Syrians say suicide bomber thwarted

BEIRUT -- A day after twin bombings rocked the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing dozens of people, state media said a suicide bomber was thwarted in Aleppo on Friday, although two smaller bombs exploded, killing one person.

A man driving a stolen van struck two police officers in the Al Shaar neighborhood, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency, leading law enforcement officials to shoot him. He died before he was able to detonate a suicide belt, state TV said.

State media said the man intended to drive into the crowded neighborhood to blow up himself and the van, which was loaded with  more than 3,000 pounds of explosives inside five tanks.

State TV showed two United Nations monitors visiting the site and inspecting the minibus while the body of the driver was still slumped in the front seat.

At Aleppo's  Baath Party headquarters, meanwhile, an engineer was killed when an explosive device he was attempting to disarm detonated, state media reported.

In the mostly anti-government neighborhood of Seif  al Dawle, a small bomb exploded in the street and caused only property damage.

 In the Salahudin neighborhood, security forces opened fire on a protest, killing one man, activists said.

The Syrian government blamed terrorist groups with foreign support for Thursday’s Damascus bombings that killed 55 people and left more than 370 injured. On Friday, a leading opposition member blamed Al Qaeda, which he accused of working with the regime.

As the number of bombings in Syria has increased, there is a fear that Iraq-style suicide attacks could become common.

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-- Times staff writer

Photo: Syrian security forces check a van that authorities say was part of a foiled attempted suicide attack. Credit: Syrian Arab News Agency 

 

 

 

International sting operation brought down underwear bomb plot

WASHINGTON -- The successful blocking of an ambitious Al Qaeda plot to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner was an international sting operation worthy of Hollywood, with spies tricking terrorists into showing their cards.

Saudi Arabia’s intelligence agency, working closely with the CIA, used an informant to pose as a would-be suicide bomber. His job was to convince the Al Qaeda franchise in Yemen to give him a new kind of non-metallic bomb that the militants were designing to easily pass through airport security.

But the double agent instead arranged to deliver the explosive device to U.S. and other intelligence authorities waiting in another country, officials said Tuesday. The agent is now safely outside Yemen and is being debriefed.

Experts are analyzing the sophisticated device at the FBI’s bomb laboratory at Quantico, Va., to determine if it really could evade current security measures. It appears an upgraded version of the so-called “underwear bomb” that failed to take down a passenger jet over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.

Like that bomb, this device bears the forensic signature of feared Al Qaeda bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan Asiri, who was born in Saudi Arabia and is believed to be hiding in Yemen. But the double agent apparently never got close to Asiri, who remains one of the top CIA targets.

The operation had an added benefit, however. It produced intelligence that helped U.S. authorities finally locate Fahd Mohammed Ahmed Quso, a top Al Qaeda operative in Yemen. Quso had been on the FBI’s most wanted list for his alleged involvement in the bombing of the guided missile destroyer USS Cole in a Yemeni port in 2000. The FBI had offered a $5-million bounty for information leading to his capture.

On Sunday, a CIA drone aircraft fired a missile that killed Quso as he stepped out of his car in Yemen, U.S. officials said.

The drone strike and the effort to obtain the explosive device “are part of the same operation,” said Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), who heads the House Homeland Security Committee.

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Photo: This undated file photo released in October 2010 by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior purports to show Al Qaeda bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan Asiri. Credit:Saudi Arabia Ministry of Interior.

 

U.S. thinks underwear bomb was built by Al Qaeda in Yemen

WASHINGTON -- The FBI is analyzing a sophisticated underwear bomb that U.S. officials believe was built by Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen in an effort to target Western aviation.

U.S. officials said Monday that there was no imminent threat to U.S. jetliners. But the explosive device, which the CIA obtained from another government, demonstrates Al Qaeda’s continued interest in building a bomb that can pass through airport security and bring down a passenger jet, the officials said.

The FBI said in a statement that “the device is very similar to IEDs that have been used previously by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in attempted terrorist attacks, including against aircraft and for targeted assassinations." An IED is an improvised explosive device.

“We have no specific, credible information regarding an active terrorist plot against the U.S. at this time, although we continue to monitor efforts by Al Qaeda and its affiliates to carry out terrorist attacks, both in the homeland and abroad,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. “Since this IED demonstrates our adversaries’ interest in targeting the aviation sector, DHS continues, at the direction of the president, to employ a risk-based, layered approach to ensure the security of the traveling public.”

In December 2009, a would-be suicide bomber aboard a Detroit-bound airliner attempted to detonate an explosive device in his underwear. The bomb failed to detonate, and officials later traced the device to the Al Qaeda group in Yemen.

Despite the timing, U.S. officials said they had no direct evidence of a plot tied to the first anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden last week.

In a statement, the White House said President Obama was first informed of the latest plot in April by his Homeland Security and counter-terrorism advisor, John Brennan.

“While the president was assured that the device did not pose a threat to the public, he directed the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take whatever steps necessary to guard against this type of attack,” said Caitlin Hayden, deputy spokeswoman of the National Security Council. “The disruption of this IED plot underscores the necessity of remaining vigilant against terrorism here and abroad.”

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-- Ken Dilanian

Photo: Underwear worn by convicted Nigerian-born terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab when he attempted to detonate explosives while flying into Detroit on Christmas Day 2009. The image was made available on May 7, 2012. Credit: FBI

U.S. won't negotiate with Al Qaeda over kidnapped American

 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- U.S. officials on Monday reiterated that they would not negotiate with Al Qaeda after an American development worker kidnapped last year in Pakistan appeared in a video released by the militant group saying his captors would kill him if President Obama does not meet their demands.

Warren Weinstein, 70, was abducted from his home in an upscale neighborhood of Lahore last August, just days before he was slated to finish his work in Pakistan and leave for the U.S. In December, Al Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri appeared in a video and stated that his terror network was holding Weinstein.

Pakistani officials have said they believe that Weinstein is being held somewhere in the country's volatile tribal region along the Afghan border, where Al Qaeda militants and other Islamic extremist groups maintain strongholds.

The 2-minute, 40-second video of Weinstein, released on Sunday, shows him dressed in a traditional Pakistani tunic as he calmly urges Obama to acquiesce to Al Qaeda's demands. In the December video, Zawahiri demanded an end to all U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, as well as the release of all Al Qaeda and Taliban militants currently being detained.

“If you accept the demands, I live,” Weinstein said in the video, directing his remarks to Obama. “If you don't accept the demands, then I die.”

In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said at a morning briefing that President Obama was aware of the video, though he wasn’t sure the president had seen it.

Al Qaeda posts video of kidnapped American development worker

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- An American development worker kidnapped last year from his home in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore has appeared in a video released by Al Qaeda, saying his captors will kill him if President Obama does not meet their demands.

Warren Weinstein, 70, was abducted from his home in an upscale neighborhood last August, just days before he was slated to finish his work in Pakistan and leave for the U.S. In December, Al Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri appeared in a video and stated that his terror network was holding Weinstein.

Pakistani officials have said they believe that Weinstein is being held somewhere in the country's volatile tribal region along the Afghan border, where Al Qaeda militants and other Islamic extremist groups maintain strongholds.

The 2-minute, 40-second video of Weinstein, released on Sunday, shows him dressed in a traditional Pakistani tunic as he calmly urges Obama to acquiesce to Al Qaeda's demands. In the December video, Zawahiri demanded an end to all U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, as well as the release of all Al Qaeda and Taliban militants currently being detained.

"If you accept the demands, I live," Weinstein said in the video, directing his remarks to Obama. "If you don't accept the demands, then I die."

Weinstein appears alone in the video, which was posted on jihadist Internet forums by Al-Sahab, Al Qaeda's media wing. It is not known when the video was made.

Addressing his wife, Elaine, Weinstein said, "I'm fine, I'm well, I'm getting all my medications. I'm being taken care of." Weinstein, whose home is in Rockville, Md., suffers from asthma and high blood pressure.

Must Reads: Israel, Bin Laden letters and Nigerian brides-to-be

From a Nigerian state playing matchmaker to an Indian world-records maniac named Guinness, here are the five stories you shouldn't miss from the  last week in global news:

Nigeria state seeks husbands for 1,000 brides-to-be

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Bin Laden worried about legacy and sought to kill Obama

In pursuit of Guinness records, India man knows no limits

Italy's Mario Monti speaks softly and carries a big question mark

-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles

Photo: Har Parkash, also known as Guinness Rishi, poses for photographs at his home in New Delhi on April 5, 2012. Credit: Anindito Mukherjee / European Pressphoto Agency

Bin Laden ordered squads to try to attack Obama's aircraft

WASHINGTON -- Osama bin Laden ordered terrorist teams in mid-2010 to blow up the planes of President Obama and Gen. David H. Petraeus, then commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, when they visited Afghanistan or Pakistan, according to a declassified letter released Thursday.

Bin Laden argued that assassinating Obama would put a “totally unprepared” Vice President Joe Biden in charge of the country “which will lead the U.S. into a crisis.”

He wrote that killing Petraeus, who now is director of the CIA, would “alter the war’s path.”

The letter was published online by the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Thursday. It is among 17 documents released from the trove of material seized during the raid that killed Bin Laden last year.

In the letter, Bin Laden ordered a lieutenant to create a group to collect intelligence about future arrivals of Obama or Petraeus at Bagram air base, north of Kabul. The team would then try to blow up their planes. He wanted a similar team to target Obama and Petraeus if they visited Pakistan.

Papers portray Osama Bin Laden as struggling to manage Al Qaeda

WASHINGTON -- From his hideout in Pakistan, Osama bin Laden struggled to manage the tentacles of his terrorist organization even as he derided it as amateurish and unfocused, according to declassified documents released Thursday.

Approximately 17 letters and notes from Bin Laden were published online by the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The documents add granular detail to the portrait of the Al Qaeda founder as a frustrated executive. In them, he denies requests for help from the field, seeks to raise funds, and politely but firmly chastises commanders for losing sight of his preferred mission: attacking the West.

Photos: The death of Osama bin Laden

The documents come from the massive haul of data stored on hard drives, flash drives, DVDs and other devices that were recovered after U.S. Navy SEALs killed Bin Laden in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a year ago this week.

The correspondence shows Bin Laden was worried that some Al Qaeda affiliates were alienating Muslims with indiscriminate attacks on mosques and other civilian targets, and that their regional operations in countries around the globe had strayed far from his central objective of attacking the United States and other Western countries.

In Afghanistan, President Obama signals end to the war

WASHINGTON -- Speaking to a war-weary nation from the epicenter of the fight against terrorism, President Obama signaled the end of what he called "a decade under the dark cloud of war."

"This time of war began in Afghanistan, and this is where it will end," Obama said before a backdrop of armored military vehicles and a draped U.S. flag at the Bagram air base.

Obama's address to the nation capped a surprise visit that coincided with the anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden, a mission that has become an unexpected focal point in his campaign for reelection.

PHOTOS: Obama makes unannounced visit to Afghanistan

The stated purpose for the trip was to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Afghanistan that Obama said would define "a new kind of partnership" between the nations, more than 10 1/2 years after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The agreement calls for the continuing reduction of the  U.S. troop level while supporting the growth of "strong and sustainable" Afghan security forces. It also broadly outlines how Americans would continue to work with the Afghan government to fight terrorism and support development of the nation's infrastructure.

Answering critics of a timetable for withdrawal and those who would advocate a more immediate drawdown, the president said the U.S. goal was "not to build a country in America’s image, or to eradicate every vestige of the Taliban" but to "destroy Al Qaeda" while leaving enough time for the nation to stabilize.

"My fellow Americans, we have traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war. Yet here, in the predawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon," the president said.

The administration and Obama's campaign have put a major emphasis on national security over the last week, questioning whether Mitt Romney would have ordered the same mission to take out Bin Laden. That's led to Republican charges that Obama is politicizing the military effort.

Obama, hours after speaking directly to the troops at Bagram, said that the nation was in the position to begin winding down its mission only because of the bravery of the nation's military.

"They met their responsibilities to one another, and the flag they serve under," Obama said. "In their faces, we see what is best in ourselves and our country."

As America's military commitments abroad wind down, Obama said, it is "time to renew America."

"An America where our children live free from fear, and have the skills to claim their dreams. A united America of grit and resilience, where sunlight glistens off soaring new towers in downtown Manhattan, and we build our future as one people, as one nation," he said.

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 Photo: Military personnel watch on a screen as President Obama delivers a live address at Bagram air base in Afghanistan. Credit: Charles Dharapak / Associated Press 

Muslims in Middle East, Asia think poorly of Al Qaeda, poll finds

A new poll covering thousands of Muslims in Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Turkey and Lebanon found that most thought poorly of Al Qaeda nearly a year after Osama bin Laden's death.

The results came just after U.S. intelligence officials announced that the terrorist group has been greatly diminished since the death of Bin Laden, suggesting that Al Qaeda has been losing Muslim hearts and minds along with organizational muscle.

The Pew Research Center poll, carried out nearly one year after Bin Laden was killed by American forces on May 2, showed that in the countries surveyed, Al Qaeda was most popular in Egypt, where more than 1 out of 5 Muslims said they had a favorable opinion.

Yet even in Egypt, 71% of those surveyed said they disliked the group. In Jordan, only 15% of Muslims surveyed said they had a favorable opinion of the group; in Pakistan, 13%; in Turkey, 6%; and in Lebanon, 2%.

Pew based its findings on face-to-face interviews with more than 900 Muslim adults in each country, except Lebanon, where 566 people were interviewed. The results were part of a larger survey of more than 1,000 people in each of the selected countries between March 19 and April 13.

In past surveys, Pew found that confidence in Bin Laden to do the right thing had plummeted before his death. In Jordan, those numbers fell from 61% to 24% between 2005 and 2006, likely reduced by Al Qaeda suicide attacks in Amman, the Jordanian capital. By last year, only 13% of Jordanian Muslims were confident in Bin Laden.

His support level also fell markedly in Indonesia, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories from 2003 to 2011. But even with his popularity dropping, his backing remained significant in some areas: More than a third of Muslims polled in the Palestinian territories in 2011 said they had confidence in Bin Laden.

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-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles

Photo: Pakistanis in February watch demolition of the compound where Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was slain last year in the town of Abbottabad. Credit: Aamir Qureshi / AFP/Getty Images