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| Afghanistan/South Asia | |
| Foopie's comp had attack plans against US, UK targets | |
| 2004-08-02 | |
| Pakistani intelligence agents found plans for new attacks against the United States and Britain on a computer seized during the arrest of a top Al-Qaida suspect wanted for the 1998 twin US embassy bombings in East Africa, the information minister said. The plans were found in e-mails on the computer of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian arrested on 25 July after a 12-hour gunbattle in the eastern city of Gujrat, information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said today. "We got a few e-mails from Ghailani's computer about (plans for) attacks in the USA and UK," he said, adding that the information has been shared with Pakistan's allies — a reference to the USA. Mr Ahmed said authorities have also arrested another top suspect believed to be a computer and communications expert, and that that man was cooperating with investigators. It was not clear if the man was linked to Ghailani, and Mr Ahmed would not say when or where he was captured. "He is a very wanted man, but I cannot say his name now." An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man was a computer engineer who would send messages using code words to Al-Qaida suspects. PTV reported that his name was Noor Mohammed, but the official said that was just an alias. The New York Times today reported that a 25-year-old computer engineer named Md Naeem Noor Khan was arrested in Pakistan on 13 July, apparently a reference to the same man. Mr Ahmed would not confirm whether the information from Ghailani or the computer expert is what prompted US Homeland Security Secretary Mr Tom Ridge to issue a warning yesterday about a possible Al-Qaida attack on prominent financial institutions in New York, Washington and Newark. Mr Ridge specifically thanked Pakistan for its help in the war on terror during his press conference. Interior minister Mr Faisal Saleh Hayyat confirmed that Ghailani was sharing "vital" information, but would not comment on what it was. An intelligence official said on condition of anonymity that the information about a US attack appeared to be centred on New York. The Home Office in London, which is responsible for policing and security in Britain, said it didn't believe the computer seizure revealed a "specific threat" or that the British public needed to take any special action as a result. The department said the threat from terrorism is "real and serious" and its position was unchanged.
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| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 Democrats can have it both ways. Too little, too late, too much too soon. Voting for and against. If GW is really a moron, then anything we suggest must be better, even if it completely wrong. Any lie spread in the support of Jx2 is the right thing to do. |
| Posted by: john 2004-08-03 2:26:35 PM |