| nov/dec 2005 news |
Bomb
in Indonesian province kills at least eight
A bomb ripped
through an Indonesian meat market crowded with people shopping
for New Year’s celebrations Saturday, killing at least eight
people and wounding 45 in a province that has long been plagued
by sectarian violence, officials said.
The attack in the Central Sulawesi town of Palu followed repeated
warnings from authorities that the al-Qaida-linked militant group
Jemaah Islamiyah was plotting holiday strikes in the world’s
most populous Muslim nation.
Brig. Gen. Oegroseno, the provincial police chief, said a bomb
packed with ball bearings and nails went off as people were flocking
to the market early Saturday to buy pork for the night’s
festivities.
“The explosion was so loud, I couldn’t hear for a
couple of seconds,” said Tega, a resident who lives nearby
and uses only one name, like many Indonesians. “I ran out
of my house and saw bodies lying around.”
Television footage showed police carrying bloodied bodies into
ambulances. One man, apparently unhurt, was holding his head in
his hands and screaming. Hospital workers and intelligence officials
said at least eight people died and Oegroseno said another 45
were wounded.
The religious affiliations of the dead were not immediately released,
but they were believed to be Christians. The market sold only
pig and dog meat, both of which are forbidden under Islam.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono condemned the blast, which
occurred despite heightened security nationwide - more than 47,000
soldiers and police had been deployed at churches, shopping centers
and hotels to try to ward off terror attacks over Christmas and
New Year’s.
Police said it was too early to say who was behind the bombing,
but suspicion immediately fell on Jemaah Islamiyah.
The group has been blamed for a series of bloody bombings in Indonesia
since 2000, including two strikes on Bali that together killed
222 people, many of them foreigners. It is also accused in Christmas
Eve church bombings five years ago that left 19 dead.
Ninety percent of Indonesia’s 210 million people are Muslim,
and most people practice a moderate form of the faith. But attacks
against Christians have increased in recent years amid a global
rise in Islamic radicalism.
Almost half of Sulawesi’s population is Christian. The province
was the scene of fierce battles between Muslims and Christians
in 2001 and 2002 that killed about 1,000 people, and despite a
peace deal, violence against Christians has continued.
In October, unidentified assailants beheaded three Christian high
school girls in Poso, east of Palu. In May, two bombs in the Christian-majority
town of Tentena killed 20 people. Police questioned several suspects
in those attacks, but have not brought charges against anyone.
Yudhoyono urged police to investigate whether Saturday’s
bombing was linked to the other attacks, said his spokesman, Andi
Mallarangeng. Security officials and former militants have told
The Associated Press in recent interviews that Jemaah Islamiyah
was involved in the earlier violence.
One Christian clergyman said Saturday he was losing patience.
“Whenever an incident takes place, senior officials ask
us to tell the people to remain unprovoked,” said Rinaldy
Damanik, leader of the Synod Churches of Central Sulawesi. “When
will the authorities be able to reveal the barbaric perpetrators
in the province?”
Maj. Gen. Firman Gani, the Jakarta police chief, said last week
that Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists might use the holidays to retaliate
for the November death of bomb-making expert Azahari bin Husin,
who was gunned down in a police raid.
On Christmas Eve, bomb squads searched for explosives at churches
in the capital Jakarta and its satellite cities, where thousands
gathered to worship. Security forces also tightly guarded dozens
of churches on Sulawesi.
Palu is about 1,000 miles northeast of Jakarta.
31 Dec 2005, AP
ETA
claims 21 bomb attacks in Spain in 2 months
Basque separatist group ETA has claimed responsibility for 21
bombings in Spain in the last two months, including attacks on
businesses that refused to fund the group and a bomb near a disco,
a Basque paper said on Wednesday.
ETA, which has killed some 850 people since 1968 in its campaign for an independent state in northern Spain and southwest France, said in a statement to the newspaper Gara it had attacked five businesses "for refusing to contribute economic aid for the freedom of the Basque Country."
It said it was behind a five-bomb attack on motorways around Madrid on the day Spain celebrated its constitution this month and said it had placed two grenade launchers at Santander airport on the same day. The launchers did not fire.
The group, which is considered a terrorist organization by Spain, the European Union and the United States, also said it was responsible for the bombings of five law courts and a bomb attack close to a disco. ETA called the disco owner a "collaborator with the Spanish armed forces," Gara said.
No one was injured in the attacks, many of which had already been blamed on ETA by authorities.
Since the government said in May it would talk to ETA if it laid down its arms, speculation has grown that a ceasefire could be imminent.
But ETA, which had
earlier made repeated calls for talks, said this month in its
internal bulletin that it would not call a ceasefire until Spain
and France made concessions, Basque paper El Correo reported.
28 Dec 2005, Reuters
Bomb
scare halts racing
A bomb threat
forced evacuation of thousands yesterday from a horse racing track
in Northern Ireland.
Acting on an anonymous call, police ushered about 8,000 fans from
the Down Royal facility after the first race.
The evacuation was the second in as many months. In November,
racing was abandoned after a warning and the discovery of an elaborate
hoax device in an open-sided tent near the track.
Bomb-making materials found near Colombian president's ranch.
27 Dec 2005, Herald Wire Services
A security scare for the president of Colombia.
A spokesman says a bag containing explosives and bomb-making materials was found outside a ranch where President Alvaro Uribe was staying.
The president's family ranch is some 300 miles northwest of Bogota.
The military-grade C-4 explosives, detonator cords and other bomb-making materials were on a road near the ranch. An official says the bag was discovered 100 feet from where Uribe routinely jogs. Uribe remained at the ranch despite the scare.
Authorities aren't saying whether the explosives targeted Uribe, a close U-S ally, and the target of several assassination attempts.
The attempts have been blamed on Colombia's main rebel group.
Brazil rocked by bomb explosion
A homemade bomb exploded on a street crowded with Christmas shoppers in Brazil's largest city on Friday, injuring 12 people, authorities said.
One woman remained hospitalised in serious condition after the afternoon explosion in downtown Sao Paulo, police officer Luis Fernando Weffort said. The other victims did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
Police were still investigating, but the bomb was likely left in a trash can on "25 de Marco" street, a popular shopping venue that receives nearly 500 000 people a day during the Christmas season.
No suspects had been arrested by Friday night, said Juliana Xavier, a spokesperson with Sao Paulo's Public Safety Secretariat.
Witnesses said the bomb might have been thrown by an illegal street vendor at a group of police officers who were patrolling the area, Veja news magazine, Brazil's largest, said on its Web site.
Other local media said
a pregnant woman and a 5-year-old girl were among those injured,
but police could not confirm the reports.
27 Dec 2005, Independent
Online
Animal Rights Group Bombarded with Abusive Mail from Group They Had Targeted
An animal rights group has been bombarded with abusive mail from hunt supporters in a scam that has cost it thousands of pounds.
The League Against Cruel Sports was targeted after it launched an appeal for donations using a Freepost address.
Hunters sent out a round-robin email urging supporters to abuse the system by sending heavy parcels for which the League would have to pay.
Van loads of bricks, telephone directories, heavy books, abusive letters and animal excrement were sent to the League's offices. So far the cost is more than £10,000.
Among the hunt supporters who apparently forwarded the email is Amelisa Robinson, the wife of the Queen's equerry Simon Robinson.
And the scam was backed by TV host Jeremy Clarkson who said in his newspaper column he was going to send a "paving stone or a horse".
Mike Hobday, of the League, said: "Not content with abusing our wildlife for their own entertainment, they are now trying to deprive us of funds donated by our supporters. Many of our supporters who use Freepost are pensioners."
Actress and model Lisa B, an animal welfare supporter, was outraged when she received the email.
She said: "It is so wrong, so below the belt. It is a fraudulent way of taking money from people who believe in the cause."
The scam was sparked after the League appealed for funding for its Hunt Crimewatch campaign which gathers evidence of illegal hunts after they were banned in February.
Hunt supporters seized on the chance to send an avalanche of mail
to its HQ in Southwark, South London.
Tory MP Michael Gove and Richard Dodd, of the pro-hunt Countryside Alliance, were sent the email. There is no suggestion they took part in the scam.
Top Gear's Clarkson urged hunt supporters to take part in the scam, saying it would leave the League less to spend on surveillance gear.
Another newspaper's gossip column urged "those who like to hunt - or just don't like the animal rights lobby" - to send an empty envelope to the address so that the League "incurs a Royal Mail charge".
But yesterday Mr Hobday insisted: "It is clear so far that this trick has backfired. The reaction we have had from the public is one of disgust and dismay that the bloodsports lobby could stoop so low.
"We have passed this material to the authorities and believe there is enough evidence to land many pro-hunters in hot water."
Lisa B notified the League, set up in 1924 to stop violence against animals, as soon as she got the email.
She said: "There has been no grace in the behaviour of these people trying to bring the organisation down.
"I believe people are entitled to their own opinion, but I don't see how this behaviour can be remotely justified. It is also an injustice to the whole postal service."
Police confirmed they were investigating if the culprits could be charged with theft, fraud or sending malicious post. Just forwarding the email could result in criminal proceedings. Mrs Robinson was not available for comment.
When the Mirror called her, she said: "This is not a good time, I'm bathing the children. Speak to the press office."
Buckingham Palace, where her husband works, said: "The email was not sent on a Palace computer. Amelisa is not employed by Buckingham Palace."
22 Dec 2005, The Mirror
Pipe Bomb Explodes at Cincinnati Mosque
Local religious, political and law enforcement leaders held a press conference Wednesday morning concerning Tuesday night's pipe bombing at a Clifton mosque.
The FBI says the incident has not been classified as a hate crime, but it will be looked at as such.
"No group has claimed responsibility for this act," said Stanley Borgia of the FBI, adding that law enforcement will not stop until the suspect or suspects are identified and brought to justice.
Karen Dabdoub from the Council on American Islamic Relations says the crime had one clear goal.
"This kind of hate crime is intended to divide our community along lines of religion," Dabdoub said.
Mayor Mark Mallory added that it's important the community stand up against this type of act.
"This community must come together. This kind of criminal activity cannot be tolerated in this community. That must be made clear," Mallory said during the press conference.
Details: What Happened
Witnesses called police after an explosion at 3668 Clifton Avenue just after 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Police said there was "light to moderate damage" to a door and a window of a house adjacent to the mosque owned by the Islamic Association of Cincinnati.
"One of the explosions blasted a hole through the ceiling and the roof of the porch and then struck the soffit then blew out the glass," Cincinnati Police Chief Tom Streicher said.
"If people had been there...there was the potential for people to be injured. Or the way the glass was shattered, it could have resulted in death," he added.
The second pipe bomb went off a few minutes after the first, but did not cause any damage.
No one was inside at the time and no one was hurt. The mosque closed for the night at 8 p.m.
Investigation Continues Today
Along with analyzing physical evidence, investigators will spend time Wednesday talking to members of the mosque to see if any individual members might have received threatening mail or phone calls recently.
Police are
still trying to find out who is responsible for the crime.
21 Dec 2005,
WCPO News
Hoax
Mail Bomb Threat Evacuates Government Building in Indianapolis
Police evacuated thousands of people from the city's 25-story government building Tuesday after a caller warned that an explosive had been delivered to the office tower.
About three hours after the City-County Building was emptied and streets around it blocked off by police, the threat was determined to be a hoax and government workers were allowed back in.
Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell said an inspection of the building found no signs of a bomb, just two packages that were part of the normal daily flow of mail into the building.
Marion County Sheriff's Capt. Phil Burton said the evacuation was taken as a precaution after a man called just after 12:30 p.m., warning that a package containing a bomb had been delivered.
"The call was very specific. The caller stated 'Listen to me. I'm very serious. I have a package that's been delivered to the City-County Building. It is a bomb. It is enough to take out three floors," Burton said.
The threat and evacuation came a day after the City-County Council approved a merger of city and county police agencies as well as an ordinance that bans discrimination against gays.
Campbell said it did not appear that the threat was related to the votes on the two contentious issues.
He said it took between
30 and 50 minutes to evacuate about 8,000 people from the main
tower and two adjoining buildings which together house courts,
county police and city and county administrative offices, including
the offices of Mayor Bart Peterson.
21 Dec 2005, AP
Mailed Bomb Threats Used in Extortion Campaign Against Power Company
New South Wales's second-biggest power company, Delta Electricity, says it has been threatened with extortion.
Channel Ten
tonight reported the extortion demand was received by mail last
week, and contained a threat to bomb one of the four plants.
"The threat has been made, we are taking it seriously, we
are working closely with the State Crime Command and have upgraded
our security," Delta's head of corporate relations, Ray Madden,
said in a statement.
Mr Madden said the written demand was for money, but he refused to detail amounts or when the company received the threat, saying it could jeopardise police investigations.
Mr Madden confirmed the threat was against one of the energy provider's four plants or associated substations, all of which are located on-site.
"(But) to talk of the way in which it was received, the amount of money that has been demanded and the type of threat could jeopardise investigations," he said.
A spokeswoman
for the State Crime Command later said Strike Force Wayside had
been set up to investigate the threat, which was made in the last
fortnight.
"Detectives from the robbery and serious crime squad are
working with Delta to help identify the person or persons involved
in the extortion demand," she said.
"No threats have been made against staff or members of the community."
Delta had upgraded security at all four of its plants to ensure the safety of its staff in the wake of the threat, the spokeswoman said, adding that detectives were urging anyone with information about the threat to contact Crime Stoppers.
Delta Electricity has four power stations at various sites in NSW, including two at Lithgow, west of Sydney, and two on the central coast.
It employs more than 700 people.
In October this year, Australia's biggest fruit juice producer, Berri, was forced to stop production at its South Australian plant after an extortion threat to contaminate imported fruit concentrate.
In July, Snickers and Mars Bars chocolate bars were withdrawn from sale in NSW following threats that seven bars had been contaminated.
And in March,
threats were reportedly made to kill a Multiplex crane driver
if the construction company did not hand over $50 million.
20 Dec 2005
U.S.:
Christmas terror threat in Indonesia high
The U.S. Embassy warned Thursday that the threat of terrorist
attacks targeting Westerners in Indonesia over the Christmas and
New Year holidays was very high.
The Indonesian government also said thousands of troops would
help provide security and protect dignitaries during the holiday
season.
Maps and explosives obtained in a police raid on a terrorist's hideout last month indicated the al-Qaeda-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah was in the advanced stages of planning attacks, the embassy said in an e-mail to citizens.
Indonesian authorities also warned recently that Islamic extremists may be planning to kidnap foreigners over the holidays, and a recently discovered website provided step-by-step instructions on how to gun down Westerners in the streets of Jakarta.
"The embassy reminds Americans that in recent years terrorist attacks have occurred in Indonesia during the Christmas and New Year's holiday season," the U.S. message said, calling on citizens to remain vigilant and to vary the routes and times of their daily activities.
"The possibility of terrorist attacks appears even higher this year."
The world's most populous Muslim nation has been hit by five suicide bombings targeting Western interests since 2002 — including Oct. 1 restaurant attacks on the resort island of Bali — that together killed more than 240 people.
Near simultaneous church bombings on Christmas Eve five years ago killed another 19.
Indonesian military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said Thursday thousands of troops would join police in providing security over the two-week holiday.
Additional guards and patrols also were being deployed to protect high-ranking officials, diplomats and foreigners from potential kidnappings, said police deputy spokesman Anton Bachrul Alam.
Though Jemaah Islamiyah's bomb-making expert Azhari bin Husin was killed last month during a police raid on his hideout, authorities have repeatedly warned that the terror group was still capable of carrying out attacks.
Dozens of bombs and maps were found at the hideout, and a videotape showed a hooded man threatening attacks on American, Australian, Italian and British citizens for their support of the war in Iraq.
The U.S. embassy said terrorists appear to be changing their tactics.
"They are likely now planning to attack Westerners riding in cars or walking on streets, sidewalks or pedestrian overpasses in Jakarta," its message said.
The Australian government issued its own Christmas holiday warning Wednesday, advising its citizens against traveling to Indonesia — especially Bali.
A similar warning also
was issued Thursday by the Danish Foreign Ministry on its website,
which urged "great caution" when in public places where
Westerners gather.
23 Dec, 2005, AP
Bomb
Explodes Near Nightclub in Spain
A bomb exploded near a nightclub in a Basque area Wednesday, but
police cleared the area before the blast and no one was hurt,
the Spanish Interior Ministry said.
Police had been tipped off to the explosive in the back of the building in the Pyrenees village of Santesteban, about 10 miles south of the border with France, and cordoned off the area before the explosion, the ministry told The Associated Press. There was no immediate word on the extent of damage.
The ministry didn't name any suspects. But the Basque newspaper Gara said it had received a warning of the bomb from a caller claiming to represent the separatist group ETA, which is battling for an independent Basque state in northern Spain and southwest France.
ETA is blamed for more
than 800 deaths since the late 1960s as part of its drive for
an independent state. The government says ETA has been severely
weakened by arrests in recent years.
21 Dec 2005, AP
Threat
clears City-County Building
A bomb threat caused an evacuation of the City-County Building
on Tuesday afternoon, sending 8,000 people streaming out of the
building, shutting down courts and slowing Downtown traffic for
three hours.
The rare evacuation of the 28-story building that serves as the
heart of government in Indianapolis and Marion County was caused
by a phone call that raised unusual suspicions.
"Without revealing exactly what was said, the call convinced
us that they should be taken seriously," Deputy Mayor Steve
Campbell said.
Authorities are searching for the person who made the threat.
Police say a man called a city government office and gave a "credible
threat" that an explosive was planted in the building. The
man had a Caribbean accent and called from a pay phone, said Capt.
Phil Burton of the Marion County Sheriff's Department. Officials
said the caller offered no motive for the threat.
Deputies using search dogs found two suspicious packages, one
in the basement Drug Court and another near the first-floor main
entryway. Neither proved hazardous.
One backpack held shoes, a Bible and a pocketknife, while the
other package contained office supplies. Investigators were not
sure why the items had been left in the halls.
The Sheriff's Department handles security for the building, and
Burton said Sheriff Frank Anderson ordered the evacuation.
People were told not to use the elevators, so the evacuation took
30 to 50 minutes as people worked their way down the stairwells.
There were three reports of people who needed to be checked by
medics after the evacuation.
Many of the city-county employees gathered across the street at
City Market, and police brought in IndyGo buses as shelter from
the 20-degree temperatures. Some people were taken by bus to Conseco
Fieldhouse, where they waited in the lobby.
The all-clear was reported at 3:40 p.m., allowing workers to return
to their offices. People involved in court cases were told to
call those courts and arrange new dates for their proceedings.
The building has had airport-style security checkpoints since
the Sept. 11 attacks. Except for government workers, all visitors
to the building must pass through metal detectors and are subject
to search by security guards.
Other than law enforcement officers, anyone caught bringing a
weapon or an object considered to be dangerous inside must leave
or surrender the weapon with no chance of getting it back.
21 December 2005, Indystar
Bomb scare creates panic at New Delhi station
A bomb scare on the New Delhi Railway Station threw passengers into panic on Monday, after a hoax call at 11:39 am.
An anonymous caller informed the police control room saying that a bomb had been placed on the station.
Soon the bomb disposal
squad and sniffer dogs were called but nothing was found after
an hour-long search, police said. The police are trying to trace
the caller.
19 Dec 2005, AP
Bomb
blast in Spain's Basque country
A bomb exploded on Saturday at a business in Spain's Basque country,
causing no injuries, after a warning call in the name of Basque
separatist guerrilla group ETA, police said.
The telephoned warning to a Basque newspaper and the regional
highway authority gave police time to evacuate the business, that
sells eels, and cordon off the area.
As a precaution, police temporarily closed the busy N1 motorway that runs close to the business at Irura, near the Basque coastal resort of San Sebastian.
A police spokesman said no one was injured in the blast. He had no information on damage, but news reports said it was extensive.
Employees of the company earlier spotted a suspicious rucksack at the entrance to the building, the police spokesman said.
ETA, considered a terrorist
organisation by the European Union and the United States, has
killed nearly 850 people since 1968 in a bombing and shooting
campaign for an independent Basque state in northern Spain and
southwestern France. I
It often attacks or threatens businesses in the Basque country
in a bid to force them to pay a "revolutionary tax"
with which it funds itself.
No one has been killed in an ETA attack for more than two years but the group still regularly carries out small-scale bombings.
Police said ETA was probably to blame for a December 11 blast outside a Basque post office that caused substantial damage but no injuries.
The Spanish government
said in May it would talk to ETA if the group laid down its arms,
but a Basque newspaper recently quoted ETA's internal bulletin
as saying the group would not declare a ceasefire until the Spanish
and French governments made concessions.
18 Dec, 2005, Reuters
Indian
parliament evacuated after warning of bomb attack
India's parliament was evacuated after intelligence agencies warned
of a possible militant bomb attack on the heavily guarded complex,
the government said.
The two houses of parliament were adjourned "after intelligence agencies received a tip-off about some definite information about outfits planning to have bomb blasts," said Anand Sharma, spokesman for the ruling Congress party.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was in parliament, was immediately whisked away by security men to his office about a kilometer (three-quarters of a mile) away.
Security forces threw up barricades around parliament as commandos, soldiers and police with guns drawn surrounded the complex while MPs raced out in cars with sirens wailing.
"We haven't found a bomb but to be doubly sure we are checking again," Home Minister Shivraj Patil said as bomb disposal experts combed the complex.
"We think the situation will be all right," Patil said on Friday.
The alert came just over four years after Islamic militants staged a deadly raid on India's parliament that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-backed rebels. Pakistan denied any involvement.
Five gunmen stormed the complex, killing nine people before being shot dead, in an attack which brought nuclear-armed India and Pakistan close to a fourth war. A journalist wounded in the raid died months later.
Security agencies also tightened security at the presidential palace, some two kilometres (1.2 miles) from parliament.
Security was also heightened at the South and North Blocks, housing the main government after the evacuation of hundreds of MPs, ministers and staff from parliament.
Patil said information about the bomb threat came in the form of an e-mail from the southern city of Chennai.
It was received by India's intelligence agency and the US embassy and the place from where it has come has been "tracked," Patil said. He did not elaborate.
Heavy metal barriers were put in front of all entrances to the sprawling parliamentary complex.
"There are three levels in the building comprising hundreds of offices," said Inspector Ram Vir Singh, leading one bomb disposal team.
"We've completed one section but we'll do it again because it's the highest security zone in the country and we're not leaving anything to chance," he told AFP.
"Question hour was on when an official came in and informed him (the Speaker) of some bomb scare...immediately the Speaker adjourned the house," Congress party member Pawan Kumar Bansal said.
"We were told the parliament building has to be evacuated," Bansal said.
Security fears have grown since bomb blasts shook New Delhi in late October on the eve of India's biggest Hindu festival, killing 66 people and injuring 220.
Police blamed the blasts on a Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba fighting New Delhi's rule in Indian Kashmir.
Pakistan, which now
is engaged in a slow-moving peace process with India, condemned
the October blasts
16 Dec 2005, Reuters
Bomb
blast at Greek Economy Ministry injures two
A bomb explosion rocked Greece's Economy Ministry in central Athens
on Monday, injuring two people and causing extensive damage, police
said.
The blast blew out nearby shop fronts, damaged cars and cafes and shattered windows in the business district of the city shortly before the morning rush hour.
The ministry, located above a post office in the city's main Syntagma Square and about 100 metres from parliament, was closed at the time of the blast, the second such attack in six months.
"Initial evidence shows the explosion was triggered by a home-made explosive device placed outside the ministry," a police spokeswoman said. "There are two people injured slightly in the blast."
A police source later said the bomb had been left on a motorcycle parked close to the building.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast. Police said there had been two warning calls to a Greek newspaper about half an hour before the explosion.
"There is a bomb outside the Economy Ministry and this is not a joke," said the first caller to the daily Eleftherotypia newspaper at 0240 GMT, 27 minutes before the explosion.
FLYING GLASS
Police sealed off the area. The two people injured by flying glass shards were beyond the police cordon, officials said.
It was the second bomb attack at a government building in six months. In June, a guerrilla group calling itself "Revolutionary Struggle" bombed the Labour Ministry, causing no injuries but seriously damaging the building.
While initially saying the explosive device was made up of about 10 medium-sized gas canisters, police later said it was a bomb triggered by an alarm clock.
"Gas canisters found near the site are not related to the blast but to some construction," a police source said.
Police consider this a more powerful bomb than those used during minor attacks by fringe groups in recent years. Officials did not say whether the explosion was being linked to the appeals trial of 15 members of Greece's once-feared November 17 radical leftist guerrilla group.
Several fringe groups had warned in recent weeks of attacks during the appeals trial, which began two weeks ago.
Dozens of police cars and fire trucks were at the scene as forensic experts combed through the debris.
"I was
lucky to escape this blast alive," one kiosk owner told Reuters.
"I heard it and then just felt the shockwave, which was big."
12 Dec 2005, Reuters
Beirut
car bomb kills MP Tueni and three others
A car bomb attack killed Lebanese Christian MP Gibran Tueni, a
prominent anti-Syrian journalist, and three other people in a
Beirut suburb, rescue workers said.
Firemen recovered the body of the MP, 48, from his car which was set ablaze by the blast. Ten other people were wounded, two of them seriously, in the attack at around 9 am (0700 GMT) in the Christian suburb of Mkalles.
The bombing took place one day after the head of the UN panel probing the February killing of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri presented his findings to UN chief Kofi Annan.
Rescue workers also recovered the body of Tueni's driver, Nicolas Flouti, and one other body from the blazing vehicle and were trying to pull out a fourth corpse.
Later on Monday, the UN Security Council was due to receive the sensitive report from German magistrate Detlev Mehlis on Syria's cooperation with the probe into the murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.
He was killed
by a massive bomb blast on Beirut seafront, with many Lebanese
blaming Damascus for his death, a charge Syria denies.
11 December
2005, Reuters
Suspicious Mail Causes Terror Scare in Missouri
A strip mall was quarantined for about 90 minutes on Tuesday after a suspicious postal package was received by a business owner.
Members of a joint terrorism task force later determined there was clothing inside the package, but they said local authorities followed the proper procedures by calling in an alert.
Jim Cox, owner of LTC Pharmacy Services, picked up a box at the post office and was alarmed when he found another sealed package inside.
"It was kind of like a burlap bag or a sandbag type of thing," Cox said.
There were Arabic names on the secondary package, which apparently was sent from Pakistan to an address in St. Louis. However, the outer package had a postmark from New Jersey. Cox said he did not know anyone from Pakistan or New Jersey.
Cox took the package out of the business and placed it in the back of a pickup truck. Then he called the Louisiana Police Department.
"Ten years ago nobody would have thought twice about it. A guy would have looked inside, saw it was clothes and thrown it away. Things have changed since 9/11," said Jim Graham, the Louisiana police chief.
Graham contacted the FBI, which sent in the joint terrorism task force. Three men from St. Louis were on the scene within about 90 minutes and were able to X-ray the package and determine it was not a bomb or a likely biohazard.
Investigators are trying to reach the individual in St. Louis who was to receive the interior package. The phone number listed for that name was disconnected, but the task force will check on the address.
John Jackman, a postal inspector from the St. Louis office, said one member from his agency responded with the joint terrorism task force.
"It's our job to keep customers safe. Anything that has to do with the mail is our responsibility," Jackman said.
The owner of one nearby restaurant said although businesses near LTC Pharmacy Services might have been quarantined for up to 90 minutes, his business was only affected for about 10 minutes.
Patty Johnson, owner of PJ's Salon, said she was working on customers' hair and didn't realize nobody was being allowed to enter or leave the parking lot until the quarantine was nearly over.
"By the time I found out it only lasted about 15 or 20 minutes," Johnson said.
"It didn't cost my me a lot of business, but I did have to come in early today and put color in a customer's hair because I didn't want to run the risk they would evacuate us yesterday," Johnson said.
Cox said his staff of 40 employees continued to work while the investigation was under way. He said the mail package was only in the office area and was then removed from the building.
"It had no impact on the business," Cox said.
Graham said Louisiana police have contacted the task force before. Soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks there were local concerns about low-flying planes. Graham said it turned out there was no reason for concern, but people were concerned about protecting the Champ Clark bridge over the Mississippi River, the Hercules plant and other sites.
7 Dec 2005 Quincy Herald
Whig
Hazmat
Crew Investigates Suspicious Package Sent to Florida Law Firm
A package that arrived Monday at a Lake Worth law office created some tense moments, but no injuries were reported.
Authorities said the package arrived at the law office of Charles Williams, located on the 900 block of Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. The lawyers said they became suspicious once they realized that the package was addressed to three people -- one a former partner, another a fictitious name. Also, the number on the package was not the building's address, they said.
Inside the box, which was big enough to hold a microwave oven, were clothes and a note that said contents of the package were covered in a hazardous material, officials said.
"We called in the Lake Worth Fire Department and assessed the situation, and they decided to call in a hazmat crew from Palm Beach Fire and Rescue," said Lake Worth Police Sgt. Dan Boland.
The contents of the box did not initially test positive for any hazardous material, Boland said.
6 Dec 2005, WPFB News
Explosive
Devices Found in Mail in Spain
Basque terrorist group ETA has today set off a series of small explosive devices across five motorways on exit roads out of Madrid. A phone warning in the name of ETA was received and the devices exploded after three this afternoon.
There are no reports of any injuries, and only small amounts of material damage have been caused.
The M40, M45, M50, A2 and A6 roads were closed to traffic for a time, but all are now back open again. The explosions all took place on pavements or by the roads concerned.
Earlier in the day the airport at Santander was evacuated after a warning, again in the name of ETA, that several grenades had been set up there and were primed to explode between 12 noon and 2pm, but an extensive search by police found nothing and the airport is now open again, without any devices having gone off.
And before that postal workers in the town of Alsasua in Navarra came across a device containing between 500 and 750 grams of explosives. It went off causing material damage, but again there were no injuries.
It is clear that ETA wanted to cause as much disruption as possible on this anniversary of the Spanish Constitution.
6 Dec 2005, Typically
Spanish
Two Britons Detained in Azerbaijan on Suspicion
of Bioterrorism
Police in Baku, the capital of the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, have detained two British nationals near a water reservoir. The two are being held on suspicion of trying to poison water supplies, the Regnum news agency reported.
The two men were arrested on Dec. 3 as they were trying to pour a white powder into the water. The powder has been sent for examination.
Prelimary reports identified the suspects as Paul Williamson and Duncan Jackson, employees of British Petroleum. The Azeri police said a map of the area was found on the detainees.
A correspondent for local television network, Azad Azarbaycan TV, cited a police source as saying that the two had been detained because they had behaved in a suspicious manner near the strategic water reservoir.
The expatriates were questioned at the district police department for several hours but did not explain why they had entered the area of the water reservoir. The National Security Ministry is currently investigating the bizarre actions of the foreigners.
6 Dec 2005, Mos News
Bomb Scares Shut Down Entire Connecticut Court System
Connecticut homeland security officials went more than two hours Friday without knowing that a series of bomb threats had forced the evacuation and shutdown of the state's 45 courthouses, authorities acknowledged Monday.
Neither police nor Gov. M. Jodi Rell's office - which received one of the bomb threats at 10 a.m. - had informed the security agency by noon, leaving top officials to learn about the first-of-its-kind evacuation from reporters.
"We know we have to work very closely together and we're hoping the situation we experienced Friday won't be replicated," James Thomas, commissioner of the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said Monday.
Investigators believe the bomb threat was a hoax designed to disrupt court business. State police in Colchester were questioning someone they described as a "person of interest" Monday, but spokesman Sgt. J. Paul Vance said no arrests had been made.
Public Safety Commissioner Leonard Boyle said Friday's threat fell between the cracks because it was more than a routine scare but did not rise to level of a statewide emergency.
"We're going to come up with a system, either by blast fax or e-mail, that will notify all state agencies when something like this arises," Boyle said. "When we have information that's important to get out statewide, but that isn't an emergency, we need a better way."
Had a bomb exploded, Thomas would have been in charge of coordinating the response to an attack he had no information about. He and Boyle spoke Monday and agreed that the system must be improved.
The bomb threat was one of the first tests of Rell's homeland security communications. The Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security was formed in part to improve communication between agencies.
Rell's spokesman, Judd Everhart, said Thomas should have been notified but he had no immediate response to why nobody in Rell's office made the call.
"The governor has directed Commissioner Boyle to tighten the communications plan among state agencies so there is better and faster communication in an emergency," Everhart said.
New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, who is vying for his party's nomination in next year's gubernatorial race, immediately seized on the misstep. He said Rell is too quick to blame her commissioners for her administration's problems.
"You can't separate the governor's office from the homeland security team from the first responders. They have to be one and the same," DeStefano said. "In two hours, the World Trade Centers were hit and came down. That's what can happen in 120 minutes. In New York it was 3,000 people's lifetimes."
Boyle said homeland security officials were not immediately informed because the threat was not specific. Investigators couldn't determine its credibility, he said, and there was no indication of terrorism.
But if it was important enough to evacuate the judicial system, Thomas should have been called, Boyle said. He said local police have also complained that they were not notified. Local police will be included in any new statewide communication system, Boyle said.
While Thomas said he should have known about the threat earlier, he said State Police did the right thing by clearing the courthouses immediately.
"If I'm notified until after everyone is safe and secure, that's OK," Thomas said.
Chief State's Attorney Christopher Morano, whose prosecutors were working throughout the judicial system, echoed that Monday.
"I believe the State Police did an admirable job making contact with judicial officials, with my office and the people on the front lines being exposed," Morano said. "I think they also did a great job investigating immediately. Every time you have an incident you can learn from it, but I'd leave it to them."
After police monitored courthouses over the weekend and reported no problems, courts opened as usual Monday. Courts in New Britain and Bristol were briefly evacuated after police received another threat Monday morning.
Police were
investigating whether the same person made both threats both Friday
and Monday.
Bomb
Squad Diffuses Suspicious Package at Indiana Post Office
The Evansville Bomb Squad is called in after a suspicious package is discovered at the downtown Post Office.
This all began about 12:30 Monday morning. A witness told police he saw someone go into the Post Office lobby, drop a backpack and then run away.
After the witness alerted police, the bomb squad was called in. They sent their new ANDROS robot into the post office to investigate further. They got a closer look at the bag by using the robot's camera.
After about an hour, the decision was made to diffuse the backpack. They did that by using a water cannon.
Turns out the backpack was filled with tennis shoes.
So far, police have no idea who left the bag. But we do understand a window in the Post Office was damaged by the blast of the water cannon.
5 Dec 2005
WFIE News
Bank
in Scotland is Targeted With Faeces-Laden Hate Mail
A bank is being targeted with packages of excrement in a bizarre postal hate campaign.
A mystery person has been posting around six or seven parcels a week to the branch for the last six months.
Last Thursday alone saw 17 of the packages sent to the unnamed bank.
On each occasion, the smell coming from the parcels has led Royal Mail staff to intercept them before they reach their intended destination.
Sources yesterday said a disgruntled customer was likely to be behind the sick stunts Police are investigating after being called in by disgusted Royal Mail security staff.
It's thought officers are considering using DNA evidence from the faeces - should it turn out to be human.
Staff at the Strothers Lane sorting and delivery office in Inverness have been dealing with the problem since it began.
One worker claims Royal Mail managers have not done enough to protect the health and safety of workers.
The employee, who did not want to be named, said: "Some of the packages are bursting open and it's pretty disgusting and smelly.
"This has been going on for the past six months and the management only did something about it last week.
"It's a disgrace. At first, managers were just throwing the packages away."
Police say it's illegal to send hazardous or dangerous packages through the post. The culprit is likely to face charges of breach of the peace if caught.
Northern Constabulary Chief Inspector Ian Cox said: "The packages are originating in the Highlands.
"The envelopes are not addressed to an individual at the bank - they're just addressed to the bank in general.
"Because this has happened a few times and because they all originate from the Highlands we are making the link that it's just one person carrying out these acts."
A Royal Mail spokeswoman confirmed the packages were being sent - but said all had been intercepted because of their smell.
She said: "Police were notified when these packages started arriving a few months ago and latex gloves areavailable for staff who want them"We are not sure whether the contents of the packages are human, although we believe them to be.
"They arrive at the Inverness mail centre addressed to a local bank.
"Police have taken samples and have been working with our own security teams."
She added: "There have been on average six or seven a week but last Thursday there were 17.
"There has not been any contamination of staff or equipment, although there has been one small spillage.
1 Dec 2005, Daily Record
Law
Enforcement Officials Focus on Eco-Terrorism
Eco-terrorism is a term not heard often among the general public, but it is the center of controversy for animal rights activists and the FBI.
In his speech to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in May, John E. Lewis, Deputy Assistant Director of Counterterrorism Division for the FBI, said "From January 1990 to June 2004, animal and environmental rights extremists have claimed credit for more than 1,200 criminal incidents, resulting in millions of dollars in damage and monetary loss."
He also said he has a growing concern for the increased violence of animal rights activists.
Harassing phone calls and mild vandalism have escalated to personal threats and the use of explosive devices, Lewis said.
One of the more extreme threats was witnessed earlier this decade in Chicago.
Frank Bochte, special agent spokesman for the FBI, said the case for the vandalism to Supreme Lobster and Seafood Co. delivery trucks in February 2003 is still on trial.
Brake lines and refrigeration systems on 48 trucks were cut and "ALF-No Brakes" was written on the building, Bochte said.
ALF (Animal Liberation Front) and ELF (Earth Liberation Front) are two of the many animal rights groups that are led by an unclear governing body.
The growth of eco-terrorism has grown so rapidly, Bochte said, that "Domestic terrorism is the top priority of the FBI."
Despite the lack of a clear governing system, many animal rights activists attended the final trial in Madison, Wis. of 28-year-old Peter Young, who was accused of domestic terrorism.
The Peter Young Support Committee said more than 50 people from across the country attended his trial on Nov. 8.
According to supportpeter.com, Young and his accomplice Justin Samuel were pulled over in Sheboygan County, Wis., in October 1997 when mink farmers grew suspicious of their presence around their barns.
Young pled guilty to the release of 7,000 minks from four Midwestern fur farms.
The two were indicted in September 1998 in Madison for four counts of extortion and two counts of animal enterprise terrorism that carried an 82-year prison sentence.
Samuel and Young went underground and fled their indictments, but both were caught in 1999.
Samuel was picked up in Belgium and Young was arrested in San Jose, Calif., at a Starbucks for stealing CDs.
The Peter Young Support committee said the courts dropped the 82-year sentence because of a Supreme Court ruling that protects political activists against extortion charges.
Young’s final
sentence accumulated to 360 hours of community service to a charity
that only benefits humans, $254,000 restitution, and two years
in a federal prison with a one-year probation.
27 Nov 2005, Northern Star
Woman Detained for Mailing Powder Hoax Threat to Tony Blair
Local MPs have vowed not to let hoaxers interfere with the lives after a woman was detained for sending suspect white powder to Tony Blair.
Yesterday, Heather Kennaby was detained under the Mental Health Act after pleading guilty to two counts of a hoax involving a noxious substance, between April 6 and 12.
Peterborough Crown Court heard how the 55-year-old schizophrenic sent packages of white powder to the Prime Minister and sparked a full scale anti-terror investigation.
But today, Malcolm Moss, MP for North East Cambridgeshire, said: "I was a minister in Northern Ireland, where I drove everywhere in an armoured car with armed police. I did not think about terrrorist threats.
"All Parliamentary post is screened by police. If I receive packages at home, I'll be more careful."
The court heard Kennaby was easy to trace as she had included her name and address in the packages with the substance, which later turned out to be talcum powder.
Prosecutor William Powell said she had been cautioned by police in 2003 for sending white powder to Thorpe Wood police station, in Peterborough.
Kennaby, of Tudor Court, Gunthorpe, Peterborough, will now be given long-term care in a group home environment in a medium security unit.
Mitigating, Claire
Matthews said that Kennaby had a history of mental illness dating
back to 1968.
19 Nov 2005, Peterborough
Today
University of Oklahoma Bomber Used Internet for Bomb Making Instructions
The University of Oklahoma student who blew himself up Oct. 1 used the Internet to research bomb-making, had experimented setting off bombs and left a computer message that read, "None of you are worth living with," the FBI reported.
The FBI reported finding "explosive experiments and paraphernalia" and 0.4 pound of a white powder that turned out to be TATP -- the same volatile high explosive used in the London subway bombings -- in a search of his Norman apartment.
Joel "Joe" Henry Hinrichs III, an engineering student, died when his bomb went off about 100 yards from OU's packed football stadium during the second quarter of OU's night game against Kansas State.
New details emerged Friday when U.S. Magistrate Valerie Couch made public the records on the FBI search of Hinrichs' apartment, his e-mail account and nine OU computers.
Federal prosecutors told the magistrate "there is no longer any necessity" for the documents to remain sealed.
FBI officials have said in the past that the probe did not uncover any links between the student and terrorist organizations. They have said they may never know whether the student wanted to get inside the stadium.
Hinrichs, 21, was from Colorado Springs, Colo. He had a reputation as a loner who was fascinated with ammunition and bombs.
The FBI found in his apartment mixing bowls, a slow cooker, a thermometer, plastic containers, a hobby fuse, a circuit board, six tape rolls, chemicals used to make TATP and TATP itself.
TATP, triacetone triperoxide, is made from hydrogen peroxide and acetone. An Oklahoma City police bomb technician, who was not involved in the investigation, told The Oklahoman the amount still in the apartment was enough to "very easily take both your hands off."
During the search of Hinrichs' apartment after the blast, the FBI found the student's laptop computer was still on and had on the screen notes apparently written by Hinrichs to himself, the records show. At the cursor was a phrase that began with profanity and continued " ... all this. None of you are worth living with. You can all kiss my ass."
The FBI also found Hinrichs downloaded from the Internet "numerous text and image files" on weapons and explosives, including one on TATP four days before his death.
One video on his computer depicted a lighted match being placed above a white powder, then a bright flash.
The FBI reported a student, Lawrence R. Kincheloe III, told agents Hinrichs liked explosives, frequently experimented with building and detonating explosive devices, and once showed off a detonator.
Kincheloe and Hinrichs belonged to the Triangle Fraternity, an organization of engineers, architects and scientists
"Kincheloe told the agents that Hinrichs would drive out to remote areas to try to detonate bombs, but that he never accompanied Hinrichs," the FBI reported. "Kincheloe stated Hinrichs did show him the remains of some ... devices he detonated, which Kincheloe described as pieces of plastic soda bottles."
Hinrichs' roommate, Fazal Cheema, told agents the two had lived together since June 6 but did not socialize. Cheema said Hinrichs had responded to his Internet ad for a