Interpol alert on jail breaks: Did Al Qaeda free hundreds of terror suspects?

Washington: Interpol issued a global alert on Saturday asking member countries to help track hundreds of terrorism suspects who escaped in a wave of prison breaks over the past month - including in Iraq, Pakistan and Libya - and requesting assistance in determining whether any of the operations "are coordinated or linked."

The alert from Interpol, the global police organization, came two days after the State Department ordered nearly two dozen diplomatic facilities closed in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia based on intelligence that an affiliate of al Qaeda in Yemen might be plotting attacks in the coming days.

On Saturday, several European governments said they too were temporarily closing their outposts in Yemen.
It is unclear how the Interpol and State Department alerts might be connected, although the Interpol notice did refer to the State Department closings and stated that Interpol would be "prioritizing all information and intelligence in relation to the breakouts or terrorist plots."

US and foreign officials believe Al Qaeda's Iraq affiliate orchestrated coordinated attacks in late July that freed hundreds of inmates from two prisons in Iraq, including Abu Ghraib. The attackers used mortars to pin down Iraqi forces, employed suicide bombers to punch holes in Iraqi defenses and then sent an assault force to free the inmates, Western officials said at the time.

A few days later, more than 1,000 prisoners escaped under murky circumstances at a prison near Benghazi, Libya. The country's prime minister blamed local residents for carrying out the jail break, an accusation that was disputed by security officials in Benghazi.

In a separate attack at a century-old prison at Dera Ismail Khan, just outside Pakistan's tribal belt, as many as 150 fighters blew holes in the perimeter wall and stormed the prison compound. The local authorities said some of the attackers were disguised as police officers, and they used megaphones to call out the names of specific prisoners. Nearly 250 inmates were freed during the attack.

The Interpol alert added to a climate of heightened concern set off Thursday when State Department officials spoke of possible terror plots in the works against Western facilities overseas.

day, the department issued a global travel alert for US citizens that warned of the potential for terror attacks by operatives of Al Qaeda and affiliated groups from Sunday through the end of August.

In an interview with the ABC News program "This Week" to be broadcast on Sunday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E Dempsey, said the intelligence about the possible plots was "more specific" than in the past. "There's a significant threat stream and we're reacting to it," he said.

Senior Obama administration officials met at the White House on Saturday afternoon to discuss the latest information about the threat. Led by Susan E Rice, the national security adviser, the meeting was attended by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel; Secretary of State John Kerry; the CIA director, John O Brennan; and other officials. Obama administration officials have spoken optimistically in recent months about a generally diminished terror threat, and during a speech in May, President Barack Obama said Al Qaeda and its affiliate groups had been eviscerated by US counterterrorism operation.

Still, the administration continues to wage an aggressive drone war in Pakistan and Yemen, and monitoring groups said that there had been three US strikes in Yemen in the past week.

France, Germany and Britain on Saturday announced the temporary closings of their embassies in Sanaa, Yemen, citing fears of unspecified attacks on their interests there. A representative of the British Foreign Office called the closure a "precautionary measure," the BBC reported.

In France, President Francois Hollande spoke of specific threats but gave no additional details.

"I've decided to close the embassy of France in Yemen because, now, we've had elements that allowed us to think that these threats were extremely serious," Hollande told reporters Saturday. He did not specify the source or nature of the information concerning potential attacks.

The closure is expected to last "several days," Hollande said, adding that French officials and citizens should be particularly "vigilant" in coming weeks if traveling in countries where terror groups are known to operate.

The Interpol alert issued Saturday cited coming anniversaries of past terror attacks, including this week's 15th anniversary of the US Embassy bombings in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which killed more than 200 people and wounded 4,000 others.


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More embassies announce closures




PARIS, Aug 3, (Agencies): Interpol issued a global security alert on Saturday advising its members to increase their vigilance against attacks after a series of prison breaks in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan that the agency is investigating to determine if they were linked. The Lyon, France-based Interpol said given that al-Qaeda  was suspected to be involved in some of the incidents, it was asking its 190 member countries to watch out for information connected to the prison breaks, with an aim to determine whether they were coordinated and also locate the escaped prisoners. On Friday, the United States issued a worldwide travel alert warning Americans that al-Qaeda  may be planning attacks in August, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.


The State Department travel alert was based on the same intelligence that prompted it to close 21 US embassies and consulates on Sunday, Aug. 4, chiefly those in the Muslim world, a US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.


Britain said it would close its embassy in Yemen on Sunday and Monday. “We are particularly concerned about the security situation in the final days of Ramadan and into Eid,” the Foreign Office said in a statement, referring to the Muslim holy month which ends on Wednesday.


France also plans to close its embassy in Yemen on Sunday, a spokesman for the foreign ministry said.


Prison breaks took place in Pakistan on July 31 in a Taleban-led operation, and in Iraq at the Abu Ghraib prison overnight on July 22. Some 500 convicts, among them senior al-Qaeda  operatives, escaped from Abu Ghraib.


More than 1,100 inmates broke out of a prison on the outskirts of Benghazi on July 27.


Interpol also noted that August was the anniversary of several violent attacks over the past years, including in Mumbai and Nairobi.


“Staff at INTERPOL’s 24-hour Command and Coordination Centre and other specialized units are ... prioritizing all information and intelligence in relation to the breakouts or terrorist plots in order to immediately inform relevant member countries of any updates,” the agency in a statement.


Washington ordered its embassies across the Islamic world temporarily closed, while Germany, Britain and France were to shut their missions in Yemen for at least two days.


Interpol said it suspected al-Qaeda was involved in recent jailbreaks across nine countries, including Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.
The global police agency said the jailbreaks “led to the escape of hundreds of terrorists and other criminals” in the past month alone and issued a security alert.


It has also asked its 190 member countries to help “determine whether any of these recent events are coordinated and linked” and to immediately convey any intelligence which could help prevent another attack.


The Interpol alert comes the day after Washington’s worldwide travel warning, citing unspecified plans by al-Qaeda to strike US interests in the Middle East or North Africa in August.


Interpol, based in Lyon in central eastern France, noted that August is the anniversary of attacks in India, Russia and Indonesia.


This week also marks the 15th anniversary of the US embassy bombings in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania that killed more than 200 mostly African citizens and injured thousands.


Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey told ABC News that the threats were directed at Western interests, and were “more specific” than previous threats.


While an exact target was unknown, “the intent seems clear. The intent is to attack Western, not just US, interests,” Dempsey said in an interview for the program “This Week”.


As a precaution, the State Department said it was closing at least 22 US embassies or consulates on Sunday, a work day in many Islamic countries.


Germany and Britain later announced that their embassies in Yemen would be closed Sunday and Monday, while France said its mission there would stay shut for “several days”.


US President Barack Obama ordered his national security team to “take all appropriate steps to protect the American people,” a White House official said.


He had been “updated on a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula” and would continue to be updated through the weekend.


“Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August,” the State Department said in the worldwide travel alert for US citizens.


The attacks were possible “particularly in the Middle East and north Africa, and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula.”


The alert warned of “the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure.”


Hours after the US alert was issued, an audio recording was posted on militant Islamist forums in which al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri accused the United States of “plotting” with Egypt’s military, secularists and Christians to overthrow Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.


In his first public comment on the July 3 military coup, the Egyptian-born Zawahiri said: “Crusaders and secularists and the Americanised army have converged ... with Gulf money and American plotting to topple Mohamed Morsi’s government.”


Zawahiri, who belonged to the militant Egyptian Islamic Jihad group and is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan or Pakistan, criticised Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement for going soft on applying strict Islamic law.


Unnamed US officials told The New York Times that the warning was prompted after US officials intercepted electronic communications during the week among senior al-Qaeda operatives who discussed strikes on US interests in the Muslim world.


“This was a lot more than the usual chatter,” one senior US official briefed on the information told the Times.


The United States has been especially cautious about security since an attack on its consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11 last year.


The assault blamed on Islamist militants killed four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens.


Republicans have accused the Obama administration of failing to ensure adequate security at the Benghazi consulate.


Under Obama, US forces in 2011 killed al-Qaeda’s fugitive leader Osama bin Laden in a secret raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.



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US, UK and France shut embassies after security chiefs spot threat from Yemeni terror group By Judith Duffy and Rafiq Shirzad in Jalalabad

Sunday 4 August 2013


INTERPOL has issued a worldwide security alert over a series of al-Qaeda linked prison breakouts amid fears of an imminent terrorist attack.

The international police agency advised states to increase vigilance after the prison breaks in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan in the past month.

It follows a worldwide travel alert from the United States to American citizens, warning al-Qaeda could be planning attacks in August, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.

The US has also closed 21 embassies and consulates that would normally be open today, the first day of the working week in Muslim countries, including those in Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The British embassy in Yemen will be kept closed today and tomorrow due to "increased security concerns".

France will also close its embassy in Yemen for several days. French President Francois Hollande said yesterday: "We have elements that lead us to believe that the threat is very serious and other countries have also taken similar steps."

Prison breaks took place in ­Pakistan on July 31 in a Taliban-led operation. Around 500 convicts, including senior al-Qaeda operatives, also escaped from Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison overnight on July 22.

More than 1100 inmates broke out of a prison on the outskirts of Benghazi in Libya on July 27.

In a statement issued from its headquarters in Lyon, France, Interpol said al-Qaeda involvement was suspected in several breakouts.

It requested help "to determine whether any of these recent events are co-ordinated or linked".

The alert noted that Wednesday marks the 15th anniversary of the US Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya, which killed more than 200 and injured 4000, and brought al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden to notice for the first time.

The US is thought to have issued the worldwide travel alert after intercepting communications between senior al-Qaeda figures.
The State Department particularly warned of attacks in the Middle East and North Africa, possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula.

It said: "Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August."

Among the most prominent of al-Qaeda's affiliates is Yemen-based group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), whose attacks included the Christmas Day 2009 bid to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

US security sources said the current threat was related to AQAP. There was no specific target and and all Western interests were at risk.

The Foreign Office in the UK was yesterday advising against all travel to Yemen and "strongly urged" Britons to leave the country, as it is "extremely unlikely" that their evacuation could be arranged if the security situation deteriorates.

UK embassies in Arab states have been advised to exercise "extra vigilance" in the run-up to the Muslim festival of Eid on Thursday.

l Nine people, including children, were killed in a suicide bomb at an Indian consulate in Afghanistan yesterday. Most of the civilian victims were inside a mosque adjacent to the consulate in Jalalabad.

The Taliban denied it was responsible for yesterday's attack, which was close to Pakistan's border.

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Global police agency Interpol says it suspects Qaeda is involved in recent jailbreaks across nine countries, including Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

LYON - The global police agency Interpol on Saturday said it suspected Al-Qaeda was involved in recent jailbreaks across nine countries, including Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

Interpol said in a statement that the jailbreaks "led to the escape of hundreds of terrorists and other criminals" in the past month alone and issued a security alert.

It has also asked its 190 member countries to help "determine whether any of these recent events are coordinated and linked" and to immediately convey any intelligence which could help prevent another attack.

The Interpol alert comes the day after the United States issued a worldwide travel warning and ordered that its embassies across the Islamic world be temporarily closed due to unspecified plans by Al-Qaeda to strike US interests in the Middle East or North Africa in August.

Germany and Britain have also announced that their embassies in Yemen would be closed on Sunday and Monday for security reasons.

Interpol, based in the central eastern city of France, noted that August is the anniversary of attacks in India, Russia and Indonesia.

This week also marks the 15th anniversary of the US embassy bombings in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, that killed more than 200 mostly African citizens and injured thousands.

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