European Response:  Police Crack European Chemical Terrorist Network

Law enforcement and intelligence forces across Europe have broken up an alleged terrorist ring that was planning an imminent wave of chemical attacks, according to Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar (Sharrock/McGrory, London Times, Jan. 25).

It was reported last week that North African terrorism suspects recently arrested in the United Kingdom might have been planning to poison a British military base’s food supply with ricin (see GSN, Jan. 24).

Referring to Spanish arrests Friday of 16 suspected al-Qaeda operatives (see GSN, Jan. 24), Aznar said, “Police have broken up a major terrorist network … linked in this case to the criminal organization of [al-Qaeda leader Osama] bin Laden,” the Washington Post reported.

“The network had connections with terrorists recently arrested in France and the United Kingdom, and they were preparing attacks with explosives and chemical materials,” he added (see GSN, Dec. 30, 2002; Peter Finn, Washington Post, Jan. 25).

Police arrested five Moroccans in northern Italy Thursday, the London Times reported Saturday.

“I am very pleased that in the catches in Italy and Spain that they have been able to get the arrests,” said British Home Secretary David Blunkett.  “We’ll learn from it very quickly and obviously, we will take whatever steps are necessary to protect ourselves in the U.K.” (Sharrock/McGrory, London Times, Jan. 25).

Chemical Suits Discovered

British authorities discovered chemical protection suits during a recent raid on a north London mosque, Australia’s Adelaide Advertiser reported.

Detectives kept the discovery secret amid fears that the disclosure would incite panic, according to the Advertiser.

Police are conducting tests to determine if there are any chemical traces on the suits, detectives said (Adelaide Advertiser, Jan. 27).

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Trinidad:  Islamic Militants Threaten Attacks on United States, United Kingdom

An Islamic militant group based in Trinidad has threatened chemical attacks against U.S. and British interests in the country in the event of a war with Iraq, the Trinidad Express reported yesterday.

“With our weapons we are going reach you.  We will reach you where you sleep, we will reach you where you take your baths, we will reach you where you take your meals and have your drinks, even a glass of water you hold in your hand to drink may not be safe,” said a statement from the group, which describes itself as “a revolutionary ideological movement.”

Two Express staff members were taken to a secret location operated by the group, measuring about 15 feet by 15 feet and located underground, according to the Express.  The location housed a number of chemicals in both liquid and powder forms.  A man at the location, who said he was qualified as a chemical engineer, described some of the materials, which included potash, borax, heavy metal pellets and sulphate of heavy metal pellets, the Express reported.  The heavy metal pellets, described as cobalt, could be combined with other chemicals to make a number of fatal toxins, the man said.

“Once you know your way around the chemical industry it is easy to source these chemicals.  In fact, nearly all of what we use can be found in domestic or industrial use.  The key to the operation is connectivity,” the man said.

The group said it had been producing and storing chemical weapons for the past two years.  There are several additional laboratories currently in operation, which have produced and stored weapons, the group said.

The Trinidadian customs agency has no special method for tracking or verifying chemical imports, an official said. 

“Anybody can import anything to use for any purpose and the customs is helpless,” the official said.  “And we don’t pay much attention to many chemicals because there are no duties attached,” the official added (Darryl Heerlal, Trinidad Express, Jan. 26).

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Spain:  Authorities Arrest 16 Islamic Militants Suspected of Planning Chemical Attacks

Spain today arrested 16 Islamic militants suspected of planning to conduct chemical weapons attacks, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said (see related GSN story, today).

During predawn operations in the Catalonia region, police searched 12 houses and discovered explosives, bomb components, and radio equipment believed to be used to communicate with Islamic militants in Algeria and Chechnya, said Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes.  The police raids also disclosed containers of suspicious chemicals that are being analyzed, Acebes said.

“The network had connections with terrorists recently arrested in France and the United Kingdom, and they were preparing attacks with explosives and chemical materials,” Aznar said.

The suspects are believed to be connected with the Algerian Salafist group, a splinter organization of the Armed Islamic Group, which is believe to be itself connected to al-Qaeda, Aznar said.  The suspects might also be linked to an al-Qaeda explosives expert who was arrested in Paris last year with plans to attack several important French buildings, according to court sources.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Spain has arrested 35 people believed to be connected to al-Qaeda, Acebes said (Marta Ruiz-Castillo, Reuters/Yahoo.com, Jan. 24).

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Czech Response:  Five Soldiers Change Their Minds, Will Stay in Kuwait

Five Czech soldiers have decided to remain in Kuwait after initially accepting an offer from Defense Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik to return home (see GSN, Jan. 22).

Of the special Czech unit trained to respond to weapons of mass destruction, there are now 22 soldiers who have accepted Tvrdik’s offer to leave Kuwait if they were not comfortable with a potential war with Iraq.

The remaining soldiers, apparently displeased with media reports depicting their departing comrades as cowards, submitted a document of support to their commanding officer.

“The troops dislike the untrue and distorted reports in the news.  These are an insult to them and an injury to their families,” said the unit’s commander, Dusan Lupuljev.

The document reportedly indicated that the remaining soldiers would still be able to complete their mission and held no ill will towards fellow soldiers who left to reunite with their families.

“We have taken the decision of these members of our contingent into account and respect it,” the document says (Prague CTK, Jan. 22 in FBIS-EEU, Jan. 22).

Soldiers who said they would depart, but did not leave immediately with Tvrdik on Wednesday, are apparently reconsidering their decision, the London Telegraph reported.

“I don’t want to be called a coward, that’s why I’ve stayed,” said one soldier.

Czech officials have dispatched an additional 130 troops to Kuwait this weekend, the Telegraph reported (Jack Fairweather, London Telegraph, Jan. 24).

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United Kingdom:  Ricin Gang Might Have Targeted British Troops

Recently arrested North African terrorism suspects in the United Kingdom might have been planning to poison a British military base’s food supply using ricin made in a North London apartment laboratory, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Jan. 21).

“There are some investigators who believe the ricin was being developed to poison British troops,” a U.S. official said.  “But we still have found no direct evidence between the ricin discovery and that kind of plot,” the official added.

A suspect, arrested in a series of raids connected to the alleged ricin production, worked for a food preparation company and had been in contact with workers on at least one British defense facility, the Times reported.  U.S. officials said they do not know who the suspect is or what sites might have been targeted.  The food poisoning idea is only a theory that British law enforcement forces are investigating, U.S. officials said.

“It’s a very live theory,” said a U.S. official who is knowledgeable on information sent from the United Kingdom.

British police Wednesday arrested and held a 31-year-old North African man under British terrorism laws, officials said (Risen/Van Natta, New York Times, Jan. 24).

Police said that arrest was linked to the ricin case.  Officials have now charged three men and a 17-year-old boy in connection to the ricin production, the Mirror reported (London Mirror, Jan. 24).

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Russia:  Judge Rejects Civil Suits in Siege Case

A Moscow judge rejected several civil lawsuits brought against the city by victims’ relatives and survivors of last October’s theater siege, the Globe and Mail reported today (see GSN, Jan. 16).

Judge Marina Gorbachev ruled that almost all the victims’ evidence in the civil suit was inadmissible.  Russian commandos gassed Chechen militants and their hostages in a rescue attempt on the Moscow theater.  In a rescue raid, 41 militants were killed along with 129 hostages, nearly all of whom died as a result of the gas.

Gorbachev dismissed three of the 24 suits and is expected to throw the rest out soon.

The city has offered $1,500 to survivors and $3,000 to the relatives of those who died but lawsuits were seeking close to $1 million each, the Globe and Mail reported.  Igor Trunov, the pro-bono lawyer for the claimants, said his clients needed more money to defray continuing medical costs.

Gorbachev rejected defense efforts to use doctor’s testimony, a report on the siege crisis or a controversial videotape shot inside the theater during the siege.  Trunov found himself facing questions on how he obtained the videotape.

“This trial should be put into the Guinness Book of World Records for being so short,” Trunov said.  “It was clear what the outcome would be, because they didn’t allow us to bring any evidence — none at all,” he added.

Trunov said he would most likely appeal the decision to either Russia’s Supreme Court or the European Human Rights Court (Mark MacKinnon, Globe and Mail, Jan. 24).

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Japan:  Tokyo Plans to Watch Aum Shinrikyo Cult For Three More Years

Japan has decided to continue surveillance of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which conducted a sarin gas attack that killed 12 Tokyo subway riders in 1995, for an additional three years, the Daily Yomiuri reported today (see GSN, Oct. 11, 2002).

The Japanese Public Security Examination Commission yesterday informed the cult, now known as Aleph, and the Japanese Security Investigation Agency of its decision to continue the surveillance.  Aum Shinrikyo has said it would file a lawsuit seeking to end the surveillance, which had been scheduled to end this month.

The commission explained its decision by saying Aum Shinrikyo still reveres its former leader Chizuo Matsumoto, also known as Shoko Asahara, who is currently on trial for the 1995 attack in the Tokyo subway (see GSN, May 23, 2002).  The group continues to ask its members to place their absolute trust in Matsumoto, the commission said.

“Although the cult insisted that it has changed its interpretation of its doctrine and become more open, we don’t believe the cult has transformed itself,” commission Chairman Kozo Fujita said (Daily Yomiuri, Jan. 24).

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Czech Response:  Chemical Defense Soldiers Offered Ticket Home

Several Czech soldiers seized an opportunity to leave Kuwait Monday with their defense minister, the New York Times reported today.  While speaking to a Czech chemical warfare defense unit at Camp Doha in Kuwait Monday, Czech Defense Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik offered to take soldiers who do not want to go to war back to Prague, according to the York (see GSN, Jan. 9).

“The threat of war with neighboring Iraq and the imminent danger that weapons of mass destruction could be used has put a great deal of pressure on people,” said Col. Jan Weiser, the unit’s commander.

Of the 250-member Czech unit, seven soldiers reportedly jumped at the offer and left with Tvrdik on his plane, the Times reported.  Twenty more are expected to depart shortly, according to Col. Viliam Palan, Czech Defense Ministry spokesman (Peter Green, New York Times, Jan. 22).

“Defense Minister (Jaroslav) Tvrdik told us that whoever feels uneasy about this mission may leave by the end of January.  It is a slightly unusual procedure, but this is an exceptionally demanding engagement,” said Miroslav Matis, the commander of the Czech logistics unit at Camp Doha.

The Czech soldiers have been in Kuwait since September 2002 and were originally scheduled to be there for six months.

“We have information that suggests we may be here until June,” Matis said (CTK I/Ceske Noviny, Jan. 20).

Tvrdik’s offer was “standard” and the Army already has volunteers to take the place of the departing soldiers, Palan said.

“The minister met with the soldiers at Doha and there were questions that this was a very stressful situation, especially for those who had left their families home,” he added.

There was criticism and surprise from some quarters, according to the Times.

“Czech soldiers crumble, head for home,” said a headline in the daily newspaper Lidove Noviny.

“Mr. Tvrdik has been under strong pressure lately,” said Petr Necas, an opposition member of the Czech Parliament and a defense expert.  “Maybe this is the reason for his strange declarations,” he added (Green, New York Times, Jan. 22).

Tvrdik also announced a pay raise for the deployed chemical defense personnel, according to soldiers.

“Tvrdik told us that each of us would receive an additional $300 per month.  We’ll see how that will work out,” said Maj. Igor Mihulka (CTK I/Ceske Noviny, Jan. 20).

Tvrdik said yesterday that he wants to raise the chemical defense unit’s pay even higher if a conflict erupts with Iraq.

“If a war started, their bonus would rise by $800 on average,” Tvrdik said (CTK II/Ceske Noviny, Jan. 22).

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Russia:  Gorny Facility Completes First Month of CW Destruction

In its first month of operation, a Russian chemical weapons disposal facility located in Gorny, in the Saratov region, has destroyed several dozen tons of chemical weapons agents, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Jan. 2).

The exact amount of agent that has been destroyed varied according to reports. Sergey Kiriyenko, chairman of the Russian state commission on chemical disarmament, said today that more than 60 metric tons had been destroyed, AP reported (Associated Press/Yahoo.com, Jan. 22).  The Russian news agency ITAR-Tass reported Monday that about 50 metric tons had been destroyed.

There are about 1,160 metric tons of chemical weapons agents stored at the Gorny facility, according to the Russian Munitions Agency (ITAR-Tass, Jan. 20 in FBIS-SOV, Jan. 20).  The facility expects to destroy about 400 tons of agent by April, Kiriyenko said, adding that it had been working nonstop since opening (Associated Press/Moscow Times, Jan. 22).

Meanwhile, a Russian official has praised Russian-British cooperation to dispose of chemical weapons as “very positive,” according to ITAR-Tass (ITAR-Tass II, Jan. 20 in FBIS-SOV, Jan. 20).

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