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Extremist Internet forums discussed blowing up planes three weeks before the Detroit attempt -- and have also discussed ways of using deadly biological agents onboard planes. A private Israeli intelligence company told ABC News Monday there was a surge of online discussions in extremist Islamic forums about blowing up planes three weeks before Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempt to bring down Northwest Flight 253. The discussions recommended using "improvised detonation chain" devices, exactly like the one used onboard the Detroit-bound flight. The company has also tracked specific -- and in its view -- credible plans to attack planes using deadly biological...

"The Twitter Opera" will join 140-character Twitter messages into a libretto set to familiar opera tunes and new music by composer Helen Porter. The two singers, an experienced baritone and a soprano both in their mid 30s, will be announced next week. The Royal Opera House is inviting contributions to the plot on its #youropera Twitter page. Contributions are being published on the Royal Opera House blog. The story begins: "One morning, very early, a man and a woman were standing, arm-in-arm, in London’s Covent Garden. The man turned to the woman and he sang…" Act One, Scene One has...

Any one heard of threats for oct 7. HomelandSecurityUS is reporting on chatter. Internet searches have a few other blogs discussing it.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German authorities called on Friday for increased vigilance against possible terror attacks and said the kind of threat detected before the September 11, 2001 suicide hijackings in the United States had resurfaced. Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the threat was "serious" and suicide attacks were possible on German soil. The present situation recalled the summer of 2001 "when obscure threats surfaced which, as we know, became reality", said Deputy Interior Minister August Hanning. "We are seeing evidence that some action is planned in (the Afghanistan and Pakistan region) but also further afield, in Europe and in the...

Britain's MI-5 intelligence service and Scotland Yard had been tracking the plot for several months, but only in the past two weeks had the plotters' planning begun to crystallize, senior U.S. officials tell TIME. In the two or three days before the arrests, the cell was going operational, and authorities were pressed into action. MI5 and Scotland Yard agents tracked the plotters from the ground, while a knowledgeable American official says U.S. intelligence provided London authorities with intercepts of the group's communications

WASHINGTON – There is a high likelihood of a major terrorist attack next Sunday, say international terror analysts and intelligence sources. The warning is made on the basis of several factors, according to Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin: * There is increased "chatter" in the terrorist world about a major new attack in the West – a sign often leading to an impending strike; * The date Feb. 5 has been specifically referenced in some of this chatter; * The date is significant to Osama bin Laden; * Much of the western world will be watching television that day; * The...

The FBI's backlog of untranslated audio recordings from terrorism and espionage investigations grew markedly in the past year, the Justice Department's internal watchdog said Wednesday. The FBI is capturing and reviewing more conversations than ever in languages associated with terrorists, Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said in a report. "The FBI's collection of audio material continues to outpace its ability to review and translate all that material," Fine said. His findings were similar in a July 2004 audit, except that he said the FBI now does a better job prioritizing its translation work. Fine released his report at an FBI...

(Washington-AP, Jan. 6, 2005 4:03 PM) _ U.S. intelligence monitors are picking up less terror threat talk than a year ago, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Thursday. A variety of factors could be contributing to the lull, Ridge said, and he warned that terrorists "are strategic actors and long-range planners" who could be merely lying low before striking again. "There certainly is a diminution, reduction in the amount of intelligence, and the decibel level is lower," Ridge told reporters, comparing information picked up over the past several months to the similar period a year ago. Ridge offered no single...

A DROP in so-called 'chatter' among suspected terrorists is raising concern among United States counter-terrorism officials, who noticed a similar fall in intercepted communications prior to the Sept 11 terror attacks. US government sources told CNN that security experts are still trying to fathom the reason for the troubling ebb in recent days. While there have been several similar quiet episodes in the past, the 'chatter' continued as before even after the mid-July arrest of key Al-Qaeda suspect Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan by Pakistani security forces, which was announced last week. The fall-off in chatter comes at a sensitive time...

(CNN) -- A drop in so-called "chatter" among suspected terrorists is troubling some counterterrorism officials, who noticed a reduction in intercepted communications before the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, government sources said.

The Jihadist MutationThe Jihadist Mutation The coordinated train bombings in Madrid that killed 200 and injured roughly 1,600 have already had a greater impact on the world than any terrorist attack since 9/11, altering Europe's political structure, shaking global financial markets and unsettling the U.S. coalition in Iraq. While the only groups to have claimed responsibility say they represent al-Qaeda, and the attacks are clearly consistent with jihadist doctrine and aims, operating in al-Qaeda's name does not mean that Osama bin Laden commands or controls. For the last year, jihadist writings about Spain have focused on the outgoing Spanish government's...

Intelligence agencies are investigating a series of internet warnings, said to be issued by al-Qaeda, about major attacks on the United States. Messages posted on several Islamist websites include claims that an entire city could be destroyed. One message warns of an attack stronger than that of nuclear weapons. BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner looks at the significance of the messages. What sort of messages are being posted on websites? The vast majority of messages being posted on Arabic-language internet chartrooms consist of innocent banter, often between bored teenagers. But on certain 'jihadi' (ie extremist) sites there is a plethora...

WorldThreats.com Monthly Analysis: December 2003 Compiled By: Ryan Mauro tdcanalyst@optonline.net Over the course of December, there were many developments that shook the world. From the capture of Saddam Hussein to the apparent change of heart by Muammar Qadhafi of Libya, it is now becoming apparent that the War on Terrorism is taking new shape. This new periodic analysis will discuss the developments of each period of time in the title, and try to tie things in together. War on Terrorism Despite the obvious success in the War on Terror, we remain on high alert. Understandably, the Bush Administration is not...

LONDON (Reuters) - Cyber investigators are scouring the World Wide Web for clues on any future suicide bomb attacks, deploying satellites and other high-tech wizardry to hone in on suspicious Web surfing activity. Intelligence officials had warned some kind of attack would occur in Saudi Arabia before Sunday's suicide bomb blast in Riyadh after finding evidence on anonymous postings on Arabic Web sites and other forms of Internet chatter. The strike killed at least 18 people and wounded 120 others. "The Internet is a very useful open source for investigators. But as with any unattributable piece of information, tips must...

Analyists have found a significant number of posts, intercepted chats, and other data that indicates an attack is being prepared against the US, promising to equal or ecllipse the events of 9/11 and possibly involve weapons of mass destruction.Although we cannot provide all of the interceot we have found, we offer a sampling below. An increase in instructional Internet postings to operatives on methods to build explosive devices and detonators for use in the attacks against America. Instructions on how to fill medicine capsules with highly flammable and explosive material and carry them on to airplanes have also been found.Through...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency has raised its warning of possible terror attack against military facilities and bases in the United States to its highest level, defense officials said on Wednesday. Responding to a change in threat warning from "significant" to "high," the military has decided to deploy additional anti-aircraft missile systems and increase air patrols in the Washington area, according to the officials who asked not to be identified. The DIA warning was issued late on Tuesday as the U.S. government raised its general terror alert status to the second-highest level, citing the risk of attacks...

CNN flashing alert. More details to follow. Could be a drudge like siren, or series. CNN thinks this one is serious.

An al-Qaeda cell believed to have fled Saudi Arabia for the United States or Europe shortly before the recent Riyadh bombings has sparked fears of an imminent attack on American soil. A high volume of "chatter" - intelligence intercepts - has intensified fears of new attacks and is close to the level of communications intercepted before the strikes against the Riyadh compounds, a high-ranking Saudi official said. The unnamed official said there had been at least three al-Qaeda cells with about 50 hard-core operatives in the kingdom before the bombings. He acknowledged that there was a much wider circle of...

THE first evidence that some of Saddam Hussein’s followers believe he is dead has emerged from intercepted communications between senior officials in the toppled regime, according to American intelligence sources. Electronic eavesdropping on Iraqi telephone links has for the first time picked up references to Saddam’s death. Iraqi officials began referring to him in the past tense after last Monday’s bombing of a property in the Baghdad district of al-Mansour where the dictator was believed to be at the time. Several American officials cautioned yesterday that the evidence was not conclusive, and the telephone conversations may have been a ruse...

From the Fox News Scroll: Some soldiers and marines stepping up Chem, Bio preparations colation forces move closer to Baghdad. Defense officials say increased "Chatter" suggests Iraqi forces may be planning to unleash chem weapong once coalition troops push into Baghdad Red Zone. Centcom says US very careful in target selection because regime known to keep weapon cashes in schools, hospitals depite intl laws of armed conflict.

The nation was on high alert last week because of what officials and security experts said was a surge in intercepted communications — "chatter" — among suspected Qaeda operatives. Although officials said the intercepts indicated that terrorists might have moved closer to an attack, there was still not enough detail on who, when and where. This is frustrating as well as terrifying. But once you understand the technology, it is clear why they call it "chatter" and why it is so hard to make sense of.

It has come to our attention that DoD decals have gone missing from a mulitiude of personally owned vehicles. This has not been happening in one particular location either. Theft reports of these base entry stickers have filtered in from a number of areas across the country.We don't know to what extent this has been reported or dealt with, but we felt it was important enough to put the word out as a warning, a brainstorm topic and a request for action. We have to consider the fact that not all installations have been hit as hard as others.Therefore reports...

Northcom sees imminent attack      The new U.S. Northern Command issued a warning on Wednesday that a terrorist attack was imminent.      The classified intelligence notice said the warning was put out in response to the latest audiotape purportedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The tape warned the United States and its allies that "you will be killed just as you kill, and will be bombed just as you bomb."      Additionally, the Northcom warning was based on electronic intelligence gathered from around the world indicating that some type of terrorist action would take place.      The warning, as in the past,...

WASHINGTON – Justice Department officials confirmed Thursday that electronic intercepts of communications by suspected al-Qaeda operatives have recently hit their highest level ever. "We have never seen this high level of the so-called 'chatter' by al-Qaeda guys," said one senior law enforcement source. "There's more of this stuff than we've ever seen before." The confirmation of an increase in suspected al-Qaeda communications came just after U.S. intelligence officials said that a tape released Tuesday by an Arabic-language network was likely the voice of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and recorded in the past two weeks. Bin Laden was last heard...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Government agents have recently uncovered numerous calls from difficult-to-track prepaid cell phones, Internet-based phone service, prepaid phone cards and public pay phones in the United States to known al-Qaida locations overseas, federal officials said. The calls are one piece of a growing body of evidence pointing to the presence of suspected members of terrorist sleeper cells operating on U.S. soil, and a growing sophistication on their part to keep their communications secret, the officials said. The officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the effort to follow the phone call trail has involved numerous federal...