INSTANT
09:00CST - 28 Oct 2002
JORDAN: A senior US embassy official was shot to death outside his home in the Jordanian capital, Amman. He has been named as Lawrence Foley, an employee of USAid, the American development agency. He lived in western Amman's middle-class residential area.
Analysts say the killing comes at a time of rising anti-American sentiment in Jordan and the rest of the Arab world. Police said Foley was hit by several bullets shot by at least one attacker. His wife found his body in the yard outside their home and called police.
Jordanian Information minister Mohammad Adwan said it was too early to speculate whether it was a terrorist assassination, or just a criminal act. But he said the killing "regardless of its motives, is an attack against Jordan and its national security." Nobody has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
ERRI analysts said that they are exploring a pattern and possibility of links between this latest attack on Westerners and a larger series of plots that have occurred in Yemen, Kuwait, Indonesia, and elsewhere in the past few weeks.
*FLASH* -- 02:15CDT/10:15 Amman time - 28 Oct 2002
U.S. diplomat Reportedly shot dead in Jordan
AMMAN, JORDAN: (EmergencyNet News) -- According to very preliminary and largely fragmentary reports, a U.S. diplomat was killed outside his home in Amman. It is thought that the official was shot several times by an unknown assailant, as he was leaving his home. The perpetrator then fled. The incident reportedly occurred at about 07:30, local time. Few other official details are currently available, and EmergencyNet News will bring you additional details as they emerge...watch this page for more on this breaking story...
INSTANT UPDATE - 09:00CDT - 07 Oct 2002
French and Yemeni Investigators Try to Determine Cause of Explosion and Fire
YEMEN: French experts are being sent to investigate what caused a French-owned oil tanker to burst into flames off the coast of Yemen after the owners alleged their vessel was targeted by terrorists. Yemeni authorities are trying to salvage the Limburg tanker, which is still burning in the Gulf of Aden. They have sought to play down allegations that the explosion was the result of an attack, saying a fire on board was the most likely cause.
The owners of the tanker, Euronav, say they believe their vessel was deliberately rammed by a smaller boat. All but one of the eight French and 17 Bulgarian crew members have been accounted for and many of them have been taken to a hospital. The Limburg's captain reported an explosion which was followed by a fire on Sunday morning as the ship came into the port of Aden from Iran.
The incident occurred just a week before the second anniversary of a
terrorist attack blamed on al-Qaeda against the USS Cole near the same
Yemeni port killed 17 US servicemen. Captain Peter Raes, managing director
of Euronav, said it would be "near impossible" for an accidental explosion
to have taken place. He said the Limburg was a new, double-hulled ship, and
was barely moving at the time of the explosion, which happened during good
weather.
08:00CDT/16:00 San'aa, Yemen time - 06 Oct 2002
French Oil Tanker Exploded and Ablaze Outside Yemeni Port
YEMEN: After an explosion on board, a French-owned oil tanker is on fire off the coast of Yemen. Yemeni officials say they do not consider the blast an act of sabotage, but a diplomat at the French embassy said early reports, though contradictory, suggested a terrorist attack. The French Vice-Consul reportedly said: "It seems the oil tanker was rammed by a small boat stuffed with explosives."
The
tanker burst into flame as it headed from Iran towards the port of Mina al-Dabah
, about 355 miles east of Aden. Several crew members are reported to have
jumped into the sea. Twelve have been taken to a hospital, but a number may
remain unaccounted for.
The French diplomat said: "It seems to be an attack in the same style as the USS Cole." But, Yemeni officials are adamant the incident is nothing like that attack, blamed on al-Qaeda, two years ago in the port of Aden. The tanker, which has been identified as the Limburg, was coming into the port to load up with crude oil when the blaze started. Western intelligence officials said they are monitoring events in Yemen and had no immediate comment on the incident until further facts were available...
Historical Reference
Yemen's denial of the possibility of a terrorist explosion on the French tanker sounds eerily familiar. On 13 Oct 2000 at about 11:00CDT, EmergencyNet News issued the following news story:
Yemeni Admiral Denies that Cole Explosion Was A Terrorist Attack
"The
United Press International is reporting today that a senior Yemeni official
on Saturday rejected United States statements that the explosion on a U.S.
Navy destroyer which killed 17 servicemen was an apparent act of terrorism.
The commander of the Yemeni naval base of Aden, Gen. Mohammad Ali Ibrahim,
reportedly told UPI that initial investigations into Thursday's explosion
that ripped through the side of the USS Cole off the coast of Aden showed it
was not caused "intentionally by external forces." He said the explosion
"was most likely caused by a technical malfunction in the U.S. destroyer
itself...the large hole the explosion left in the vessel shows it is
far-fetched that it was caused by explosive devices, no matter how big."
U.S. officials say they are convinced that the explosion was caused by
Islamic suicide bombers and that an inspection of the damaged ship reveals
an explosion, external to the ship."
Click here to
review the entire story of the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole...
Public Announcement
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
MIDDLE EAST UPDATE - April 24, 2002
This Public Announcement is being updated to alert Americans to the potential for further terrorist actions against U.S. citizens abroad and that individuals may be planning terrorist actions against U.S. citizens and interests in the region of the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula. This Public Announcement supersedes the Public Announcement of April 10, 2002. This Public Announcement expires on October 24, 2002.
The U.S. Government continues to receive information about potential terrorist actions against U.S. interests abroad. There is growing concern that individuals may be planning terrorist actions against United States citizens and interests in the region of the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula. U.S. citizens should exercise caution in those areas at this time. As indicated in the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement of March 17, 2002, increased security at official U.S. facilities may lead terrorists and their sympathizers to seek softer targets.
The Department of State is concerned about the potential for further violent responses in the region and elsewhere due to the ongoing crisis in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. These have included demonstrations with anti-American sentiment.
The Department of State reminds Americans to remain vigilant with regard to their personal security and to exercise caution. As further stated in the Department's Worldwide Caution Public Announcement of March 17, 2002, U.S. citizens and interests abroad remain at increased risk of terrorist attacks, including by groups with links to Usama Bin Ladin's Al-Qaida organization. These individuals do not distinguish between official and civilian targets. The Department of State has unconfirmed reports that American citizens may be targeted for kidnapping or other terrorist actions. In late January 2002, an American journalist was taken hostage and murdered in Pakistan.
U.S. Government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert. Facilities have closed and will continue to temporarily close or suspend public services as necessary to review their security posture and ensure its adequacy. On occasion, the travel of official personnel at embassies and consulates around the world may be restricted and these posts may recommend that private American citizens avoid the same areas if at all possible. Services to American citizens could be impaired if employees' movements are restricted. In those instances, U.S. embassies and consulates will make every effort to provide emergency services to American citizens. American citizens in need of emergency assistance should telephone the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate before visiting there.
U.S. citizens planning to travel abroad should consult the Department of State's Public Announcements, Travel Warnings, Consular Information Sheets, Fact Sheets, and regional travel brochures, all of which are available at the Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov. American citizens overseas may contact the American Citizen Services unit of the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate by telephone or fax for up-to-date information on security conditions.
See
http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html
for State Department Travel Warnings
17 Jan 2002
Plot To Attack US Embassy Sana'a Said Foiled
YEMEN: A Yemeni Foreign Ministry official said on Wednesday that the evil Usama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network planned an attack on U.S. Embassy Sana'a. As was previously reported, the U.S. Embassy suspended most consular services on Monday, citing what it said were credible security threats. The suspension remains in effect.
The Yemeni official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government had received information from the United States that al-Qaeda terrorists had plotted to carry out an attack on the embassy. The official did not say when the attack was to have taken place.
The Foreign Ministry official said the information received from the United States came from interrogations of a senior al-Qaeda figure, Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi, who is in U.S. custody. Al-Libi is a Libyan who ran some of bin Laden's training camps. He was captured by Pakistan and turned over to U.S. authorities this month.
The Aden-based newspaper Al-Ayyam reported that one of the Yemeni al-Qaeda militants detained by U.S. forces in Afghanistan and transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, told U.S. interrogators of a plot to blow up the U.S. Embassy in San'a. The privately owned newspaper said the plan called for detonating a truck loaded with a ton of explosives. The newspaper said the information was relayed to Yemeni authorities, who "took stringent security measures to thwart the plot."
In response to the security alert, the main road in front of the embassy
in the Yemeni capital was closed to vehicles and pedestrians, and there were
increased police patrols around the compound. Police also stepped up
security around U.S. companies and diplomatic residences in the country.
18 Dec 2001
YEMEN [Terror Group Reference: al-Qaeda]: Government forces
reportedly attacked a village in eastern Yemen where suspected members of
the evil Usama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network may be hiding. One report
said 12 people were killed when officers from the police and armed forces
clashed with tribesmen in the village of al-Hosn in Marib province, some 125
miles east of the capital Sanaa. Residents of the village are believed to
have refused to hand over a number of suspected al-Qaeda members when asked
by the authorities to do so. Tanks and helicopters were deployed in the
attack, which involved heavy exchanges of gunfire.
12:50CDT - 21 June 2001
Indictment Says Iranian Government Agents Allegedly "Encouraged and Directed" Saudi Hezbollah Attack on Khobar Towers
Washington, DC (EmergencyNet News) -- Within the past few minutes, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the indictment of fourteen individuals, including thirteen people described by Ashcroft as "members of Saudi Hezbollah" and one member of "Lebanese Hezbollah." AG Ashcroft also said that the indictments charged that the bombers were "encouraged and directed" by unidentified members of the Iranian government. Ashcroft emphasized the fact that the indictments were based in facts that could be presented in U.S. court and that an investigation of other individuals who may have been involved in the Khobar bombing continues...
*****
12:00CDT - 21 June 2001
Khobar Tower Indictments Handed Down In Virginia
Washington, DC (EmergencyNet News) -- A news conference is scheduled for 13:30EDT at FBI headquarters in Washington, DC. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Louis Freeh are expected to release details about the indictment in Virginia of fourteen (14) individuals for their involvement in a June 25, 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers USAF housing complex in Saudi Arabia. EmergencyNet News will monitor further events in this developing story and bring you additional updates as circumstances warrant...
Click here for the original EmergencyNet News report concerning the Khobar Towers bombing
Click
here for a secondary analysis of the Khobar Towers bombing
07 May 2001
IRAN/USA:
Iranian Officials Involved in Khobar Tower Bombing??
WASHINGTON, DC: According to an article in the New Yorker on Sunday, FBI Director Louis Freeh has given the White House a list of people -- said to possibly include Iranian officials -- who he believes should be indicted in the 1996 bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 U.S. service personnel. The June 1996 bomb at the Khobar Towers military complex in Daharan, Saudi Arabia, killed 19 servicemen and injured 500 others. No official FBI confirmation of the New Yorker report was forthcoming. Click here to read the original EmergencyNet News report on the bombing...
On 26
Feb 2001, EmergencyNet News issued a report citing allegations that a
man, identified as "Ahmad Sherifi, a senior member of the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard," was implicated in the Khobar Towers bombing...
MID-EAST/WASHINGTON, DC:
Franks Lists Threats Facing Central Command
By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2001 -- While the Persian Gulf is the crucial area for U.S. Central Command, the command has much more on its plate, said Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks. Franks, testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, said the command stands ready to protect American vital interests throughout the Central Command area of responsibility.
"The volatility of our region requires that USCENTCOM remain adaptable and agile," Franks said. "Without a large footprint in the region, we must be truly 'deployable.' Responsive command, control, and communications during peace, crisis, and conflict will remain key to our ability to accomplish the mission.
The key to the Central Command area is to maintain uninterrupted access to energy resources. The Persian Gulf region contains roughly 68 percent of the world's known oil and natural gas reserves -- "more than 40 percent of which pass through the Strait of Hormuz," Franks said.
"And so, one of our responsibilities -- in fact, one of our objectives -- is to maintain access to these energy resources at the same time that we maintain access to markets in the region," he remarked.
Iraq, of course, is the main disturber of the peace in the region. CENTCOM maintains the no-fly zone over the southern third of that country. In addition, the command conducts maritime intercept operations in the northern Arabian Gulf. These operations seek to stop Saddam Hussein from smuggling oil and using the revenue gained to reconstitute his weapons of mass destruction or to improve his conventional capabilities.
But there is more to CENTCOM than containing Hussein, Franks continued. The command's area of responsibility encompasses 25 nations in an area about twice the size of the continental United States.
"It includes the northern Red Sea area, the countries of Egypt and Jordan. It includes the Horn of Africa and East Africa; the Arabian Peninsula, certainly; and South Asia from Pakistan up into Central Asia as far as Kazakhstan," Franks said.
Iran is another concern, he said. Franks called Iran an "enigma" during his testimony. He said Iranian President Mohammed Khatami has indicated a willingness to improve ties with the West and loosen the fundamentalist restrictions on the Iranian people, but his hands are tied. "(Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-) Khamenei and the ruling conservatives have clearly demonstrated that they will not accept change, nor will they share the principal elements of state power with an increasingly restless population," Franks said. In spite of the internal discord, Iran continues to improve its conventional and unconventional military capabilities, he said.
"Tehran's ability to interdict the Strait of Hormuz with air, surface and sub-surface naval units, as well as mines and missiles remains a concern," Franks told the lawmakers. "Additionally, Iran's asymmetrical capabilities are becoming more robust."
He said these capabilities include high-speed attack patrol ships, anti-ship missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and hardened facilities for surface-to-surface missiles and command and control. But the main concerns, he noted, are Iran's weapons of mass destruction program and large medium-range ballistic missile program.
"Although President Khatami is attempting to change Iran's image, sustained hostility of conservative hard-liners is evident as we see continued support of terrorism aimed at derailing efforts for peace between Israel and the Palestinians," he said.
The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian violence is of continuing concern in the region, Franks said. In the Persian Gulf, violence has increased internal pressures on moderate Arab governments that must balance responses to public opinion with the value placed on their relationships with the West, he said.
"If the (Arabian) Peninsula states begin to distance themselves from the United States, their inability to face the dual threats of Iran and Iraq will leave them vulnerable to intimidation by these aggressive powers," Franks said.
The October attack on the destroyer USS Cole highlights the threat of terrorism in the region. Franks said the threat remains high and is becoming more sophisticated. "Despite our counter-terrorism successes over the past year, including the disruption of terrorist cells in Jordan and Kuwait, extremist groups continue to recruit, train and conduct operations," he said.
One trend is unprecedented cooperation between known and obscure groups. "This cooperation includes moving people and materials, providing safe havens and money and training new recruits," he said. "The trend is especially disturbing as known organizations gain plausible deniability for operations, while the obscure groups achieve an increased capability from training and financial support."
He said terrorist organizations continue to seek larger explosive devices, more lethal tactics and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. He said this trend points to a more significant problem in the future.
"In addition to the use of unconventional weapons,
the potential for terrorists to regard unconventional targets (civilians
and civilian infrastructure) as practical options for attack seems
likely," Franks said. "As terrorist networks improve their
ability to operate within the global communications environment, we see
increased capability to support recruitment, conduct fund-raising, and
direct sub-elements worldwide. The complex terrorist threat we face
today is less predictable and potentially much more dangerous than we have
seen in the past."
15 Mar 2001:
Series of EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning the Hijacking of a Vnukovo
Airlines TU-154 Following Departure from Istanbul, Turkey...and then
diverted to Jeddah and Medina, Saudi Arabia.
(Latest
update: 09:00CST - 17 Mar 2001)
INSTANT
09:00CST - 25 Feb 2001
Tehran Times on Khobar Bombing; Who's Engaging In Disinformation??
The Tehran Times newspaper yesterday called the CBS News article cited below a "disinformation campaign." In an article written by "Our Staff Writer," the Tehran Times reportedly said, " The U.S. has launched a disinformation campaign against Iran since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, hurling baseless accusations against it...More recently CBS, in coordination with the Zionist lobby, has been trying to implicate Iran in the Khobar bombing in Saudi Arabia since the mid-1990s." Further, the Tehran Times charged, "Therefore, the new accusation is an attempt by the United States to shift attention from Israel to Iran in order to give a blank check to Israel to massacre the Palestinians."
U.S. authorities had no immediate comment on the Iranian newspaper allegations. One counter-terrorism analyst in Washington, however, told EmergencyNet News today that regardless of what the Tehran Times said on behalf of the Iranian government, it will be "the evidence that determines who is really engaging in disinformation."
IRAN:
Iranian Tie In Khobar Towers Attack?
According to CBS News on Friday evening, sources say that US federal investigators believe they now know who planned and carried out the Khobar Towers attack in 1996, and are close to preparing a formal indictment naming some two dozen suspects -- including at least one senior official in Iran. Nineteen US Air Force personnel were killed when a truck loaded with explosives pulled up outside their barracks in Dahran, Saudi Arabia, on 25 June 1996. Nearly 100 FBI agents spent up to a year on the case, but were eventually recalled when US officials complained of "a lack of cooperation from Saudi Arabia." FBI Director Louis Freeh later said that the cooperation issues had been resolved.
On 26 June 1996, one day after the attack, an ERRI report on the Dharan bombing said the following: "ERRI analysts say that several other small splinter groups of "Saudi nationalists," "Moslem extremists," or a specially put together team of Iranian-backed "sappers" could also be responsible for the disaster in Dhahran." The report can be read at: http://www.emergency.com/saudibm2.htm
Sources say that about 11 months ago, however, investigators got a break in the case and are now awaiting only a few more pieces of evidence from Saudi Arabia before recommending an indictment. Sources say several of the suspects are in Iran -- including one identified as Ahmad Sherifi, a senior member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
How much of the case was developed independently by US
investigators and how much came from Hani Al-Sayegh is not clear. Al-Sayegh,
a Saudi citizen, was arrested in Canada in 1997 and initially agreed to
tell the FBI about his role in the Khobar Towers attack -- only to recant
and be returned to Saudi Arabia, where he is reportedly still
imprisoned...
24 Jan 2001: Greek Bombing Raises Fear Among Foreign Diplomats
23 Nov 2000-EmergencyNet News "Real-Time" Reports Concerning Three Car Explosions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 17-18 and 23-25 Nov, and 15-17 Dec 2000 (last updated 17 Dec 2000)
04/20/99-10:32CDT
Counter-terrorist
Analysts Take Note Of New Threats From Egyptian
Terrorist Group
12/30/98-09:00CST:Tragic End To Yemeni Hostage Situation; Four Hostages Dead
12/12/98-09:30CST Security Will Be Tight For POTUS Visit ToThe Middle East
04/09/98-14:00CDT--Series of Reports on the Death of Alleged Hamas Bombmaker- 30 Mar 98 to 9 Apr 98
03/09/98-10:00CST--Analysts Predict More Terrorist Attacks In Sri Lanka
03/05/98-09:30CST--Terrorist Bus Bomb Kills 30 In Sri Lanka, 250 Wounded
12/26/97-08:30CST--The Year In Algerian And Egyptian Terrorism
11/17/97-07:30CST--*Flash* Report; Militants Attack Tourists in Egypt (See alert of 10/14/97)
10/14/97-10:00CST--The al-Gama'a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group or IG); ERRI TERRORISM ALERT
07/25/97-09:30CDT--Osama Bin Laden Bides His Time; To Strike The U.S. Again?
03/21/97-09:40CST--Terrorist Bomb Reported in Tel Aviv Cafe; 3 Dead, 45 Wounded (Initial report)
03/06/97-12:00CST--ERRI Report on Terrorism In Algeria During Ramadan; 300 Dead
02/13/97-14:00CST--FBI Concerned With Evidence in Dhahran Bombing; Update
01/25/97-12:00CST--Algerian President Calls Situation; "Unequaled Terror"
01/09/97-21:00CST--Series of ENN Releases; Bombing in Tel Aviv, Bomb Threat in Jerusalem
11/23/96-11:30CST--FBI's Freeh to Visit Saudi Arabia; Dhahran Bombing Investigation Update
10/13/96-12:00CDT--Extremist Threats Against US/Israel Reported
08/03/96-12:50CDT--Organized Terrorism; Movement for Islamic Change
06/28/96-14:00CDT--Saudi Bomb Investigation Continues; Senate Response to Chem/Bio Terrorism
05/23/96-16:00CDT--SecState Christopher Calls For Further Isolation of Iran; Terrorism in Israel
04/22/96-13:30CDT--Multi-Dimensional Terrorism Threats Face USA and Israel
03/13/96-13:00CST--Mid-East Terrorism Alert; Increased Threat in Wake of Summit
03/03/96-23:30CST--Israeli/PLO Peace Accord in Question Following Latest Jerusalem Bomb
03/02/96-23:08CST--Another Bomb Destroys Jerusalem Bus; 20 Dead, 14 Wounded
02/24/96-23:15CST--Two Bus Bombs Devastate Israel; More than 20 Dead, Forty Injured
01/31/96-12:00CST--Massive Truck Bomb Demolishes Sri Lanka Capital; 55 Dead, 1,200 Injured
01/29/96-16:00CST--ENN Report on the November 17 Terror Organization
02/12/96-15:20--Curfew Implemented; Israel Issues Car Bomb Warning
02/11/96-18:30CST--Islamic Extremist Bombs Strike Bahrain and Algeria; 17 killed, 100 Injured
11/19/95-Bombing of Egyptian Embassy in Pakistan; 15 Dead, 59 hurt-
11/16/95-Development of Israeli Security Since Rabin's Death
10/12/93-Israel/PLO Peace Accord; Cause of More Terrorism?? --Terror Event Summary 09/14/93-10/12/93
03/01/93-06:00CST--Multiple Terrorist Bombs Strike Bombay, India; 228 Dead, 1,200 Injured
02/19/93-09:00CST--Islamic Fundamentalism Spreads Through Mid-East; New Threats