Georgetown Security Law Brief

Leader says Somalia's al-Shabab joins al-Qaeda

02/10/12: The Miami Herald reports that the Somali militant group al-Shabab has formally joined al-Qaeda, according to a video translation released Thursday of a message from al-Qaeda's leader. Ayman al-Zawahri gave "glad tidings" that al-Shabab had joined al-Qaeda, according to the translation of the 15-minute video by the Site Intelligence group. "Today, I have glad tidings for the Muslim Ummah that will please the believers and disturb the disbelievers, which is the joining of the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia to Qaedat al-Jihad, to support the jihadi unity against the Zio-Crusader campaign and their assistants amongst the treacherous agent rulers," he said.

Intelligence analysts lose valuable resource as al-Qaeda magazine goes quiet

02/10/12: The Washington Post reports that al-Qaeda’s glossy online magazine, Inspire, hasn’t been seen since its creators were killed in a US drone strikes last fall, but the terrorist group’s loyalists aren’t the only ones lamenting its demise. US intelligence analysts miss the publication, too, at least to the extent that it provided a window into the thinking of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as the Yemen-based group is known. “It was something that helped us gain insight into the group,” said a US defense official involved in tracking AQAP, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

TSA expands pre-check program to 28 airports

02/09/12: The Hill reports that the TSA is expanding its known-traveler program to the "busiest US airports." The program allows passengers to volunteer information in exchange for the possibility of receiving expedited screening. According to TSA Administrator John Pistole, the expansion moves the agency "closer to our goal of delivering the most effective and efficient screening by recognizing that most passengers do not pose a threat to security. “We are pleased to expand this important effort . . . as we move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more intelligence-driven, risk-based transportation security system,” Pistole said.

July trial set for Iraq refugee in Kentucky terror case

02/08/12: The Miami Herald reports that an Iraqi man charged in Kentucky with trying to funnel weapons and cash to al-Qaeda in his home country is scheduled for trial July 30. US District Judge Thomas B. Russell set the Bowling Green trial date for 24-year-old Mohanad Shareef Hammadi on Wednesday. Hammadi and 30-year-old Waad Ramadan Alwan were charged in federal court in May with attempting to provide material support to terrorists and terrorists organizations and conspiracy to transfer surface-to-air missile launcher systems. They were in Kentucky as refugees.

Study says radical US Muslims little threat

02/08/12: The New York Times reports that a feared wave of homegrown terrorism by radicalized Muslim Americans has not materialized, with plots and arrests dropping sharply over the two years since an unusual peak in 2009, according to a new study by a North Carolina research group. The study, to be released on Wednesday, found that 20 Muslim Americans were charged in violent plots or attacks in 2011, down from 26 in 2010 and a spike of 47 in 2009. Charles Kurzman, the author of the report for the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security, called terrorism by Muslim Americans “a minuscule threat to public safety.”

Chicago man pleads guilty in material support case

02/07/12: The Boston Globe reports that a Pakistani-born Chicago taxi driver who prosecutors say could be heard on FBI wiretaps discussing a plan to bomb a stadium pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to send money to a Pakistani-based terrorist with alleged ties to al-Qaida. Standing before a federal judge in an orange jumpsuit and his ankles shackled, Raja Lahrasib Khan, 58, said he was pleading guilty to one count of two counts of attempting to provide material support terrorism. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the other count.

Official says terrorist link to drug cartels poses security threat

02/05/12: The Washington Times reports that collaboration between Latin American drug cartels and groups such as Iran's Quds Force and the Islamic terror group Hezbollah is growing “far faster than most policymakers in Washington, DC, choose to admit,” a former US intelligence official testified Tuesday. Michael A. Braun, former chief of operations and intelligence for the DEA, told lawmakers that the operational capability of such groups is being “strengthened by the close relations that they are working hard to develop with very powerful organized criminal organizations in our neighborhood and throughout Latin America.”

Uzbek refugee arrested at O'Hare denies helping terror group

02/03/12: The Chicago Tribune reports that an Uzbekistan refugee accused of helping a foreign terrorist organization is denying the allegations. Speaking through a Russian interpreter, Jamshid Muhtorov told a federal judge in Denver Thursday, “I swear to Allah I never did anything like that.” Muhtorov, who lives in the Denver suburb of Aurora, was arrested at a Chicago airport on Jan. 21. The 35-year-old is accused of providing material support and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic Jihad Union. The State Department has designated the group as a foreign terrorist organization. 

Holder says CIA interrogation probe nearing end

02/03/12: POLITICO reports that the Justice Department's investigation into the deaths of two detainees in CIA custody should conclude soon, Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday. Holder made no mention of proceeding with prosecutions in the cases and suggested they would be closed. "There were ....things that were done during the course of those interrogations that are antithetical to American values, that resulted in the deaths of certain people," Holder said during testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "That investigation has run its course. We are at a point where we are about to close those investigations."

Two German men plead guilty to terror charges in UK

02/02/12: The Seattle Times reports that two German men have pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in a London court. Christian Emde, 28 years old, and Robert Baum, 24 years old, pleaded guilty to possessing information useful for terrorist acts. Emde pleaded guilty to four offenses, including possessing copies of the al-Qaida magazine, Inspire, which contained articles with headlines such as "Make A Bomb In The Kitchen Of Your Mom."

Lawmakers warn of outcry against Taliban transfer

02/02/12: Reuters reports that US lawmakers are steeling for a public battle against the possible transfer of Taliban detainees out of Guantanamo Bay prison, a key step in the Obama administration's bid to broker a peace deal ending the war in Afghanistan. Congressional opposition is gaining steam, especially among Republicans but also among some senior Democrats, to the potential transfer to Qatar of five senior Taliban prisoners, a good-faith move that could set the stage for eventual political talks between the Taliban and Afghan government.

Taliban captives dispute US view on Afghanistan war

02/02/12:  The New York Times reports that more Taliban insurgents are being killed or captured than ever before, yet when the captives are interrogated by the American military, they remain convinced that they are winning the war. The Taliban captives tell their interrogators that their hearts-and-minds campaign is converting a growing number of Afghan government officials and soldiers. This is one of the findings of a NATO report, “State of the Taliban 2012,” based on 27,000 interrogations of 4,000 Taliban and other captives that portrays a Taliban insurgency that is far from vanquished or demoralized even as the United States and its allies enter what they hope will be the final phase of the war.

US No-Fly list doubles in one year

02/02/12: The Washington Times reports that the size of the government’s secret list of suspected terrorists who are banned from flying to or within the United States has more than doubled in the past year, the Associated Press has learned. The no-fly list jumped from about 10,000 known or suspected terrorists one year ago to about 21,000, according to government figures provided to the AP. Most people on the list are from other countries; about 500 are Americans.

Nigerian police arrest terrorist group's spokesman

02/02/12: CNN reports that the spokesman for Nigerian militant group Boko Haram has been captured after a months-long surveillance operation, a spokesman for Nigerian police said Wednesday. Security services tracked Abu Qa Qa through his phone and are now trying to confirm his true identity, though they believe that he is a Nigerian citizen. Boko Haram has carried out multiple bombings and shootings across northern Nigeria in recent days.

Venezuela passes anti-terrorism law

02/02/12:  The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Venezuela's congress has approved a law aimed at fighting organized crime and terrorism, though opposition lawmakers say they fear it could be used to crack down on dissent. Lawmakers allied with President Hugo Chavez say the "Law Against Organized Crime and Terrorism Financing" will help combat crimes such as money laundering, bomb threats and airplane hijackings.

ACLU sues to force release of drone attack records

02/01/12: The Washington Post reports that the American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal court Wednesday to force the Obama administration to release legal and intelligence records related to the killing of three US citizens in drone attacks in Yemen last year. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, charged the Justice and Defense departments and the CIA with illegally failing to respond to requests made in October under the Freedom of Information Act.

Iran and Syria aided bomb and assassination plot in Bahrain

02/01/12: ABC News reports that five men arrested in November in connection with a plot to blow up the only bridge connecting the island of Bahrain with Saudi Arabia and to assassinate Bahraini politicians are allegedly tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and reportedly received military training in Syria, according to information leaked to the media by Bahraini prosecutors. The charges are the latest salvo in a regional struggle for power between Iran and the Arab Gulf states.

Alleged bomber's lawyer wants to question Yemeni President

02/01/12: The Miami Herald reports that Guantánamo defense lawyers for an alleged al Qaida bomber asked an Army judge on Tuesday to order Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to undergo war court questioning at a New York hospital. Navy Lieutenant Commander Stephen Reyes wouldn’t say what he wants to ask the former Yemeni strongman on behalf of Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, who faces a death penalty trial at Guantánamo next year. He did said he believed the chief military commissions judge could issue a subpoena that “would compel the Yemeni president to be deposed” — despite a US State Department declaration that the 69-year-old Yemeni would receive diplomatic immunity as head of state.

US Muslims seek clemency for condemned US-Iranian

02/01/12: The Helena Independent Record reports that an American Muslim group appealed Tuesday to Iran's supreme leader to show clemency for an ex-US military translator with dual citizenship condemned to death on accusations of being a CIA spy. A letter Tuesday from the Council on American-Islamic Relations asks Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to spare the life of Amir Hekmati.

After Obama’s remarks on drones, White House rebuffs security questions

02/01/12: The Washington Post reports that White House spokesman Jay Carney rebuffed questions Tuesday about whether President Obama had violated intelligence restrictions on the secret US drone program in Pakistan when he openly discussed the subject the day before. He suggested that nothing Obama had said could be a security violation: “He’s the commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States. He’s the president of the United States.”

Militants admit to plan to bomb London Stock Exchange

02/01/12: The New York Times reports that a group of four Islamic militants, all of them British citizens, admitted involvement on Wednesday in a conspiracy inspired by Al Qaeda to place a bomb in the toilets of the London Stock Exchange, part of a plot that, prosecutors said, was foiled after undercover counterterrorism officers tailed them as they surveyed London tourist attractions. The four were among a group of nine men who had been set to plead not guilty to terrorism charges but changed their plea to guilty when they learned of the likely sentences, Britain’s Press Association news agency reported.

US report says Pakistan still backs Taliban

02/01/12: The Financial Times reports that a leaked US military report that says Pakistan still supports the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan has overshadowed a high-level visit by Pakistani officials seeking to repair ties with Kabul. The secret document, based on interrogations of thousands of captured fighters, says Pakistan’s intelligence agencies continue to help direct Taliban attacks, according to the BBC and The Times, which obtained copies.

Al Shabaab kicks Red Cross out of regions in Somalia

01/31/12: CNN reports that the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab says it has banned the International Committee of the Red Cross from operating in the regions it controls, accusing the organization of distributing expired food. In a statement on Twitter Monday the group said it "has decided to terminate the contract of ICRC permanently... Following the repeated distribution of expired food and false accusations," that the organization is hindering food distribution.

Algerian re-imprisoned after Guantanamo extradition

01/31/12: The Daily Star reports that a legal charity supporting detainees in Guantanamo has condemned the conviction and sentencing of an Algerian after he was forcibly repatriated after eight years in the US Guantanamo detention center. Naji was sent back to Algeria in July 2010. He was convicted on January 16 of "belonging to a terrorist group abroad" and sentenced to three years in prison, according to the state news agency.

Intelligence chief sees Al Qaeda likely to continue fragmenting

01/31/12: The New York Times reports that the nation’s top intelligence official said on Tuesday that continued pressure from the United States and its allies will likely reduce Al Qaeda’s core leadership in Pakistan to “largely symbolic importance” over the next two to three years as the terrorist organization fragments into more regionally focused groups and homegrown extremists. The assessment by the official, James R. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, was contained in prepared remarks to the Senate Intelligence Committee at the panel’s annual hearing to review global threats to the United States.

Libyan detainees sue former MI6 chief over their rendition

01/31/12: The Huffington Post reports that two former Libyan detainees, Sami Al Saadi and Abdel Hakim Belhadj, at the center of claims that British spies were involved in rendition and torture, are launching legal proceedings against the former director of counter-terrorism at MI6. The two men claim that evidence of the UK's role in the couple's rendition is detailed in a number of documents held by the Libyan security services, which came to light after the fall of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

Ex-CIA officials assail ID of agents

01/31/12: The Washington Times reports that former intelligence officials use “reprehensible” and “egregious” to describe the alleged acts of a former CIA officer charged by the government with betraying his own when he revealed the identities of two overseas operatives to the media. These former officials reject the image of John Kiriakou as a high-minded “whistleblower” who sought to expose official wrongdoing or a botched intelligence operation.

Obama opens up about drone strikes in Pakistan

01/31/12: The Los Angeles Times reports that President Obama offered a vigorous defense of using unmanned aircraft to kill Al Qaeda operatives and other militants in Pakistan's tribal areas and, in the process, officially acknowledged the highly classified CIA drone program that US officials had refused to discuss in public until now. "I think that we have to be judicious in how we use drones," Obama said, adding that they have been used for "very precise, precision strikes against Al Qaeda and their affiliates."

Scholarship: Special issue of the Journal of National Security Law & Policy released

01/30/12: The Journal of National Security Law & Policy (JNSLP) is pleased to announce the publication of its special issue, Vol. 5:2, examining “Shadow Wars.” Articles examine the law and policy regarding US  paramilitary operations, including use of drones, payment of contractors to spy, and training of local operatives to chase terrorists in what The New York Times has described as a “shadow war against Al Qaeda and its allies.”

Afghan officials, Taliban may hold talks in Saudi Arabia

01/30/12: CNN reports that the Afghan government plans to hold talks with Taliban representatives in Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks, in a move that threatens to cloud already delicate and fragile steps to negotiate an end to the United States' longest war. An anonymous senior official said the plans were at such an early stage that it was not clear who -- including American officials -- would attend or when any talks would be held. The US has acknowledged that it has held discussions about opening a Taliban office in Doha, Qatar, as well as the possibility of transferring some Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay as part of American support for Afghan reconciliation efforts.

Norway court convicts men in al Qaeda-linked bomb plot

01/30/12: Reuters reports that a Norwegian of Chinese Muslim origin with alleged links to al Qaeda was convicted on Monday of plotting to blow up a Danish newspaper that had printed cartoons of Islam's Prophet Mohammad, and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Mikael Davud, who was accused of leading a bomb plot, had admitted he intended some day to attack Chinese interests like the Chinese embassy in Oslo but he was charged only with plotting to bomb the Danish newspaper. Prosecutors had earlier recommended an 11-year prison sentence for Davud.

Counter-terrorism chemical labs test for synthetic pot

01/29/12: The Los Angeles Times reports that Jeffery H. Moran, chief of the counter-terrorism laboratory at the Arkansas Department of Health — one of 62 such federally funded labs in the country — has been armed with $2 million worth of new equipment. Recently, Moran has given his staff a new task — helping police in half a dozen states identify "Spice," a chemical substance that produces a marijuana-like high and has sent hundreds of users to emergency rooms. Using a counter-terrorism lab to test for synthetic marijuana is the latest sign of how a multibillion-dollar national infrastructure built to detect or respond to chemical or biological attacks over the last decade has adapted to the lack of any actual attacks.

Justice Department takes on itself in probe of 2001 anthrax attacks

01/27/12: The Washington Post reports that since it began a decade ago, the federal government’s massive investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks has been plagued by missteps and complications. Investigators initially focused on the wrong man, then had to pay him a nearly $6 million settlement. In 2008, they accused another man, Bruce E. Ivins, who killed himself before he could go to trial. Now, in the latest twist, the government has argued Ivins was likely not the anthrax killer.

Maryland man pleads guilty to plotting attack on military recruiting center

01/27/12: The Investigative Project on Terrorism reports that a Maryland man pleaded guilty Thursday to attempting to blow up an Army recruiting center near Baltimore. Antonio Martinez, a Muslim convert who also goes by Muhammad Hussain, was arrested on December 8, 2010, in an FBI sting after he tried to detonate a car bomb at the Armed Forces recruiting station in Catonsville, Maryland. The bomb, supplied by federal agents, was inert.

DOJ defends keeping Bin Laden death photos secret

01/27/12: The Blog of Legal Times reports that the US Justice Department has asked a federal judge to keep secret photos showing the death of Osama bin Laden, saying the images are classified because of their potential to incite violence against the United States. The department filed court papers this week in a FOIA suit in Washington asking US District Judge James Boasberg to keep the photos out of the public domain. The DOJ asserts the photos reveal specific military and intelligence activities, methods and techniques.

Accused Pentagon shooter Melaku pleads guilty

01/27/12: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that an ex-Marine from Virginia pleaded guilty Thursday and has agreed to serve a 25-year prison sentence on charges that he fired a series of overnight pot shots in 2010 at the Pentagon, the Marine Corps museum in Quantico and other military targets as part of what prosecutors called a campaign to strike fear throughout the region. Prosecutors revealed that Yonathan Melaku’s intended next target was Arlington National Cemetery, where he was arrested before he was able to carry out a plan to deface gravestones there.

Commentary: The innate tension between efficiency and resilience in supply chains

01/27/12: Homeland Security Watch features commentary by Philip J. Palin concerning the administration’s new National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security. Palin contends this is an easy issue to underestimate. Like the plumbing in your house, it tends not to be at the forefront until something goes wrong: leaking, freezing, breaking, bursting, or when the well goes dry. He shares his brief quick take on context and potential implications of the new strategy.

New drone has no pilot anywhere, so who's accountable?

01/26/12: The Los Angeles Times reports that the Navy's new drone being tested near Chesapeake Bay stretches the boundaries of technology: It's designed to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier, one of aviation's most difficult maneuvers. What's even more remarkable is that it will do that not only without a pilot in the cockpit, but without a pilot at all. Although humans would program an autonomous drone's flight plan and could override its decisions, the prospect of heavily armed aircraft screaming through the skies without direct human control is unnerving to many.

Prosecutors ordered to identify NYC terror witness

01/26/12: The Albany Times Union reports that judge gave federal prosecutors until a week from Wednesday to give up the name of a witness they say was recruited for a chilling, al-Qaida-sanctioned plot for suicide bombers to attack the New York City subways with explosives made from beauty supplies. Lawyers for alleged plotter Adis Madunjanin had demanded to know the identity of the man, referred to only as John Doe in court papers, before Madunjanin goes to trial later this year.

4th Circuit denies damages suit for alleged torture suffered by ‘enemy combatant’ Jose Padilla

01/24/12: The ABA Journal reports that in a move decried by the American Civil Liberties Union as a sad day for the rule of law, a federal appeals court upheld a lower court's ruling that an American citizen who claimed he was illegally detained and tortured at a US military jail in South Carolina cannot turn to the legal system for redress. Because he was designated an "enemy combatant" by the military, Jose Padilla's treatment falls outside the scope of government conduct that tort litigation is intended to address, held the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals as it affirmed a trial court's dismissal of the case.

Two suspects in July terrorist attack on Mumbai arrested in India

01/24/12: The New York Times reports that authorities in Mumbai announced the arrest of two suspects in connection with a terrorist attack last July that killed 27 people in bombings across the city. Police investigators also blamed a domestic terrorist, Yasin Bhatkal, who remains at large and has been linked to a radical Islamic group known as the Indian Mujahedeen. Rakesh Maria, a top counterterrorism official in Mumbai, said the police had arrested two men from Bihar State, accused of being Mr. Bhatkal’s accomplices.

Mullahs, militants and military – Pakistan’s shadowy coalition

01/24/12: The Financial Times reports that Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, whose commandoes killed 166 people in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is – to outside eyes – the public face of the nexus between spies and jihadists that makes nuclear-armed Pakistan so dangerous. Now, he is back. For years confined to his power base in the eastern Punjab province, Mr. Saeed is on the march – criss-crossing the country with a radical road show starring sectarian hate groups, Islamist parties and hawkish ex-generals. They call themselves the Pakistan Defence Council.

Commentary: Did international law motivate the “capture-if-feasible” element of the Awlaki legal opinion?

01/23/12: Opinio Juris features a piece by John C. Dehn concerning Newsweek’s report that the Obama administration is finally going to reveal a bit more about its legal authority to target and kill US citizens (in armed conflict or national self-defense) without a prior judicial adjudication. After a prolonged internal debate, reportedly pitting the State and Defense Departments’ head lawyers against others on the President’s national security team, the Attorney General may soon provide details in a public statement. The time and place of that statement is still unclear or undetermined.

US judge orders release of more IRA recordings

01/23/12: The Boston Globe reports that a federal judge has ordered Boston College to turn over more interview transcripts and recordings of former IRA members. In a five-page ruling, Judge William Young ordered the college to turn over transcripts of seven interview subjects in an oral history project to US prosecutors, who had subpoenaed them on behalf of British investigators. British police requested the information for their investigation into the 1972 slaying of a Belfast woman.

Israelis arrest two Hamas officials at Jerusalem’s Red Cross office

01/23/12: The Los Angeles Times reports that Israeli police on Monday arrested two Hamas officials who had been holed up in the Red Cross office in Jerusalem for the last 18 months. About two dozen police officers jumped over the back wall of the building and grabbed the two officials without any resistance, authorities said. The two officials -– Muhammad Totah, a member of the Palestinian Authority parliament, and Khaled abu Arafeh, a former Cabinet minister -– took refuge at the Red Cross building after it became evident that Israel was going to expel them from Jerusalem, their place of residence, to the West Bank.

Pakistan rejects US self-defense claim on strikes

01/23/12: The Washington Times reports that Pakistan's army on Monday formally rejected a US claim that American airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani troops last year were justified as self-defense, a stance that could complicate efforts to repair the troubled but vital relationship between the two countries. In a detailed report, the army said that Pakistani troops did not trigger the November 26 incident at two posts along the Afghan border by firing at American and Afghan forces, as the US has alleged. Pakistan's army said its troops shot at suspected militants who were nowhere near coalition troops.

Opinion: Do drones undermine democracy?

01/22/12: The New York Times features an opinion piece by Peter W. Singer concerning the impact of the use of drones. In democracies like ours, he contends, citizens have historically participated in decisions to take military action, through their elected representatives, helping to ensure broad support for wars and a willingness to share the costs, both human and economic, of enduring them. In America, our Constitution explicitly divided the president’s role as commander in chief in war from Congress’s role in declaring war. Yet Singer argues these links and this division of labor are now under siege as a result of a technology that our founding fathers never could have imagined.

Three acquitted of murder plot against Swedish artist

01/21/12: ABC News reports that a Swedish court has acquitted three men accused of plotting to murder an artist who depicted the Prophet Muhammad as a dog. In Friday's ruling, the Goteborg district court said the defendants lied about why they visited an art gallery where Lars Vilks was expected to make an appearance, and were armed with knives, but it hadn't been proved that they intended to kill him. The ruling was expected as the three men — of Somali and Iraqi origin — had been released pending the decision.

Five members of Islamist outfit arrested for Bangladesh coup attempt

01/21/12: The Times of India reports that Bangladesh's elite counter-terrorist force has arrested five members of the banned Islamist outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir in connection with a botched coup attempt by some serving and retired army officers. Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested five members of Hizb ut-Tahrir from the city yesterday, a day after the army said it had foiled a coup allegedly plotted by Maj Syed Mohammad Ziaul Huq, said to have links with the banned Islamist outfit.

Swede blames Mossad for Bangkok arrest

01/20/12: The Modesto Bee reports that a Lebanese-Swedish man detained in a terror probe in Thailand has told a Swedish newspaper that he's innocent and blamed Israel's Mossad spy agency for his arrest. The tabloid Aftonbladet on Friday said it spoke to 47-year-old Atris Hussein in a Bangkok prison where he's being held on allegations of illegally possessing explosive materials. Hussein was quoted as saying he is "100 percent innocent" and that "much of the material the police found in my warehouse had been placed there, probably by the Israeli security service Mossad." Police have said Hussein was storing 8,800 pounds of explosive materials in Bangkok before shipping them to another destination.