According to the report, the effort to acquire nuclear or biological
materials was organized by Semen Mogilevich, considered a major Russian
organized crime figure and head of the Solntsevo crime group. The group is
believed to have previously provided weapons and arms.
Three members of the Solntsevo gang were arrested on their way to Munich
with 17 ounces of smuggled plutonium, the report said.
_____
Al Sadr website steps up threats
The Internet site belonging to Shi'ite leader Moqtada al Sadr has increased
its number of statements denouncing U.S. force and Iraqis cooperating with
the United States, U.S. officials said.
In contrast to earlier statements, the recent comments mark "a more violent
threatening tone," one official stated.
On May 9, the al Sadr site stated: "We will not continue our policy of
patient self-restraint for long."
On May 11, the site stated that al Sadr's "patience with the occupation
forces has run out" and that he has "issued orders to his fighters to expand
their battles against the American forces to all parts of Iraq."
The report said the action is the second phase of resistance that would lead
to "an increase of resistance consisting of new types of activities of a
greater reach and extent" causing "volcanic revolutions" in Iraq.
A statement on May 11 was signed by the commander of the Jaysh Al-Mahdi
militia in Karbala. It announced a cash reward of 500,000 Iraqi dinars
($340) to "anyone who informs on any agent working for the occupation
forces."
The site also has referred to the Iraqi Governing Council as the "Council of
Shame and Disbelief, the Council of Evil Collaborators" describing its
members as "traitors who have betrayed the Iraqi people and agreed to let
them be humiliated and allowed the honor of Iraqi men and women to be
violated."
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U.S. Navy captures weapons boat in Red Sea
The U.S. Navy stopped a commercial vessel in the Red Sea last week and
discovered weapons intended for Somalia, U.S. officials said. The boat had
left Yemen and was owned by a Yemeni businessman.
The United Nations has imposed an embargo on weapons transfers to Somalia
and U.S. military forces are operating a special task force on the Horn of
Africa to deal with terrorist threats.
The weapons were removed from the ship by crane and transferred to a U.S.
warship. The boat and its crew were detained.
Somalia is believed to be one of the new locations used by Al Qaida and
other Islamist terrorists to conduct training and operations.
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Terrorists shifting to softer targets
Al Qaida and other terrorist groups are shifting their attacks to "softer,"
less defended targets, according to a U.S. government report.
The Overseas Security Advisory Council, a joint government-industry security
group, stated in a report that nearly all major terrorist attack this past
year were directed at "relatively soft" targets.
The attacks included the May 12, 2003 attack on residential compounds in
Saudi Arabia; the bombing of popular restaurants in Casablanca, Morocco;
attacks on the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta; and November 2003 attacks on
residences in Saudi Arabia.
The bombing in March of commuter trains in Madrid marked the "first major
attack on European transportation infrastructure in the modern era," the
report stated.
Additionally, terrorists attacked an oil company in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia
killing six people, including two Americans.
"Along with many other possible targets, we are now paying closer attention
to journalists and media personnel," the report said. "By soft targets, we
are referring to personnel and facilities that may be less protected than
others. Based on the record of attacks that have taken place, we note that
potential targets may be expected to include, in addition to those already
mentioned, churches, hotels, markets, bars and accessible office
facilities."
The report also warned that other targets include shopping malls,
educational institutions, resorts, tourist locales, manufacturing plants,
airliners and many others.
The report said the Madrid attack was unusual because it did not involve
suicide bombers and was relatively low cost. "All of these attacks succeeded
in accomplishing what the apparent shift to soft targets is intended to
accomplish - a growing fear that terrorism will find us in venues that we
have long thought to be safe," the report said.
The report noted that there have been no major attacks on U.S. embassies and
consulates - considered hard targets because of their increased security -
since 2002.
_____
Pro-Saddam cells working with foreign terrorists in Iraq
The assassinated former head of the Iraqi Governing Council, Izz-al-Din
Salim, last week stated that cells of pro-Saddam elements were operating
clandestinely in Iraq and working with foreign terrorists.
The pro-Saddam elements have held meetings recently to coordinate "extensive
terrorist operations" in Iraq.
Izz-al-Din Salim was killed May 17 by a suicide bomber.
SOURCE: GEOSTRATEGY
