bomb (8)

Arik Air bomb Fake,Boko Haram plans Sallah "rams"

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Bomb on Arik Air Flight Fake

Alleged Bomb on Arik Flight a Hoax- Ministry The federal ministry aviation has described as hoax allegation that a passenger laden with e…

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Jim Iyke's Billie jean ? : the boy is NOT mine sings Nollywood Bad boy

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Senate President, Senator David Mark, on Monday said that time has come for the country to shift from the syndrome of state of origin and e…

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EFCC arrest MD of Zenith Properties ! for money laundering

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Captcha systems to stop automated posting have been "completely broken" by spammers, experts say. So what's the alternative? "Captcha is…

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LAGOS – Nigeria’s Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, standing trial for attempted bombing of an American airline on Christmas day in 2009 had considered launching the strike in the skies above Houston or Chicago but he could not afford the flight tickets to these cities. He therefore refocussed the mission on a cheaper destination: Detroit, United States, current and former counter-terrorism officials have said.

The report showed that Yemen’s branch of Al-Qaida does not strike at symbolic places but any place of opportunity.

There had been questions on why Abdulmutallab chose to bomb Detroit. Abdulmutallab considered Houston, where he attended an Islamic conference in 2008, current and former counter-terrorism officials told the AP. Another person with knowledge of the case said Abdulmutallab also considered Chicago but was discouraged by the cost. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the case.

While the target and timing were unimportant, the mission itself was a highly organised plot that involved one of the FBI’s most wanted terrorists and al-Qaida’s go-to bomb maker, current and former officials said. Before Abdulmutallab set off on his mission, he visited the home of al-Qaida manager Fahd al-Quso to discuss the plot and the workings of the bomb.

Al-Quso, 36, is one of the most senior al-Qaida leaders publicly linked to the Christmas plot. His association with al-Qaida stretches back more than a decade to his days in Afghanistan when, prosecutors said, bin Laden implored him to “eliminate the infidels from the Arabian Peninsula.”

From there he rose through the ranks. He was assigned the job in Aden to videotape the 1998 suicide bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 sailors and injured 39 others, but fell asleep. Despite the lapse, he is now a mid-level manager in the organisation. Al-Quso is from the same tribe as radical U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who had an operational role in the botched Christmas attack.

In December, Al-Quso was designated a global terrorist by the State Department, a possible indication that his role in al-Qaida’s Yemen franchise has grown more dangerous.

Al-Quso was indicted on 50 terrorism counts in New York for his role preparing for the Cole attack and served more than five years in prison in Yemen before he was released in 2007. On the FBI’s list, al-Quso ranks behind only bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri among the most sought-after al-Qaida terrorists.

After meeting with al-Quso, Abdulmutallab left Yemen in December 2009 and made his way to Ghana, where he paid $2,831 in cash for a round-trip ticket from Nigeria to Amsterdam to Detroit and back.

Read more…

Panic in Lagos as bomb scare spreads

Over 1000 people were hurriedly evacuated from the Motorways Complex at Old Tollgate, Lagos State, South West Nigeria when rumour of a bomb scare spread through the complex.

There was pandemonium as Lagosians working in the complex hurriedly scampered to safety. The building houses over 45 companies, including two banks. Commercial activities in the complex were paralysed.

Bomb-at-Motorways.jpg?width=495

WORKERS OUTSIDE MOTOWAY COMPANY ALONG LAGOS IBADAN EXP WAY WHERE THIER IS AN INFROMATION THAT BOMB IS BEING PLANTED INSIDE THE BUILDING.

The bomb scare episode was ignited following an anonymous note found in a toilet of one of the companies’ resident in the complex warning that a bomb would explode in the building in the next six hours.

Anti-bomb policemen, members of the State Security Services, SSS raced to the scene and immediate evacuated the remaining occupants of the building and sealed it up while effort to find where the supposed bomb was located proved abortive.

The rumour about the bomb had spread across the complex around 2.00 p.m on Thursday.

People intending to go into the premises to transact businesses were turned back as the complex was condoned off by the police.


A staff of Office of the Public Defender, OPD told PM NEWS that they were asked to leave the complex when the news of the rumoured bomb scare spread.

Another source stated that the anonymous note found in one of the toilets was signed by an unknown group which described itself as Concerned Nigerians, while calling for evacuation of everyone in the building.

The note, it was gathered did not specify where the bomb was planted. It only said that the explosive due to explode was planted in one of the offices.

Some of the workers were seen gathered in groups discussing the incident. While some doubted the authenticity of the note, others did not ignore the warning.

This is the second time in four days that rumours of bomb scare would spread in the Lagos metropolis after the Jos and Abuja bombing episodes.

Efforts to get to the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Lagos Police Command, Mr. Frank Mba to comment on the development proved abortive as calls to his handset were not picked.

By Kazeem Ugbodaga





More News from other Media:


There was panic among Lagos residents yesterday following reports that bombs might detonate at Alausa, Ikeja, the state capital...

The reports alleged that bombs were planted inside the premises of Motorways Plaza, near the old toll gate by noon and that they would go off in six hours.

Sources said a note was found in one of the male toilets in the complex, warning occupants to vacate the building in their own interest.

The note advised the occupants to stay away until next week.

It was gathered that when the news spread, the occupants began to move to areas considered safe.

The news also spread to the neighbourhood and the metropolis.

Representatives of Embassies and High Commissions in Lagos made calls to security agencies to confirm the veracity of the story.

A Police source told The Nation yesterday: “Most of them wanted to know if they should commence the evacuation of their nationalities from Lagos.”

Businesses were closed in Alausa as the residents called their family members, advising them against going to Ikeja.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Marvel Akpoyibo, described the reports as spurious.

He said the information was mischievous and circulated to destabilise the state.

Akpoyibo urged residents to beware of those peddling false information through text messages, phone calls or any other means. He said such people only caused unnecessary panic.

The Police chief warned those behind the false alerts to desist, saying it is against the law.

He assured residents that the Police would check the information, investigate it and know what to do about it.

The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Bomb Disposal Unit, Mr Chris Olakpe, said his men combed the scene with bomb detection equipment but did not find any explosive.

He said his unit would continue to “sweep” the area until further notice.

Residents of Alausa and its environs were jittery...

The news broke during the inauguration of the 250 modern cabs by the government.

It disrupted business activities at Motorways Plaza; other nearby buildings hurriedly shut.

Affected by the scare were the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Office of Public Defence (OPD), MultiLinks Communications, Oceanic Bank and First Bank branches in the neighbourhood.
Read more…


Quite Strange that Al Qaeda is losing its touch as two failed attacks on American Soil have occurred .s-FAISAL-SHAHZAD-TIMES-SQUARE-large.jpg


A man has been arrested in connection with Saturday's attempted car bombing in New York's Times Square.

The suspect is Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent. The Connecticut native was captured at JFK International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Dubai. According to a colleague, CNN's Deb Feyerick "reports the suspect was taken off the plane when he was arrested."

Statement from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder:

Earlier this evening, Faisal Shahzad was arrested in connection with the attempted car bombing in New York on Saturday. Mr. Shahzad, an American citizen, was taken into custody at JFK Airport in New York as he attempted to board a flight to Dubai.

Since this plot was first uncovered on Saturday night, the FBI, prosecutors and intelligence lawyers in the National Security Division of the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorneys Offices in Manhattan and Connecticut, along with the NYPD have worked night and day to find out who was responsible for what would have been a deadly attack had it been successful. Over the course of the day today, we have gathered significant additional evidence that led to tonight's arrest, which was made by agents from Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection.

This investigation is ongoing, as are our attempts to gather useful intelligence, and we continue to pursue a number of leads. But it's clear that the intent behind this terrorist act was to kill Americans..

FBI agents are working with their state and local counterparts in New York, Connecticut and other jurisdictions to gather evidence and intelligence related to this case. We are also coordinating with other members of the President's national security team to ensure we use every resource available to the United States to bring anyone responsible to justice.

We continue to gather leads in this investigation, and it's important that the American people remain vigilant. The vehicle in Times Square was first noticed on Saturday by a citizen who reported it to authorities, and, as always, any American who notices suspicious activity should report it to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

This investigation is ongoing, it is multi-faceted, and it is aggressive. As we move forward, we will focus on not just holding those responsible for it accountable, but also on obtaining any intelligence about terrorist organizations overseas.

Because of the fast-moving nature of this investigation, I am not able to make any further information public at this time. But the American people should know that we are deploying every resource available, and we will not rest until we have brought everyone responsible to justice.


Read more…

NEW YORK – Police found an "amateurish" but potentially powerful bomb that apparently began to detonate but did not explode in a smoking sport utility vehicle in Times Square, authorities said Sunday.

Thousands of tourists were cleared from the streets for 10 hours after a T-shirt vendor alerted police to the suspicious vehicle, which contained three propane tanks, fireworks, two filled 5-gallon gasoline containers, and two clocks with batteries, electrical wire and other components, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

"We avoided what we could have been a very deadly event," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "It certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact."

The bomb appeared to be starting to detonate but malfunctioned, top police spokesman Paul Browne said Sunday.

Firefighters who arrived shortly after the first call heard a popping sound, said Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano, who described the sound as not quite an explosion.

"I think the intent was to cause a significant ball of fire," Kelly said.

No suspects were in custody, though Kelly said a surveillance video showed the car driving west on 45th Street before it parked between Seventh and Eighth avenues. Police were looking for more video from office buildings that weren't open at the time.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that officials are treating the incident as a potential terrorist attack. The mayor said earlier Sunday, "We have no idea who did this or why" but said it's not surprising the city is a frequent target of terrorism.

"These things invariably ... come back to New York," Bloomberg said.

The SUV was towed early Sunday to a forensic lab in Queens, where it was being "thoroughly checked for prints, hairs and fibers," Browne said Sunday. Napolitano said fingerprints had been recovered from the vehicle.

The T-shirt vendor alerted police at about 6:30 p.m, the height of dinner hour before theatergoers head to Saturday night shows..

Smoke was coming from the back of the dark-colored Pathfinder, its hazard lights were on and "it was just sitting there," said Rallis Gialaboukis, 37, another vendor who has hawked his wares for 20 years across the street.

A white robotic police arm broke windows of the SUV to remove any explosive materials. A Connecticut license plate on the vehicle did not match up, Bloomberg said. Police interviewed the Connecticut car owner, who told them he had sent the plates to a nearby junkyard, Bloomberg said.

Heavily armed police and emergency vehicles shut down the city's busiest streets, choked with taxis and people on one of the first summer-like days of the year. Times Square lies about four traffic-choked miles north of where terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in 1993, then laid waste to it on Sept. 11, 2001.

The car was parked on one of the prime blocks for Broadway shows, with seven theaters housing such big shows as "The Lion King" and "Billy Elliot."

The curtain at "God of Carnage" and "Red" opened a half-hour later than usual, but the shows were not canceled, said spokesman Adrian Bryan-Brown.

Katy Neubauer, 46, and Becca Saunders, 39, of Milwaukee, were shopping for souvenirs two blocks south of the SUV when they saw panicked crowds.

"It was a mass of people running away from the scene," Neubauer said.

Said Saunders: "There were too many people, too many cops. I've never seen anything like it."

Bloomberg left early from the White House correspondent's dinner Saturday night. President Barack Obama, who attended the annual gala, praised the quick response by the New York Police Department, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said.

He has also directed his homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, to advise New York officials that the federal government is prepared to provide support.

Brennan and others will keep Obama up to date on the investigation, Shapiro said.

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York responded along with the NYPD, said agent Richard Kolko.

The latest terror threat in New York came last fall when air shuttle driver Najibullah Zazi admitted to a foiled homemade bomb plot aimed at the city subway system.

The theater district in London was the target of a propane bomb attack in 2007. No one was injured when police discovered two Mercedes loaded with nails packed around canisters of propane and gasoline.

Officials said the device found Saturday was crudely constructed, but Islamic militants have used propane and compressed gas for years to enhance the force of explosives. Those instances include the 1983 suicide attack on the U.S. Marines barracks at the Beirut airport that killed 241 U.S. service members, and the 2007 attack on the international airport in Glasgow, Scotland.

In 2007, the U.S. military announced that an al-Qaida front group was using propane to rig car bombs in Iraq.

Times Square has been a frequent target, if not for potential terrorists, then for rabble-rousers.

In December, a parked van without license plates led police to block off part of the area for about two hours. A police robot examined the vehicle, and clothes, racks and scarves were found inside.

In March 2008, a hooded bicyclist hurled an explosive device at a military recruiting center, producing a flash, smoke and full-scale emergency response. No suspect was ever identified.

Police have spent years trying to crack down on street hustlers and peddlers preying on tourists. But there have been two major gunfights in recent months. A street hustler armed with a machine pistol exchanged shots in December, shattering a Broadway theater ticket window, before police fatally shot him.

Four shootings and more than 50 arrests on a mile-long stretch of Manhattan last month around Times Square prompted the mayor to call the mayhem "wilding."

Read more…

Mr. Shahzad was arrested just before midnight Monday aboard an Emirates flight. He was charged in a

A Connecticut man held following a dramatic last-minute arrest aboard an international flight has admitted his role in attempting to explode
a car bomb in Times Square, and told investigators he received
bomb-making training in the militant strongholds of western Pakistan,
according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday..
05shahzadmug2-articleInline.jpg
Photo:Faisal Shahzad
The investigation into the failed car bombing in Times Square widened rapidly on two continents on Tuesday as Pakistani authorities arrested
several people just hours after a jet bound for Dubai was called back
from the runway at Kennedy Airport in New York City and boarded by federal officers, who seized the suspect, Faisal Shahzad.



five-count complaint with crimes including conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction in what Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. called a “terrorist plot aimed at murdering Americans.” Speaking at a
news conference in Washington, Mr. Holder said Mr. Shahzad had been
talking to investigators and had provided “useful information.”
Officials had previously said that Mr. Shahzad had implicated himself
in statements after he was pulled off the plane. At the same time, President Obama said federal investigators were looking into whether Mr. Shahzad had any ties to terrorist organizations.

Mr. Shahzad, 30, a naturalized United States citizen from Pakistan, had apparently driven to the airport in a white Isuzu Trooper that was
found in a parking lot with a Kel-Tech 9-millimeter pistol, with a
folding stock and a rifle barrel, along with several spare magazines of
ammunition, an official said. He told the authorities that he had acted
alone, but hours after he was arrested, security officials in Pakistan
said they had arrested seven or eight people in connection with the
bombing attempt.

Pakistani officials identified one of the detainees as Tauhid Ahmed and said he had been in touch with Mr. Shahzad through e-mail, and had met
him either in the United States or in the Pakistani port city of
Karachi.

Another man arrested, Muhammad Rehan, had spent time with Mr. Shahzad during a recent visit there, Pakistani officials said. Mr. Rehan was
arrested in Karachi just after morning prayers at a mosque known for
its links with the militant group Jaish-e-Muhammad.

Investigators said Mr. Rehan told them that he had rented a pickup truck and driven with Mr. Shahzad to the northwestern city of Peshawar,
where they stayed from July 7 to July 22, 2009. The account could not
be independently verified. Mr. Shahzad, who lives in Bridgeport, Conn.,
spent four months in Pakistan last year, the authorities said..

The criminal complaint charging Mr. Shahzad says that after his arrest he admitted attempting to detonate the bomb in Times Square and told
investigators that he recently received bomb-making training in
Waziristan.

The detailed 10-page document tracks his movements in the days before
and after the failed car bomb attack, describing how he used a pre-paid
cellular telephone to contact the seller of the car and arrange the
purchase – and how the phone received four calls from 05bombspan2-cnd-articleLarge.jpg


a number in Pakistan hours before he made the purchase on April 24.

The complaint says that about an hour after the prepaid phone received the calls from the Pakistan number, he called the seller twice and
later bought the Pathfinder.

The complaint also describes how investigators were able to get the Pathfinder’s vehicle identification number – pulling it from S.U.V.’s
engine block -- even though it had been stripped from the dashboard
before the S.U.V. was left in Times Square. Investigators were then
able to track down the registered owner, who had passed the vehicle on
to another person, who in turn had sold it to Mr. Shahzad.

Mr. Shahzad seemed more interested in the vehicle’s cargo compartment and seating area than its engine, even though the seller warned him
that it had mechanical problems, according to the complaint, which said
he never lifted the hood to look at the engine.

And he did not take the car for a test drive the first time he examined it, although he did so the second time, on April 24, before he bought
it for the agreed on price of $1,300, paid in 13 $100 bills in a
Bridgeport shopping center parking lot.

At that point, according to the complaint, when the seller sought to complete a bill of sale, Mr. Shahzad told the seller there was no need,05shahzadmug-articleInline.jpg
explaining that he had his own license plate, which he displayed to the
seller, who then gave him the keys and he drove the car away.

The complaint also indicates that the Pathfinders’ windows were not tinted when it was sold, but that it had tinted windows when it was
parked in Times Square with the backseat and cargo compartment packed
with gasoline, propane, fertilizer and fireworks.

Reporting was contributed by Ray Rivera, Karen Zraick and Michael S. Schmidt from Connecticut; Peter Baker and Mark Mazzetti from Washington; Al Baker, Michael Wilson and Alison Leigh Cowan from New
York; Carlotta Gall and Salman Masood from Islamabad, Pakistan; and
Ismail Khan from Peshawar, Pakistan.

A man identified by neighbors in Connecticut as Faisal Shahzad in a photograph is from the social networking site Orkut.com.
Read more…
CAIRO – Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas in a new audio message released Sunday threatening more attacks on the United States. A senior U.S. intelligence official in Washington said there is "no evidence whatsoever" that bin Laden had any involvement on the Christmas Day attack — or even knew about it beforehand. The message suggests the al-Qaida leader wants to appear in direct command of the terrorist group's many affiliates around the world at a time when some analysts have suggested he is mostly a figurehead. In the minute-long recording carried by Al-Jazeera Arabic news channel, bin Laden addressed President Barack Obama saying the Christmas attack was meant to send a message similar to that of the Sept. 11 attacks. "The message delivered to you through the plane of the heroic warrior Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a confirmation of the previous messages sent by the heroes of the Sept. 11," he said. "America will never dream of security unless we will have it in reality in Palestine," he added. "God willing, our raids on you will continue as long as your support for the Israelis continues." On Christmas Day, Nigerian Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up his Northwest Airlines flight as it approached Detroit Metro Airport. But the explosive powder he was hiding in his underwear failed to detonate. He told federal agents shortly afterward that he had been trained and given the explosives by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, an al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen. The U.S. intelligence official said the Yemen-based group is linked with the central al-Qaida group that bin Laden heads and recent intelligence indicates there are ongoing contacts between al-Qaida in Yemen and Pakistan. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information. Bin Laden's message, coming long after AQAP gave its own claim of responsibility, appears to be an effort on his part to stay relevant, said Rohan Gunaratna, author of "Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror." "The training and the definition of the attack was by the local leaders of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, so in many ways you can say bin Laden is exploiting for his benefit this particular attack," he said. "Bin Laden still wants to claim leadership for the global jihad movement." Of all the various offshoots and branches of al-Qaida around the world, Gunaratna said the group in Yemen is one of the closest to bin Laden since it is made up of bodyguards and associates of the organization's top ideologues. Yemen is bin Laden's ancestral homeland. "Today the operational relationship has somewhat suffered, but the ideological relationship is very strong and that is why bin Laden claimed this attack," Gunaratna said. Two of the group's top members were former detainees released in November 2007 from the U.S. military prison Guantanamo Bay. Since the Christmas Day attempt, the Yemeni government, at the U.S.'s urging has stepped up its attacks on the group's hideouts in the rugged country's remote hinterland. Analysts have long debated how much control bin Laden, who is believed to be somewhere in Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, really has over the various organizations using his group's name. The Yemen-based group, however, has closer ties than most to bin Laden and his key lieutenants, many having once been their bodyguards. There was no way to confirm the voice on the audio message was actually that of bin Laden, but it resembled previous recordings attributed to him. The U.S. says it can't immediately authenticate the message but White House adviser David Axelrod told CNN's "State of the Union" that whatever the source, the message "contains the same hollow justification for the mass slaughter of innocents." In the past year, bin Laden's messages have concentrated heavily on the situation of the Palestinians in attempt to rally support from Muslims around the world. Some analysts say bin Laden is focusing on the close U.S.-Israeli relationship because he is worried about Obama's popularity across the Middle East with his promises to withdraw from Iraq and because his father was a Muslim from the African nation of Kenya. The plight of the Palestinians, especially in the blockaded Gaza Strip where 1,400 were killed in an Israeli offensive a year ago, angers many in the Arab world. "The Palestinian conflict was never part of the al-Qaida original mandate, but Osama is clearly exploiting it," Gunaratna said. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Andy David dismissed the latest al-Qaida message and its attempt to link Israel with attacks on the U.S. "This is nothing new. He has said this before," he said. "Terrorists always look for absurd excuses for their despicable deeds." The last public message from bin Laden appears to have been on Sept. 26, when he demanded that European countries pull their troops out of Afghanistan. The order came in an audiotape that also warned of "retaliation" against nations that are allied with the United States in fighting the war. Listen here
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The cabinet must stop lying to Nigerians about President Yar’Adua’s illness and face up to the reality that he is no longer able to perform his duties, information minister Dora Akunyili bluntly admonished fellow ministers yesterday. At the regular weekly meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation, Mrs Akunyili stunned her colleagues by presenting a memo in which she challenged them to tell Nigerians the truth about the president’s health and stop deceiving the people. The Council had, at its meeting last week, reiterated its position that Mr. Yar’Adua, who has been away in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment in the last 73 days, was still capable of leading the country. The ministers also said the president did not have to write a letter to the National Assembly empowering his deputy, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to act on his behalf. Mrs. Akunyili, however, ensured that yesterday’s meeting did not follow the usual bland form when she submitted a memo to the council asking members to face up to the incapacitation of the ailing president and seek the right means to transfer power to Mr. Jonathan in the interest of the nation.
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