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Author Topic: Shooting at Ft. Hood Texas 11/05/09 13 dead, 43 wounded-(Murder Charges)  (Read 730209 times)
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« Reply #980 on: January 01, 2010, 11:19:49 PM »

Saudi jets pound northern Yemen

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:06:17 GMT

The Houthi fighters in Yemen say Saudi warplanes have carried out several airstrikes on the country's beleaguered northern areas, leaving a child dead.

According to the fighters, the warplanes targeted more than 20 villages in Sa'ada province on Friday.

The fighters also reported that they have repelled an incursion by Saudi troops in an area near the border.

Saudi Arabia joined the Yemeni government's campaign of cracking down on the Houthi fighters on November 3. Sana'a launched Operation Scorched Earth in August 2009, claiming that the fighters had breached the terms of a ceasefire by taking foreign tourists hostage.

The Houthis, however, deny the charges accusing the Yemeni government of violation of their civil rights, political, economic and religious marginalization as well as large-scale corruption.

Meanwhile, a Yemeni government source claimed that eleven fighters were killed in clashes with the country's military.

The Source added that a number of "others were wounded in widespread combing operations and strikes by military and security units on Thursday against gatherings of Houthis," Reuters reported on Friday.

Another unnamed source also claimed that Yemeni forces destroyed what he called a "terrorist den" in the northern Sa'ada region on Thursday, Reuters reported.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115138&sectionid=351020206
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« Reply #981 on: January 02, 2010, 01:36:16 PM »

AP: Muslim cleric who communicated with terror suspect born in LC

Posted: Jan 2, 2010 12:16 PM


AP: Muslim cleric who communicated with terror suspect born in LC
The Christmas Day terror plot aboard a Detroit-bound airliner had some ties to the Borderland, according to the Associated Press.

The Christmas Day terror plot aboard a Detroit-bound airliner had some ties to the Borderland, according to the Associated Press.

Muslim cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki, who communicated with the terror suspect accused of trying to blow up the Delta flight, was born in Las Cruces, according to the AP.

The 38-year-old Al-Awlaki is now living in Yemen. The AP says he also had made contact with Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in November.

Authorities are trying to determine whether Al-Awlaki played any role in either terror plot.

http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=11758833
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« Reply #982 on: January 02, 2010, 05:50:07 PM »

Imam counseled 9/11 attackers, accused Fort Hood gunman and NW airline terror suspect

by Whit Johnson / KENS 5 TV

Posted on January 2, 2010 at 10:46 AM
******

The Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a U-S airliner remains in federal lockup Friday morning. CBS News has learned he's no longer talking to investigators but that isn't stopping them from learning more about who may have helped him.

Authorities believe American born cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki played a critical role in the bombing attempt of Flight 253.

Months before the attack, he reportedly communicated with terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. And Abdulmutallab says they even met face to face.

Al-Awlaki has been on the government radar for years. He apparently counseled three of the 9/11 hijackers and communicated with accused Fort Hood gunman... Major Nidal Malik Hassan

But the Imam denies any link to Al-Qaeda, claiming he's only a spiritual mentor.

"There's always this association between islam and terrorism when that is not true at all. I mean islam is a religion of peace," said Al-Awlaki.

President Obama has already received his first report about the Christmas day incident. Next week, he'll meet personally with officials to talk more about what went wrong.

Preliminary findings blame communication breakdowns among various agencies. Intelligence officials knew Al-Qaeda was preparing a Nigerian in Yemen for an attack but the clues were never put together in time.

Officials say those responsible for the mishap will be held accountable but for now the top priority is preventing another security breach.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has sent a team to Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America to review passenger screening on U-S bound flights.

Officials have also updated the terrorist watch list -- moving some names up to the no-fly list. Such a move could have stopped Abdulmutallab... who was on the watch list but still cleared to fly.

http://www.kvue.com/news/national/Imam-counseled-911-attackers-accused-Fort-Hood-gunman-and-NW-airline-terror-suspect-80500552.html
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« Reply #983 on: January 02, 2010, 05:54:17 PM »

Ft. Hood gunman still hospitalized, but out of ICU

January 2, 2010

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The man accused of gunning down fellow soldiers at Fort Hood in November remains hospitalized at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist, was moved to general care from the hospital's intensive care unit last month but will likely remain at Brooke for the next several months, according to his attorney, John Galligan of Belton, Texas.

Galligan is a retired Army colonel and a former Fort Hood military judge.

Hasan, 39, suffered several gunshot wounds during the Nov. 5 attack at Fort Hood and is paralyzed "from the nipple area down," Galligan said.

The Army is working to assemble a "sanity board" to ascertain Hasan's mental stability, Galligan said. "I've been telling everyone all along that mental responsibility is the major issue in this case," he said.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1969885,fort-hood-gunman-hospitalized-010210.article
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« Reply #984 on: January 02, 2010, 05:57:35 PM »

Family elated to welcome home Ft. Hood massacre survivor

January 2, 2010
ASSOCIATED PRESS

The massacre at Fort Hood in Texas in November replays in his mind over and over.

A gunman shouts in Arabic. Shots ring out. Then intense pain -- bullets tore through his left knee and other parts of his body -- and loud screams.

"It was surreal, just mass chaos,'' Army Pvt. 1st Class Najee Hull recalled last week. "Pain and people screaming. It replays in my mind over and over. I remember everything. . . . It's starting to mess with me."

For the first time since the shooting, Hull was able to return to his home in Homewood two weeks ago -- to spend Christmas with his family.

But he can't stop thinking about the events Nov. 5 at Darnall Army Medical Center, which is a part of Fort Hood -- where Hull, 20, was stationed.

Military authorities say a U.S. Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, walked into the center, shouted "Allahu Akbar" or "God is greatest," then targeted uniformed soldiers by firing more than 100 times with a semiautomatic pistol and a revolver. He allegedly killed 13 people and wounded 30.

Hasan was tackled as he paused to reload. Hasan, who remains hospitalized, is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.

Hull was prepping for a medical review ahead of his planned deployment to Afghanistan when the shooting began. The medical center was teeming with soldiers and civilians, including a group of nearly 600 gathered for an afternoon graduation ceremony. Hull was the first person hit in the massacre.

"He said some terrorist things, some Allah things, then just started shooting," Hull said.

"I do ask myself sometimes, 'Why me?' Of all the places to be that day, I had to be there."

While Hull said he's thrilled to be surrounded by doting friends and family members in Homewood, he struggles to accept that a member of the military turned on his comrades -- on a U.S. base -- and opened fire.

"It's like being betrayed by a family member, like someone in my family shot me," Hull said. "We die for the same cause, live by the same creed. I'm still kind of angry about it, but I try not to be angry because I'm here and a lot of people aren't. I know I'm lucky."

Hull, a 2007 graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School, has undergone three surgeries. One bullet destroyed his spleen, which was removed, but fragments of bullets remain lodged in his chest and knee.

"At Christmas, the whole time I kept thinking, I might have missed this. If that bullet would hit two inches higher or two inches lower, I might never have seen my family again, and I love my family," Hull said.

Hull lives with his mother, Yvonne, who works for the U.S. Postal Service, and sisters Nanette Hull, 34, and Nala Pearson, 13. He also has an older brother, Nathaniel Hull, 31.

The family was elated to finally welcome Najee home after he spent more than a month recovering at the base, Yvonne, a single mom, said.

"Christmas was truly Christmas, a celebration. We may have a sparse tree and sparse gifts, but you know we got our gift early, and we're at peace," Yvonne said. "Words cannot describe how thankful we are."

Hull, a mechanic, is part of the 36th Engineer Brigade, which will deploy this month to Afghanistan -- but without him. He'll return to Fort Hood on Friday.

"I love the Army. I love my buddies. I feel bad I won't be with them," said Hull, struggling to remain composed. "I have a lot of soul-searching to do. I really don't know what's next for me."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1969889,CST-NWS-hood03.article
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« Reply #985 on: January 02, 2010, 06:32:20 PM »

Family elated to welcome home Ft. Hood massacre survivor

January 2, 2010
ASSOCIATED PRESS

The massacre at Fort Hood in Texas in November replays in his mind over and over.

A gunman shouts in Arabic. Shots ring out. Then intense pain -- bullets tore through his left knee and other parts of his body -- and loud screams.

"It was surreal, just mass chaos,'' Army Pvt. 1st Class Najee Hull recalled last week. "Pain and people screaming. It replays in my mind over and over. I remember everything. . . . It's starting to mess with me."

For the first time since the shooting, Hull was able to return to his home in Homewood two weeks ago -- to spend Christmas with his family.

But he can't stop thinking about the events Nov. 5 at Darnall Army Medical Center, which is a part of Fort Hood -- where Hull, 20, was stationed.

Military authorities say a U.S. Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, walked into the center, shouted "Allahu Akbar" or "God is greatest," then targeted uniformed soldiers by firing more than 100 times with a semiautomatic pistol and a revolver. He allegedly killed 13 people and wounded 30.

Hasan was tackled as he paused to reload. Hasan, who remains hospitalized, is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.

Hull was prepping for a medical review ahead of his planned deployment to Afghanistan when the shooting began. The medical center was teeming with soldiers and civilians, including a group of nearly 600 gathered for an afternoon graduation ceremony. Hull was the first person hit in the massacre.

"He said some terrorist things, some Allah things, then just started shooting," Hull said.

"I do ask myself sometimes, 'Why me?' Of all the places to be that day, I had to be there."

While Hull said he's thrilled to be surrounded by doting friends and family members in Homewood, he struggles to accept that a member of the military turned on his comrades -- on a U.S. base -- and opened fire.

"It's like being betrayed by a family member, like someone in my family shot me," Hull said. "We die for the same cause, live by the same creed. I'm still kind of angry about it, but I try not to be angry because I'm here and a lot of people aren't. I know I'm lucky."

Hull, a 2007 graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School, has undergone three surgeries. One bullet destroyed his spleen, which was removed, but fragments of bullets remain lodged in his chest and knee.

"At Christmas, the whole time I kept thinking, I might have missed this. If that bullet would hit two inches higher or two inches lower, I might never have seen my family again, and I love my family," Hull said.

Hull lives with his mother, Yvonne, who works for the U.S. Postal Service, and sisters Nanette Hull, 34, and Nala Pearson, 13. He also has an older brother, Nathaniel Hull, 31.

The family was elated to finally welcome Najee home after he spent more than a month recovering at the base, Yvonne, a single mom, said.

"Christmas was truly Christmas, a celebration. We may have a sparse tree and sparse gifts, but you know we got our gift early, and we're at peace," Yvonne said. "Words cannot describe how thankful we are."

Hull, a mechanic, is part of the 36th Engineer Brigade, which will deploy this month to Afghanistan -- but without him. He'll return to Fort Hood on Friday.

"I love the Army. I love my buddies. I feel bad I won't be with them," said Hull, struggling to remain composed. "I have a lot of soul-searching to do. I really don't know what's next for me."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1969889,CST-NWS-hood03.article


Homewood soldier says he was first Fort Hood victim


Mon 09 Nov 2009 01:36

A Homewood soldier told his family a horrifying account of being the first one shot Thursday in the Fort Hood, Texas, rampage, then crawling to try to reach safety, only to be chased down and shot again.

Army Pfc. Najee Hull, 21, was shot three times, twice in the back and once in the knee, said Sheila Hull-Smith, who said she is the young man's aunt.

Her nephew told her in a phone conversation that he was the first victim in the shooting, Hull-Smith said. He was preparing to complete paperwork to be deployed to Afghanistan when he was shot once in the knee, she said.

In an interview with WBBM-AM 780, Hull said: "Everything... it was just surreal.  I would have never thought that stuff like this would happen... where I thought I was safe.

"Every day I come in there.  I work there.  It was a surreal feeling to actually get shot at on post."

"I was afraid that I was going to lose my life.  That I was going to let down my family and stuff..."

Hull made his way into a nearby cubicle to try to escape, his aunt said, but the gunman followed and shot him again two more times.

Najee Hull remains hospitalized, but he appears to be recovering, she said. "Right now, he's doing OK," Hull-Smith said.

Nate Hull said on Sunday that his brother has been moved from intensive care and is doing adequately "given the circumstances."

"We're just trying to get him some rest," he said from his brother's room in Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas, where 10 of those injured were taken.

Four men and women from Chicago and the surrounding suburbs lost their lives in Thursday's shooting: Pvt. Francheska Velez, 21, of Chicago; Pfc. Michael Pearson, 22, of Bolingbrook; Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow, 32, of Plymouth, Ind.; and Capt. Russell Seager of Racine, Wis.

Seager's family recalls an intelligent, quiet, family man who joined the Army Reserves four years ago because of his desire to help troubled returning soldiers.

Trained as a nurse, Seager, 51, worked with soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Milwaukee, his family said.

But Seager wasn't content simply helping those at the VA medical center and was spurred to enlist. This year, he pursued a deployment to Afghanistan, where he would have helped soldiers suffering from combat stress.

"I've always had a great deal of respect for the military and for service, and I just felt it was time that I stepped up and did it," Seager said in an August interview with Milwaukee's WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio. "It sounds corny and patriotic, but when you talk to people that decide to do this, the feelings are similar."

In a telephone interview Sunday, Seager's uncle Larry Seager said: "I think it inspired him to try to help the people as they come back from overseas, even try to help them when they go over. He just wanted to help."

Seager's work filled him with pride, though he was never one to celebrate his own sacrifice. "Rusty would never brag about anything, but you could just tell (that he was proud) in the way he talked. He wasn't a guy who tried to pat himself on the back," Seager said.

In addition to his VA work, Seager had a doctorate in alternative medicine and taught classes at Bryant & Stratton College in Milwaukee. Growing up in Racine, Seager was always an excellent student and enjoyed the thrill he received from learning, his uncle said.

"Every chance he got, he went to school ... He said: `I'll never be too old to go to school because there's always something to learn,' " Larry Seager said.

Russell Seager is survived by his wife, Cindy; his son, Joe; his father, Vernon; and his sister, Barbara Prudhomme. Members of Seager's family, including his father, wife and son, planned to travel to Texas for a memorial service. Funeral arrangements hadn't been finalized, but Seager would likely be buried in Wonewoc, where his mother is buried, Larry Seager said.

Some of Velez's high school classmates plan to hold a candlelight vigil at 4 p.m. Monday in the 4300 block of West Kamerling Avenue in Chicago. The public is invited, and friends ask that attendees bring a white candle to the service.

Funeral services for Velez haven't yet been planned, but the family expects to know more by Wednesday, said her aunt Margarita Montero.

Pearson's brother Kristopher Craig said services will be held this weekend with more detailed information coming Monday.

Hull-Smith said the family feels great sorrow for the families of those who died, but they also thank God that Hull was spared.

"It might be a story for you all, but it's a miracle for us," she said. "The lord spared Najee's life."

--Georgia Garvey and William Lee

http://mobile.chicagotribune.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=68264AA26AD2A60971D8.4675?view=breakingnews_article&feed:a=chi_trib_1min&feed:c=latest_breaking_news&feed:i=7120E0B27472D79642227ACE5DC4230C&nopaging=1
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« Reply #986 on: January 02, 2010, 06:41:43 PM »

Assassination attempt on Danish cartoonist

Saturday, January 02, 2010

It appears as if Somalia and Yemen are trying their damndest to ensure that they overtake Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq as the world’s hotspots. In the case of Yemen we are already aware of the links of the Fort Hood shooter to a radical cleric there as well as the instructions and equipment given to the Nigerian who attempted to blow up a U.S. airliner before it landed in Detroit.

Yesterday Somalia's hardline Shebab insurgents confirmed that they will be sending fighters to Yemen, where government forces are battling Al-Qaeda suspects, to help fight "the enemy of Allah". At the same time Somali pirates captured a chemical tanker with 24 crew members in the Gulf of Aden.

Late last night a Somali man wielding an ax and a knife was shot by police as he attempted to kill an artist who drew a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad that sparked outrage in the Muslim world, Denmark's head of intelligence said Saturday.

In a statement they confirmed :

- That a 28-year-old man with ties to al-Qaida attempted to enter Kurt Westergaard's home in Aarhus shortly after 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Friday. Westergaard sounded the alarm and police arrived minutes later, foiling the attempt on his life.

- The attack on the artist was "terror related.

- When the police tried to arrest him the assailant wielded an ax at a police officer who then shot him in the knee and hand. The injuries are not life threatening.

-The suspect who was arrested's name was not released in line with Danish privacy rules.

Danish authorities confirm that the man has close links to the Somali terrorist group, al-Shabaab, and al-Qaida leaders in eastern Africa.

Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahideen -"Movement of Warrior Youth" - more commonly known as al-Shabaab is an Islamist insurgency group in Somalia. The group is said to control most of the southern part of the Somalia, including "a large swath" of the capital, Mogadishu, where it is said to have imposed its own "harsh" form of Sharia law.

The man will be charged with attempted murder.

Westergaard could not be reached for comment. However, he told his employer, the Jyllands-Posten daily, that the assailant shouted "revenge" and "blood" as he tried to enter the bathroom where Westergaard and the child (granddaughter) had sought shelter.

Westergaard remains a target for extremists nearly five years after he drew a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban. The drawing was printed along with 11 others in Jyllands-Posten in 2005.

Yemen and Somalia have kicked off 2010 literally with all guns blazing.

http://www.therichmarksentinel.com/rs_headlines.asp?recid=3608
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« Reply #987 on: January 02, 2010, 06:47:01 PM »

Published: Saturday, January 2, 2010

GUEST COMMENTARY / FORT HOOD ATTACK

Doctrine of false Islam must be rejected

By Ali Al Faham

Words seem to fall apart as I try to write this and feelings seem to be almost indigestible. How can I just tell you that I’m ashamed? Let my soul belong to God, and let my heart, mind and body fall in line to give condolences to those who fell victim to the treachery at Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5.

I want to ask for your patience if I speak out of turn; I ask to share your grief and pain in hopes that your load becomes lighter and mine heavier. I want America to know that she has sons of the Islamic faith ready to stand with her, for her and not against her! My family and I condemn the ignoble act that took place at Fort Hood. My Islam teaches me to protect my home and America is my home! I can hope to at least invoke other Muslim Americans to stand up for America to show respect and to show love.

I’ve come a long way and endured losses of my own in gaining the opportunity of becoming an American; I refuse to identify myself in any other way. I came to the U.S. when I was about 9 years of age as a war refugee from Iraq in late 1993. I camped in the desert for over two years with thousands of other Iraqis escaping persecution.

I will always remember that America adopted me when no other nation was willing. I can remember when my father and my uncles fought Saddam in early 1991. Although their efforts were higher in sacrifice than mine, I like to make my stand in order for my kids to one day pull lineage from this. I would like to hold shield with my fellow Americans in a phalanx effect against the enemy to honor our fallen. I like to draw strength from my family and friends, with all will, to ask God to hold steady the hearts of mothers that lost their children at Fort Hood and the ones who continue to send their sons to protect us while we eat and sleep in assurance.

Islam by word means to surrender to peace. The alleged Fort Hood shooter came armed with hate and dissolution; his sect lacks dignity and merit. I want to point my finger and blame, but I don’t know at whom or what. I am not a politician, nor do I have the honor of serving in the military, so I understand that there is a lot beyond my comprehension, and there is even more that I will never be able to picture.

One thing I’m starting to see clearly, though, is the crucial aspect of holding steadfast in our course in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Fort Hood attacker was a breed of al-Qaida; followers of the contagious doctrine of a false Islam, a horrendous denomination, who are the same folks that drive the campaign toward the beheading of people. Sadly, a relative of mine fell victim to such an act. These same people praise the bombings of civilians in markets and buses. Hopefully, you can see the painted picture with more vivid colors of why we need to maintain our efforts against this infestation in Afghanistan, Iraq and wherever they may be; this enemy will not give up against us! Why should we give ground to them?

I question the Fort Hood attacker: If the tables were turned, would you give us a right to a lawyer even after we have attacked you? After you put us down, would you provide medical care or just leave us for dead? We all know what the answer is. The extent of our mercy and grace goes even to those that offend us. Our Constitution prevents us from being inhumane, and this is why God blesses America!

Ali Al Faham lives in Everett.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100102/OPINION03/701029993
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« Reply #988 on: January 02, 2010, 07:05:26 PM »

US General Talks Security in Yemen

VOA News 02 January 2010

Yemeni officials say U.S. General David Petraeus met with Yemen's president Saturday, as the country steps up efforts to stop al-Qaida militants.

Sources say Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, discussed the security situation in Yemen with President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The American general recently said Washington would nearly double the $70 million it sends to Yemen in security assistance.

Yemeni officials said Saturday that extra security forces have been deployed to eastern provinces where al-Qaida militants operate.

On Friday, a Somali Islamic extremist insurgent group -- al-Shabab -- said it was sending fighters to Yemen to help al-Qaida there.  Yemen said it will not tolerate foreign terrorists on its soil.

A senior al-Shabab official (Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansour)  also called on Muslims in other countries to join the fight.

The Yemeni government has conducted a series of raids and airstrikes against the local al-Qaida group (known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula).

The United States considers al-Shabab a terrorist group, and says it has links to al-Qaida.

In another development, Shi'ite rebels in northern Yemen have welcomed an appeal for peace by Yemen's president.

On Saturday, rebel leaders said they would be willing to enter talks if the government ends its offensive against them.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Yemen-Foreign-Terrorists-Will-Not-be-Tolerated--80497182.html
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« Reply #989 on: January 02, 2010, 07:38:31 PM »

Top U.S. military commander meets with Yemeni president
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/01/02/yemen.president.petraeus.meeting/

Obama: Al-Qaida Behind Christmas Day Attack Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxDXiZbPpjM&feature=player_embedded
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« Reply #990 on: January 02, 2010, 07:47:04 PM »

Bomb suspect "reached out" to UK militants: report

Sat Jan 2, 2010 5:59pm EST


LONDON (Reuters) - British security services knew three years ago that the Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a U.S.-bound plane had "multiple communications" with Islamic extremists in Britain, a newspaper reported on Saturday. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, charged with trying to blow up Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam as it approached Detroit on Christmas Day, studied in London between 2005 and 2008.


U.S. President Barack Obama says an al Qaeda affiliate based in Yemen was apparently behind the attack.

The Sunday Times quoted counter-terrorism officials as saying that, during his London stay, Abdulmutallab had been "reaching out" to extremists who were under surveillance by British security service MI5.

None of the information was passed to U.S. officials, which will prompt questions about intelligence failures before the attack, the newspaper said in an article posted on its website.

It said British officials had now passed a file to their U.S. counterparts on Abdulmutallab's activities while he was a student at University College London (UCL).

The file showed his repeated contacts with MI5 targets who were subject to phone taps, e-mail intercepts and other forms of surveillance, the report said.

Obama has blamed "human and systemic failures" for allowing the botched attack, saying information available to intelligence experts should have been pieced together.

British intelligence officials had defended their decision not to flag Abdulmutallab as a possible terrorism risk, saying he was one of many youths who mixed with extremists but who were not themselves thought to be involved in plotting or supporting terrorism, the Sunday Times said.

It quoted a senior British government official as saying that the intelligence agency had conducted a quick assessment of Abdulmutallab while he was living in London and concluded he was not a threat to national security.

British officials believe Abdulmutallab was recruited to undertake the Detroit plot after he left Britain, most probably while he was in Yemen last summer, the report said.

A Home Office (interior ministry) spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the report.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Friday that Britain was "increasingly clear that he (Abdulmutallab) linked up with al Qaeda in Yemen after leaving London."

Britain refused Abdulmutallab a further student visa in May 2009 and put him on an immigration watch list after he applied to attend a bogus college.

UCL has set up an independent review of Abdulmutallab's time at the university, during which he became president of the student Islamic Society.

(Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by David Stamp)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6011A520100102
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« Reply #991 on: January 03, 2010, 04:51:34 PM »

January 4, 2010

Western embassies in Yemen shut down after al-Qaeda threatens attack

James Hider in Sanaa and Sean O’Neill

The British and American embassies in Yemen were closed yesterday as al-Qaeda threatened an attack in response to Western promises of a renewed counter-terrorism effort in the country.

Spain also shut its embassy in the face of what a senior US official said was a direct threat from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group behind the Christmas Day airline bomb attempt.

John Brennan, the head of counter-terrorism at the White House, said: “There are indications that al-Qaeda is targeting our embassy and targeting our personnel and we’re not going to take any chances with the lives of our diplomats and others who are at that embassy.” A car bomb at the US Embassy in 2008 killed 19 people.

The threat came as Gordon Brown spoke of stepping up the Anglo-American effort to bolster counter-terrorism. Mr Brown told The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One: “Yemen has been recognised, like Somalia, to be one of the areas where we’ve got to not only keep an eye on, but we’ve got to do more.”
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Britain and the US have pumped millions of pounds into developing Yemen’s security effort only to see the al-Qaeda threat increase markedly in the past year and become more international in character.

The attempted bombing of an aircraft landing in Detroit, Michigan, on Christmas Day was carried out by a former London student, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who had been trained and controlled by al-Qaeda in Yemen.

It came after the Fort Hood army base shooting in Texas in November, in which 13 people died at the hands of a Muslim officer who had been in e-mail contact with Anwar al-Awlaki, an extremist cleric based in Yemen.

Mr Brennan told American television networks that the assessment was that al-Qaeda had “several hundred members in Yemen” and had “grown in strength”.

British security officials say that what they call “core al-Qaeda”, rather than an affiliated group, is operating in Yemen and some elements may have moved there from Afghanistan and Pakistan to help to rebuild the movement.

A branch of the terrorist group, calling itself al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, emerged a year ago after the two wings in Yemen and Saudi Arabia unified under a new leadership.

Security analysts in Yemen told The Times that the new al-Qaeda brand in the country represented a shift away from insurgents with tribal links to Osama bin Laden who fought against the Soviet Army in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

The new leadership is believed to include two former detainees from Guantánamo Bay.

Security analysts in Yemen say that they have attracted fighters who have been battle hardened in the insurgency in Iraq and some with experience of the brutal methods of the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant who specialised in mass casualty bombings, sectarian violence and hostage executions.

This more militant group is less likely to seek or accept any accommodation with President Saleh’s regime in Sanaa and analysts have warned that an overt Western intervention would produce a backlash that would benefit al-Qaeda.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6974700.ece
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« Reply #992 on: January 03, 2010, 04:58:34 PM »

Name the enemy

The clear, present and continuing danger posed to Western civilization by the worldwide Islamist terror network cannot be overcome while the American, European and other freedom-loving peoples are neither mobilized nor steeled for the sacrifices ahead.

No serious individual minimizes the perils. The attack carried out in November at Fort Hood by Nidal Malik Hasan, an American-born Muslim, showed the fatal consequences of not intercepting "ticking bombs." And the arrests of Najibullah Zazi, David Headley and five young Pakistani-Americans last year in separate plots against America irrefutably established that homegrown jihadists are a threat - just as they are in the UK, Germany and Spain.

While Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab failed to blow up Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit on Christmas Day, this attempted mass murder was only the latest proof that an Islamist terror network, with bases in Africa, Arabia and South Asia, cells just about everywhere else, and a noxious presence on the Internet, sees itself in a relentless state of war with the West.

A RECENT New York Times editorial concluded: "Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen? Americans have a right to feel weary. But the [Abdulmutallab] plot is a warning of why it's so important to head off full chaos in Yemen. The last thing the world needs is another haven for al-Qaida."

Indeed. But if Americans are "weary" at this stage of the conflict, it is partly because their leaders - and media - have not properly framed the nature of the threat.

Neither former president George W. Bush, who spoke mostly of a "war on terror," nor President Barack Obama, who speaks in terms of "violent extremists" - and no European leader - has had the courage to say that the enemy is global jihad.

The Islamist danger is not primarily rooted geographically - in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Lebanon, Iran or Arabia - but theologically and politically within the larger Muslim civilization.

The only way Westerners can connect the dots - between, say, the devastating attack against Forward Operating Base Chapman near the Pakistani border in Afghanistan (which claimed the lives of seven seasoned CIA anti-terror operatives), and the attempted ax-murder of a cartoonist in the Danish city of Aarhus over the weekend - is for their leaders to plainly say who the enemy is, what they want, and what is at stake if they succeed.

That US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's first reaction to the attack aboard Northwest Flight 253 was to think that it was unconnected to a larger plot, testifies to how hard it will be to change mind-sets. Even Obama's first reaction was that Abdulmutallab appeared to be an "isolated extremist."

Yet compared to most other world leaders, Obama is positively Churchillian. He has articulated the right goal: "To disrupt, to dismantle, and defeat the extremists who threaten us…anywhere where they are planning attacks…"

He's got the metaphysics right: "Evil does exist in the world." Furthermore, he fully understands the amorphous nature of the enemy, declaring that the "war" is against "a far-reaching network."

The missing link is naming the enemy. Only then will he be able to talk frankly about how hard - and necessary - it is to find trustworthy Muslim allies.

The murdered CIA agents were likely betrayed by Afghans they trusted. Al-Qaida in Yemen was revived partly when terrorists were freed in a prison break, possibly orchestrated by renegade elements of the Yemeni secret police.

EVEN IF Western leaders did mobilize their societies, the struggle against the Islamist menace would remain wearying. This is an enemy that is often embedded among civilians and enforces allegiance by beheading those it suspects of disloyalty. Citizens need to know this, to understand why innocent children are sometimes accidentally killed in military operations conducted by allied forces.

Obama needs to tell Americans and Europeans willing to listen that, though the overwhelming majority of Muslims are not terrorists, pretty much all terrorists are Muslim, hence the need for profiling.

An overstretched army, supported by a weary home front, against an ill-defined enemy, does not offer a viable strategy for success. Better to tell people that the enemy is radical Islam, which wants to spread its religion using the sword, and that defeat would mean an end to Western values of pluralism, minority rights and democracy.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1262339382352&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
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« Reply #993 on: January 03, 2010, 05:13:00 PM »

WH aide cites Yemen cleric's ties to two attacks

(AFP)

WASHINGTON — A radical Yemeni cleric who was in contact with the suspected US army base shooter may also have ties to the failed attack on a US-bound plane at Christmas, a top White House aide said Sunday.

US Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Adviser John Brennan accused the cleric, Anwar al-Awlaqi, of trying to "instigate terrorism" due to his alleged links to the two events.

"I think what we are clear about is that Mr Awlaqi was in touch with (alleged Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal) Hasan... and there are indications that he had contact, direct contact, with (alleged Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk) Abdulmutallab," Brennan said on CNN.

"Mr Awlaqi is a problem. He's clearly a part of Al-Qaeda in (the) Arabian Peninsula. He's not just a cleric. He is in fact trying to instigate terrorism."

President Barack Obama on Saturday accused the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, of arming and training Nigerian suspect Abdulmutallab who targeted a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines jet on Christmas Day.

The New York Times has previously reported that Abdulmutallab told FBI agents that he was connected to the Al-Qaeda affiliate by a radical Yemeni cleric whom he contacted online.

The US-born Awlaqi also exchanged emails with Hasan, an army psychiatrist who has been charged with killing 13 people in a November 5 shooting rampage at the Texas military base.

The cleric has told The Washington Post he "blessed the act" and said it was "permissible" under Islam because it was a form of jihad, or holy war.

US intelligence agencies intercepted emails between the Fort Hood suspect and Awlaqi, who is now in Yemen but was a leader of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque outside Washington attended by Hasan and two hijackers of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

"In my mind, Major Hasan carried out this attack, it was inspired, I think, by some of the rantings and the rhetoric of individuals like al-Awlaqi," said Brennan.

"What we need to do now is to make sure that we can identify other individuals or other activities of Mr al-Awlaqi so we can stop it before it comes through."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jDjyNgEJf-g-MCwbxHZ7fgJyhgNw
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« Reply #994 on: January 03, 2010, 05:19:06 PM »

Threats against soldiers may become felonies in SC

The Associated Press
Posted: Sunday, Jan. 03, 2010

CHARLESTON, S.C. A South Carolina lawmaker plans to introduce a bill that would make it a felony to threaten violence against military members or their families because they are serving their country.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports the proposal would make the threats a felony with up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

  Rep. Chip Limehouse says he came up with the bill after authorities accused an Army major and psychiatrist of killing 13 people and injuring 30 at Fort Hood in Texas in November.

The Charleston Republican says he wants to create another layer of protection for American soldiers and their families, who should never feel threatened on this country's soil because of their service.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/233/story/1157921.html
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« Reply #995 on: January 03, 2010, 05:29:08 PM »

Pak tribesman killed 7 CIA agents and trust

Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN
3 January 2010, 08:22pm IST

WASHINGTON: As names of the seven CIA operatives who died in the Taliban suicide bombing in Afghanistan last week trickle out into public domain

despite official silence in Washington, there is another casualty from the episode - trust, never a reliable commodity in the first place in the espionage business.

Intelligence circles are now slowly piecing together what really happened in Forward Operating Base Chapman near the Pakistan border last Wednesday when a Taliban suicide bomber detonated a suicide vest killing eight people, including an Afghan security director and an American perimeter security guard who had escorted him inside – unchecked, unscreened, and unfrisked.

According to intelligence accounts, the suicide bomber was a previously trusted Pakistani informant of the Waziri tribe who was often picked up from a border crossing by a trusted Afghan security director named Arghawan and driven to the base. Because he was a familiar figure brought in by a known person (some reports said he had visited the base multiple times), screening him was not on anyone’s radar particularly since he had been ‘won’ over by trusting him and he had previously delivered valuable information enabling US agencies to conduct accurate drone strikes, which was the principal mandate of FOB Chapman.

But unbeknownst to the Americans, the Waziri tribesman had become a turncoat – either out of personal choice or after he was caught by the Taliban and turned. He was strapped with a suicide vest and sent in to deliver some new “information” which was believed to be ‘valuable’ judging by the fact that the CIA flew in a special debriefer from Kabul and more than a dozen operatives had gathered in the basement gym of FOB Chapman to hear him.

Instead, there was a suicide blast that killed eight people, including Arghawan, the female base chief and another woman operative, and five other men. At least half dozen other operatives were injured in an incident that has shaken the US intelligence community to its boots. If the attribution of the attack is correct, then it is the second time that a Pakistani tribesman would have directly attacked CIA personnel: In 1993, Mir Aimal Kansi tshot dead two CIA workers near its Langley headquarters to avenge the death of his father who was a CIA asset subsequently abandoned. He fled to Pakistan, was later captured and brought back to be executed in the US in 2002.

There has some talk of revenge and retribution but the collateral casualty in the attack is trust – and experience. The nearly dozen CIA operatives who have been put out of commission by the attack constitute the best of CIA expertise on the region, its players and dynamics and they cannot be easily or quickly replaced. Some of them, including the female base chief, had worked on the subject for nearly a decade, including the hunt for bin Laden in the days before and after 9/11.

"This is a tremendous loss for the agency," Michael Scheuer, a former CIA analyst who led the bin Laden unit said of the episode in one television interview. "The agency is a relatively small organization, and its expertise in al-Qaida is even a smaller subset of that overall group." The US had struggled for years to find Pushtu and Dari speaking operatives who can work on the field.

The attack is also certain to force the CIA to reassess how it will recruit informants and what kind of scrutiny and security will be employed, particularly after the administration is under attack for being less than alert in the Detroit plane bombing and the Fort Hood massacre incidents. But subjecting sources to mistrust and excessive suspicion will also dry up information. One expert put the new development in the following perspective: During the Cold War, the worst a double agent could do was deliver false information; now they can detonate suicide vests.

Meanwhile, America continued to grieve the loss of its men and women spooks even as questions raged about the need and efficacy of the CIA being on the frontlines of a war when its principal function was to gather and assess intelligence. Although, the US government has declined to release the names of the killed, the families of the victims have been grieving publicly, as a result of which some of the names have been disclosed in local media.

Among the victims was Harold Brown, a Washington DC area resident who was father of three children, and whose mother believed he was a state department employee even as worked undercover in the front trenches of a nasty war. Another operative was an Ohio native named Scott Roberson who was expecting to become a father in February. A third victim was a former Navy Seal Jeremy Wise who was working as a security contractor.

The name of the female base chief, who was mother of three children, was not disclosed. At least five of the operatives who were on the rolls of the CIA will be memorialized with a star on the wall of the CIA headquarters in Langley shortly.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Pak-tribesman-killed-7-CIA-agents-and-trust/articleshow/5407756.cms
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« Reply #996 on: January 03, 2010, 05:35:39 PM »

FSU graduate gravely wounded at Fort Hood massacre faces long recovery

By Doug Blackburn • DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER • January 3, 2010

Patrick Zeigler faces a long and challenging journey to full recovery.


A 2004 graduate of Florida State University, Zeigler has spent the past two months trying to overcome the horrific wounds he suffered during the Nov. 5 massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.

He is scheduled for surgery on Friday, where doctors will attempt to replace his skull. One of the four bullets that struck Zeigler blew part of his right skull away. The surgeons will also attempt to remove a bullet from his left arm.

“His spirits are very good,” said Patrick Zeigler Sr., Zeigler’s father. “That’s one thing I can definitely answer.

“He’s motivated. He works out hard four times a day. He’s come a long way in two months.”

Six weeks ago Zeigler was unable to move either his left arm or left leg. He has regained partial movement in the leg; less in the arm.

Zeigler’s fiancee and his father have been living in a hotel in Austin, where he has spent the past six weeks at the Texas NeuroRehab Center. Zeigler received a four-hour pass to join them in the hotel on Christmas Day.

Thirteen people were killed and at least 31 were injured at Fort Hood when Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan allegedly opened fire. Zeigler, who survived two tours in Iraq only to nearly lose his life at a U.S. military base, was among the most severely injured.

The 28-year-old Zeigler had ended his deployment in Irag early in order to complete paperwork for Officer Candidate School. He had been with the 1st Cavalry Division.

Zeigler graduated from FSU with a degree in international affairs from the College of Social Science. According to his father, Zeigler remembers almost everything that happened at Fort Hood.

“He talks about it to me,” his father said, “but I can’t talk about it because of the ongoing investigation.”

Zeigler’s daily schedule at the rehab center includes physical therapy work, speech therapy, occupational therapy, computer work and time in the pool.

Zeigler’s father said the family has been overwhelmed by the hundreds of cards and letters sent to his son, many through the FSU Alumni Association.

After the chaplain at the rehab facility noted that Zeigler dreams of someday going elk hunting, members of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation have offered to take the wounded soldier into the woods in Montana.

“He always wanted to hunt elk but never had a chance,” Zeigler’s father said. “Now, that experience is one of the things he’s driving for.”

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20100103/BREAKINGNEWS/100103001/FSU-graduate-gravely-wounded-at-Fort-Hood-massacre-faces-long-recovery
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« Reply #997 on: January 03, 2010, 06:02:52 PM »

Not just fit, CrossFit

Last month, one of Whitney's workouts was a tribute to the 13 soldiers who died in the November shootings at Fort Hood. Some of the deceased were members of the post's CrossFit Lumberjack team.

more...

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20100103/LIFESTYLE/1030309
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« Reply #998 on: January 03, 2010, 06:08:58 PM »


Pfc. Najee Hull shares a laugh with his mother, Yvonne, on Wednesday, at the family's home in Homewood.
(Mary Compton/SouthtownStar)


Homewood soldier wounded at Fort Hood feels relief, betrayal

January 3, 2010
BY AMY LEE

Pfc. Najee Hull heard a fellow U.S. soldier shout in Arabic seconds before a bullet tore through Hull's left knee and chaos erupted in the Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood in Texas.

Hull was milling around the center with hundreds of other soldiers and civilians Nov. 5 when, authorities say, a gunman opened fire, taking aim at those in uniform and killing 13 and wounding 30.

"He said some terrorist things, some Allah things, then just started shooting," Hull said.

"It was surreal, just mass chaos. Pain and people screaming. It replays in my mind over and over. I remember everything. I really should start seeing someone. It's starting to mess with me," he said.

The 20-year-old Homewood native - the first person hit in the massacre - returned home Dec. 21 and is recuperating from three bullet wounds he suffered during the shooting at the sprawling Army base near Killeen, Texas.

Military authorities say a U.S. Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, shouted "Allahu Akbar" or "God is greatest," then selectively targeted uniformed soldiers and fired more than 100 times with both a semiautomatic pistol and a revolver. Hasan was tackled as he paused to reload.

Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.

Hull, interviewed Tuesday and Wednesday by the SouthtownStar, was in line at the cavernous soldier readiness center at Darnall prepping for a medical review ahead of his planned deployment to Afghanistan when the shooting began. The medical center was teeming with soldiers and civilians at the time, including a group of nearly 600 gathered for an afternoon graduation ceremony.

"I do ask myself sometimes, 'Why me?' Of all the places to be that day, I had to be there," Hull said.

While Hull said he's thrilled to be surrounded by doting friends and family members in Homewood, he struggles to accept that a member of the U.S. military turned on his comrades - on a U.S. base - and opened fire.

"It's like being betrayed by a family member, like someone in my family shot me," Hull said. "We die for the same cause, live by the same creed. I'm still kind of angry about it, but I try not to be angry because I'm here and a lot of people aren't. I know I'm lucky."

Twelve of those killed were soldiers; one was a civilian. The 340-square-mile base - one of the largest military installations in the world - is home to about 50,000 soldiers.

It is a place where soldiers are supposed to feel safe as they cope with multiple deployments to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Maxine Trent, a longtime marriage and family therapist who heads up Scott & White Military Homefront Services, a counseling program for soldiers, veterans and their families in Killeen. The agency provided counseling immediately after the rampage.

"The unthinkable happened. It's like the doors to hell opened and evil walked on post," Trent said. "We're all grieving as a community, as a culture, as individuals. It's been very, very difficult."

Hull, a 2007 graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School, has undergone three surgeries to repair the damage. One bullet destroyed his spleen, which was removed, but fragments of bullets remain lodged in his chest and knee.

"At Christmas, the whole time I kept thinking, I might have missed this. If that bullet would (have) hit 2 inches higher or 2 inches lower, I might never have seen my family again, and I love my family," Hull said.

Hull lives with his mother, Yvonne, who works for the U.S. Postal Service, and sisters Nanette Hull, 34, and Nala Pearson, 13. He also has an older brother, Nathaniel Hull, 31.

The family was elated to finally welcome Najee home after he spent more than a month recovering at the base, said Yvonne, a single mom.

"Christmas was truly Christmas - a celebration. We may have a sparse tree and sparse gifts, but you know, we got our gift early, and we're at peace," Yvonne said. "Words cannot describe how thankful we are."

Hull, a mechanic, is part of the 36th Engineer Brigade, which will deploy this month to Afghanistan without him. He'll return to Fort Hood on Friday.

"I love the Army. I love my buddies. I feel bad I won't be with them," Hull said as he struggled to remain composed. "I have a lot of soul-searching to do. I really don't know what's next for me."

ALLEGED SHOOTER STILL IN HOSPITAL

The man accused of gunning down fellow soldiers at Fort Hood in November remains hospitalized at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist, was moved to general care from the hospital's intensive care unit earlier this month but likely will remain at Brooke for the next several months, according to his attorney, John Galligan, of Belton, Texas.

Galligan is a retired Army colonel and a former Fort Hood military judge.

Hasan, 39, suffered several gunshot wounds during the Nov. 5 attack at Fort Hood and is paralyzed "from the nipple area down," Galligan said.

The Army is working to assemble a "sanity board" to ascertain Hasan's mental stability, he said, adding he is working to ensure Hasan receives a fair trial.

"I've been telling everyone all along that mental responsibility is the major issue in this case," he said.

Galligan declined to discuss Hasan's motive or defense strategy. He said he could not speculate when his client would go to trial.

http://www.southtownstar.com/news/1969575,010310hull.article
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« Reply #999 on: January 03, 2010, 06:23:29 PM »

Danish attack suspect also allegedly targeted Clinton: report

(AFP)

COPENHAGEN — A man charged with attempting to kill a Danish cartoonist over his Muslim prophet Mohammed caricatures was also involved in an alleged plot against US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a Danish newspaper reported Sunday.

But one Danish diplomat played down the report.

The online edition of Politiken newpaper said that the 28-year-old man charged with having tried to kill cartoonist Kurt Westergaard late Friday had also been involved in a plot against Clinton in Kenya.

Clinton visited Kenya last August.

Their report said Kenyan police had arrested the suspect in 2009 and had held him for seven weeks. The Kenyan press had linked his arrest with a plot againt Clinton, the paper added.

"This connection has been confirmed to Politiken by intelligences source," the article added.

The newspaper noted that a statement Saturday from the Danish intelligence service, PET, had said of the suspect: "He is also suspected of having been involved in terror related activities during his stay in East Africa."

The suspect, who allegedly broke into Westergaard's home with an axe in a bid to kill him because of a caricature he had drawn of the prophet Mohammed which sparked deadly protests in the Muslim world, has not been named by the Danish authorities.

Approached by Politiken, Bo Jensen, the Danish ambassador to Kenya, would neither confirm or deny that the suspect charged in Denmark was the same person the previous year in Kenya.

But Jensen told the Danish news agency Ritzau the man arrested in Kenya had been picked up because his papers were not in order.

Kenyan officials had not confirmed he was involved in any plot against Clinton, he added. "It's just a story in a newspaper."

Danish intelligence, approached by AFP, refused to comment on the story.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h7zO-ry9Caiz9c0xcDs2YNFn2XMg
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