The Latest from National Terror Alert Response Center

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• Iran Claims Newsweek Reporter Confessed
  
  
  
• U.S. Begins Major Offensive Operation Against
  Afghan Taliban
  
  
• Group of Somali-Americans Indicted on Terror
  Charges
  
  
• NYPD: High-profile Buildings Need Tighter
  Security

Iran Claims Newsweek Reporter Confessed Posted: 02 Jul 2009 12:10 AM PDT A reporter for Newsweek magazine who was arrested in Tehran has confessed to doing the bidding of Western governments, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Wednesday. Newsweek says Maziar Bahari has been reporting for years without bias and beyond reproach. Maziar Bahari, 42, made his alleged confession at a news conference Tuesday. Because international journalists have been limited in their ability to gather news in Iran, CNN has not been able to confirm the agency report. Fars reported that the Canadian-Iranian reporter who had worked for the BBC and England’s Channel 4 network admitted having filed false reports for Newsweek during the elections — a charge the magazine rejected. “He has been reporting for years without any possible hint of bias and beyond reproach,” Newsweek Paris Bureau Chief Chris Dickey told CNN. “We think he’s one of the best reporters in the business.” He called the report “preposterous.” Dickey said Bahari had not been allowed to speak with a lawyer or with his family since his arrest on June 21. Source This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information.

U.S. Begins Major Offensive Operation Against Afghan Taliban Posted: 02 Jul 2009 12:03 AM PDT Thousands of U.S. Marines began a “major operation” in southern Afghanistan early today, moving into towns and villages to protect civilians from the Taliban under the Pentagon’s new counterinsurgency strategy. Almost 4,000 American personnel and 650 Afghan soldiers are taking part in Operation Khanjar, or Strike of the Sword, pushing into the Helmand River valley in helicopters and armored vehicles to set up bases, the military said in an e-mailed statement. “Where we go, we will stay and where we stay, we will hold,” Brigadier General Larry Nicholson said in the statement. The operation comes two days after U.S. combat troops withdrew from Iraqi cities under a drawdown that will allow the Pentagon to focus on the conflict in Afghanistan. The Marines involved in today’s offensive were deployed as reinforcements in May, as part of President Barack Obama’s commitment to defeat a resurgent Taliban. U.S. General Stanley McChrystal assumed command of international forces in Afghanistan last month and is spearheading new counterinsurgency tactics aimed at better protecting civilians. U.S. and NATO-led forces have failed to establish a permanent presence in the Helmand River valley, an insurgent stronghold and center of illicit opium production where militants have thrown out local police and government officials. Read Full Article This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information.

Group of Somali-Americans Indicted on Terror Charges Posted: 01 Jul 2009 11:56 PM PDT al-Shabaab A federal grand jury has indicted a group of Somali-Americans on terror-related charges after more than 20 young men from the Minneapolis area were recruited to join an Al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia, according to two law enforcement sources. The indictments have yet to be unsealed, but an announcement is expected in the next few weeks. One law enforcement source told FOX News the grand jury already has handed up indictments against at least three people. Among those charged is a man from Minneapolis who went to war-torn Somalia and then, about four months ago, relocated to Seattle, according to the two sources and a leader in the Minneapolis Somali community. The man was then arrested in a Seattle airport and transferred to a jail in Minneapolis, where he is currently being detained, according to the law enforcement sources. The law enforcement sources said the man, described as in his 20s, has been charged with providing material support to a terrorist group, in this case al-Shabaab, which has been warring with the moderate Somali government since 2006. Read Full Article This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information.

NYPD: High-profile Buildings Need Tighter Security Posted: 01 Jul 2009 11:40 PM PDT Managers and developers of high-profile skyscrapers and other buildings in the city need to take more steps to guard against terrorist attacks, according to a new report by the New York Police Department. “The same qualities that make the city’s buildings recognized icons of design, culture and commerce also make them continuous targets of terrorism,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a foreword for the report. The report is available in pdf format here. The report — which was to be distributed Wednesday at a meeting with private security officials — doesn’t name the buildings the NYPD believes are at highest risk for bombings or other types of attacks. But the Empire State Building, New York Stock Exchange and Freedom Tower planned for ground zero have been cited in the past as potential targets. The report offers a formula for measuring the vulnerability of buildings to attacks based on design, prominence and proximity to landmarks and other more likely targets. As an example, it cites the destruction of a smaller World Trade Center building caused by the collapse of one of the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001. High-risk buildings should use securely fixed “anti-ram” columns to harden their perimeters, the report says. Large explosions, it says, cause ordinary concrete barriers or planters to shatter and create a shrapnel-like hazard. It also says builders should reduce the risk of broken glass by positioning glass facades away from nearby landmarks. Source This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information.

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