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Suicide Bomb Teams Sent to U.S., Europe

longwatch

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I hope this is just saber rattling by Al-Qaeda, assisted by ABC. Just in case, does anybody know of a good guide for spotting suicide bombers? Anyhow its a good reminder to use ones situational awareness and to stay out of condition white.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/06/exclusive_suici.html
Exclusive: Suicide Bomb Teams Sent to U.S., Europe June 18, 2007 4:45 PM
Brian Ross Reports:

Large teams of newly trained suicide bombers are being sent to the United States and Europe, according to evidence contained on a new videotape obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com. Teams assigned to carry out attacks in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Germany were introduced at an al Qaeda/Taliban training camp graduation ceremony held June 9.
A Pakistani journalist was invited to attend and take pictures as some 300 recruits, including boys as young as 12, were supposedly sent off on their suicide missions.

The tape shows Taliban military commander Mansoor Dadullah, whose brother was killed by the U.S. last month, introducing and congratulating each team as they stood.
"These Americans, Canadians, British and Germans come here to Afghanistan from faraway places," Dadullah says on the tape. "Why shouldn't we go after them?"
The leader of the team assigned to attack Great Britain spoke in English.
"So let me say something about why we are going, along with my team, for a suicide attack in Britain," he said. "Whether my colleagues, companions and Muslim brothers die today or tonight, every drop of our blood will invigorate the Muslim (unintelligible)."

U.S. intelligence officials described the event as another example of "an aggressive and sophisticated propaganda campaign."
Others take it very seriously.

"It doesn't take too many who are willing to actually do it and be able to slip through the net and get into the United States or England and cause a lot of damage," said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, the former White House counterterrorism official.
Watch Brian Ross' full report on "World News With Charles Gibson."
 

longwatch

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Found an answer to my own question:
http://tinyurl.com/2qjdom
So how, exactly, do we spot a suicide bomber?
By Charlotte Edwardes
Last Updated: 1:00am BST25/07/2005

He's a young man, sweating profusely, looking around furtively, carrying a rucksack or wearing bulky clothing. He might be from an ethnic minority - but not necessarily. This, according to security specialists, is the most likely profile of a suicide bomber.
Experts contacted by The Sunday Telegraph say that a potential bomber may lick his lips, appear nervous and have shaved all his body. He may be wearing clothing inappropriate for the weather and be thrusting his hands into his pockets. If he is carrying a bag, he may be checking it. He may also wear a baseball cap or other headwear that would obscure his face from closed circuit television.

These descriptions were given in response to questions about how the public should recognise a suicide bomber while travelling on public transport. But while officials and experts agreed on basic details on the appearance of suicide bombers, most disagreed on how to respond if the public found one. "Speak up and advise fellow passengers," the British Transport Police advised. "If you see someone doing something very dramatic, the train is moving and you can't consult staff, then tell your fellow passengers, speak up."

However, Will Geddes, the managing director of the International Corporate Protection Group, which provides security advice, said: "Do not, in any circumstances, speak out. Your actions have to be responsible. If you shout, 'It's a bomb', you will panic him into setting it off."

Security specialists and emergency services advised that the public call 999 if possible. Scotland Yard, Transport for London and British Transport Police also urged people to alert staff on the Tube and buses if they saw something suspicious.
Asked what makes a person suspicious, a British Transport Police employee said: "I'm not sure. Someone fiddling with a rucksack?" His colleague added: "Generally, anyone suspicious will be with a suspicious bag, package or leave a suspicious unattended item. It could be anyone - not just Asian. One of the bombers was Afro-Caribbean."

He said: "If you see something, wait until you arrive at the next station then tell staff. Obviously if something more dramatic happens, you can hit the emergency button. But from the point of view of your safety, and that of fellow passengers, it's better to wait until you get to the next station. If you have a pen and notepad, note what you see."

Security analysts gave bolder advice. Robert Ayers, a former US intelligence officer and adviser at the Chatham House think tank, said: "You look for a combination of factors - are they carrying a package, are they nervous, sweating, licking their lips a lot and checking the package?

"If it is a radical Muslim, he may have removed all of his visible body hair. Look for a person who looks uncomfortable, anxious and out of place. They would most likely be from a particular ethnic background and aged between 20 and 35.
"The first thing you should do is to get away from them and get the police. If you can't escape or call 999 because you are on the Tube, then do not approach them. You'll panic them into setting it off prematurely."

Mr Ayers admitted that he would not alert fellow passengers. "If I thought someone had a bomb, I would go to another car. If I raise the alarm, he's going to set it off. If you see him move to detonate it, well you can only hope your life insurance is paid up."

Asked whether the public should look for a female suicide bomber, Mr Ayers said: "It's more than likely they would be male."
Mr Geddes disagreed. "There is an increasing number of female bombers," he said, "so I wouldn't rule it out." His general advice was to remain highly vigilant. "There is no precise science to spotting a suicide bomber but you can assemble a picture. Be aware of who is in the carriage with you.

"Is anyone carrying a package? Where do they put it? Do they leave without it? Don't be afraid of saying 'Whose bag is this?' If no one claims it, act. Be very careful not to cause panic. Wait until the train gets to the station, press the emergency button and calmly suggest everyone leaves. Say, 'I don't know who this bag belongs to. Let's get off the carriage and alert the authorities'. Don't do it in the tunnel. If the driver stops the train in the tunnel you're trapped. If it is something bad, there's no quick escape."
He said there were various methods to identify someone was wearing a device. "Are their clothes inappropriate for the weather, such as a heavy raincoat or fleece in hot weather? Another give-away is their physical shape. Generally, average-sized legs mean average-sized body. If they are much more bulky than their legs, neck or face suggest, that might be suspicious. Is the clothing disguising something?"

Mr Geddes said a bomber's mental state would present clues. "People who are about to undertake something high-risk will be perspiring. Look at their hands - where are they? In their pockets? Next thing: eyes. Are they furtive? Are they looking at the exit? Are they looking around the carriage? Are they making an obvious attempt not to make eye contact? Be conscious of the whole picture."

His final warning was that, after the past two attacks, a potential bomber might try to disguise his appearance. "Any terrorist group that has been watching the news will say, 'These guys are going to get caught in hours. They've exposed themselves to CCTV. They may make more effort to disguise themselves next time."
 

longwatch

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Ethnic profiling may be the wrong thing to do, because if the report is accurate, AQ has recruited US and European nationals.

People like Adam Gahdan or John Walker Lindh could walk right by an ethnic profiler.
 

unrequited

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scaaaaaaaaaaary. : ( but i guess that's what they were going for, even if a single suicide bomber never makes its target, their fear through our media channels already has.
 

cato

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longwatch wrote:
He's a young man, sweating profusely, looking around furtively, carrying a rucksack or wearing bulky clothing.


Sounds like me in the summer trying to conceal a 1911 in a non-open carry state!
 

BobCav

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Yep, moved.

Propaganda is nothing more than journalistic terrorism anyway.

Did we ever tell them that every US ammo manufacturer secretly adds pig's blood to the bullets during manufacture? No virgins for YOU!

Two can play at their game.
 

Legba

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A version of that story about animal tissue/ammo came up before a long time ago, in fact - qv: the Sepoy Rebellion.

-ljp
 

tapper95

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This reminded me of an article I recently in American Handgunner. The basic premise was in cases like these (If you are lucky enough to realize, and be certain enough to take action.) you cannot shot to stop, shoot to kill, or shoot to disarm... You must go through something called the "Shoot Down Drill".

They used generic names for the types of people whowere involved in the scenarios: The bad guys were referred to as Pongs, the good guys were TufNutz (I assume Israelis) and the other good guys were Yanx (guess who that is...)
Even if a Pong - especially a medicated one - took a a solid hit, after a few seconds, he could frequently recover enough control and dexterity to 'punch his button.' Two Yanx and some TufNutz had seen guys take wounds that good sense and medical experts would term 'fatal', but they remained briefly functional, as though 'science says he's dead, but he didn't get the message.'

One of the Yanx observed that the TufNutz were shooting tightly controlled single shots and some double-taps. He had been taught to "shoot 'em where they're biggest, and do it more than once," and his own "evolved practice" had become "shoot 'em where they're biggest lots and lotsa times, until there ain't no threatanymore."

Several who had observed this phenomenon agreed a man who is receiving a steady unrelenting series of impacts, spaced, let's say, a tad less than a second apart, will be virtually unable to do anything but involuntarily react to those continuing impacts. Man being essentially a big wet sack of electrical connections, the response is like timed low-voltage shocks, or mechanically, like a boxer taking a rapid volley of punches: The first couple of blows may only stun and shock him, but he is prevented from coordinated reaction, and the disabling effect only increases and deepens as he is hammered all the way to the canvas and into oblivion.

The TufNutz technique changed: No more single shots; no more double-taps - just absolute focus on timed, continuous, accurate fire; and it wasn't all about "shooting to kill," but about "shooting to zero-threat."
Of course first you have to know the difference between a detonator and an Ipod... Our obsession with little electronics has opened an entire world of possibilities....
 

longwatch

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tapper95 wrote:
Of course first you have to know the difference between a detonator and an Ipod... Our obsession with little electronics has opened an entire world of possibilities....
Indeed.
 

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vermonter

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Well let's see.... If the administration would focus on REAL homeland security - keeping anyone from terrorist sponsor nations from coming here, and securing our borders - we wouldn't have to worry about people like that! While we waste billions on that cesspool of humanity called Iraq, we ignore our own borders and who gets in. Real good strategy. Isreal profiles so well that they even allow you to use real steak knives on all EL AL. It's ok to blow up third world Iraqi's to protect our country, but god help us if we profile Arabs coming here. Heck why not just open our borders and give amnesty to all illegals while we are at it! This is the most pathetic administration in the history of the country.
 
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