Terrorism: US Homeland Security Warning Airlines to Beware of Possible Shoe Bombs

US Homeland Security is warning airlines to beware of possible terror shoe bombs. Hmm, haven’t the Islamists already tried this?

According to accounts, there is no specific threat or known plot, but obviously the NSA must have overheard someones cell phone conversation or read their emails. As reported at NBC News, several officials familiar with the advisory that “very recent intelligence” considered credible warns of possible attempts to attack passenger jets using explosives concealed in shoes. One would have thought after the failed attempt by Richard Reid, that the cat would have been out of the bag as to this method of delivering a bomb. Sadly, these terrorists are persistent on killing innocent people in the name of Allah.

Hmm, I guess Al-Qaeda is not on the run, they might even be in the friendly skies.

CNN:

The U.S. government has warned airlines to pay particular attention to the possibility of terrorists attempting to hide explosives in shoes, a result of new intelligence, according to two people familiar with the situation.

The officials stressed there is no specific threat or known plot.
Intelligence collected by the United States and other countries has indicated terror groups have been working on new shoe-bomb designs, the sources said Wednesday.

That knowledge prompted the Department of Homeland Security to warn airlines to be on the lookout for explosives hidden in shoes on flights from overseas to the United States, they said.

A separate intelligence official underscored the warning was issued out of a sense of heightened caution.

“This threat is not specific or credible enough to require a specific response. DHS often issues these alerts out of an abundance of caution, but this does not necessarily rise to the level of facilitating a response,” the intelligence official said.

New Olympic Terror Threats Ahead of Sochi Winter Games … US Warns Airlines About Toothpaste Tube Bomb

Just ahead of the start of the Sochi Winter Olympics and a new terror threat …

The United States Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning to US  and some foreign airlines travelers to Russia for the Sochi Olympic Games to be on the look out for tubes of toothpaste. According to the ABC report, that cited a senior U.S. official, intelligence has indicated that toothpaste tubes can hold ingredients that could be used to construct a bomb aboard a plane. The information “specifically targets flights to Russia.” This threat was also linked to the arrests of two women in France.  The women, reportedly 23- and 30-years-old, were of Chechen descent. Leading up to the Olympics in Sochi, there have been many terror attacks in the region, concerns of  black widows already being in the area, and promises by Chechen terrorists of delivering “surprise packages.”

 The Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning to U.S. and some foreign airlines traveling to Russia for the Olympic Games to be on the lookout for toothpaste containers, which some intelligence indicates may actually hold ingredients that could be used to construct a bomb aboard a plane, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.

The official did not provide further details about the warning or the intelligence that prompted it, but an official with the Department of Homeland Security, while declining to discuss the specific warning, said the department “regularly shares relevant information with domestic and international partners, including those associated with international events such as the Sochi Olympics.”

“While we are not aware of a specific threat to the homeland at this time, this routine communication is an important part of our commitment to making sure we meet that priority,” the official said. “As always, our security apparatus includes a number of measures, both seen and unseen, and DHS will continue to adjust security measures to fit an ever evolving threat environment.”

A federal law enforcement source said the information is largely intended for foreign carriers and the generic threat is not directed at the U.S. homeland. The Russian government has been informed, the source said.

Going to the Olympics, leave your toothpaste at home.

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper last week, U.S. President Barack Obama said that he believes “Sochi is safe.” Great, this coming from the man who said, if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your health care plan. Some how this is hardly a vote of confidence for the Winter Olympic Games.

Russian Teen Vladislav Miftakhov Arrested & Charged With Possessing WMD in Altoona, PA

Hmm, this might just prove that pot is more dangerous than alcohol …

Authorities have arrested 19 year old Russian boy, Vladislav Miftakhov, in Altoona, Pennsylvania and charged him with possession of a weapon of mass destruction. The police were initially investigating a reported marijuana-growing operation when they discovered something quite different. The bombs and other bomb related material were supposedly recently bout on-line by the suspect.  Miftakjov is a  freshman at Penn State University Altoona from Moscow, Russia. The Pennsylvania State Police bomb squad “safely deconstructed” the device.  Vladislav Miftakhov is currently being held at the Blair County prison.

Police officers were investigating a reported marijuana-growing operation when they discovered a homemade bomb and bomb-making materials in a suitcase, the news release said.

Vladislav Miftakhov, a Russian citizen, was arrested and charged with possessing a weapon of mass destruction, risking a catastrophe and drug-related offenses. He was arraigned Friday and bail was set at $500,000, Blair County corrections officer James McMahon said Sunday.

According to a criminal complaint, police found one pound of atomized magnesium and one pound of Chinese potassium perchlorate along with a package labeled potassium nitrate powder. They also found fuses and several containers of compressed air.

When asked what he was going to do with two devices that were found with exposed fuses, Miftakhov said “he was going to blow things up,” the complaint alleges

“He is the weirdest human being I have ever met …”

Read the criminal complaint HERE.

FACEBOOK: Vladislav Miftakhov

Olympic Teams From Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia Get Terror Threat Ahead of Sochi Winter Games

Will the Sochi Winter Olympics be terror free or are wee about to see terrorism on a world state in real time with social media 24/7?

Ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics and with previous video threats of terror acts promised to take place and with Russian authorities on high alert, it is now being reported that teams from Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia have received terror threats not to send their athletes to the games. Authorities are already on the look out for “Black Widow’s” and other terrorists ahead of the games. Needless to say, talk about a dicey situation.

The Olympic teams of at least five countries said Wednesday that they had received emails threatening attacks at the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, adding to mounting security fears two weeks before competition begins.

The International Olympic Committee told NBC News that it did not consider the threats credible and said that it appeared to be “a random message from a member of the public.”

The Olympic organizing committees of Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia reported getting threats.

According to Zsigmond Nagy, an official of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, he stated the following“I am very pleased to inform everyone that both the IOC and the Sochi organizing committee … declared after the analysis of the letter that this threat is not real,”  “This person has been sending all kinds of messages to many members of the Olympic family.” Hmm, not sure how this individual is so sure.

UPDATE I: The International Olympic Committee said Wednesday that the letter sent to the HOC did not represent any threat to athletes. I guess it all depends on how one defines a threat to athletes. However, the German team described the email as a “terror warning” with words to the effect of “be careful out there in Sochi” and the Italian Olympic Committee described the email as containing “terrorist threats.” That sounds much different that the IOC looking to present a positive front.

“The IOC treats security issues very seriously and forwards any reliable information to the security services. However, it appears that in this case, the letter sent to the HOC does not contain any threat,” an IOC spokesperson told R-Sport.

The Sochi organizing committee also assessed the letter and said there is no real threat, and that the author has also been sending messages to other countries competing in the Olympics, HOC international relations director Zsigmond Nagy told Reuters.

Urgent Search for the ‘Black Widow’ Suicide Bomber, Ruzanna Ibragimova in Sochi Ahead of Olympics (Update: As Many as 4 ‘Black Widows’ May be in Sochi)

Be on the look out for the ‘Black Widow’ in Sochi …

Russian security services and police are looking for Ruzana Ibragimova, the ‘Black Widow’ suicide bomber, also known as Salima, the 22 year-old widow of an Islamic militant killed by Russian security forces last year.
Russian authorities distributed in pictures of  the ‘Black Widow,’ Ruzana Ibragimova.  The posters describe her as having a limp in her right leg, a left arm that does not bend at the elbow and a 4-inch scar on her cheek. It is believed that she may already be in Sochi. Now NBC News is reporting that there may be as many as four “black widows” dispatched to carry out terrorist attacks related to the Winter Olympics. It is believed that these terrorists may have already breached the so-called “ring of steel”.

Things that Make You Go Hmm … Just curious, there was discussion ahead of the Olympics that they should be boycotted by the USA because of Russia’s laws against gays, yet it sounds like attending the Sochi Olympics is like playing terrorism “Russian” roulette and not a word about not sending athletes for their own protection.

Flyer handed out by Russian Authorities – ‘Black Widow’ – Ruzanna Ibragimova

ABC News:

Police in Sochi have launched an urgent search for a possible female suicide bomber who may have already made it past the ring of security set up for the Olympic Games.

Hotel employees in Sochi told ABC News that posters with pictures and descriptions of a 22-year-old woman from nearby Dagestan were distributed over the weekend by authorities and a similar flyer was also seen posted at Sochi’s airport.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Olympic Committee reacted to the revelation by saying that the safety of Team USA is their “top priority.”

“As is always the case, we are working with the U.S. Department of State, the local organizers and the relevant law enforcement agencies in an effort to ensure that our delegation and other Americans traveling to Sochi are safe,” spokesperson Patrick Sandusky said.

The woman featured on the wanted posters is identified as Ruzanna Ibragimova, using the nickname Salima, the widow of a militant reportedly killed in a shoot-out with police last year in Dagestan.

She is described as being affiliated with the Caucasus Emirate, the terror group led by Doku Umarov that has threatened attacks against the Winter Games in Sochi.

Ibragimova is described as having a 10 centimeter scar across the left cheek, a pronounced limp, and a stiff left arm that doesn’t bend at the elbow.

VIDEO – CNN: Hunt for “black widow” bomber in Sochi.

This announcement comes on the foot-heals of the VIDEO tape received by the two individuals that were terrorist bombers who promised to a “surprise package” to be delivered during the Sochi Winter Olympics. The real question is, are the Olympics safe from terror and how in the hell was Sochi ever given the Olympics in the first place?

Not to worry, Barack Obama thinks that this is just the jayvee.

UPDATE I: Russian police kill Islamist militant leader before Olympics.

Police have killed a senior Islamist militant in a shootout in Russia’s North Caucasus ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the National Anti-terror Committee said on Tuesday.

The shooting of Eldar Magatov, a suspect in numerous attacks on Russian targets, at a house where he had taken refuge in the Dagestan region was part of an intensifying security clampdown as the Games approach.