-Caveat Lector- 'Shoe-bomb suspect wasn't working alone' AFP Washington, December 25
http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/261201/dlfor11.asp -------------------------------------------------------------------- Evidence is mounting that a man who allegedly attempted to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight was equipped with explosive devices so sophisticated that it is unlikely he was working alone. The man, identified by a British passport as Richard Colvin Reid, 28, was overpowered by passengers and crew on Saturday as he attempted to ignite his shoes with a match during an American Airlines flight between Paris and Miami on Saturday. A Massachusetts state official told The Boston Globe that a substance mixed in with the material stashed in Reid's shoes would have led to its detonation had it been exposed longer to a flame, such as a cigarette lighter. "The belief is now that if he had a lighter and not a match, the thing would have detonated," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous. "They're trying to find out as much as they can, as fast as they can about the guy." According to the Globe report, a preliminary examination of Reid's black suede basketball sneakers found small amounts of explosive material in both, plus rope-like material known as detonator cord. The sneakers were hollowed out slightly on the inside to accommodate the explosive, with each one marked by drill holes from which a detonator cord emerged, the Globe reported. French police said earlier this week, citing unnamed US investigators, that about 200 grammes (under half a pound) of pentrite, a hard-to-manufacture substance often used as a detonator in military ordnance was used in the devices. Although earlier accounts said the effect of a blast would have been similar to that of many anti-personnel mines, and thus unlikely to have blown up the Boeing 767, the potential scenario could have been much worse. "The gravity of the situation is becoming more and more serious as time goes on," the state official said. FBI special agent Charles Prouty, asked whether the probe had established whether Reid acted alone, said: "We are considering every possibility." A report Wednesday in British daily The Times said Reid could be linked with alleged terror mastermind Osama bin Laden. The paper cited the fact Reid worshipped at a London mosque also attended by a suspected conspirator in the September 11 attacks on America, Zacarias Moussaoui, a 33-year-old French national of Moroccan descent. The leader of the Brixton Mosque, in southwest London, told The Times that Reid was incapable of acting alone and was probably on a test mission for a new terrorist technique. Reid, a mixed-race Briton whose father is Jamaican and mother English, was identified after his fingerprints were sent by the FBI to British police, The Times said. He has a string of convictions for street crimes such as muggings, and is believed to have served time in a number of prisons, the newspaper added. In his first federal court appearance Monday in Boston in relation to the shoe explosives incident, Reid was formally charged with intimidation and interfering with a flight crew. He is due to appear in court again Friday. The tall, long-haired suspect was confirmed by British authorities Tuesday as having British nationality. He has alternately identified himself to US authorities as Sri Lanka-born Tariq Raja, born in 1973, and as Abdel Rahim, a name reflecting his conversion to Islam, French police have said. Mosque chairman AbdulHaqq Baker told The Times that Reid, who arrived at the mosque as a worshipper several years ago and was known as Abdel Rahim, had at one stage stopped communicating with his family after leaving for Pakistan. Baker said Reid could have been a "testing ground" for the explosives technique. Both Reid and Moussaoui appear to have been targeted by London-based extremists who encouraged them to challenge the teachings of Brixton Mosque, which condemns terrorism, suicide bombings and Osama bin Laden. A new directive issued late Sunday by US federal aviation authorities tells airport and airline authorities to tighten security, following on from a December 11 advisory by the agency warning of the possibility that would-be bombers might try and stash explosives in their shoes. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send your FREE holiday greetings online! http://greetings.yahoo.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
