http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-08-08-militants-threats_x.htm Posted 8/8/2005 10:23 PM Movement of militants feeds fears By John Diamond, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence has been tracking suspected Saudi militants moving from Iraq back to Saudi Arabia amid new warnings Monday that terrorists could strike against Western embassies in the oil-rich kingdom. As yet, intelligence has not linked the flow of militants to a specific target or attack, U.S. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Steven Boylan said in an e-mail from Baghdad. But the movement of militants coincides with a flurry of terrorism alerts in Saudi Arabia: . The British Embassy in Saudi Arabia warned Monday of "credible reports that terrorists are in the final stages of planning attacks," according to a notice posted on the embassy's Web site. . The State Department closed all U.S. diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia on Monday because of "ongoing security concerns," according to its Web site. . Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs issued a warning to travelers to avoid Saudi Arabia because of intelligence pointing to "attacks in Saudi Arabia in the near future." The price of oil closed at a record-high $63.94 a barrel Monday. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest exporter of oil. U.S. intelligence has monitored an increase in threat indications in the week since the Aug. 1 death of Saudi King Fahd, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official with access to daily intelligence reports. The threat indications have come from the intelligence services of allies in the region, information collected by U.S. forces in Iraq and intercepted communications. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the reports are classified. So far, Boylan said, the return of militants to their native country is a "standard flow" based on "their internal dynamics" including "the amount of time a fighter has spent in Iraq, getting him home to family, etc." Boylan said it was "too early to see" whether recent movements can be tied to the death of King Fahd or to plans for a new round of attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia. "The terrorists are likely trying to determine what, if anything will change as a result of the change in Saudi leadership," Boylan said. That's one interpretation. But the senior intelligence official said he sees the flow back to Saudi Arabia - coinciding with the information from interrogations and uptick in chatter - as an indication that allies of the terrorist group al-Qaeda are preparing violent attacks. An influx of foreign fighters into Iraq has been a major concern as the insurgency goes on. A key issue in the Iraq war has been securing Iraq's long and unpatrolled borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, all predominantly Sunni countries where concern about the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government runs high. The senior intelligence official said U.S. authorities have learned about the movement of some Saudi militants from Iraq back to Saudi Arabia through interrogations of captured insurgents. Contributing: Wire reports ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> <font face=arial size=-1><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12hjv9m6b/M=362329.6886306.7839369.3040540/D=groups/S=1705323667:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1123609145/A=2894321/R=0/SIG=11dvsfulr/*http://youthnoise.com/page.php?page_id=1992 ">Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back!</a>.</font> --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
