. The Indonesians want access to him and they are coming.”

Kevin Rudd, Australian Foreign Minister, said: “For us it is clear that Patek has been arrested. Furthermore, it is our view that Patek’s arrest is potentially a major step forward in the fight against terrorism.

“His arrest might offer some small comfort to the nearly 100 Australian families who lost loved ones in the Bali bombings way back in 2002. Of course, his arrest does not bring anyone back.”

via Bali bombing mastermind finally captured – Telegraph.

He has been extradited to Indonesia today.

Related articles

• Pakistan extradites Bali bombing suspect Umar Patek to Indonesia (csmonitor.com)
• VIDEO: Bali bombing suspect extradited (bbc.co.uk)
• Accused Bali bomb-maker ‘admits role’ (theage.com.au)
• Indonesia: Bali Bombing Architect Extradited (israelnationalnews.com)
• Bali bomb-link man sent to Indonesia (edition.cnn.com)
• Bali bomb ‘mastermind’ extradited to Indonesia (telegraph.co.uk)
• Man with ties to Bali bombings is returned to Indonesia (cnn.com)
• Pakistan extradites Bali bombing suspect (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Nigeria: Two bombs explode near Christian churches

Again churches are the target of Islamists:

Two roadside bombs, both of low power, exploded near Christian places of worship in the city of Jos, Nigeria, home to several Islamist sects’ leaders. The first exploded on the night of Saturday near a Baptist church which was no longer used, after being previously damaged by the Islamists. A second bomb exploded Sunday morning near two Protestant churches: the Church of Christ of Nigeria (COCIN) and a place of worship of the Assemblies of God. The areas where these temples are located, are now mostly inhabited by Muslims. Christians have fleed the area because of the insecurity that the Islamists have brought to the area and have recently killed five Christians. These acts of Islamic terrorism seems to attempt to “cleanse” these areas of any Christian presence.

via Deux bombes explosent près de lieux de culte chrétiens à Jos au Nigéria | Observatoire de la christianophobie.

Related articles

• Nigeria: Protestant Church bombed, Boko Haram suspected (teaandpolitics.wordpress.com)
• Nigeria : 2nd church bombing in Nigerian city (teaandpolitics.wordpress.com)

US: NBC Blames American Anti-Muslim Sentiment for Norway Attacks, Warns of Similar Violence in U.S.

Well, then, there you go. As some “bright” anarcocapitalist wrote in Spanish blog Desde el Exilio (comments) yesterday,

“for some years, neoconservatives have been exaggerating the problem of islamofascism, the same way that ecofascists have been exaggerating environmental problems, both of them of justify their particular statist nirvana. The term I use for this is “islamoalarmism”, the unfounded belief in the idea that Western civilization is confronting its end at the hands of international jihad, the day after tomorrow,something that lets you justify anything, because it’s either that or death. Trying to prevent terrorist attacks at home, some people have encouraged (those ideas) in the mind of some demented people“.

Just the same, but on TV:

On Monday’s NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams proclaimed that Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik “seemed to be heavily influenced by some people in this country who write and blog about the perceived threat from Islam.”

In the report that followed, correspondent Michael Isikoff noted how writings of Robert Spencer, the head of Stop the Islamization of America, were cited several times in Breivik’s 1,500-page manifesto and declared that “some analysts say words can be weapons themselves.” A sound bite was featured of Heidi Beirich of the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center: “When you push the demonization of populations, you often end up with violence.”

Isikoff added: “And that may be exactly what has happened, says Beirich. The 2008 burning of a mosque in Tennessee is evidence of what Beirich says has been a spike in anti-Muslim attacks, including arsons and bombings in Florida, Michigan and Oregon.”

via NBC Blames American Anti-Muslim Sentiment for Norway Attacks, Warns of Similar Violence in U.S. | NewsBusters.org.

So, aren’t you demonizing another part of the population? Why you can “demonize” Christians and Conservatives (1very brutal attack, 70 victims), but the rest can’t critizise Islamic terror (more than 17,000 victims in 10 years and counting)?

Related:

• What did the Norwegian murderer think? (phyllischesler.com)
• On Islamophobia and Right-Wing Extremism (jawareport.mu.nu)
• Norway attacks spotlight far-right outreach to Jews, Israel (jta.org)
• Islamic immigration debate in focus after Norway Massacre (bigpeace.com).

Culture: new anti-AQ comic could “anger the Arab world”

Image via Wikipedia

Frank Miller, creator of Sin City and Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, described his new book Holy Terror as “a piece of propaganda” intended to represent a response to 9/11, the Independent reports.

The book was launched at the Comic-con conference in San Diego and will go on sale shortly after the 10-year anniversary of the attacks.

Its main character is called The Fixer, a superhero that is “well adjusted in committing terrible acts of violence on very evil people”.

Miller said the book was “a reminder that we’re in the midst of a long war” against Islamic extremism.

The is expected to anger the Arab world, especially as The Fixer targets Islamic terrorists while wearing a mask bearing the Star of David.

More on the Telegraph.

Related articles

• Superhero comic takes on al-Qa’ida (independent.co.uk)
• Frank Miller Hopes 9/11 Comic Holy Terror Will ‘Really Piss People Off’ (wired.com)
• ‘Holy Terror’: Watch the trailer for Frank Miller’s controversial 9/11 comic (shelf-life.ew.com)

Thailand: Islamist rebels slaughter Buddhists

Theravadda Bhuddism is highly respected in Thailand. Image via Wikipedia

Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, notes that an Islamist terrorist insurgency has claimed 4,000 lives in southern Thailand since 2004. Recent victims include two beheaded boys; “they are all innocent victims, guilty only for not being Muslims,” according to a Fides source.

“We will kill, burn, and destroy all Buddhists: you will never be able to live in peace here,” notes a pamphlet distributed by the terrorists. “The Pattani Islamic guerrillas announce that they will never stop the slaughter of infidels of Siam until the land of Pattani [becomes] an Islamic state.”

The nation of 66.5 million is 0.5% Catholic, according to Vatican statistics. Nearly 95% of Thais are Buddhist, while nearly 5% are Muslim.

via Catholic Culture : Latest Headlines : Islamist rebels slaughter Buddhists in Thailand.

Related:

• Islam 2010.
• Thailand: Southern terrorists could have received training by JI.
• Thailand: Islamism spreads amid violence.

Al-Qaeda: Terrorists could have explosives inserted into body cavities

Image via Wikipedia

It’s the new idea to overcome the scanners and security measures at airports around the country that has occurred to terrorists. Experts also believe that these explosives could be inserted into body cavities as drug smugglers do on a regular basis.

Currently, there is no indication of an imminent attack, but the Obama administration has notified other countries and has warned airlines that they must take extra security measures at airports. So, passengers will suffer longer queues before boarding.

This time international flights would be further endangered, although people moving within the United States will see more bomb-sniffing dogs in the waiting rooms of airports.

Spokesman for the Security Administration, Nicholas Kimball said that “new security measures include interacting with passengers [in reference to possible questioning], searches and use of new tools and technology.”

The threat of “people-bomb” was released last year by MI5 in a research operation in the UK on new techniques of Al Qaida. However, the US Department of Homeland Security has new intelligence about this form of attack.

via Nueva táctica terrorista de Al Qaida: implantes explosivos.

Related:

• Al-Qaeda: Possible terrorist targets (teaandpolitics.wordpress.com)

Nigeria: Protestant Church bombed, Boko Haram suspected

A bomb exploded outside a Protestant church in the central Nigerian city of Suleija on July 10, killing three. The militant Islamist group Boko Haram–which means “Western education is sin”–is suspected.

In the northeastern Nigerian city of Maidiguri, churches were closed on July 10 following a shootout between police and members of Boko Haram, which had reportedly threatened to target churches that day.

via Catholic Culture : Latest Headlines : Church bombing in Nigeria.

Related articles

• Boko Haram sends Bomb Threats, Nigeria University Shuts Down (waronterrornews.typepad.com)

Pakistan: 9 year-old girl kidnapped, forced to wear suicide vest

I expect the authors of this horrible deed are Taliban or people linked to them. We have to wait to have more news on this (Of course, if they are published).

Just nine years old. The suicide bomber was a young girl locked in a paramilitary checkpoint in the district of Lower Dir in northwestern Pakistan, according to the local police chief, Salim Marwat. The child had been kidnapped Saturday from the city of Peshawar and had been forced by his captors to wear a explosive vest . The little girl, named Suhana Ali, was captured not far from a checkpoint to Islam Dara, when an agent noticed an unnatural bulge on his body. An inspection has revealed that the girl was wearing an explosives vest ready to be activated.

The police operation, and the small age of the girl, were confirmed by a police officer. “Sushana – he explained – is from the Hashtnagri near Peshawar and was kidnapped by four people, both men and women. His father is disabled and poor, while the mother is a seamstress.” During the interrogation, the girl said that her kidnappers had administered sedatives. “They ordered me to push the button when switching the control post, but the police stopped me before I arrived.”

Terrible.

Austria: convert to Islam arrested for attempting to blow the Bundestag

An Austrian national was arrested in Vienna and charged with terrorism. Detectives believe he was planning to crash a plane into the Bundestag, German parliament headquarters in Berlin. The suspect, 25-year-old Thomas al-J., is a young man who has converted to Islam. He was arrested Wednesday in his apartment in the Austrian capital and has also been accused of recruiting terrorists in order to send them to jihad training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and of funding terrorist organizations. The Bundestag hypothesis was published in Austrian newspaper ‘Kronen Zeitung’.

Found here.

Jihadists in Morocco

City of Salé, Morocco. Image via Wikipedia

The Belliraj cell’s release and radical preacher Mohamed Fizazi in April was an error of the regime and has emboldened other jihadi prisoners. Moreover, the fact that the auxiliary forces tried to calm the revolt in the prison of Salé saying that in a month will be a second and broader real grace, isn’t viewed with optimism. These prisoners and their supporters abroad are well organized, making it even out of prison and mobile images feed their victimization and work a battlefront that is extremely worrying in terms of security.

The increasing visibility of the Moroccan Islamist mobilizations under the 20/Feb Movement, and its growing effort to attract support among the diaspora abroad, particularly Europe, increases the problem. Recall that this ideology, though according to some, it’s more moderate, will be the probable winner in the coming elections that will be held in Tunisia, first, and then in Egypt. But its troubling aspect is what it is hiding: its fighting spirit and its radical vision of politics.

More here.

UK: Mumbay terror-style plotter, allowed to return and live in London

Fury erupted today over plans to allow a terror suspect believed to have been plotting a Mumbai-style attack in London to return here to live.

MPs demanded that Home Secretary Theresa May immediately reconsider the decision to allow the Nigerian-British national to come back to the capital.

The terror suspect CD – whose identity cannot be revealed – trained alongside the 21/7 attempted bombers who targeted public transport in London.

He was banned from London in February after MI5 warned he was a leading figure in a “close group of Islamic extremists in north London”. The security services believe that CD’s group was involved in planning attacks, probably using firearms.

More here.

Lieberman: Omitting 'Islamic' Terrorism From Security Document Dishonest, 'Offensive'

Looks like there is someone with common sense in this matter at least. What Obama has done ommitting “Jihad” and “Islamic terrorism” is not really useful:

Image via Wikipedia

Sen. Joe Lieberman slammed the Obama administration Sunday for stripping terms like “Islamic extremism” from a key national security document, calling the move dishonest, wrong-headed and disrespectful to the majority of Muslims who are not terrorists.

The Connecticut independent revealed that he wrote a letter Friday to top counterterrorism adviser John Brennan urging the administration to “identify accurately the ideological source” of the threat against the United States. He wrote that failing to identify “violent Islamist extremism” as the enemy is “offensive.”

via FOXNews.com – Lieberman: Omitting ‘Islamic’ Terrorism From Security Document Dishonest, ‘Offensive’.

Stealth Jihad: pushing for growing Islamization, Shari'a Law

Image via Wikipedia

stealth jihad has a number of aspects, but one key fundamental.

The strategy stems from a realization by the Islamists [which include, in addition to the violent jihadis, Muslims who advocate for incremental Islamization of their societies, and incorporation of Shari’a derived components within them, through the exercise of political power] that direct confrontation can only succeed in a time and place where there is at least rough parity between Muslims and non-Muslims. From this logic stems a counter strategy in which instead of adopting a policy of head-on confrontation, those who seek to at some point in the future bring about a Caliphate, opt for gradual change as a precursor of that future utopian Islamic state.

A seminal document – a concrete embodiment of this idea – was discovered during a Virginia terror raid made 15 years ago – written by the Muslim Brotherhood [and approved by the Shura Council] the Egyptian terrorist organization which serves as the intellectual ancestor for all modern day Islamic terrorism, including Hamas and al-Qaeda.

This rare find outlined an audacious plan Islamize America. Being of such importance, it was tagged government document number GX3-85 and submitted into the court record in the largest successful Hamas terror funding prosecution U.S. history – U.S. vs. Holy Land Foundation, et. al.

It reads in part:

“The process of settlement is a “Civilizational Jihadist Process,” with all that the word means. The Ikhwan must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house from within…” [The General Strategic Plan for the Group in North America, pg. 21, item 4]

So this Muslim Brotherhood plan assumes a two pronged attack, one violent when conditions permit, the other nominally legal, working within institutions to modify the culture into greater recognition of Shari’a towards its [assumed] eventual acceptance of full compliance.

via Muslim Public Service Internships and the Stealth Jihad-by PipeLineNews.org.

Read it all. Not only “violence” is bad when studying the phenomenon of Islamic extremism. Supremacist ideology, despite not gathering the attention it requires, plays an important part in supporting violence and discrimination against non-Muslims.

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Muslim Brotherhood in the United States (powerlineblog.com)

USA: Obama deletes “Islamist” from Terror Reviews

The Department of Homeland Security made public last wek, the 108-page Quadrennial Homeland Security Review. The report uses the term "terrorist" 66 times, "al Qaeda" five times, and "violent extremism" or "extremist" 14 times. The report calls on the U.S. government to "actively engage communities across the United States" to "stop the spread of violent extremism."

But in describing terrorist threats against the U.S. and the ideology which motivates terrorists, the review – just like a document from the Pentagon, the Quadrennial Defense Review – does not mention the words, "Islam," "Islamic," or "Islamist" not even once.

"Although the homeland security official in charge of developing the review insists it was not a deliberate decision," as reported by the Washington Times, "the document is likely to reignite a debate over terminology in the U.S.-led war against al Qaeda that has been simmering through two administrations."

To recommend a good cure for a disease, firstly you must make a good diagnosis. Any viewer of House would know it. Even if the disease is not very politically correct.

Must Bin Laden be caught?

This article writes about why Bin Laden must be caught and tells us about his life-style. Interestingly, AQ educates terrorists to live with no “luxuries” such as electricity, for example.

What do you think? Must or mustn’t he be caught?

(Sorry for the lack of posting…).

8 years

Each time I see these images, I feel the same: a shock to realise the extremely madness and badness (is that correct?) human beings can do if moved by  devilish ideas. Progress and evolution have made our lives different: we can fly in airplanes, go under the sea a lot of miles down, have gone to the moon, can see stars which disappeared several light-years ago, etc. They have really improved our life style. But human beings can still feel hate, be cruel and get satisfaction when harming others. They can sing and dance when someone is killed, raped or maimed.

Luckily, not ALL human beings are equal: there are others who want to make this world a better place, think that being merciful is just to follow a Godly path and get inner satisfaction in helping others, whatever their religion, political ideas, intelligence, etc.

That is, Cain and Abel continue to live with us. But you know: that’s what free will means. And freedom is a very important thing: if there would be no freedom, there would be no good nor bad either.

In this day, I want to remember those who have been killed by Islamic terrorism. It’s truly important to consider that before this unlucky people, there were already people assasinated, killed, maimed… and that afterwards, in this 8 years, nearly 14,000 people have already been killed. Yes, I know, perhaps there are more people dead in car crashes or by lung and heart cancer. But that’s not caused by another human being’s will. It’s just that really awful thought of wanting to kill even killing oneself what makes this more terrible, more powerful. Such extreme hate has been worrying so much people over these 8 years, although I fear that it has not worried enough.

To begin to understand 9/11, you should read Mohammed Atta’s last will. Mysogynist, obsessed with details and with his body… For the most part, it’s just a recollection of what to do in his funeral and burial. He wrote it on 1996, when he didn’t know he was going to be a suicide bomber.

I remember the first time I read that will, it stroke me as cold-hearted. He was a very young man then, and he seemed so absolutely deprived of any inner happiness. Nothing about having sons or having lived a good life. Nothing about his family. Just “don’t touch my genitals without gloves, don’t let women approach by body, wash my body this way”. If there is somebody which can be considered as an example of “There is no fun in Islam”, it’s without doubt this guy. Yes, I understand someone who kills 3000 people must be cold-hearted, but reading what he wrote is very chilling for me: it’s to know what he considered important. He revered his own death, more than his life.

But the photo that impress me the most is this one:

Sept. 11 hijackers Ziad Jarrah, left, and Mohammed Atta laugh in what is apparently their last will and testament in a videotape apparently made in Afghanistan on Jan. 18, 2000.

These guys were at a terror camp…. laughing. I have seen lots of photos of Jarrah having good time. he was a playboy, impacient, deeply in love with his German Muslim girlfriend. He did really doubt about what he was going to do, and Atta was worried about him deserting. Anyway, I have seen very few photos of Atta laughing. Or just smiling. Now compare it with the above photo. His eyes are practically looking the same (his left eye is smaller than the other…). Cruel eyes, hein? I believe he only considered himself a happy man while kidnapping and killing those people. And committing suicide.

Maybe this is just a stupid rant and I should just have blogged the first photo. Maybe. But those photos really make me think. How many other Attas are there? What leads them personally to commit such atrocities? Yes, I understand the ideological reasons for them to kill, but I feel we are just forgetting to look at the guys who kill. Why instead they don’t like to spend their free time baking bread, watching TV or writing poems? Are they bad or are truly mad? What would have happened if they haven’t been born and educated where they were? Are they just brainwashed or are just cruel assassins who use those teachings to kill in Allah’s name, fulfilling at once their own deepest and bloodiest desires and Allah’s hate for infidels?

And the most important one: will this end someday? Or not?

Russia: suicide bomber kills 20, injures 138 in Ingushetia*

Following with the trend we have seen lately (1, 2)  in the Russian Caucasus:

Emergencies officials said on Monday that at least 20 people were killed and 138, including 10 children, injured in an attack by a suicide bomber in southern Russia’s Ingushetia.

Earlier on Monday, a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden minivan into the gates of the police headquarters in the republic’s largest city Nazran. The blast damaged the police building and nearby blocks of flats.

Local emergencies officials working at the scene fear that the death toll could rise further as at least 20 people are believed to be trapped under the rubble of the police building.

At least 20 dead, 138 wounded in south Russia bomb attack | Top Russian news and analysis online | ‘RIA Novosti’ newswire

As a result Medvedev has sacked Ingushetia’s Interior Minister:

“I believe this [attack] was not only a result of problems connected to terrorist activities, but also a result of the unsatisfactory performance of the republic’s law enforcement agencies,” Medvedev said. He also ordered a probe into the work of the police.
“The terrorist attack could have been prevented,” Medvedev said. “The vehicle used in the attack had been listed as stolen… Police had been warned about an attack being planned. This is totally unacceptable.”

More on Islamist violence in Ingushetia:

video found here.

*Police were tipped of the attack before it happened:

Ingush police received a tip Friday that insurgents were planning to stage a suicide bombing with a GAZelle minivan.

But they were caught off guard Monday when a GAZelle packed with explosives rammed into the closed gates of a police station in Nazran as police officers were lining up nearby for a morning briefing.

(…) “The GAZelle that the suicide terrorist was in was on our search list,” Dourbekov said, RIA-Novosti reported. “We had information on Aug. 15 about preparations for a terrorist attack with the use of this vehicle.”