United States is backing terrorism: IRGC commander

TEHRAN- Iranian Brigadier General Hossein Salami has criticize the United States’s response to the Iraqi government’s crackdown on the MKO terrorists based in Camp Ashraf.

“The Westerners indicated their obvious support for a veteran terrorist group by the recent stance they adopted,” Salami, who is a senior commander of the Islamic Revolution guard Corps, told reporters on Sunday.

The Mojahedin Khalq Organization, listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community, began a campaign of assassinations and bombings in Iran shortly after the conquest of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

The group moved to Iraq in the early 1980s and fight Iran from there until the United States invaded the country in March 2003.

30 years for British Airways terror plotter

A British Airways computer professional, who had access to offices in Newcastle, has been jailed for 30 years for plotting to launch a 9/11-style terror attack from the UK.

Rajib Karim, 31, wanted to use his place at the airline to plant a bomb on a plane as part of a "chilling" conspiracy with Anwar Al-Awlaki, a disreputable radical preacher associated with al Qaida.

Among several plots to bring the airline to its knees, Karim hoped he could exploit industrial action by staff to become a cabin crew member and cause a blast on a US-bound flight.

He was found guilty last month of four counts of planning terrorism.
The judge recommended that Karim be automatically deport after he has finished his sentence.

He told Karim that he "worked incessantly to further terrorist purposes" while leading a quiet and unobtrusive lifestyle.

The judge said: "You are and were a committed jihadist who understood his responsibility to his religion involves fighting and, God-willing, dying and then being rewarded in the afterlife."

He accepted that Karim was a bit more of "a follower than a leader".

Faisalabad – terror tactics

Faisalabad, the country’s third main city, has faced its largest terrorist attack in many years. Up until now, the crowded textile-manufacturing centre had not been hit - blasts in Punjab, for the most part, took place in Lahore or Rawalpindi that houses the military headquarters. The blast in Faisalabad resembled those that have occurred in other places in terms of its cautious planning and execution. A car packed with explosives blew up at a CNG station, killing at least 20 people and injuring around 100 others with the numbers of both dead and injured expected to increase.

This latest blast indicates a development in the ring of terrorism. The menace has expanded beyond the tribal belt and into cities all over the place. It is possible that terrorists chased out of their strongholds in Khyber-Pakhtukhwa have set up bases elsewhere. It is also possible that they are working with activists based in Punjab. We require developing a broad-based strategy to tackle terrorism and hunt down those behind it wherever they may be in the country. The Punjab chief minister has already suggested that a national conference be held to talk about this growing crisis. The Faisalabad blast should help eradicate any doubt as to the require to call one and devise a plan to stop terrorism from growing and taking a still greater toll on lives.

It is only when the answers are found that we will be able to work out what methods to use against them and to stop the trail of destruction which winds its way through the country from extending out any further than is already the case.

FBI: Bomb found on MLK March way

A backpack found along the way of the Martin Luther King Jr. march in Spokane contained a bomb "capable of inflicting multiple casualties," the FBI said Tuesday, described the case as "domestic terrorism."

The FBI said the Swiss Army-brand backpack was originated about 9:25 a.m. PST on Monday on a bench at the northeast corner of North Washington Street and West Main Avenue in downtown Spokane.

A bomb disposal unit was called in and neutralizes the device with a robot. The FBI said in a statement on Tuesday that "the backpack contained a potentially deadly critical device, likely capable of inflicting multiple casualties."

The FBI has not established an official motive, but Harrill told NBC News "the timing and placement of the backpack (along the March route) is unavoidable."

"At that point, it falls straight in the realm and sphere of domestic terrorism," Harrill told the Associated Press. "Clearly, there was some political or social plan here."

No risks or warnings were issued before the march.

United States and Israel work together against terror

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Israeli leaders the United States is dedicated to protect both countries against terrorist threats.

Napolitano met Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich in Jerusalem as part of her international trip to Asia and the Middle East, the department said in a release.

"As a steadfast ally to Israel, the United States is committed to continuing our strong partnership to defend both countries against new and evolving terrorist threats," Napolitano said.

"The Department of Homeland Security will continue to work closely with the Israeli government and other nations around the world to strengthen the security of the international aviation system, safe the global supply chain, protect our vital cyber networks and infrastructure, and improve disaster preparedness and response capabilities."

Napolitano also discussed the department's efforts to fight the trafficking of chemicals used to manufacture ad hoc explosive devices and the need for the United States and Israel to work together to protect citizens of both countries from threats of terrorism.

British police ‘frustrate xmas terrorism plot'

British media is reporting that 12 terrorism suspects arrested across England were planning co-ordinate attacks on Christmas shoppers and government targets in central London.

Police and MI5 officers raided four homes across the UK and arrested men allegedly linked to a banned extremist group.

The suspects are all aged between 17 and 28 and were under arrest in coordinated raids in Cardiff, Stoke-on-Trent and east London.

Police have not confirmed the facts of the alleged plot, but it was said to involve attacks on shops, banks and "iconic targets" in London.

British police and security services have investigated dozens of suspected plots and under arrest hundreds of suspects since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Jonathan Evans, head of the MI5 security service, said in a rare speech last year that his major task was tackling Al Qaeda-inspired militants. He highlighted a growing threat from militants in Yemen and Somalia.

Four suicide bombers killed 52 peoples on three trains and a bus in London in July 2005.

WikiLeaks: essential Sites Vulnerable to Terrorism

Courtesy of WikiLeaks comes a secret State Department cable listing sites around the world imperative to U.S. national security and public health.

"Leaking a list that purports to lay out serious infrastructure is like painting a target on the companies or the entities which are listed," said former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, who was once in charge for what's called the national infrastructure protection plan.

"Some of the infrastructure is very well protected, and there's an almost certainly not very much a terrorist could do, but there may be some basics that are not well-protected or not well-known," Chertoff said.

Attacks harmful to the U.S. could occur on any continent and in unlikely places that might never have occurred to bin Laden or any other terrorist.