Ramzi Yousef Found Guilty on Four Counts; ERRI Alert

ERRI DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT-ERRI Risk Assessment Services-Thursday, November 13, 1997 Vol. 3 - 317

Ramzi Yousef Found Guilty on Four Counts; ERRI Alert ...
By Paul Anderson, EmergencyNet News - Asst. Managing Editor

NEW YORK CITY (EmergencyNet News)- Convicted bombing mastermind Ramzi Yousef and a co-defendant were both found guilty on Wednesday on all counts of charges that they participated in the planning and execution of the World Trade Center bombing.

Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI) analysts say that they fear that this latest court finding will only add additional fuel to the ideological fires already started by Moslem radicals, who are reportedly already angered by on-going events in Iraq, the recent conviction of Amir Kansi in a case involving the murder of two CIA employees, and the stalled Israeli/Palestinian Authority peace talks.

"What we see are a number of converging events that could signal a very likely possibility of an impending terrorist attack on American citizens or facilities either here or abroad," according to Clark Staten, ERRI executive director. "Our threat analysis computer is signaling a significant increase in threat levels involving America and her interests in several parts of the world," he continued. "We would urge additional precaution and alertness on the part of all Americans, particularly for military members, those contemplating traveling to, or already living in the Mid-East...the distinct possibility even exists of an attack in the continental United States," Staten concluded in an exclusive statement on Wednesday afternoon.

Later in the evening, the U.S. State Department issued a new warning to Americans abroad about possible retaliation after the conviction of Yousef and Eyad Ismoil.

The State Department is urging U.S. citizens to postpone non-essential travel to Pakistan one day after four American businessmen were shot and killed in Karachi. A team of four FBI experts has arrived in Karachi and has been given access to the scene of the shooting, the car in which the men were shot and the hospital which received the bodies.

NBC was reporting that the U.S. Consulate in Karachi received a call before the shooting, warning of an impending attack. There are also reports a group called the Islamic Revolutionary Council has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In another worldwide development, the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malyasia, has warned Americans to be on their guard, saying it received two phone calls threatening harm to U.S. citizens. The Embassy said it was unable to assess the credibility of the threats but told Americans to "maintain a high level of security awareness."

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he did not see any risk to Americans in Malaysia despite the threats. He said, "I don't believe the threat will be followed by action. Malaysians are not violent people. Malaysians don't do such things."

The threats against Americans in Malaysia coincided with increased strains between the two countries.

A non-binding resolution in the U.S. Congress condemned recent remarks made by the prime minister about Jews. Mahathir drew criticism from Jewish groups and the United States in October after he was quoted as saying the government suspected Jewish groups had an agenda to block Moslems' progress. Mahathir later said he had been misinterpreted. The U.S. congressional resolution was carried on the front pages of many Malaysian newspapers on Thursday.

The ERRI DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT is a subscription publication of the EmergencyNet NEWS Service, which is a part of the Chicago-based Emergency Response and Research Institute. This publication specializes in Corporate Security/ Terrorism/Intelligence/Military and National Security issues.

Emergency Response and Research Institute
6348 N Milwaukee Ave, Suite 312, Chicago, Illinois 60646 USA
773-631-ERRI Voice/Voice Mail
773-631-4703 Fax
773-631-3467 Computer/Modem - EMERGENCY BBS
Internet e-mail: webmaster@emergency.com
WWW page: http://www.emergency.com
Telnet: emergency.com

Return to the Counter-Terrorism Operations page