Review the Week, then watch your hospitals.

Dirty Bomb Warning For Olympics

Posted: 21 May 2008 10:01 AM CDT


The Beijing Olympics in August could be a target for terrorists using radioactive materials, the UN nuclear watchdog has told the BBC.

The International Atomic Energy Agency says a group might try to release radioactivity at an Olympic venue, possibly using a “dirty bomb”.

However, the IAEA says there is no specific information suggesting an imminent attack on the Beijing games.

The IAEA warning comes as it conducts a training exercise in China’s capital.

London Threat

The agency says intelligence shows that terrorists are trying to obtain nuclear materials.

Its concern is that they might try to use a “dirty bomb” with conventional explosives in Beijing.

“There is a threat at some level that these [radioactive] materials could be used,” said Dr Anita Nilsson, the IAEA’s head of nuclear security.

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Traveler Packed Pepper Spray, 9 TSA Agents at San Jose Airport Doused

Posted: 22 May 2008 02:47 AM CDT

Nine federal employees got doused with a potent shot of pepper spray at San Jose’s airport today when a can of the irritant that a passenger had packed in a bag was inadvertently discharged.

Rich Dressler, spokesman for the Mineta San Jose International Airport, said two Transportation Security Administration employees were taken to Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara for treatment. The remaining seven TSA agents, he said, were evaluated at the scene by San Jose firefighters and paramedics, and deemed to be OK.

It all started about 10:45 a.m. when a passenger was going through a security checkpoint at Terminal C. As the passenger was putting a bag on the X-ray table, the passenger remembered mistakenly packing a can of pepper spray. The passenger alerted the TSA agents. As one of the agents removed the hazardous spray and put it into a bin, it discharged, spraying the agents’ eyes and faces, said TSA spokesman Nico Melendez. Authorities provided conflicting reports about the passenger’s gender. A fire captain at the scene said it was a man, but police reported that it was a woman.

None of the flying public was affected.

Service at the airport wasn’t severely disrupted. Security screening continued. And the unnamed pepper spray-carrying passenger continued on his trip.

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IRA Dissidents Plant Firebombs in McDonald’s Restaurant in Northern Ireland

Posted: 22 May 2008 02:01 AM CDT

Workers at a McDonald’s restaurant in Northern Ireland discovered two firebombs Wednesday in the latest effort by IRA dissidents to undermine peace in the British territory, police said.

Police Inspector Sue Steen said both firebombs were hidden Tuesday night in the diaper-changing room of the restaurant in the central Northern Ireland town of Cookstown.

Staff members were alerted to the location of the firebombs because one partly ignited overnight in a garbage can. The other apparently was a dud.

“It doesn’t bear thinking about what might have happened if the restaurant had been filled with people, or someone was in the room with a baby, when they went off,” Steen said.

The failed firebombing appeared to be the latest effort by Irish Republican Army dissidents to show they reject the IRA’s 2005 decisions to renounce violence and disarm.

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Gaithersburg Man Arrested for Explosives, Weapons

Posted: 22 May 2008 02:01 AM CDT


Montgomery County Police say they have arrested a Gaithersburg man after recovering weapons and explosives from his home Wednesday.

James L. Boka , 47, was arrested without incident when investigators served a warrant at his home on Turtle Dove Terrace.

Bomb squad investigators recovered over 230 lbs. of 46 different chemicals commonly used to make explosives.

Boka has been charged with 11 counts of possession of destructive devices, 2 counts of Reckless Endangerment, and one count of weapon endangerment to a minor. More weapons-related charges are pending.

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Jordan Militants Sentenced For Plotting Chemical Attack

Posted: 22 May 2008 01:06 AM CDT

Eight al-Qaida-linked militants were handed life sentences on Wednesday three in absentia for plotting a 2004 chemical attack on the U.S. Embassy and other sites in the kingdom.

The men — alleged associates of slain al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — had been sentenced to death in a previous trial in 2006. But an appeals court overturned those sentences because the prosecutor was apparently one of the plot’s targets.

The men were arrested in 2004, weeks ahead of what prosecutors called a sophisticated plot to set off a cloud of toxic chemicals that could have killed tens of thousands of people. At that point the plan was in an “advanced stage,” with chemicals, weapons and vehicles already in place, according to an indictment.

Al-Zarqawi had given the men more than $118,000 to finance the plot, it said. If carried out, it would have been one of the first known chemical attacks by al-Qaida-linked militants.

The targets included the U.S. Embassy in the capital Amman, the prime minister’s office and the intelligence service’s headquarters.

The men all pleaded not guilty.

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Phony Doctor Caught On Tape At Children’s Hospital - Florida

Posted: 22 May 2008 12:54 AM CDT

A man seen walking the halls of a Jacksonville children’s hospital with a medical coat, a badge, a stethoscope and a clipboard is no doctor, according to police. Now, officers are asking for the public’s help identifying and locating the phony physician.

The imposter was caught on surveillance video photo at Wolfson Children’s Hospital, but police said they have no idea who he is or why he was in the hospital.

“It concerns us that someone is doing this,” said Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ken Jefferson.

Police said they have a lot of questions for the man they said was posing as a doctor. They said the man was seen walking down the halls of Wolfson and was even seen in an operating room.

“It’s not clear as to how he was able to get in, but there’s so many legitimate doctors and nurses coming and going it’s really hard to keep up with that and monitor. I’m sure you can piggyback someone else going in. Who’s going to challenge a doctor?” Jefferson said.

According to the police report, the phony doctor was stopped by hospital staff members because they noticed alcohol coming from his breath. However, as soon as they started asking questions, the man left.

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Swedish Nuclear Plant Sealed Off - Worker Caught With Traces of TATP Explosives - 2 In Custody

Posted: 21 May 2008 06:38 AM CDT

UPDATE: Sweden Police Hold Two on Nuclear Sabotage Suspicion

Swedish police detained two people on suspicion of planning sabotage against the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant in the country’s southeast.

Two people are in custody, Kalmar county police spokesman Sven-Erik Karlsson said today in an interview. One of the people, a male contract welder, was caught in a security check at the plant after traces of explosives were found on a carrying bag, according to operator OKG AB. Karlsson declined to comment on the identity of the other person, also a contract employee.

Police are investigating the substance, which may have carried traces of triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, according to OKG, Karlsson said. Part of the E.ON AG-owned plant was sealed off, without disrupting operations.

OKG contacted police shortly before 8 a.m. local time after three tests showed traces of a high-explosive substance, Karlsson said. Bomb specialists from Malmoe in southern Sweden have been called in to aid the investigation.

“OKG has told us they think it is TATP, but until our bomb technicians get there and analyze the substance we don’t know for sure,” Karlsson said.

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A nuclear power plant in southern Sweden was cordoned off Wednesday following the discovery of explosive materials, local media reported.

A welder was caught with the highly explosive substance TATP Wednesday morning on his way to the Oskarshamn plant, local police spokesperson Sven-Erik Karlsson said. “We understand that it isn’t something he needed for the job,” he said.

According to Karlsson, the incident did not affected the nuclear plant’s operation. The welder was questioned by police, but he couldn’t explain why he had TATP with him on his way to the plant.

An area of 300 meters in circumference around the explosive substance has been cordoned off. Police bomb technicians have been sent to the scene, but it will take a few hours to remove the substance.

Roger Bergman, a spokesperson from the Oskarshamn plant, said a building in the vicinity of the TATP has been evacuated. “At 8am (local time) we received a call from the nuclear plant at Oskarshamn. They told us one worker was stopped in the control. He had explosive material in his bags,” Sven-Erik Karlsson of the Kalmar county police said.

The company that operates the Oskarshamn plant, OKG, meanwhile said the man’s bags contained “no visible illegal substances” but routine tests at the entrance to the plant “detected traces of explosives.”

Mr Karlsson said the man, who was being interrogated by police, was a welder hired for temporary purposes, but could provide no further details on his age nor his background.

“The explosive material has been taken care of by … police and apparently it is highly explosive, probably TATP,” Mr Karlsson said.

TATP is relatively easy to make and has surfaced in a number of recent terrorism investigations, including bombings in the Middle East and the London bombings in July 2005.

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This is a breaking news story and details could change. We will continue to monitor and update as more information becomes available.

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