Scots Concerned "Test Run" Near Loch Lomond May Indicate "Imminent" Attack

Officials in Scotland are reportedly * combing a blast site near the famed Loch Lomond where an explosion was heard last week, trying to find more evidence that may link the area to jihad training activities.

Loch blast link to 'imminent' attack
21 November 2010
By Emma Cowing and Gareth Rose

One of Scotland's foremost terrorism experts has warned the explosion at Gartocharn near Loch Lomond last week may indicate a terrorist attack on Britain is imminent.

Professor David Capitanchik, terror expert from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, told Scotland on Sunday that the blast, which was heard several hundred yards away and has raised the possibility of an al-Qaeda style training camp in the area, bore the hallmarks of a test run.

"Terrorists get training in Pakistan, or Afghanistan, they get shown the materials and how to put the bombs together. But the critical thing is how to detonate it." he said. "I would think they were planning for something imminent."

Forensics officers, including counter-terrorism specialists from the Metropolitan Police and Royal Navy explosives experts, were yesterday still carrying out a fingertip search of the blast area, where it is believed several devices have been recovered.

A wide area has been closed off to the public and, on Friday, Met helicopters with thermal imaging equipment flew over the area. A tree is thought to have snapped in half during the explosion, reported to the police on Wednesday afternoon by a dog walker.

A former senior security source said: "This is somebody who is testing the viability of an explosive. They are testing out a mixture or some sort of device to see if it works."

He added: "I think it's pretty clear this is a big concern. Ever since Mumbai (a terrorist attack on the Indian city], when gunmen entered the building carrying explosives, we have been concerned about that.

"So someone testing devices to see if they will work is a worry."

He said the investigation would focus on specific hallmarks of terrorist activity.

"What they will be looking for is any traces or fragments which they can analyse to what nature of explosive it is - commercial, military or homemade.

"Depending on which it is and what debris they can find, they may be able to trace it back to who would use this, who would have exploded it."

Chief superintendent Calum Murray, divisional commander, Argyll, Bute and West Dunbartonshire, last night maintained that terrorism-related activity could not be ruled out.

He said: "The location of this explosion poses a significant challenge in terms of the size of the area and the terrain we are searching.

"This is a meticulous and painstaking operation which is understandably taking some time.

"It is only right that we carry out the most thorough of investigations and avoid speculating on the nature of this incident until we have thoroughly considered and analysed any potential evidence we may find. Police are following a number of positive lines of enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the explosion on Wednesday afternoon.

"The area remains cordoned off and it will take considerable time to search the location."

Kudos to the Scots for not being content to write such activity off to kids with bottle rockets. Apparently the nature of the evidence found so far indicates more sinister activity. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the TSA continues to strip search elderly cancer survivors, pre-pubescent children... actually anything that it not wearing a burka bag or otherwise identifiable as a Proud Son/Daughter of the Ummah.

Scots Wha Hae.

(Looks like this story is subscription only at The Scotsman. However, it is also posted over at Atlas with additional commentary.)

Posts for Nov 7th: Lybian newspaper suspended, Al-Awlaki's influence, Spying AQ, Commemorating intifada, French "youths" attack Catholic Mass, Professor denies Holocaust, British Abu Hamza, Terrorist arrested, Kosovo's headscarf ban, "Education" for Islamic apostates, Mosque bombings, silence of Muslim leaders

1. Lybia: Pro-reform newspaper suspended. The Libyan government has suspended printing of a newspaper controlled by a reformist son of leader Muammar Gaddafi, local media reported, in what could be the latest phase in a power struggle inside the oil exporting state. The newspaper had accused the Govt of not tackling corruption.
2. UK: Al-Awlaki sermons influenced Muslim woman to stab British MP. Roshanara Choudhry, a 21-year-old student who has been jailed for life for trying to assassinate British MP Stephen Timms in May this year, told police she had wanted to die as a martyr after watching more than 100 hours of video sermons from the American-born extremist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki on the internet.
3. Terror: Spy agencies have infiltrated AQ. The case of Rahman (an ex-GITMO who spied the Taliban and who was killed after they discovered it), which Shah (the Taliban spokeman) recounted to The Associated Press, falls in line with a key aspect of the fight against terror — Western intelligence agencies, with help from Islamic allies, are placing moles and informants inside al-Qaida and the Taliban. The program seems to be bearing fruit, even as many infiltrators like Rahman are discovered and killed.
4. UK: Venezuelan embassy to commemorate intifada: The intifada was “at the forefront of the world struggle against white supremacist neo-colonialism and settler-colonialism,” according to the embassy.
5. France: "youths" throw stones and pine cones at Catholics during All Souls' mass: 150 people attending the memorial service for the dead late Tuesday afternoon in a church in a sensitive area of Carcassonne, were victims of two teenagers (between 13 and 14 years),who, after entering the building, they began throwing stones and pine cones to the faithful. One person was hit. In addition, a statue of the Virgin, targeted by the young snatchers, was damaged.
6. US: Vanderbilt radical professor denies Holocaust: Kaukab Siddique, associate professor of English at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, is an Islamic radical who demonizes Jews, mocks Holocaust victims and calls on Muslims to “liberate” Jerusalem.
7. UK: Citizenship restored to cleric wanted on terrorism charges on the US: A British government ruling stripping the Egyptian-born Muslim cleric known as Abu Hamza al-Masri of his British citizenship was struck down Friday by a special immigration court. But government officials said the court’s action would not affect the government’s plan to extradite the cleric to the United States, where he is wanted on terrorism charges. Officials in the office of Home Secretary Theresa May said no decision had been made on whether to appeal the immigration court’s ruling to a higher British court.
8. Germany: terrorist suspect arrested in Saarland region. The man demanded the release of an imprisoned member of the so-called Sauerland group which attempted to blow up US army bases in Germany in 2007.
9. Kosovo: Headscarf ban sparks debate over country's identity: The government decided to forbid the wearing of headscarves in public schools late last year, in accordance with the constitution that declares Kosovo – which unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008 – a secular country. “The scarf in Kosovo is not an element of our identity. It’s a sign of submission of female to male, rather than a sign of choice“, Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Vlora Citaku explains.
10. "Islam not invasive": "retreat centers" for Christian converts from Islam in Malaysia: A two-hour journey from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur revealed an isolated encampment where some Christian converts say they’ve been taken in order to be forced back to Islam.
11. Pakistan: Death toll in mosques' bombing over 70. The mosques belong to Ahmaddiya community. The death toll right now is of 95.
12. Salim Mansur: "We have a deadly silence of the Muslim leadership": " we have deathly silence of the Muslim leadership as non-Muslim minorities inside the Arab-Muslim world are routinely abused, their homes and places of worship under daily duress, and their hearts filled with fear of violent death in the hands of Muslim jihadis."

Posts for Nov 5th: Ramala's 5-Star Hotel, Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, Sexual Harrassment in Egypt, ISAF kills Haqqani network leader, Soutudeh in danger, US Human Rights reacord scrutinized in UNHRC,

1. Ramallah gets five star luxury hotel: The hotel, a franchise of the Swiss-based Movenpick chain, has 171 rooms and suites, an outdoor pool, and a fitness center, and cost $40 million.
   
2. UK: Jihadist webmaster Abdel Hameed Shehadeh held without bail in Brooklyn Federal Court: Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, 21, of Staten Island, was arrested last week in Hawaii, where he had tried in the past to travel to Somalia, but failed because he was on a “no fly” list.
   
3. Egypt: Challenging sexual harrassment on Cairo's streets: The project, called HarassMap, aims to create a map of the ‘hotspots’ of harassment in Cairo – that is, the places where harassment most frequently occurs.
   
4. Afghanistan: fifth Haqqani network leader confirmed killed during Paktiya operation: Intelligence reports later confirmed the death of the five Haqqani leaders as well as several additional Haqqani fighters. It is assessed the security force had broken up a Haqqani leadership meeting.
   
5. Iran: Life of Jailed Human Rights Lawyer at great risk: On Sunday, 31 October, Nasrin Sotoudeh, one of Iran’s most prominent human rights lawyers went on a dry hunger strike protesting her detention and ill treatment inside Tehran’s Evin prison. Her family reported that her health is quickly deteriorating.
   
6. UN: Cuba, Venezuela, Iran top the list of countries lining up to scrutinize US Human Rights during UN review: ccording to diplomats cited Wednesday by a Geneva-based NGO, U.N. Watch, Cuban officials “took the lead last week in circulating an advance sign-up sheet.” “We are concerned that Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and other non-democracies are planning to hijack the session to score propaganda points and drum up anti-American sentiment worldwide,” said the organization’s executive director, Hillel Neuer.
   
7. UK: Al-Qaeda terrorist arrested: Talking to the Royal United Services Institute, May revealed that an associate of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was arrested earlier this year and is suspected of planning an attack on the country. This terrorist unit has been blamed for the cargo bomb plot on the US just last week, which was intercepted. The bombs were found in printer cartridge packages in Dubai and Britain and were being mailed to the US. It’s believed that Anwar al-Awlaki, a US national and al-Qaeda leader, was the mastermind behind the attack from his base in Yemen.

The People's Cube.com

Philippines: Bishop fears for Christians' lifes after Basilan's attacks

Image via Wikipedia

This is an update on this story:

Following an April 13 Islamist terrorist attack that destroyed 70% of his cathedral, a Philippine bishop says that he and the other Christians of the city fear for their lives.
“It is the first time we are attacked so directly and with such force,” said Bishop Martin Jumoad of the Territorial Prelature of Isabella. “In the past, I received several threatening letters and intimidation. There have been other smaller attacks, but now it is very different. This could be a tragedy. I seriously fear for my life and the lives of the faithful.”
“I have prepared a pastoral letter calling on Catholics to stay in Basilan, which is our home, and asking them to remain calm, not to react to violence, and to pray for peace,” he added. “Today, a procession of people carrying candles as a sign of peace lit the city. Our hope must not die.”
81% of the Philippines’ 88.7 million people are Catholic. However, the territory in which Bishop Jumoad ministers is predominantly Muslim, with only 27% of residents being Catholic.

CNA has more on the Bishop's statements:

Sta. Isabel Cathedral via.

The 53-year-old prelate said he does not know how to rebuild the cathedral (left), constructed in 1970 with a capacity for 1,400 worshipers.
...The blasts shattered the cathedral’s stained glass windows and damaged the priests’ rectory. Several priests’ service vehicles were also destroyed.
Regional military chief Lieutenant General Ben Dolorfino said military intelligence had received reports of an impending attack, but not its details, AFP says.
"They were planning something big. This was well planned and apparently they were well funded."
Authorities suspect that politicians who hired mercenaries may have been behind the attacks. 

LWJ reports on other aspects of the attacks:

Five civilians, five Philippine Marines, a policeman, and four Abu Sayyaf Group fighters were reported killed in the ensuing clashes, and five Abu Sayyaf fighters were captured. Police and Philippine troops are currently pursuing the remaining Abu Sayyaf fighters.
Today’s attacks in Isabela are reminiscent of recent terror assaults by the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and other al Qaeda-associated groups in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Yemen.

Archbishop Jumoad (right) issued last year an statement in which he rejected any talks with Abu Sayyaf:

He said the government must unleash more troops with a mission to finish off the militant group in the southern provinces of Basilan and Sulu. “They don’t have ideology. They are plain terrorist and I think there should be no dialogue with them,” Bishop Jumoad said over Church-run Radyo Veritas Friday.
“I am a bishop saying but I'm saying things like this because I know when it comes to terrorists, there are no negotiations,” he said.

A reasonable cause to attack his Cathedral, isn't it?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Nine killed by Philippines rebels (news.bbc.co.uk)
• Get Basilan attackers (mb.com) 

Cross-posted from T&P.

US: Obama freezes properties of Somali Al-Qaeda-linked individuals and of Al-Shebab

Image via Wikipedia

US President Barack Obama Tuesday signed an executive order freezing the property in the United States of members of a group of radical Islamists "contributing to the conflict in Somalia."
Obama said in his order he "declared a national emergency to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by that conflict."
He said that the measure, which named 11 individuals and the Al-Qaeda-inspired hardline Shebab militia, was "not targeted at the entire country of Somalia, but rather is intended to target those who threaten peace and stability in Somalia."

About time...

Anyway, that clarification seems a little bit useless, isn't it? Of course, the measure, which goes against 11 individuals and a terrorist group is not targeted at the entire country.

While the ban on music stopped the broadcasting on several radios, fights continue, with an added problem: lack of doctors and nurses. The existent have to cope with the increasing number of casualties:

According to WHO, only 250 qualified doctors, 860 nurses and 116 midwives work today in Somalia, home to the lowest number of health workers of any country in the Horn of Africa or Middle East.

Also Mark Bowden, the United Nations Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Somalia, expressed serious concern over the Somali crisis, which has deepened over the years since the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.

The UN official added that since the start of the year, fighting in Mogadishu has forced over 100,000 people from their homes.

Horrible perspective.

Cross-posted from T&P.