World Terror Watch - News and Discussions

[ajtr]

Daniel Pearl was on track of this story by going after Omar Saeed Sheikh, and was killed for this.But what is the US's interest in burying this story?

9/11 Press for Truth - The Money Trail to the US Government​

Following is a partial transcript of the information in this video clip which describes aspects of The United State's involvement in the Middle East Region over the past decades, and how it had been discovered that funding for one of the key Hijackers on 9/11 was provided from General Mahmood Ahmed, the head of the Pakistani Intelligence Agency and a close associate of the U.S., who in fact was in Washington D.C. for a rare visit during the attacks. Also discussed is testimony from an undercover Operative linking Pakistan to the Attacks.

Narrator: "To better understand the ties between Bin Laden and Pakistan, Thompson followed a timeline thread that began with covert Pakistan involvement in the Soviet-Afghan war, two decades ago... Throughout the [1980's], the Soviets Battled the Mujahideen, a group of anti-Soviet fighters that included Bin Laden. The Mujahideen were backed the the CIA, who hoped to give the Soviets their own costly Vietnam-type war. Rather than fund the Mujahideen directly, the CIA covertly channeled money through the Pakistani Intelligence Agency, the ISI."

Len Downie, Executive Editor, Washington Post: "They helped create Bin Laden and the roots of Al-Queda during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, when the CIA and the intelligence services of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia created this group of people to fight the Russians in Afghanistan."

Narrator: "Billions of dollars from the CIA and the Saudis were passed through the ISI to support the War. The strategy worked, and the Soviets were defeated.. Emboldened by their victory and the influx of weapons and cash, the ISI had helped to install the Taliban and deepen their ties to Bin Laden and his terror network."

Paul Thompson: ".. There is really no difference between an ISI training camp for terrorism, and an Al-Queda training camp for terrorism. You would have some people working for Al-Queada and go out to an Al-Queda mission, and you would have other people working for the ISI and they would go out to Cashmere on one of their missions."

Narrator: "Within Days of the Attacks, Pakistan was hailed as a major ally in the new war on terror. The White House seemed confident that Al-Queda alone was behind 9/11."

Narrator: ".. On [October 1, 2001], the FBI discovered evidence linking the alleged Hijackers and Al-Queda by following a money trail that ended at Mohammed Atta in Florida."

CNN Broadcast, 10/06/01: "The Suspected Hijacker Muhammad Alta received wire transfers via Pakistan, and then distributed the cash via money orders here in Florida. A senior law enforcement official tells CNN the man sending the money to Atta is believed to be Omar Saeed Sheikh. He reportedly is controlling certain aspects of the financial transactions of the Al-Queda Network. Once a stand-out student of the London School of Economics, the British born son of Pakistani parents speaks five languages."

Narrator: "The story made news in every major newspaper. With a 9/11 paymaster identified as an alleged Al-Queda moneyman, it seemed that the US finally had it's proof that Al-Queda was involved, and the US war on terror could now move ahead. But what most of his post-9/11 reports about Omar Saeed Sheikh had failed to mention was that at the same time Sheikh dropped out of the London School of Economics to presumably join Al-Queda, he had also joined the ISI."

CNN International Broadcast, 10/28/01: "Arresting officer A.K. Jain says Omar Sheik admitted he was supported by the Pakistan Government's intelligence service, the ISI.. After his release it was very clear that he was provided protection and safe haven in Pakistan, with the direct support, knowledge and obviously the Knivence of the Pakistani Intelligence."

Narrator: "Only two days after the invasion of Afghanistan, the Times of India reported the FBI discovered credible evidence that $100,000 was wired to alleged Hijacker Muhammad Atta by 9/11 paymaster, Omar Saeed Sheikh on the orders of the ISI Director Gen. Mahmood Ahmed."

Paul Thompson: "If that had been the head of the Iraqi Intelligence agency, do you think we would have heard about it?"

Dr. William Pepper, Consultant to the Pakistani Government: "You have to understand that General Mahmood Ahmed was a Key Player. Indian State Intelligence came upon this transfer. It was then that the Times of India was able to get this information. The FBI was got involved in the whole situation because it was becoming very public as a result of the Indian Investigation."

Narrator: "Though the information was never publicly disclosed, Indian Intelligence claimed that the FBI had privately confirmed this story to them, and it soon made every major Indian Newspaper. In the US, only a single news outlet even mentioned the investigation. The information was reported as an internet-only story on the editorial section of the Wall Street Journal's website."

Paul Thompson: "It had this cutesy title, but it contained this completely explosive information... "

Narrator: "After the Times of India story broke, paymaster Omar Saeed Sheikh was no longer that apparent proof that Al-Qaeda was the sole sponsor of the attacks. Instead, Saeed Sheik, acting on the orders of the ISI, appeared to be the smoking gun of Pakistani involvement in 9/11."

Paul Thompson: "And instantly, within that day, basically, Saeed Sheikh becomes 'persona-non-rata', and then a whole bunch of other people are put forth as the Paymaster. "

Narrator: "Over the next several months, authorities began confusing the news media with a bewildering variety of alternate names for the Paymaster, each sounding similar to Omar Saeed Sheikh."

Paul Thompson: "No it's this guy, no it's this guy, they keep changing the story about who the guy is, and it becomes hard to keep track."

Narrator: "By the one year anniversary of 9/11, Newsweek had concluded that the paymaster remains almost 'a total mystery.' The 9/11 Commission would ultimately conclude that the question of who financed the attacks is of 'little practical significance.'"

Paul Thompson: "In my opinion it seems to be a bunch of smoke and mirrors to try to really hide the fact that there is money coming from the ISI, going to the Hijackers."

Narrator: "And here the story took another unexpected turn. Several top news stories had already reported that the Pakistani ISI director had actually been in Washington for a rare visit during the week of September 11. L.A. Weekly reported that on the very evening of September 11, US State Department Officials began reporting the terms of the U.S. - Pakistani partnership with ISI Director Mahmood Ahmed, the very man who was alleged to have ordered the very transfer to Mohammed Atta. The talks continued over the next several days before the General returned to Pakistan on September 14.

Narrator: ".. An undercover operative Randy Glass says that he can prove that USA Officials knew about the ISI role in 9/11 even as they chose to partner with Pakistan. The revelation came in another widely overlooked story, this one reported by dateline NBC.. "

The story reported by Dateline NBC spoke of Randy Glass, who was infiltrating a terrorist arms buying network in a two and a half year investigation by the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. In the story, it explained how In a 1999 meeting in which Randy Glass was wearing a wire, he was introduced to individuals associated with Osama Bin Laden and the ISI, who were interested in purchasing weapons. The most important information ended up on the cutting room floor, however..

Randy Glass: "During the course of the conversation, I asked him exactly what his intentions were. After Dinner, as we walked outside, he pointed at the direction of the World Trade Center and said 'those towers are coming down.'"

Randy Glass: "I had been threatened by FBI Agent Steve Bridouski that if I mentioned any of that, I would be charged with obstruction of justice."

Paul Thompson: "I'm not suggesting from this that Pakistan is the 'solution' to 9/11 because it's not. Pakistan is one part in a very complicated story. The question to me is 'Who else was involved with Al-Qaeda, was Al-Qaeda used as a tool, just as in the 1980's as the Mujahideen was basically used by the US Government."


[video]http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-2129573093061789209&fs=true&hl=en&playerMode=normal[/video]

 

[EagleOne]

Al-Qaida to launch English propaganda newspaper

New York: Al-Qaida is preparing to launch its first online propaganda newspaper in English, a move that could help the terror group recruit inside the US and Europe.

The group has begun promoting the paper, called Inspire, with animated online graphics promising "special gift to the Islamic nation."

Counterterrorism officials and terror analysts say it will be run by Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen, which has been linked to the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt of a US-bound airliner.

The launch suggests that, as Al-Qaida's core has been weakened by CIA drone airstrikes, the group hopes to broaden its reach inside the US, where officials have seen a spate of homegrown terrorists

The new publication "is clearly intended for the aspiring jihadist in the US or UK who may be the next Fort Hood murderer or Times Square bomber," Bruce Riedel, a Brookings Institution scholar and former CIA officer, said.

At the heart of that effort is Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical US-born cleric now living in Yemen. Authorities say his online sermons, in English, have inspired several recent terrorist plots in the United States. Al-Qaida's advertisement says al-Awlaki will contribute to the first issue.

Until now, Al-Qaida has relied on Arabic websites to carry its message. Now it appears to be capitalizing on its recent success recruiting inside the US.

Using propaganda on the Internet, the terrorist group has been able to attract Americans such as Bryant Neal Vinas and Najibullah Zazi, two admitted Al-Qaida terrorists. Both were radicalized in New York and traveled to Pakistan to join the fight against the US.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/al-qaida-to-launch-english-propaganda-newspaper-34852?cp

 

[Neil]

Al-Qaida under pressure in Afghanistan and Pakistan

WASHINGTON: Al-Qaida and its extremist allies are under tremendous pressure in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the global terror network has been weakened elsewhere by popular Muslim disaffection due to its targeting of the community people, a top US official has said.

"In the key countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the group is under serious pressure," Robert F Godec, principal deputy co-coordinator for terrorism in the State Department said. There us "growing resolve" in both Afghanistan and Pakistan to "defeat" al-Qaida, he added.

"While al-Qaida has had some successes over the years, it has also suffered a number of important setbacks recently.

Al-Qaida has been weakened by popular Muslim disaffection from its indiscriminate targeting ofMuslims in Algeria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, and elsewhere.

The number of imams, clerics and former militants speaking out against the organisation is increasing. This is a positive and important story," he said.

There us "growing resolve" in both Afghanistan and Pakistan to "defeat" al-Qaida, he said, adding that "Pakistani authorities have captured the largest number of al-Qaida and affiliated violent extremist operatives in the world, a demonstration of their commitment to this fight."

Pakistani military operations have been aimed at eliminating some of the militant strongholds in the Federally Administered Territories, he said.

"Al-Qaida has lost many of its leaders and is finding it more difficult to raise money, train recruits, and plan attacks outside of the region," said the State Department official.

But while al-Qaida is now struggling in some areas, the threat it poses is becoming more widely distributed, more geographically diversified, Godec noted.

"The rise of affiliated groups, such as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (in Yemen) and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, is a new and important development and is also a troubling development.

Americans saw this dramatically with the failed attempt by al-Qaida on December 25 to blow up a US commercial airliner over Detroit," he said.

This incident demonstrated that AQAP, at least, has not just the will but also the capability to target the United States at home, he added.

Godec said as the threat of al-Qaida and its terrorist affiliates continues to evolve, adapt and change, the US and its partners must also make progress.

"And there is much work to be done. One area that needs further attention is multilateral and regional organisations," he said.

"Under President Obama, the United States seeks deeper, stronger engagement with our international partners so that we may work together to forge policies that will help us collectively to defeat the menace of al-Qaida.

Many of the countries that you all come from are among our strongest friends and best allies in this fight," Godec said.

"For violent extremism is a common challenge shared by nations across the globe-one that requires vigorous cooperation-and one that the United States cannot solve alone," he said, adding the administration has been working to reinvigorate alliances across the board and has reengaged in multilateral organisations concerned with counter terrorism including the UN entities, the G8, and the vast range of regional groups that work on counter terrorism.

In the past eight years, the United States has made great strides in what might be called tactical counter terrorism - taking individual terrorists off the streets, and disrupting cells and their operations.

"But an effective counter terrorism strategy must go beyond this," he asserted.

"Military power, intelligence operations, and law enforcement efforts alone will not solve the long-term challenge that we face - the threat of violent extremism.

Instead, we must look as well to the political, economic, and social factors that terrorist organisations exploit and to the ideology that is their key instrument in pushing vulnerable individuals down the path toward violence," Godec said.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...hanistan-and-Pakistan/articleshow/6113687.cms

 

[Neil]

Vengeful Pakistan Militant Group Emerges

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani authorities now believe a dangerous new militant group, out to avenge a deadly army assault on a mosque in Islamabad three years ago, has carried out several major bombings in the capital previously blamed on the Taliban.

The emergence of the Ghazi Force was part of the outrage among many deeply religious Pakistani Muslims over the July 2007 attack by security forces against the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, a stronghold of Islamic militants.
The fierce attack, in which scores of young, heavily armed religious students died, inspired a new generation of militants. These Pakistanis have turned against a government they feel has betrayed them and, to their dismay, backed the U.S. role in neighboring Afghanistan.

The brief but bloody history of the Ghazi Force illustrates the unintended results of Pakistan's policy of promoting Islamic extremists to fight India in the disputed area of Kashmir. That policy -- which Pakistan denies it pursues -- now threatens regional stability as the U.S. and Pakistan's other Western partners pour billions of dollars into the country to stop the rise of Islamic militancy.

The new group is made up of relatives of students who died in the Red Mosque assault. It is named after the students' leader, Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who was also killed. The mosque's adjacent religious school, or madrassa, had been a sanctuary for militants opposed to Pakistan's support of the U.S.-run war in Afghanistan.

Private television stations broadcast vivid scenes of the assault -- commandos in black fatigues rapelling down ropes, the crackle of gunfire, bodies of black-shrouded girls carried out through the smoldering gates. Those images stunned the nation, especially families of the students and Pakistanis with deep religious feelings.

Islamabad's inspector general of police, Kalim Imam, told The Associated Press that the Ghazi Force was behind most of the deadliest attacks in the capital during the last three years. The attacks targeted the military, the Inter-Services Intelligence agency or ISI -- which had ties to a number of militants -- and a five-star hotel frequented by foreigners and the Pakistani elite.

The Ghazi Force helped recruit a security official who blew himself up inside the office of the World Food Program last October, killing five people, according to Imam. The force also sent a suicide bomber in September 2007 into the mess hall of the commando unit that attacked the Red Mosque, killing 22 people, he said.

Ghazi Force members may also have been involved in the audacious June 9 attack north of the capital that killed seven people and destroyed 60 vehicles ferrying supplies to NATO and U.S. Soldiers next door in Afghanistan, Imam said.

Many of those attacks had been attributed to the Pakistani Taliban, which operates in the remote tribal areas of the northwest along the border with Afghanistan. There is evidence of close ties between the Ghazi Force and the Pakistani Taliban, which the government has vowed to crush.

The Ghazi Force is believed to be headquartered in the Orakzai region of the border area, where the leader of the Pakistan Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, held sway for years. The leader of the Ghazi Force is believed to be Maulana Niaz Raheem, a former student at the Red Mosque.

Anger over the bloodshed at the mosque was all the greater because many of the militants and their supporters felt betrayed by a government that had once supported them. Both Ghazi and his brother Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi, who was freed on bail this year after two years in jail, were widely believed to have been on the payrolls of both the government and the ISI intelligence service.

Their father, Maulana Mohammed Abdullah, enjoyed a close relationship with the late President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, and the mosque was a center for recruiting volunteers to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

As opposition grew to Pakistan's support of the U.S. role in Afghanistan, the mosque became a center of religious agitation against the government, with armed students taking over the complex and police laying siege.

A former senior official in the Interior Ministry told The Associated Press that the police wanted to storm the mosque and end the siege at its outset, send the students home and shut down the religious school and a neighboring library until tempers cooled.

http://www.military.com/news/articl...litant-group-emerges.html?ESRC=topstories.RSS

 

[Neil]

Mosque attacks becoming a trend in 'divided' Pak

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, formerly known as North West Frontier Province, shopkeepers sell a range of local soaps like anywhere else in the world. But the names of these soaps are chillingly different – Kalashnikov soap and washing powder, Pistol soap, Barood soap, Aakhri Goli soap and Talwaar soap. A local resident says that manufacturers are using such brand names to indicate that their product will wash out stains from clothes just like the guns and ammunition wipe out their enemies, according to a Pakistani news report.

This is a small indicator of the way violence and death have become commonplace in Pakistan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the neighboring Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are of course the worst-hit regions but terrorist violence is now a regular feature in Punjab, the heartland of Pakistan too.

In 2010, in first six months, 4,346 people have died including Thursday's toll of 44 in the Sufi shrine of Data Ganj Baksh in Lahore. Last year was the deadliest year in terms of casualties in terrorist violence, with 11,585 people getting killed. Since 2001, terrorist violence has taken a mind-boggling toll of over 29,490 people in Pakistan. Lahore has seen 265 killings since March last year. These figures, collected from media reports by the South Asia Terrorism Portal, are probably underestimates as many areas are not accessible to journalists.

Thursday's attack on Data Ganj Baksh shrine, and the attack on two Ahmedi mosques in Lahore on 28 May showed that Punjab is under severe attack from not just the Pakistani arm of Taliban but also sectarian fundamentalists, mostly of Sunni persuasion. Recently, local papers have reported the emergence of a new terrorist group called the Ghazi Force, which is made up of vengeful relatives of those killed in the Lal Masjid attack three years ago. A dithering government which flip-flops on the issue of confronting religious armed groups, a rogue ISI that is hand in glove with the Taliban even while consorting with American covert staff, and an increasingly alienated people tired with the NATO war next door and the violence within, have created this situation where terrorist violence is escalating day by day.

It is a measure of the deep sectarian divisions within Pakistan's largely Muslim population that targeting of mosques has emerged as a regular practice in an attempt to terrorize the large numbers that gather in them. In the past 9 years, 54 mosques have been targets of attacks by armed terrorist groups, killing 773 people and injuring 1719.
A macabre trend that appears to be taking hold of the terrorist outfits is their increasing preference for suicide bombers. Since 2007, there has been an escalation of such fedayeen attacks – there were 78 such attacks last year. In the first six months this year, 30 suicide attacks have taken place.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-trend-in-divided-Pak/articleshow/6121964.cms

 

[Neil]

8 killed in target killings in Karachi

KARACHI: At least eight people have been killed in the latest round of target killings in the southern city of Karachi, even as the country observed a strike on Saturday to protest the suicide attacks at a Islamic shrine in Lahore.

Police and rescue officials said that at least eight persons belonging to different political and religious parties were killed in the target shootings since last night.

Those killed included a former councillor and a employee of the Sindh Assembly.

There was a respite in the target killings spree in the city this week before it was broken since last night. Police say around 250 people have been killed in target shootings in the last eight months.

Meanwhile the city of Karachi also joined the country in observing a strike to protest the Data Darbar attacks with shops in all parts of the city remaining shut down while public transport also remained thin. 45 people were killed in two back to back suicide bombings at the shrine.

The strike call was given by different political and religious parties after the suicide attack on Data Darbar which has left Pakistani shocked.

People and parties hoisted black flags and banners condemning the terrorist attacks while at some places protesters also burnt tyres and stoned vehicles whle raising slogans against the government and law enforcement agencies for their failure to check the increasing number of terrorist attacks in the major cities.

The Sunni Tehreek (ST) also staged a long march from Karachi to the city of Sukkur in interior Sindh.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...t-killings-in-Karachi/articleshow/6125004.cms

 

[Neil]

Lahore attack a sinister attempt to destabilise Pakistan: Clinton

WASHINGTON: Strongly condemning the terror attacks on highly venerated Sufi shrine of Data Darbar in Lahore that killed 45 people and wounded 180, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said the act was a sinister attempt to destabilise Pakistan.

"The extremists have shown that they respect neither human dignity nor the fundamental religious values of Pakistani society," Clinton said in a statement.

"Violating the sanctity of this revered shrine is a particularly sinister attempt to destabilise Pakistan and to intimidate its people. The attackers will not succeed, as the Pakistani public refuses to be cowed by such violence," Clinton said.

Currently on a tour of Soviet-bloc countries, Clinton is scheduled to visit Pakistan later this month to lead the US-delegation in the second US-Pak Strategic Dialogue.

The first dialogue was held early this year in Washington.

"I was shocked and saddened by yesterday's attack on one of Pakistan's most popular places of worship, the Shrine of Syed Ali Hujviri (Data Ganj Baksh) in Lahore, which claimed the lives of many innocent Pakistanis," she said.

"We condemn this brutal crime and reaffirm our commitment to support the Pakistani people in their efforts to defend their democracy from the violent extremists who seek to destroy it. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and with all the people of Pakistan," she said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...lise-Pakistan-Clinton/articleshow/6124107.cms

 

[Neil]

Pakistan: Jihadis slaughter 42 at Sufi shrine, Pakistanis blame Americans (and Jews)

We have seen again and again over the years how Islamic jihadists and Islamic supremacists in general never take responsibility for their actions. Everything they do is always someone else's fault. And while America-hatred is the focus of this propagandistic AP piece, which is really an extended advertisement for U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Zionists come in for some of the blame also -- remember, they're blaming America and Jews for an action done by Islamic jihadists. But who better to blame than the Jews, the worst enemies of the Muslims according to the Qur'an (5:82)?

"Pakistanis blame US after shrine attack kills 42," by Nahal Toosi for Associated Press, July 2:

ISLAMABAD - A twin suicide attack that killed 42 at Pakistan's most popular Sufi shrine has angered and frustrated Pakistanis, with some saying Friday that the solution to the country's terror threat is a U.S. exit from Afghanistan.

Most of some two dozen Pakistanis interviewed said that even if Islamist extremists were behind the slaughter at the Data Darbar shrine in Lahore, the root cause of the violence was America's war in Afghanistan, its missile strikes in Pakistan's tribal regions, and its alliance with Islamabad.

The sentiments underscored the low standing of the U.S. here. The wariness of the U.S. was all the more remarkable considering Thursday's attack was a direct assault on the moderate, Sufi-influenced Islam most Pakistanis still practice, and which the Taliban and allied Islamist extremists despise.

"America is killing Muslims in Afghanistan and in our tribal areas, and militants are attacking Pakistan to express anger against the government for supporting America," explained Zahid Umar, 25, a frequent visitor to the Lahore shrine.

Qaiser Hameed, a car dealer in the southern city of Karachi, said the attacks that have occurred in Pakistan are "directly linked with the situation in Afghanistan and the American aggression there.

"There should be efforts to start negotiations with all the stakeholders in Afghanistan, especially those disgruntled elements who are resisting the American occupation there," he said.

Even those who blamed others saw an American hand in the attacks. Arifa Moen, 32, a teacher in Multan, said Washington "is encouraging Indians and Jews to carry out attacks" in Pakistan.

The targeted shrine was that of an 11th century Sufi saint, Ali bin Usman, commonly known as Data Ganj Bakhsh Hajveri, who traveled throughout the region spreading Islam with a message of peace and love. His shrine is the most revered and popular of Sufi shrines in the nation.

Thousands had gathered at the green-domed shrine when the bombs went off minutes apart. The blasts ripped concrete from the walls and left the white marble floor awash with blood.

There was no claim of responsibility, but Islamist extremists consider Sufism -- a mystical strand of Islam -- to be heretical. They have a history of attacking Shiites, non-Muslims and others they deem unacceptable. About a month ago, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked two mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect in Lahore, killing 93 people. [...]

"Since America's arrival in Afghanistan, terrorism has come to Pakistan," said Faqir Mohammad, 45, a laborer in the northwest city of Peshawar. "As soon as it quits, peace will come to this region."

Oh, yes. It was always so peaceful there before.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/07/p...tanis-blame-americans-and-jews-of-course.html

 

[Neil]

Ishrat Jahan was an LeT fidayeen: Headley

NEW DELHI: Pakistani American terrorist David Headley has said that Ishrat Jahan, the Mumbai girl who was killed along with three alleged terrorists in 2004 in a police encounter, was indeed a Lashkar-e-Taiba fidayeen.

Sources said Headley told interrogators from the National Investigation Agency that Ishrat, a resident of Mumbra in Thane, was recruited by top Lashkar commander Muzammil who was in charge of LeT's operations in India till 2007.

The statement, while confirming that Headley is a trove of information on Lashkar's plans against India, corroborates the version of Gujarat police as well as the Centre in what has turned into a controversial case because of doubts about the veracity of the police version.

Importantly, Headley's statement tallies with claim of Gujarat cops and the Centre that Muzammil had sent Ishrat and her accomplices to Gujarat on a terror mission as part of Lashkar's plan to attack the Indian hinterland and target VIPs.

Headley's visits to India for reconaissance missions for Lashkar started in 2006, sources said, when Muzammil was Lashkar's chief commander in India.

Lashkar had owned up Ishrat immediately after the encounter, with its Lahore-based mouthpiece 'Ghazwa Times' describing her as an LeT activist and taking umbrage at the action of Indian cops in removing her veil. In 2007, however, Lashkar, in its fresh incarnation as Jamaat-ud-Dawa, disowned her, by issuing an apology to Ishrat's family for calling her an LeT cadre.

The timing of the apology was significant. It came just before Gopinath Pillai, father of Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai who was killed along with Ishrat, filed a petition in the Supreme Court, demanding a CBI probe into the encounter.

Headley's statement that Ishrat was recruited to be a fidayeen undercuts Lashkar's attempt to disown her, though it may not settle doubts about the genuineness of the encounter in which she was killed.

Ishrat and Javed were killed along with two Pakistani nationals -- Amjad Ali and Jishan Johar Abdul Ghani -- both alleged LeT terrorists, on June 15, 2004. According to the police version, they were intercepted on the outskirts of Ahmedabad when they were about to enter the city in a blue Indica on a mission to eliminate chief minister Narendra Modi.

In her petition to the Gujarat High Court, Ishrat's mother Shamima Kausar had disputed the version of the Gujarat police as well as the Centre, claiming that her daughter was a saleswoman working for Javed Sheikh who dealt in perfumes. Javed's father told the SC that his son was innocent and sought a central probe.

Both Gujarat police and Centre pointed to infirmities in their version. Centre told Gujarat HC that Javed had been recruited by LeT when he was in Dubai. Gopinath Pillai had not disclosed criminal cases pending against his son, or the fact that he had obtained a different passport using his original name even though the one issued to him was still valid.

The Centre also disputed the claim of Gopinath Pillai, supported by Ishrat's mother, that he was in the business of perfumes and that this required him and Ishrat to travel across the country.

The Gujarat HC had set Monday as the deadline for all parties concerned to submit their replies to the petitions from the parents of Ishrat and Javed, seeking a CBI probe into the alleged encounter.

The case has taken on significance after a CBI probe established that Sohrabuddin, an alleged gangster, was killed by Gujarat cops in a fake encounter. It has also established that Tulsidas Prajapati, a small-time criminal who helped Gujarat cops nab Sohrabuddin, was also eliminated by the police to wipe out evidence.

Headley's account underlines his importance as a repository of crucial information on Lashkar and its plans on India. His statement to the NIA team that LeT founder Hafiz Saeed was engaged with the 26/11 attackers all through the plot has reinforced India's demand that Pakistan take action against the Lashkar chief. Sources described the information given by the Pakistani American terrorist as "vital inputs".

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-LeT-fidayeen-Headley/articleshow/6129125.cms

 

[ajtr]

Fusion of militants seen as new threat​

U.S. officials boast that al-Qaida has never been weaker, its upper ranks decimated because of the stepped-up drone attacks in Pakistan and special operations raids in Afghanistan.

At the same time, they warn, in seeming contradiction: An even greater number of well-trained terrorists are setting their sights on the United States.

Across the remote tribal lands between Afghanistan and Pakistan where terror groups hide, U.S. officials say they've seen a fusion of al-Qaida and others targeted by U.S. forces, including the Haqqani group and the Pakistani Taliban, who formerly focused only on their local areas.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the groups have become a "synergy of terrorist groups" with "an expanding desire to kill Americans." He was speaking last week at the Aspen Institute security forum in Colorado.

At the same forum, National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter warned that the "troubling alignment" extends all the way to Yemen and Africa. The dispersed network is making terror plots harder to spot and prevent, he said.

A high-level U.S. counterterrorist delegation is headed to Pakistan this week to try to persuade Pakistan to keep the pressure on the militant groups that now operate almost as one with al-Qaida. The Pakistani government has denied news reports that it has reached out to its former ally, the Haqqani tribe, to secure its participation in talks with the Afghan government. U.S. officials want to make sure that remains the case.

Al-Qaida agents in Pakistan are hemmed in, mainly north of Peshawar, as well as North Waziristan, where they have based themselves with the Haqqani network and the Pakistani Taliban, and a small number in the Quetta area, where the exiled Afghan Taliban mainly hold sway.

These groups have cooperated for years, even pre-dating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said New America Foundation's Peter Bergen, cautioning against describing that as a new development.

The Haqqani group fought beside the Afghan Taliban to help return the Taliban, al-Qaida's former host, to control of Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban have sought to overthrow the central government in Islamabad. Lashkar-e-Taiba, another group that works with al-Qaida, has concentrated on attacking Indian targets, like the three-day assault on Mumbai in 2008 that killed 170 people.

But the difference now, U.S. officials contend, is that the local groups are sharing manpower, weaponry and ideology with al-Qaida.

The Pakistani Taliban have already made an attempt on the U.S., through Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad. That attempt followed the pattern of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, which dispatched Nigerian suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to try to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day.

U.S. intelligence analysts, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, say even though neither the Haqqani network nor Lashkar e-Taiba has been linked to plots aimed at the mainland U.S., the United States now must assume the groups aspire to strike there, or at the very least help prepare and fund such attacks.

The Haqqanis, estimated by a senior defense official to be between 2,000 and 5,000 strong, have already supported attacks on U.S. targets within Afghanistan, including an al-Qaida and the Taliban suicide bombing that killed seven CIA operatives in Khost, in the suicide bombing last December.

Don Rassler, of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, N.Y., says the group's leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani, has been careful not to publicly support direct attacks on the United States, despite repeated questioning in online militant Jihadi forums.

 

[nandu]

Qaeda leaders in Pak directed 2009 NY subway plot

Washington: Veteran al Qaeda terrorist leaders in Pakistan directed and managed a foiled 2009 plot to attack New York's subway system and also planned to strike the United Kingdom, US prosecutors have alleged.

The revelations came as prosecutors on Wednesday unsealed a terrorism indictment charging Adnan El Shukrijumah, al Qaeda's leader of external operations, who has been the subject of a worldwide manhunt for seven years, with helping to recruit Colorado resident Najibullah Zazi for the foiled attack.

Zazi's attempt to assemble and detonate improvised explosive devices was derailed by federal investigators on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Zazi pleaded guilty in February to his role in the plot.

Attorney General Eric Holder has called the thwarted New York plot one of the most dangerous since 9/11.

The investigation involving authorities in the US and Britain also revealed that El Shukrijumah's associates were communicating with a British citizen, Abid Naseer, about a 2009 plot foiled in Manchester, England. Naseer was arrested on Wednesday by British authorities.

Between September and December 2008, prosecutors allege that El Shukrijumah and others recruited Zazi, a former Denver airport shuttle driver, and two other co-conspirators to conduct suicide bombings in New York using devices made from ordinary household supplies, such as hydrogen peroxide, acetone, flour and oil.

El Shukrijumah, a 34-year-old native of Saudi Arabia who once lived in South Florida, is known within al Qaeda circles as "Ja'far the Pilot" because of his skills as a pilot.

His rank in al Qaeda was first outlined to federal investigators by al Qaeda operations chief Khalid Sheikh Mohammed following his capture. Mohammed, a Pakistani in US custody, is awaiting trial as the mastermind of the September 11 attacks.

El Shukrijumah is charged specifically with providing and conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda, conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction, assisting the receipt of military training, committing and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries and using firearms in relation to the same offences.

He remains a fugitive and is the subject of a USD 5 million reward.

"These charges underscore the global nature of the terrorist threat we face," assistant attorney general David Kris said.

http://www.zeenews.com/news639374.html

 

[nandu]

Terror camps still running in Pak tribal areas: US

Washington: The Obama administration has maintained that it is receiving significant counter-terrorism contribution from Pakistan, even as a fresh chargesheet filed by the US Department of Justice revealed that al Qaeda is still running terrorist training camps in that country.

The plot to bomb New York's subway system, uncovered in September 2009, was directed by the al Qaeda leadership in Pakistan, the Justice Department said.

The eleven-page chargesheet, which was filed in a New York federal court, said that five of the accused had received training from al Qaeda in Waziristan in 2008 and early 2009.

US prosecutors have accused al Qaeda leadership of directing the accused to attack the New York subway system last year.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner, however, said the United States has received "significant counter-terrorism co-operation" from Pakistan.

David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, said these charges underscore the global nature of the terrorist threat.

"They further reflect the effectiveness of mutual investigations and cooperation with our global partners in disrupting terrorism threats," he said.

Sean Joyce, Executive Assistant Director of the FBI's National Security Branch, said: "The threat posed by terrorists around the world is a threat to security and a threat to the rule of law."

The transnational nature of the conspiracy, and its connection to plots targeted outside the US underscores the importance of international coordination and collaboration to do everything to ensure public safety, the official said.

http://www.zeenews.com/news639407.html

 

[ajtr]

Kenya: Iraq, Afghan, Pakistan Fighters in Somalia​

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Veteran insurgents from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan have relocated to the chaotic country of Somalia in large enough numbers to spark worry inside the international community, Kenya's foreign minister said Thursday.

Calling the situation in Somalia ''very, very dire,'' Moses M. Wetangula said the militants have relocated to Kenya's northern neighbor because of the safehaven offered by a country with no functioning government.

''There have been Afghans, there have been Pakistanis, there have been certain Middle Eastern nationalities, quite a number. Intelligence reports indicate that there's quite a cocktail of them,'' Wetangula told The Associated Press.

''We can't quite quantify them. It's simply not possible in a situation such as that, but there are sufficient numbers to worry us and worry the international community,'' he said.

Somali government spokesman Abdulkadir Walayo did not immediately answer calls seeking comment. But officials in the past said hundreds of foreign fighters are ballooning the ranks of Somalia's most feared militant group, al-Shabab.

Wetangula said Somalia's most immediate neighbors, including Kenya, face potential attacks from the militants. Some al-Shabab members have pledged allegiance to al-Qaida, which is blamed for twin bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, attacks that killed 225 people.

Military officials at U.S. Africa Command, the Germany-based headquarters of U.S. military activities in Africa, have told the AP previously there is evidence that fighters from the Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict have relocated to Somalia, but that it was less clear whether militants from Iraq had moved into the Horn of Africa nation.

Al-Shabab also has recruited Somali nationals living in the United States, Britain and other European countries, Wetangula noted.

Wetangula said he does not believe the United States is doing enough to help the Somali situation, and that greater American involvement could reduce the flow of arms into the country, reduce pirate attacks and increase regional stability.

''The levels of engagement of the United States, the levels of commitment, have been below our expectations. America, remember, enjoys the status currently of the only superpower, expected to have the capacity to do some of the things countries with limited capacity like ourselves cannot do, including enforcing Security Council resolutions,'' he said.

The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution blocking Somalia's main southern port in Kismayo, a city controlled by al-Shabab, a blockade meant to paralyze insurgent supplies, Wetangula said. But he said the U.S. has been reluctant to enforce it.

''We have been appealing to them to help the government of the TFG (Transitional Federal Government) with equipment, logistics,'' the foreign minister said. ''They may be helping but I don't think they are helping enough to make a difference.''

A U.S. official said he couldn't immediately comment on Wetangula's views but that the State Department would soon release a statement. Since 2007, the U.S. has spent $2 million to pay Somali soldiers and purchase supplies and equipment, according to the State Department. Another $12 million went toward transport, uniforms and equipment.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since clan-based warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, sinking the Horn of Africa nation into chaos.

The country has always suffered from a lack of coordination, a lack of a unified security command and a lack of resources, Kenya's foreign minister said. But he said the country has dropped off the international community's radar and may need a high profile personality to spearhead the issue, he said.

The East African bloc of nations known as IGAD are considering former Ghana President John Kufuor, former Tanzania President Benjamin Mkapa, or former Botswana President Festus Mogae to take on the role, Wetangula said.

Wetangula also said the Somali government must move past its recent bouts of infighting and focus on the Somali people. Internal conflict has paralyzed the government the last several months.

 

[ajtr]

The Al Qaeda [ Images ] and Al Qaeda inspired terrorism remains the biggest threat to the UK's national security and over 2,000 people in the UK, including many of Pakistani origin, pose a threat to the country, a report by a top British think-tank has suggested.
The report, 'Islamist Terrorism [ Images ]: The British Connections', compiled by London-based Centre for Social cohesion, said most terrorism in Britain is committed by home-grown terrorists.
"The UK national security services estimates that over 2,000 people in the UK pose a terrorist threat. In March 2005 it was estimated that there were up to 200 Al Qaeda trained operatives in the UK," the report said. The British-based threat does not only affect the UK, but a number of British Muslims have been convicted in foreign courts or have fought for or trained with terrorist or extremist groups abroad.The report aims to present an overview of Islamist-inspired terrorism with significant connections to the UK. It is a collection of profiles of Islamist-inspired terrorist convictions and attacks in the UK between 1999 and 2009 and a statistical analysis is drawn from the data collected.
http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/05/al-qaeda-biggets-threat-to-uk-report.htm

 

[ajtr]

Pakistani terror suspect linked to New York plot held in UK​

A Pakistani terror suspect, who was given permission to stay in the UK on the ground that he might face torture in his homeland, has been arrested on a US warrant for his alleged role in an al-Qaida bombing plot against the New York subway and Manchester.

24-year-old Abid Naseer, who has been described by a judge as "a serious threat to national security", was arrested in the North East yesterday and brought to London to appear in court.

He is believed to have been living under a control order after being detained last year in connection with an alleged bomb plot in Manchester. Naseer was earlier not charged with any offence and successfully resisted deportation because of fears of ill-treatment by Pakistan's ISI.

The US Department of Justice, however, said that investigators on both sides of the Atlantic had found evidence that linked the New York and Manchester terror cells.

Both groups had the same code, using wedding dates to refer to attack timings, when communicating with al-Qaida leaders in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Naseer, who was enrolled at a college in Manchester, wrote in an e-mail that he was planning a wedding between April 15 and 20 last year and hoped "many guests" would attend.

Mi5, Britain's internal intelligence service, interpreted the message as referring to the date for an attack on a target in Manchester that would result in mass casualties.

According to a report in The Times, Najibullah Zazi, from Colorado, who is in custody in the US for the subway plot, e-mailed the same person in Pakistan in September 2009 to say "the marriage is ready".

His plot was allegedly timed to coincide with the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the US.

There has also been reference in a New York indictment to the role played by Rashid Rauf, from Birmingham, who has been described as a leader of al-Qaida's "external operations" programme. Rauf is believed to have been killed in a missile strike from a US drone in Pakistan in 2008.

Also named is Tariq ur-Rehman, who was arrested with Naseer in Manchester last year. Rehman returned voluntarily to Pakistan after his release and is not in custody.

The US also named a Saudi, El Shukrijumah, 34, another al-Qaida leader who is the subject of a USD 5 million FBI reward for information leading to his capture.

"These charges underscore the global nature of the terrorist threat we face," David Kris, US Assistant Attorney General for National Security, said. "They further reflect the effectiveness of mutual investigations and cooperation with our global partners in disrupting terrorism threats."

 

[ajtr]

Three held in Norway 'al-Qaeda bomb plot'​

Twin plots

On Wednesday, US prosecutors unveiled charges against four men wanted over a plot to bomb the underground system in New York.

They also brought extra charges against a fifth man who is awaiting trial over the alleged conspiracy, foiled last September.

Two other men, Colorado resident Najibullah Zazi and New Yorker Zarein Ahmedzay, have already pleaded guilty.

The US Attorney General, Eric Holder, has described the New York conspiracy as one of the most serious terrorist plots since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

"The charges reveal that the plot... was directed by senior al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan," the US Department of Justice said in a statement.[/quote]

It continues: "[The plot] was also directly related to a scheme by al-Qaeda plotters in Pakistan to use Western operatives to attack a target in the United Kingdom."

One of those named by New York prosecutors is Abid Naseer.

The US is seeking the extradition of the Pakistan-born 24-year-old, who was arrested in the north-east of England on Wednesday.

Mr Naseer was remanded in custody by a court in the UK.

 

[ajtr]

No Terror plot in the world complete without Pakistan name in it.............

Revealed: the plot to blow up DragonMart​

ABU DHABI // Two men who plotted to blow up the DragonMart retail complex in Dubai were only four weeks away from creating a powerful explosive using legal and easily obtained materials.

The bombers followed the correct procedures to make explosives and a detonator, they had carried out a successful test and if the plot had not been uncovered the impact would have been destructive, according to court papers released yesterday.

Mayma Ytiming Shalmo, 35, and Wimiyar Ging Kimili, 31, both Uighurs from the minority Muslim ethnic community in the Xinjiang province of western China, were each jailed for 10 years last week for planning the bomb attack and being members of a terrorist organisation, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

If the plot had succeeded it would have been the first Uighur attack outside China in what a security expert described yesterday as an "extraordinary" strategy.

The materials used by the bombers to make explosives included concentrated sulphuric acid, nitrol (used to treat angina), acetone (an organic solvent) and nitric acid.

"The manufacturing of homemade explosives is a relatively simple process and with the exception of detonators, the majority of the necessary ingredients can be obtained legally," said Paul Burke, managing director of Middle East Security, a counter-terrorism expert and a former intelligence officer. "Potassium-based explosives have been a popular choice for homemade devices, and hydrogen peroxide has been a long-time staple ingredient."


The court was told that the device, if successfully detonated, would have had an 80-metre blast radius. It was designed to destroy a waterfall and statue of a dragon outside the mall, prosecutors said.

The Uighurs told police they intended the operation to be symbolic, to "draw the world's attention towards the Turkestani Muslims' cause in China".

Shalmo told the court he was recruited in Mecca in December 2007, when he met a Chinese pilgrim who spoke to him about jihad against their country's government. He then travelled with the recruiter to Waziristan, Pakistan, where he joined an ETIM training camp. He received training on using weapons and creating explosives from commonly available substances.

A person identified in the documents as the deputy commander of the movement assigned him to carry out an attack against DragonMart. He told Shalmo he had been chosen by the commander of the movement.

Shalmo entered the UAE through Dubai International Airport on July 28, 2007, from Islamabad. He then made two visits to the shopping mall.

He left for Saudi Arabia in the autumn of that year and returned to the UAE by bus on December 22, 2007.

At that point, he found a house in Al Ain through Kimili. During one discussion between the two, Kimili showed interest in joining ETIM and carrying out attacks against the Chinese government.

Kimili told the court that he later changed his mind because he feared his family could be hurt, but that Shalmo told him he wanted the chemicals only to use them for black magic.

Because he spoke English, Kimili accompanied Shalmo to pharmacies, stationery and paint shops to buy the materials. Shalmo told police he received US$10,000 wired from Turkey by a member of the movement.

State security police were tipped off in June 2008. The police raided Shalmo's house in Al Ain on June 24, 2008, and found the chemicals and a digital scale for measuring them.

"The procedures that the defendants followed in order to create explosives and a detonator were correct procedures," an expert at the Armed Forces' chemical laboratory told the court. "It would have taken between 15 days and four weeks to create explosives. Had the process not been interrupted, an explosive would have had a destructive impact. "

The expert also told the court a person needed training to be able to create explosives using those chemicals.

Their lawyer, Abdulazizi al Ameri, told the court the men had confessed to police out of fear, invalidating the evidence. The court rejected that argument, writing that their fear was not caused by any physical or psychological coercion by the police.

Mr al Ameri also told the court the that men had merely considered creating a bomb, and that the chemicals were commonly available at any market.

The court ruled the attack was aimed at the UAE because DragonMart is owned by the property developer Nakheel, which is owned by the Dubai Government.

Dr Theodore Karasik, the director of research and development at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai, said the planned attack would have been the first by the Uighurs "outside their sphere of influence".

"Choosing Dubai to carry out the attack was an extraordinary strategic choice," Dr Karasik said. He said the plot was probably inspired by calls from senior al Qa'eda ideologues, who in recent years had called on Muslims across the globe to support the Uighurs in jihad against the Chinese government. "They took up the cause based on that call," he said.

Mr Burke said the bombing of DragonMart would have generated immediate, wide-scale publicity for ETIM's grievances. "Such an attack would undoubtedly have an adverse impact upon the national reputation of the UAE," Mr Burke said.

The verdict was issued by the State Security Court, and therefore cannot be appealed.

 

[nandu]

Blasts Kill at Least 64 in Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda — In simultaneous bombings bearing the hallmarks of international terrorists, two explosions ripped through crowds watching the World Cup final in two places in Uganda's capital late Sunday, killing 64 people, police said. Americans were among the casualties.

A man receives treatment at Mulago Hospital in Kampala

The deadliest attack occurred at a rugby club as people watched the game between Spain and the Netherlands on a large-screen TV outdoors. The second blast took place at an Ethiopian restaurant, where at least three Americans were wounded.

Joann Lockard, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Kampala, said one American was killed.

Kampala's police chief said he believed Somalia's most feared militant group, al-Shabab, could be responsible for the attack. Al-Shabab is known to have links with al Qaeda, and it counts militant veterans from the Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan conflicts among its ranks.

At least three Americans — part of a church group from Pennsylvania — were wounded at the Ethiopian restaurant. One was Kris Sledge, 18, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.

A person injured in an explosion arrives at the International Hospital in Uganda's capital Kampala on Sunday.

"I remember blacking out, hearing people screaming and running," Mr. Sledge said from the hospital. His right leg was wrapped and he had burns on his face. "I love the place here but I'm wondering why this happened and who did this ... At this point we're just glad to be alive."

Police Chief Kale Kaihura originally said at least 30 people had been killed, though the toll could be higher.

Later, a senior police official at the scene said that 64 people had been killed — 49 from the rugby club and 15 at the Ethiopian restaurant. The official said he could not be identified.

Mr. Kaihura said he suspected al-Shabab. Its fighters, including two recruited from the Somali communities in the U.S., have carried out multiple suicide bombings in Somalia. If Mr. Kaihura's suspicions that al-Shabab was responsible for the Uganda bombings prove true, it would be the first time the group has carried out attacks outside of Somalia.

On Sunday, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the U.S. was prepared to provide any necessary assistance to the Ugandan government.

"The president is deeply saddened by the loss of life resulting from these deplorable and cowardly attacks, and sends his condolences to the people of Uganda and the loved ones of those who have been killed or injured," Mr. Vietor said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...68759696.html?mod=WSJINDIA_hpp_sections_world

 

[Neil]

'Somali link' as 74 World Cup fans die in Uganda blasts

The death toll from twin blasts that hit the Ugandan capital as football fans gathered to watch the World Cup final has risen to 74, officials say.

Another 70 were injured in the explosions at a Kampala rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant.

Police are investigating whether the blasts were suicide bombings, and blamed Somalia's al-Shabab militants.

Ugandan peacekeepers operate in Somalia, and al-Shabab has threatened to hit Kampala in the past.

About 5,000 African Union troops from Uganda and Burundi are based in Mogadishu to protect the fragile interim government.

The African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) force is engaged in frequent firefights with Islamist insurgents which control much of southern and central Somalia.
Al-Shabab welcome attack

Both explosions caused death and injury, although many more people died at the crowded rugby club, where fans were watching the game on a large screen.
Map of Kampala

"These bombs were definitely targeting World Cup crowds," Insp Gen Kale Kayihura said, warning people to stay away from large crowds in the coming days.

The explosions ripped through the venues with about 10 minutes remaining in Sunday night's match. At both scenes chairs lay overturned, with blood and pieces of flesh on the floor.

One unnamed witness told the BBC how he was caught in the rugby club blast.
"I just heard the bomb. In fact, I was blacked out, I didn't know anything. I was just down on the grass, I didn't know anything until when I gained consciousness, then I started now, crawling, coming out."

Many - if not most - of those killed and injured were foreign nationals, with both venues popular destinations for expatriates living in Kampala.

One of the dead was an American, reported to be an aid worker from California. The nationalities of the people killed have not been released.

The crowd at the rugby club was usually a mix of Ugandans and foreigners, the police chief said.

There were reports that a severed head was found at one of the scenes, leading investigators to suggest that the attacks could have been the work of suicide bombers.

Insp Gen Kayihura said he believed Somalia's militant group al-Shabab could be behind Sunday evening's attacks.

In particular, the attack on the Ethiopian Village restaurant raised suspicions of al-Shabab involvement: Addis Ababa backs Somalia's government against the rebels
Somali militants have been involved in terror attacks across East Africa in the past, but - if proven - this would be the first time the current group has struck outside Somalia.

But the BBC's Will Ross, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, says there is no proof as yet that al-Shabab was involved. The blasts could be linked to next year's elections in Uganda, our correspondent adds.

In Mogadishu, a militant commander said he was "happy" with the attacks in Uganda.

However, Sheik Yusuf Sheik Issa refused to confirm or deny that al-Shabab was responsible.

He told the Associated Press news agency: "Uganda is one of our enemies. Whatever makes them cry, makes us happy. May Allah's anger be upon those who are against us."

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni criticised the attackers and said his country would not "run away" from its commitments in Mogadishu.

"People who are watching football are not people who should be targeted. If they [attackers] want a fight, they should go and look for soldiers."

The African Union has said the attacks will not affect its summit, which is due to be held in Kampala later this month.
'Screaming and running'

At least three Americans, members of a Church group from Pennsylvania, were wounded at the Ethiopian restaurant.

One, Kris Sledge, 18, said from his hospital bed: "I remember blacking out, hearing people screaming and running."

Mr Sledge, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, who had a bandaged leg and burns on his face, told AP: "I love the place here, but I'm wondering why this happened and who did this. At this point we're just glad to be alive."

US President Barack Obama said the explosions were "deplorable and cowardly".

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US would work with the Ugandan government "to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice".

The US embassy in Kampala has confirmed that one American was among the dead.

"The nationalities of all the fatalities will be released later," said police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/10593771.stm

 

[ajtr]

Blasts Kill at Least 64 in Uganda
Kampala's police chief said he believed Somalia's most feared militant group, al-Shabab, could be responsible for the attack. Al-Shabab is known to have links with al Qaeda, and it counts militant veterans from the Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan conflicts among its ranks.

At least three Americans — part of a church group from Pennsylvania — were wounded at the Ethiopian restaurant. One was Kris Sledge, 18, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...68759696.html?mod=WSJINDIA_hpp_sections_world

Pakistan!!!! not again.................