March 31, 2004

In Uzbekistan:
Clashes Bring Uzbekistan Death Toll to 42

Gunfire and explosions resounded in the capital Tuesday as Uzbek forces battled for hours with suspected Islamic militants[There's that "militant" word again.--Jen] after two more suicide attacks. Officials claimed 20 terrorists and three police died in the fighting.

The bloodshed brought the death toll to 42 in three days of violence, the government said - the most serious unrest in the country since Uzbekistan let hundreds of U.S. troops use a base near the Afghan border after the Sept. 11 attacks. All of this week's attacks appeared to target Uzbek authorities.
[...]
Down the road, a woman detonated explosives after refusing to heed police orders to stop approaching a bus, according to witnesses who said she set off the blast after officers shot her in the legs.

The suicide bomber was decapitated in the blast, said Hairniso Supiyeva, 64, whose front gate was pitted with shrapnel from the explosion. Three black-clad women who had been in a car with the bomber fled to a nearby apartment building, where police then began a nearly five-hour standoff with them and other suspects.

An Interior Ministry officer said 16 suspected terrorists - 11 men and five women - were killed in the apartment building.
[...]
Five men escaped, said a building resident who refused to give her name. She said the women in the car wore veils revealing only their eyes, rare attire in secular Uzbekistan. She said they were speaking another Central Asian language she could not understand.

How curious that so many of the terrorists were women.
You see this femininization of terrorism alot in that part of the world, like Chechnya, which is one of the places on earth where women seem to be the most oppressed!
As to them speaking a "foreign" tongue, I wonder which one...Saudi? Afghani? Pakistani?

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States had no information on who was responsible for the current attacks but noted the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan has been the dominant threat in the country.

The group was believed to have been decimated in the U.S.-led anti-terror operations in Afghanistan, and Pakistani forces this month hunting al-Qaida fugitives on the Afghan border said they wounded the IMU's political leader.

Karimov has blamed the violence on Islamic extremists, and said several arrests had been made. He said Monday that backing for the attacks might have come from a banned radical group that has never before been linked to terrorism - Hizb ut-Tahrir. The group denied involvement.

Uzbek authorities claim Hizb ut-Tahrir is a breeding ground for terrorists and have sought unsuccessfully to have Washington label it a terrorist group.

Karimov said the attacks were planned six to eight months ago and maintained the organization and funding required to carry out such attacks indicated they had outside support.

Then, in addition to Britain, a major bomb ("Madrid-level") plot was foiled today in the Philippines:
Philippines Says Foils Planned Terror Attack

Philippine security forces have arrested several militants and seized a large amount of explosives, foiling a plan to bomb civilian targets in the capital Manila, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said on Tuesday. "We have pre-empted a Madrid-level attack on the metropolis by capturing an explosive cache of 80 pounds (36 kg) of TNT which was intended to be used for bombing malls and trains in Metro Manila," she said on national television.

As per always in that part of the world, members of Islamist jihadi groups Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Ismaliah were the perps.
In Chechnya, "rebels" blew up 3 oil wells:
Bombs hit Chechen oil fields

A series of bombs set three oil wells ablaze in Russia's rebel Chechnya region, officials said yesterday, and one was quoted as saying the damage could reach 500 million roubles ($A24.2 million).

In Israel, another "Palestinian" under-age bomber was caught before he could detonate his bomb.
It seems that Islamic Jihad had promised him money, cigarettes, clothes and cell phone to do their bidding.
Apparently, the promise of 72 virgins and the universal triumph of Islam are good motivators when they're that young.

Tamer Khawireh is the fourth boy of his age to be arrested in Nablus in recent weeks for planning to carry out a suicide attack. Last week, Husam Abdu, 16, was detained at the Huwara checkpoint south of the city with an explosive belt strapped to his body.

On March 16, another boy, Abdallah Quran, 11, was caught at the same checkpoint as he was carrying a bomb in a backpack. The boy was later released after it turned out that he was unaware that he was carrying a bomb given to him by two Fatah activists. In February, the IDF arrested another Nablus boy and his father, who were contracted by Hizbullah.

Here at home, Northwest Airlines and Amtrak took precautions against the threat of a terrorist attack tonight:
Threats Prompt Searches of U.S. Planes and Trains
All in all, a busy day for the terrorists, but also a busy and fairly successful day for law enforcement and the military who hindered or stopped attacks in London, Manila, the Holy Land and across our fruited plains!
Clearly, the evildoers are looking for "soft targets" the world over and by working together and taking a hard line, the U.S. and her friends and allies are making that harder and harder to do!