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Russia: Islamist Terrorists Arrested in South
December 26, 2006
News from Interfax, Itar-Tass, UPI and Associated Press:

Astrakhan lies in the south of Russia, in the Volga delta, close to where the river empties into the Caspian Sea. It is about 250 miles from Chechnya. Today, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB, a successor to the KGB) announced that six individuals have been arrested in the city. Burned by Tamurlane in the 13th century, about half of the population is Muslim.

They are said to belong to a group called Jamaat of Muwahids (company of Mujahideen), which is assumed to follow the strict outlook of Wahhabism. The six men, aged between 22 and 24, are claimed by the FSB of plotting a terror attack on New Year's Eve. Details of this attack have not been given.

Searches conducted at the homes of the suspects have recovered a home-made bomb, a sawn-off hunting rifle, ammunition, and a hand grenade. Additionally large amounts of extremist propaganda has been found, including printed matter, CDs and audio and video tapes.

The searches and arrests took place after tip-offs that the men were raising funds and had extremist literature. This is the first such case to be recorded from Astrakhan and its surrounding region.

http://www.westernresistance.com/

Australia doubles its spy numbers since 2001
28 December 2006

An influx of Chinese spies has forced Australia's home espionage agency into a recruiting drive to counter the threat as well as that posed by Muslim extremists, a newspaper report said on Thursday.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) has doubled the number of foreign-language speakers in its ranks since 2004, with most newcomers fluent in Chinese, the Australian daily reported, citing unnamed sources.

Excerpted

http://www.peterboroughnow.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=1946895&SectionID=5055