FEBRUARY 2002 : (PADILLA CASE : PAKISTAN : US CITIZEN PADILLA REPORTS HIS PASSPORT STOLEN) Padilla aka Muhajir walked into the U.S. consulate in Karachi, a lawless city of 14 million, where, according to sources in Pakistan, he reported his passport stolen and sought a replacement at a window reserved for American citizens. A new passport was issued the next month, but a suspicious consular official turned over the application to a security officer. "After the passport was issued . . . the consulate officer just felt there was something odd about the case and raised it to the attention of the regional security officer," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters yesterday. The security office investigated al Muhajir's activities in Pakistan, and shared the information with FBI agents and intelligence officers who have set up shop in the fortress-like Karachi consulate. - Washington Post, "Al Muhajir Alleged to Be Scouting Terror Sites
U.S. Says Al Qaeda Had Instructed Suspect," By Susan Schmidt and Walter Pincus, Wednesday, June 12, 2002; Page A01
MARCH 2002 : (PADILLA TRAVELS TO PAKISTAN, MEETINGS ON PLOTS TO ATTACK "GAS STATIONS" & HOTELS) At Abu Zubaydah's request, Padilla traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, in March to meet several senior al-Qaida officials and discuss bombings of U.S. gas stations and hotels, officials said. U.S. Nabs 'Dirty Bomb' Suspect, AP
***
In 2002, [Padilla] he and al-Qaida officials discussed the possibility of blowing up gas stations or hotels in a series of coordinated attacks on the United States, the memo states. Some of that information has been corroborated, the memo says, but some "confidential sources have not been completely candid. ... Some information provided by the sources remains uncorroborated and may be part of an effort to mislead or confuse U.S. officials The memo states that one of the sources recanted much of the information he provided and one source was being treated with "various types of drugs to treat medical conditions." ." Hobbs Memo, - AP, by Christopher Newton, 8/27/02 via NJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/740362/posts
2002 early (April or earlier) : (OHIO TRUCKER/BROOKLYN BRIDGE CASE : FARIS VISITS PAKISTAN & MEETS BIN LADEN'S NO. 3 MAN; THEY TELL HIM AL QAEDA WAS INTERESTED IN CARGO PLANES, PLANNING SIMULTANEOUS ATTACKS ON NY & DC, AND IN DERAILING TRAINS) Faris visited Karachi in early 2002 and was introduced to a man identified by his friend as the “number three man” to bin Laden - in fact, a senior operational leader in al Qaeda. ... at a meeting a few weeks later, the operational leader asked what he could do for al Qaeda. ....Faris... discussed his work as a truck driver in the United States, his trucking routes and deliveries for airport cargo planes. The al Qaeda leader told Faris he was interested in cargo planes because they would hold “more weight and more fuel.”
... the operational leader then told Faris that al Qaeda was planning two simultaneous attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. The senior al Qaeda leader spoke with Faris about destroying a bridge in New York City by severing its suspension cables, and tasked Faris with obtaining the equipment needed for that operation - described as “gas cutters” but to be referred to as “gas stations” in future coded communications. The leader also explained that al Qaeda was planning to derail trains, and asked Faris to procure the tools for that plot as well. - according to later admissions by Faris - "OHIO TRUCK DRIVER PLEADS GUILTY TO PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT TO AL QAEDA," Dept. of Justice press release, WWW.USDOJ.GOV , THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2003
APRIL 2002 (early ) : (PADILLA aka AL MUHAJIR LEAVES PAKISTAN FOR SWIZERLAND) At the behest of the al Qaeda terrorist network, al Muhajir, an American ex-convict, set off on a five-week journey - Washington Post, "Al Muhajir Alleged to Be Scouting Terror Sites U.S. Says Al Qaeda Had Instructed Suspect," By Susan Schmidt and Walter Pincus, Wednesday, June 12, 2002; Page A01 Mujahir leaves Pakistan in early April-and briefly went to Zurich, Switzerland. "More Questions in Dirty Bomb Case," by Ted Bridis, AP via Newsday via http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/698916/posts "We were fully aware of his movements from the time he left Pakistan," one Justice Department official said. Another official said: "We had eyes on him the entire time." - Washington Post, 'Dirty Bomb' Plot Uncovered, U.S. Says Suspected Al Qaeda Operative Held as 'Enemy Combatant,' By Dan Eggen and Susan Schmidt, Tuesday, June 11, 2002; Page A01
AUGUST 2002 : (PAKISTAN : SIDDIQUI & KHAN'S MARRIAGE FALTERS; FAMILY ARGUMENT CAUSES SIDDIQUI'S FATHER TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK) The tension between the couple had continued to grow and finally reached breaking point in August 2002. Siddiqui was eight months pregnant with their third child, and she and Khan were now estranged. She and the children stayed at her mother’s house, while Khan lived elsewhere in Karachi.
One day, Khan came over to Aafia’s parents’ house bearing a letter explaining that he was going to divorce Siddiqui. He started reading the letter, and a heated argument began between Khan and Siddiqui’s parents. The fight was too much for Siddiqui’s father who had a heart attack and died. Within weeks, Siddiqui gave birth to a son. Siddiqui stayed at her mother’s house for the rest of the year, returning to the United States without her children around December 2002 to look for a job in the Baltimore area, where her sister had begun working at Sinai Hospital. -- "The strange story of Aafia Siddiqui," By Khalid Hasan, Daily Times (Pakistan), (October 31, 2004), http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-11-2004_pg7_47
OCTOBER 8, 2002 : (KUWAIT : US MARINE KILLED, ANOTHER WOUNDED, KUWAIT DISCOVERS THE PERPS HAD AN INTEREST IN US TRAINS & CROSSINGS, WHICH JIVED WITH INFO FROM OTHER DETAINEES INTERROGATED BY THE US) An attack by two gunmen who killed one U.S. Marine and wounded another on a Kuwaiti island on Oct. 8. Kuwaiti authorities who afterward raided an al-Qaeda cell believed to be supporting the gunmen found a computer hard drive with photos of American passenger and cargo trains as well as rail crossings. At about the same time, senior al-Qaeda operatives in custody told their CIA and FBI interrogators that the organization had plans for targeting railroads. - "Terror on the Rails?," Time, Sunday, Oct 27, 2002, http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,384759,00.html.
DECEMBER 2002 : (SIDDIQUI RETURNS TO THE USA; HER SISTER HAD BEGUN WORKING AT SINAI HOSPITAL IN BALTIMORE, MD) Siddiqui stayed at her mother’s house for the rest of the year, returning to the United States without her children around December 2002 to look for a job in the Baltimore area, where her sister had begun working at Sinai Hospital. The real purpose of her trip, the FBI suspects, was to open a post office box for Majid Khan, a purported Al Qaeda operative who allegedly had plans to blow up gas stations and fuel tanks in the Baltimore-Washington area. -- "The strange story of Aafia Siddiqui," By Khalid Hasan, Daily Times (Pakistan), (October 31, 2004), http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-11-2004_pg7_47
DECEMBER 2002 or JANUARY 2003 : (SIDDIQUI IS IN MARYLAND, USA NEAR WASHINGTON, DC - See BALTIMORE CELL) - "Boston Woman accused of al-Qaida ties held in Pakistan," by CURT ANDERSON, AP, via News Observer, April 22 2003
DECEMBER 2002 or JANUARY 2003 : (GAITHERSBURG, MD : ) Dr [Aafia] Siddiqui, a resident of the Boston area, is said to have visited Gaithersburg, Maryland, in December last year [2002] or January, but the FBI would not say what significance that visit had and whom she met. ------- "Pakistani couple sought in Qaeda hunt," By Khalid Hasan, Daily Times [Pakistan] http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-3-2003_pg7_56
[Gaithersberg, I think, is where Beltway shooters Mohammed and Malvo holed up?]
DECEMBER 2002 & JANUARY 2003 : (SIGHTINGS OF SIDDIQUI ALONG THE EASTERN SEABOARD) Following up reports in December [2002] and January [2003] that placed her [Siddiqui] in Gaitherberg, Maryland, a suburb of Washington DC, authorities started looking for her on the eastern seaboard, according to Gary Bald, special agent in charge of the FBI's Baltimore field office. She was tracked down to the home of her relatives in Karachi after being tailed from the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport where she was spotted on arrival from an overseas trip. Pakistani authorities were immediately directed to arrest her. Siddiqui was being interrogated at an undisclosed location, but intelligence sources said she is yet to be charged with any crime. "She's essentially in the hands of the FBI now," said the source, who refused to reveal if she has been flown out of Pakistan for interrogation. - "Pakistani woman may have planned logistics for Al Qaeda (captured)," by Aziz Haniffa, Rediff , April 1, 2003
FEBRUARY 2003 : (SIDDIQUI RETURNS TO THE US) Having failed to get a suitable job, she again visited the US on a valid visa in February 2003 to search for a job and to submit an application to the US immigration authorities. She moved there freely and came back to Karachi by the end of February 2003 after renting a post office box in her name in Maryland for the receipt of her mail. It has been claimed by the FBI (Newsweek International, June 23, 2003, issue) that the box was hired for one Mr Majid Khan, an alleged member of Al Qaeda residing in Baltimore. -- "Dr Aafia Siddiqui's disappearance," DAWN, 30 March 2004 , Tuesday, http://www.dawn.com/2004/03/30/letted.htm
FEBRUARY 2003 : (KARACHI, PAKISTAN : AL QAEDA'S KSM MEETS WITH UZAIR & SAIFULLAH PARACHAS TO MAKE DEAL FOR ACCESS TO IMG SHIPPING CONTAINERS ; MARITIME SECURITY / PORT SECURITY - See NEWARK SMUGGLING PLOT / GAS STATION PLOT / BALTIMORE CELL) Days before he was captured in Pakistan in March, suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed met in Karachi with the owner of a W. 35th St., [NY] clothing importing company and his son, law enforcement sources said. Al Qaeda's No. 3 man offered to invest $200,000 in International Management Group in exchange, federal authorities now believe, for access to IMG's Port Newark-bound shipping containers, sources say.
[Khalid Sheikh] Mohammed "is obsessed with attacking the United States, and New York has always been at the top of the list for Al Qaeda," said one law enforcement source. After learning of the plot, federal authorities began monitoring IMG's containers, though sources said no weapons were found in them. -- "Rag trade terror plot: Al Qaeda sought Garment Center tie," by GREG B. SMITH, New York Daily News, August 22, 2003
FEBRUARY 13, 2003 : (SEAPORT SECURITY : 13 SEA CONTAINERS BARRED FROM US) The Customs Service refused to let 13 sea containers destined for the United States be loaded onto ships at foreign ports because of insufficient details about their contents, a violation of a new federal rule. The agency says it needs timely and accurate manifest information to effectively evaluate and identify cargo that may pose a risk to U.S. security. With 5.7 million cargo containers entering U.S. seaports each year, Customs says it is critically important to prevent terrorists from using sea containers to smuggle nuclear, chemical, biological or other deadly weapons into this country.-- "Sea Containers Barred From Ships to U.S. ," by JEANNINE AVERSA, Newsday.com, Feb. 13, 2003
FEBRUARY 2003 : (PAKISTAN : PARACHAS MEETS TWICE WITH TWO AL QAEDA OPERATIVES, KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED & MAJID KHAN - See NEWARK SMUGGLING PLOT / GAS STATION PLOT / BALTIMORE CELL) The complaint against Parachas says he met twice in early February with two Al Qaeda operatives. One was Mohammed [Khalid Shaikh Mohammed?] , the law enforcement source confirmed. The other was [Majid] Khan, a Pakistani who had been living in Baltimore but had returned to Pakistan, sources said.
At the meetings - first at the Karachi office and then at an ice cream parlor - Mohammed and Khan told Parachas they wanted to invest $200,000 in IMG, [International Management Group ] according to a source and the complaint. Mohammed and Khan said they were supporters of Osama Bin Laden and that they needed to keep the money liquid to retrieve at a moment's notice, sources said.
The men also asked Parachas to pose as Khan and travel to America to keep Khan's travel visa from expiring, sources said. While here, Parachas was to move money into Khan's bank account, use his credit cards, and inquire with U.S. immigration officials about Khan's status, sources said. Parachas' lawyer, Anthony Ricco, says he believes the feds have linked Mohammed to at least one and probably two meetings with his client in Karachi last February. "[Mohammed]'s name isn't mentioned in that complaint, [but] he's identified by number," Ricco said. Since his capture, Mohammed has been interrogated repeatedly by U.S. intelligence agents. Although sources say much of what he has divulged is diversionary nonsense, some information has been corroborated and is considered highly valuable, a source said. Ricco said he believes Mohammed gave interrogators the name of his client, who Ricco insists is not a terrorist and did not perform illegal tasks for Mohammed or any member of Al Qaeda. "The scheme is very complicated, well beyond Uzair Paracha," Ricco said. -- "Rag trade terror plot: Al Qaeda sought Garment Center tie," by GREG B. SMITH, New York Daily News, August 22, 2003
FEBRUARY 2003 late : (AFTER RENTING A MAILBOX IN MARYLAND ON BEHALF OF MAJID KHAN, SIDDIQUI RETURNS TO PAKISTAN - See BALTIMORE CELL / CHEMICAL PLOT / GAS STATION PLOT) She [Siddiqui] ... came back to Karachi by the end of February 2003 after renting a post office box in her name in Maryland for the receipt of her mail. It has been claimed by the FBI (Newsweek International, June 23, 2003, issue) that the box was hired for one Mr Majid Khan, an alleged member of Al Qaeda residing in Baltimore. -- "Dr Aafia Siddiqui's disappearance," DAWN, 30 March 2004 , Tuesday, http://www.dawn.com/2004/03/30/letted.htm.
MARCH 1, 2003 : (KSM IS NABBED BY CIA - See NEWARK SMUGGLING PLOT / GAS STATION PLOT / BALTIMORE CELL) [Khalid Shaikh] Mohammed's plans fizzled when he was nabbed by the CIA in Pakistan on March 1. At the time, authorities said he was planning new attacks on America, though they would not elaborate. -- "Rag trade terror plot: Al Qaeda sought Garment Center tie," by GREG B. SMITH, New York Daily News, August 22, 2003
MARCH 1, 2003 : (KSM IS CAPTURED - See MAJID KHAN / BALTIMORE CELL / NEWARK SMUGGLING PLOT) The [June 2003 Newsweek] article also reports that [Majid] Khan studied the gas stations' vulnerability to bombings, then reported the findings to al Qaeda's director of global operations, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan on March 1. ------- "Suspect in terror plot still at large," By Jon Ward, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, June 16, 2003
MARCH 1, 2003 : (CAPTURE OF KSM ) In addition, material collected in Pakistan after the March 1 [2003] capture in that country of senior al-Qaida planner Khalid Shaikh Mohammed provided further proof that operatives experimented with various forms of chemical, radiological and biological weapons, law enforcement officials say. The FBI bulletin says hydrogen cyanide or chorine gas could be produced by combining liquid and solid materials, possibly using a canister such as a paint can with holes pierced into it. The materials could be combined using either a blasting cap or some kind of delayed switch. "When combined, this creates the toxic gas that would emerge through the holes," the bulletin says.
Such a device would be most effective in an enclosed space, the bulletin adds, because it would be dispersed too quickly in larger areas or out in the open to kill or injure many people. But police, firefighters and medical personnel could be imperiled when responding to an attack because "the device may reactivate when it is disturbed." ---------FBI Warns That Terrorists Could Make Simple, Deadly Chemical Weapon (Siddiqui, Shukrijumah) , " AP ^ | March 26, 2003 Posted on 05/26/2004 9:47:55 AM PDT by Shermy
MARCH 2003 : (RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN : KSM IS CAPTURED IN A MICROBIOLOGIST'S HOUSE) When he [KSM] was captured last March [2003] in the house of a microbiologist in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, the paunchy 37-year-old was unshaven and wearing a baggy vest. He looked more like a down-and-out than one of the most dangerous men in the world. The interrogation reports make clear, however, that he was not only the chief planner for September 11 but also introduced Osama bin Laden to Hambali, the Indonesian militant accused of orchestrating the Bali bombing 13 months later.
To date, Khalid is the most senior al-Qa'ida member to have been caught. Until now there has been no word of where he is being held or what, if anything, he is saying.
Although the interrogation transcripts are prefaced with the warning that "the detainee has been known to withhold information or deliberately mislead", it is clear that he is talking – and that the September 11 conspiracy was much more extensive than has previously been revealed. The confessions reveal planning for the atrocity started much earlier than anyone had realised and was intended to be even more devastating.
"The original plan was for a two-pronged attack with five targets on the east coast of America and five on the west coast," he told interrogators. "We talked about hitting California as it was America's richest state and bin Laden had talked about economic targets."
Bin Laden, who like Khalid had studied engineering, vetoed simultaneous coast-to-coast attacks, arguing that "it would be too difficult to synchronise".
Khalid switched to two waves: hitting the east coast first and following up with a second attack. "Osama had said the second wave should focus on the west coast," he said.
Despite the setbacks, Khalid described the September 11 attack as "far more successful than we had ever imagined". ------- "Al-Qa'ida 9/11 chief reveals US got off lightly," Sunday Times sources, The Australian, From The Sunday Times, March 29, 2004
MARCH 1, 2003 early AM Saturday : (RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN : THREE MEN ARRESTED IN RAID- A PAKISTANI NAMED AHMED QADOOS, AN UNNAMED "FOREIGN NATIONAL OF ARAB ORIGIN," AND KHALID SHAIKH MOHAMMED - NOTE THAT QADOOS'S FATHER WAS A MICROBIOLOGIST WHO HAD WORKED FOR THE UN) Arrested by plainclothes Pakistani security agents who raided a house in the central city of Rawalpindi in a pre-dawn raid on Saturday, Mohammed was branded by Washington as one of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's "most senior and significant lieutenants." ) ...The White House [later] said Mohammed, one of three al Qaeda suspects detained in the early morning swoop, was "a key al Qaeda planner and the mastermind of the September 11 attacks." Officials said the others were a Pakistani and a foreign national of Arab origin. ...
...No information was available on the second Arab held in the weekend raid. The Pakistani was identified as Ahmed Qadoos. His family said he was arrested at about 3:30 a.m. on Saturday (2230 GMT on Friday) by armed security officials, who also took away a computer. No one else from the house was arrested.
"They shut family members in a room at gunpoint," his cousin Omar Khan told Reuters. "He is not linked with anything."
Ahmed [Qadoos] has a wife and two children and lived with his parents. His father is a retired microbiologist who had worked for the United Nations and had lived abroad, his mother is a member of one of Pakistan's most prominent Islamic parties. ------ "Pakistan Hands Sept 11 Mastermind to U.S.," by Tahir Ikram and Amir Zia, Reuters, 3/02/03
MARCH 2003 midmonth : (OHIO TRUCKER FARIS IS ARRESTED) Justice Department officials [later in June 2003] told Time magazine that Faris was secretly detained about two weeks after the dramatic capture on March 1 in Pakistan of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al-Qa'eda's chief of operations. Installed in a safe house in Virginia, Faris sent messages to his terrorist commanders by mobile phone and email. "He was sitting in the safe house making calls for us. It was a huge triumph," a senior Bush administration official told Time. - "Captured Al-Qa'eda Man Was FBI Spy (US truck driver)," by David Rennie in Washington, The Telegraph (UK) , 6-23-2003
2003 : (OHIO TRUCKER/BROOKLYN BRIDGE CASE : FARIS SENDS MESSAGE) In early 2003, Faris sends a message [to his friend in Pakistan?] that “the weather is too hot” - a coded message indicating that the bridge plot was unlikely to succeed. - "OHIO TRUCK DRIVER PLEADS GUILTY TO PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT TO AL QAEDA," Dept. of Justice press release, WWW.USDOJ.GOV , THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2003
MARCH 2003 : (WANTED : FBI ISSUES WORLDWIDE ALERT FOR SIDDIQUI -See BALTIMORE CELL) The FBI in March put out a global alert for Siddiqui, who has a biology degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and wrote a doctoral thesis on neurological sciences at Brandeis University in 2001. It was the first time an FBI bulletin sought a woman since the war against terror began, officials have said. - "Boston Woman accused of al-Qaida ties held in Pakistan," by CURT ANDERSON, AP, via News Observer, April 22 2003
MARCH 18, 2003 : (FBI SEARCH FOR SIDDIQUI IN RESPONSE TO HER BEING NAMED BY KSM) On March 18, the FBI issued a worldwide search notice for Siddiqui after Shaikh Mohammad confirmed her links to Al Qaeda. - "Pakistani woman may have planned logistics for Al Qaeda (captured)," by Aziz Haniffa, Rediff , April 1, 2003
MARCH 2003 : (WANTED : FBI ANNOUNCES WORLDWIDE ALERT FOR EL SHUKRIJUMAH-See BALTIMORE CELL) Adnan El Shukrijumah, a 27-year-old Saudi native nicknamed "Jafar the Pilot." He lived for a number of years in South Florida and authorities believe he is an al-Qaida operative who may have been planning new attacks. His family denies any terrorist ties and he also has not been located. - "Boston Woman accused of al-Qaida ties held in Pakistan," by CURT ANDERSON, AP, via News Observer, April 22 2003
MARCH 25 to MARCH 31, 2003 approx : (PAKISTAN : SIDDIQUI CALLS HER MOTHER AND TELLS HER SHE IS GOING TO RAWALPINDI) Between March 25 and March 31, she rang up her mother from some location in Karachi informing her about her intention to go to Rawalpindi. The following day an Urdu daily published the news of her arrest by the police while she was on her way to Karachi airport. At the time of her 'kidnapping' she was accompanied by her three children, aged three-and-a-half months to seven years. -- "Dr Aafia Siddiqui's disappearance," DAWN, 30 March 2004 , Tuesday, http://www.dawn.com/2004/03/30/letted.htm.
MARCH 30, 2003 : (PAKISTAN : DR. AFIA SIDDIQUI LEAVES HER MOTHER'S HOUSE TO CATCHA FLIGHT FOR RAWALPINDI BUT NEVER MAKES IT TO THE AIRPORT - See BALTIMORE CELL / NEWARK SMUGGLING PLOT / CHEMICAL PLOT) According to Mrs. Siddiqui , Afia left her mother's house in Gulshan-e-Iqbal in a Metro-cab on March 30, to catch a flight for Rawalpindi, but never reached the airport. Inside sources claim that Afia had been "picked-up" by intelligence agencies while on her way to the airport and initial reports suggest she was handed over to the FBI. ----- "Mysterious Cover-up : Afia Siddiqui's mysterious disappearance leads to speculation about an official cover-up.," http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsMay2003/newsbeat3may.htm
MARCH 31, 2003 : (USA : NY : PARACHAS DETAINED FOR ACTING AS COVER FOR AL QAEDA OPERATIVE MAJID KHAN- WHO IS ASSOCIATED WITH SIDDIQUI - See NEWARK SMUGGLING PLOT / GAS STATION PLOT / BALTIMORE CELL) Details of the alleged smuggling plot came to light in the case of Uzair Parachas, 23, the son of IMG's co-owner. Parachas has been detained by the FBI since being picked up in the IMG office March 31, shortly after he arrived from Pakistan. He was charged this month with acting as cover for one of Mohammed's Baltimore-based associates, an Al Qaeda operative whom sources identified as Majid Khan. (* My note: Majid Khan is the person the woman Siddiqui aided in setting up a new identity in the US) -- "Rag trade terror plot: Al Qaeda sought Garment Center tie," by GREG B. SMITH, New York Daily News, August 22, 2003
MARCH 2003 : (UZAIR PARACHA IS ARRESTED - See BALTIMORE CELL) [Uzair] Paracha was arrested in March 2003 and charged with conspiring to support al-Qaida, conspiring to violate laws barring economic support for al-Qaida and committing identification document fraud in aid of terrorism. If convicted of all charges, he could face up to 75 years in prison.------- "Prosecutor: Pakistani sought to aid terror (NY trial)," by Larry Neumeister - ap, AP on Yahoo, 11/09/05
MARCH 31, 2003 : (USA : NY : PARACHAS DETAINED FOR ACTING AS COVER FOR AL QAEDA OPERATIVE MAJID KHAN- WHO IS ASSOCIATED WITH 'MOST WANTED' WOMAN SIDDIQUI - See NEWARK SMUGGLING PLOT / GAS STATION PLOT / BALTIMORE CELL) Details of the alleged smuggling plot came to light in the case of Uzair Parachas, 23, the son of IMG's co-owner. Parachas has been detained by the FBI since being picked up in the IMG office March 31, shortly after he arrived from Pakistan. He was charged this month with acting as cover for one of Mohammed's Baltimore-based associates, an Al Qaeda operative whom sources identified as Majid Khan. (* My note: Majid Khan is the person the wanted woman Siddiqui aided in setting up a new identity in the US) -- "Rag trade terror plot: Al Qaeda sought Garment Center tie," by GREG B. SMITH, New York Daily News, August 22, 2003
APRIL 1, 2003 : (PAKISTAN : DR. AFIA SIDDIQUI IS MISSING) As I walked into a large Karachi residence in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, I was greeted by an old veiled woman, who welcomed me and both my colleagues. She was Ismat Siddiqui, mother of Dr Afia Siddiqui, who alongwith her three children, disappeared on April 1, and has not been heard of since. "I don't want to talk with anyone or to give any statement," said Ismat Siddiqui. However, she went on to speak for about two hours during which time, she generally remained calm, apart from a few emotional outbursts. "My daughter is a highly educated woman, held in high esteem by her professors in the United States. I don't know where she is and I am extremely concerned about her and her three children," she said.
Her daughter's name is on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) list of people it would like to question in connection with Al-Qaeda. ... Surprisingly there has been no official report registered with the police about Afia's disappearance which explains why Afia's mother wanted to avoid going public. The police, meanwhile, is doing nothing to trace Afia. "We have no knowledge about this case nor has anyone contacted me," said Sindh police chief, Syed Kamal Shah. Ismat Siddiqui, however, claims that she has spoken to high police officials, including Shah, about her daughter's disappearance. ----- "Mysterious Cover-up : Afia Siddiqui's mysterious disappearance leads to speculation about an official cover-up.," http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsMay2003/newsbeat3may.htm
APRIL 2003 : (SIDDIQUI IN CUSTODY IN PAKISTAN?) A former Boston woman sought by the FBI for questioning about possible ties to the al-Qaida terror network is in custody in Pakistan, [unnamed, maybe noneistant?] U.S. law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
Two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Aafia Siddiqui, 31, was detained by Pakistani authorities in the past few days and was being interrogated at an undisclosed location. She originally is from Pakistan. The FBI in March put out a global alert for Siddiqui, who has a biology degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and wrote a doctoral thesis on neurological sciences at Brandeis University in 2001. She also visited the Maryland suburbs near Washington in December or January, officials say.
Authorities have not charged that Siddiqui is a member of al-Qaida but believe she could be a "fixer," someone with knowledge of the United States who can support and help get things done for other operatives. She is not charged with any crime in the United States. [How about elsewhere?]
Siddiqui is listed on an Internet site maintained by an umbrella group of Muslim student organizations as one author of a guide on how to run a successful association, including how to distribute religious information.
The FBI also is seeking to question Siddiqui's estranged husband, Dr. Mohammed Khan. His whereabouts are unknown.
Alerts for Siddiqui and Khan followed the FBI's announcement last month of a worldwide search for Adnan El Shukrijumah, a 27-year-old Saudi native nicknamed "Jafar the Pilot." - "Boston Woman accused of al-Qaida ties held in Pakistan," by CURT ANDERSON, AP, via News Observer, April 22 2003
APRIL 2003 early : (NBC NEWS REPORTS THAT AFIA/ ALAFIA SIDDIQUI HAD BEEN ARRESTED IN PAKISTAN ON SUSPICION OF FACILITATING MONEY TRANSFERS TO TERROR NETWORKS - See LEAKS , BALTIMORE CELL, CHEMICAL PLOT ) A few days later [after her disappearance in Pakistan] an American news channel, NBC, reported that [Dr.] Afia [Siddiqui] had been arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of facilitating money transfers for terror networks. "This is an absurd charge," Mrs [Ismat] Siddiqui said [of her daughter]. "She is a neurological scientist from MIT and has been living with her husband, Amjad, in the US for several years." Later, both the Pakistan government as well as US officials in Washington denied any knowledge of Afia's custody, making her disappearance even more mysterious.----- "Mysterious Cover-up : Afia Siddiqui's mysterious disappearance leads to speculation about an official cover-up.," http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsMay2003/newsbeat3may.htm
APRIL 1, 2003 : (PAKISTAN : OFFICIAL DENIES THE ARREST OF SIDDIQUI) On April 1, 2003, a small news item was published in an Urdu daily with reference to a press conference of Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat when, in reply to a question regarding the arrest of Dr Siddiqui, he said: "She has not been arrested." -- "Dr Aafia Siddiqui's disappearance," DAWN, 30 March 2004 , Tuesday, http://www.dawn.com/2004/03/30/letted.htm.
APRIL 2, 2003 : (PAKISTAN : PRESS CONFERENCE : SIDDIQUI CONNECTED TO AL QAEDA) There was another news item in an Urdu daily on April 2 regarding another press conference when the interior minister said Dr Siddiqui was connected to Al Qaeda and that she had not been arrested as she was absconding. He added: "You will be astonished to know about the activities of Dr Aafia (Siddiqui)." -- "Dr Aafia Siddiqui's disappearance," DAWN, 30 March 2004 , Tuesday, http://www.dawn.com/2004/03/30/letted.htm.
APRIL 2003 : (PAKISTAN : ARMY INTEL OFFICIAL VISITS ISMAT SIDDIQUI'S HOUSE WITH A WARNING? - See BALTIMORE CELL, CHEMICAL PLOT) Ismat Siddiqui, however, claims that she has spoken to high police officials, including Shah, about her daughter's disappearance. A week after the incident, Mrs. Siddiqui alleges that an intelligence agency official came to her house and warned her not to make an issue out of her daughter's disappearance and threatened her with dire consequences. ----- "Mysterious Cover-up : Afia Siddiqui's mysterious disappearance leads to speculation about an official cover-up.," http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsMay2003/newsbeat3may.htm***
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A motorcyclist in plainclothes knocked at the door of the mother of Dr Siddiqui (Mrs Ismat Siddiqui) and told her: "We know that you are connected to higher-ups. But it would be better for you if you keep quiet regarding your daughter. She and her children are OK with us." -- "Dr Aafia Siddiqui's disappearance," DAWN, 30 March 2004 , Tuesday, http://www.dawn.com/2004/03/30/letted.htm.
APRIL 24, 2003 : (FBI SAYS AL QAEDA COULD BE USING WOMEN FOR LOGISTICAL SUPPORT) ALERT...FOX NEWS.com (AP): "FBI: AL QAEDA COULD BE USING WOMEN FOR LOGISTICAL SUPPORT" (April 24, 2003)
[* My note: could this be in reference to the MIT female scientist Siddiqui?]
JUNE 19, 2003 : (AL QAEDA NY BRIDGE PLOT CASE : OHIO TRUCKER FARIS ADMITTED GUILT & PLEA BARGAINED : HE HAD BOUGHT SLEEPING BAGS FO RAL QAEDA, RESEARCHED THE POSSIBLE USE OF ULTRALIGHTS, AND HELPED GET EXTENSIONS ON AIRLINE TICKETS FOR 6 TERRORISTS TO FLY TO YEMEN, DELIVERED MONEY & CELL PHONES) The two-count plea-bargain unsealed [today] showed that Faris admitted giving material support to al Qaeda and to joining a conspiracy to commit new acts of terror. The plea document describes numerous, more serious offenses with which he was not charged, which may indicate he has become a cooperating witness. Papers in the case were unsealed [today] in Alexandria federal court by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who also presides over the case of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person yet charged with direct participation in the September 11 attacks. The plea document said Faris canceled plans for the bridge attack because security was too tight and its suspension cables did not seem vulnerable. Early this year, he dispatched a coded message that said, "The weather is too hot."
In addition to acting as a foot soldier who scouted targets, Faris admitted he bought 2,000 sleeping bags for al Qaeda terrorists and researched use of ultralight airplanes for the group.
He also said he disguised himself to visit a travel agent and obtain extensions on airline tickets for six al Qaeda agents' flights to Yemen, and delivered money and cell phones for the terrorist group. - "U.S. citizen secretly pleads guilty to scouting hit sites for al Qaeda ," by Frank J. Murray, Washington Times , 6/20/03
JUNE 15, 2003 : (FBI OFFICIALS SAY DR. AFIA SIDDIQUI IS STILL ON THE LOOSE - See NEWARK SMUGGLING PLOT / GAS STATION PLOT / BALTIMORE CELL) A Pakistani woman suspected of aiding al Qaeda operatives in a plot to blow up Baltimore gas stations is still at large, FBI officials said yesterday. Federal agents said they are looking for Aafia Siddiqui, 31, because she might have helped an al Qaeda member do reconnaissance on the gas stations. Mrs. Siddiqui is the first woman to be targeted by the FBI for possible involvement with the terrorist group led by Osama bin Laden.... Also yesterday, law enforcement sources told The Times that al Qaeda's plans in Baltimore never moved beyond preliminary stages. "It never got to a point where there was a plan in place," a source close to the case told The Times yesterday. "They knew enough about the underground tanks, the weak points and where to hit them ... but it was more informational than operational." ... The source also told The Times the terrorist plot never developed enough to target a specific gas station or series of locations. ------- "Suspect in terror plot still at large," By Jon Ward, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, June 16, 2003 ------- "Suspect in terror plot still at large," By Jon Ward, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, June 16, 2003
JUNE 23, 2003 : (NEWSWEEK REPORTS THAT AAFIA SIDDIQUI WAS ARRESTED IN PAKISTAN) The June 23, 2003, issue of Newsweek International has been exclusively devoted to the so-called Al Qaeda. The core of the issue is an article "Al Qaeda's Network in America". The article has three photographs of so-called Al Qaeda members - Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Dr Aafia Siddiqui and Ali S. Al Marri of Qatar who has studied in the US like Dr Siddiqui and had long gone back to his homeland. In this article, which has been authored by eight journalists who had access to FBI records, the only charge levelled against Dr Aafia Siddiqui is that "she rented a post-office box to help a former resident of Baltimore named Majid Khan (alleged Al Qaeda suspect) to help establish his US identity. She was also 'supposed' to support other Al Qaeda operatives as they entered the United States."
9) The article states that Dr Siddiqui was arrested in Pakistan contrary to the repeated statements of our [Pakistan's] interior minister. -- "Dr Aafia Siddiqui's disappearance," DAWN, 30 March 2004 , Tuesday, http://www.dawn.com/2004/03/30/letted.htm.
JULY 5, 2003 : (SAIFULLAH PARACHA ATTEMPTS TO FLY TO BANGKOK, THAILAND, BUT DISAPPEARS - See NEWARK SMUGGLING PLOT / GAS STATION PLOT / BALTIMORE CELL) Mr Paracha had cleared to board a Bangkok-bound flight of Thai Airways on July 5 by immigration authorities at the Karachi Airport, but his family claimed that he never reached Bangkok. -- "Saif Paracha detained at Bagram: ICRC," By Maqbool Ahmed, Sept. 4, 2003 , http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-9-2003_pg1_3
AUGUST 6, 2003 : (REPORT : UZAIR PARACHA WAS FINGERED BY KSM - See NEWARK SMUGGLING PLOT / GAS STATION PLOT / BALTIMORE CELL) A Pakistani man arrested by the FBI in New York City was fingered by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and could face charges of supporting terrorism in an effort to procure chemical weapons, it was reported yesterday.
Uzair Paracha, 23, who was arrested at his office in the Garment District by FBI agents in March and held as a material witness, will probably soon be indicted on charges of assisting a terror group with the purpose of obtaining a weapon of mass destruction, his lawyer, Anthony Ricco, said in interviews with CBS and CNN.
Ricco, a New York defense lawyer who has handled terrorism cases in the past, claimed Paracha was in New York to sell real estate to Pakistanis returning to their home country. But the FBI is investigating a possible link to al Qaeda and allegations he was trying to procure chemical weapons. Paracha's father, a clothing exporter in Pakistan who sends large containers of clothes to Newark, has recently been arrested in Pakistan, NBC News reported. - "TERRORIST TIE IN N.Y. CHEM BUST," by Brian Blomquist, New York Post , 8/06/03
DECEMBER 19, 2003 : (LAKHANI HAD OFFERED TO DELIVER A DIRTY BOMB) NEWARK -- A man already accused of supporting terrorists in a missile smuggling plot was indicted yesterday on charges that he also offered to deliver a "dirty bomb." In addition to shoulder-fired missiles, Hemant S. Lakhani also said he could get anti-aircraft guns, tanks, armored personnel carriers, radar systems and a "dirty bomb," U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said.(Excerpt) Read more at app.com ...Prosecutor: 'Dirty bomb' offered in missile plot The Asbury Park Press ^ | 12/19/03 | The Associated Press
DECEMBER 30, 2003 : (DR. AAFIA SIDDIQUI'S SISTER, DR. FAWZIA SIDDIQUI, INQUIRES ABOUT THE WHEREABOUTS OF HER SISTER) 10) On 30.12.03, Dr Fawzia Siddiqui, elder sister of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, saw Mr Faisal Saleh Hayat at Islamabad with Mr Ejazul Haq, MNA, regarding the whereabouts of Dr Aafia Siddiqui. Dr Fawzia Siddiqui is a neurologist, studied at and did her doctorate in the US. She was head of the neurology department at Johns Hopkins. Mr Faisal Saleh Hayat told Dr Fawzia and Mr Ejazul Haq that according to his information Dr Aafia Siddiqui had already been released and that Dr Fawzia Siddiqui should go home and wait for some phone call from her sister. But, alas, that phone call has not yet come (third week of March 2004) and the whole family of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, including the author of these lines [S. H. Faruqi], are in a state of severe mental torture. -- "Dr Aafia Siddiqui's disappearance," DAWN, 30 March 2004 , Tuesday, http://www.dawn.com/2004/03/30/letted.htm