Beware of female bombers with pregnancy prosthetics

[Jolie Rouge]

[b]DHS : Bombers may use 'pregnancy prosthetics'
Monday, February 11, 2008 4:17 PM PT
By James Popkin, NBC News Senior Investigative Correspondent

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is reminding law-enforcement officials of the increased use of female suicide bombers worldwide, and warning that women terrorists might hide explosives in devices “that mimic the look of a pregnant woman.”

The unclassified DHS threat assessment, released Monday and obtained by NBC News, shows photographs of “pregnancy prosthetics,” hollowed-out devices that could hold explosive devices. The report says “female suicide bombers have used devices that make them appear pregnant to hide explosive devices.”

The DHS report states that terrorists are using female bombers more frequently, in part because these attacks generate “more widespread media exposure.” It adds: “Continued use of female suicide bombers-the most recent example being a 3 February 2008 attack at the main railway station in Colombo, Sri Lanka-indicates that terrorists judge this tactic as effective in increasing defenses and thwarting security measures.”

The report, marked “For Official Use Only,” is one of dozens of threat assessments issued jointly throughout the year by DHS and the FBI. The authors are quick to mention that there’s no immediate threat to the U.S. “DHS and the FBI have no specific, credible intelligence indicating that terrorist organizations intend to utilize female suicide bombers against targets in the Homeland,” they write.

The report ticks off several recent attacks by women bombers in Iraq and Sri Lanka, and the recruitment of female suicide bombers in Chechnya, India, Pakistan, the Palestinian territories and Turkey.

Why the increase in women bombers? “DHS and the FBI assess that female suicide bombers may have an advantage over their male counterparts in accessing targets. The means to conduct a suicide attack vary widely, but a key element in maximizing the lethality of a suicide bombing is the bomber’s ability to get close to the target,” the report states. “Female suicide bombers may carry explosives devices in a backpack, briefcase, or purse, or hidden in an article of clothing worn close to the body, such as a vest, belt, long socks, or jacket.”

http://deepbackground.msnbc.msn.com/...11/656670.aspx

Comments

OBGYN exams will now be required for all boarding passengers. In addition to removing shoes the curtained room on the side with exam table will be standard with all TSA checkpoints.
Reason has fled, let fear reign.
Mortissanguine (Monday, February 11, 2008 10:21 PM)


Good grief! I can't think of anything TSA can do about this that isn't either a hazard to a pregnant women's health or an invasion of privacy. Besides, do you know how many pregnant women fly in this country...and add to that obese women who look like they are pregnant? (It's embarrassing enough if someone asks you if you are pregnant when you are not!)
Lorraine Levine, Arlington, TX (Monday, February 11, 2008 10:44 PM)

Homeland security is this the same Homeland security responsible for helping the Katrina victims? It took 3 days to get water to them.
Jimmy Bonds Saint Louis Mo. (Monday, February 11, 2008 10:45 PM)

Keep giving them new ideas, I liked the story on how easy it is to poison the food supply that ran a couple weeks back, radical terrorists don't monitor the internet at all
David M Ryder Las Vegas (a major target) NV
davesgood@msn.com (Monday, February 11, 2008 10:48 PM)

thank you for continuing the scare tactics DHS! WE don't need to live our lives without fear every day.
We appreciate your daily services!
</endsarcasm>
Brandon, Charleston, SC (Monday, February 11, 2008 10:50 PM)

what a bunch of baloney. this is all designed to scare us into giving up the rest of our civil liberties. go ron paul!
john doe, seatle wash. (Monday, February 11, 2008 10:54 PM)

So as a security measure at airports will us pregnant women be required to show our bellies?
Aline Viss, Plover WI (Monday, February 11, 2008 10:56 PM)

This is nothing new. Ask the Israelis on how the women are used as suicide bombers. They will tell you numerous accounts of attacks and victims going back at least 7 years ago! Suicide bombers are out to get the most murdered with the least effort. Culturally, women are not as suspect as men, especially if they "are pregnant".
Sarah from Brooklyn, NY (Monday, February 11, 2008 10:57 PM)

I think the most important thing to point out is that Where there is a will there is a way. While I feel (and I stress "I FEEL", this is my opinion) that there is no way to stop the people who wish to cause harm to others..It is good to know that the people tasked with protecting us, are noticing trends and possiblities. However slowly....
KAOS (Monday, February 11, 2008 11:00 PM)

"...female suicide bombers may have an advantage over their male counterparts in accessing targets."

The males, in fact, seem quite willing to relieve themselves of the duty of exploding.
Will, Raleigh, NC (Monday, February 11, 2008 11:01 PM)

oh lord now another reason to harass women and even pregnant ones Will they have to wear some tasteless Britney Spears fashion that bares their pregnancy now to the public?
And of course men wont try to hide something in their "backpack,briefcase....,vest, belt,long socks or jacket"? Yet over and over again its proven someone intentionally gets through with a weapon or knife as an experiment to expose the TSA's ineptness
Oh Please-just do the routine screenings like usual,try not to hire ex cons to be screeners and stop coming up with these stupid reports.The fear level is already at the highest and cannot be maxed out anymore.
no SeatteWA (Monday, February 11, 2008 11:01 PM)

What is the bottom level of depravity for these people? They could be using pregnant women as suicide bombers. What is next, babies with bombs in their diapers?
terrywhitecpa@charter.net (Monday, February 11, 2008 11:33 PM)


Sorry Terry, they already have done that as well ....

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[Jolie Rouge]

Female bombers hit Pakistan police at blast site
By RIAZ KHAN - Associated Press | AP – 3 hrs agoPESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A burqa-clad female suicide bomber attacked police at the scene of an earlier explosion in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, twin strikes that killed five people and broke a relative lull in militant violence in the country.

Islamist extremists with links to al-Qaida have waged a bloody campaign against Pakistan's pro-Western rulers since 2007, targeting police, government and Western targets. Up to 35,000 people have been killed, raising fears abroad over the stability of the nuclear-armed nation.

In the first incident Thursday, a remote-controlled bomb exploded in Peshawar's Lahori Gate area as a police truck carrying constables about to start their shift drove by. Four police officers and a boy passing by were killed, while 22 people were wounded.

An hour later, two women approached police guarding the area. One of the females threw a grenade, then was able to partially detonate her suicide vest, said Shafqat Malik, a police officer with the bomb disposal unit. She appeared to be 16 or 17 years old, he said.

"I thought the girl was pregnant as she was walking slowly with another woman. As I tried to push people away, suddenly a blast took place," said police officer Himayat Ullah, who was wounded in the attack.

Compared to other periods over the last four years, Pakistan has seen few large militant attacks over the last two months. Even with this lull, however, no one has suggested that the country's stretched and poorly trained security forces were making progress in the fight.

Most of the militants are based in the northwest close to Afghanistan, and Peshawar — the largest town in the region — has been frequently hit.

The tactics deployed in the attack — deploying a female bomber to return to the scene of an earlier blast to target officers there — showed a degree of sophistication, but were not unprecedented.

In June, militants said they had sent a husband and wife suicide squad to a police station in another northwestern town. That attack killed 10 people. Late last year, a female suicide bomber attacked a World Food Program food distribution center in the region, killing 45.

http://news.yahoo.com/female-bombers...061703256.html

[Jolie Rouge]

Female suicide bomber kills Somali sports chiefs
By Ali Musa Abdi | AFP – 8 hrs ago

A female suicide bomber blew herself up Wednesday during an address by Somalia's prime minister in Mogadishu, killing four people including the country's Olympic and football bosses.

The young woman detonated her suicide belt as Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali was addressing 200 people at the newly reopened national theatre on the first anniversary of the launch of Somalia's satellite TV network.

Somali Olympic Committee president Aden Yabarow Wiish and Somali Football Federation chief Said Mohamed Nur were killed in the blast, which was claimed by Al-Qaeda affiliated Shebab rebels.

The prime minister and seven other ministers standing beside him when the bomber detonated her explosives, were unharmed.

"There are four dead, including the president of the Olympic committee and the president of the football federation," Abdirahman Omar Osman, the Somali prime minister's spokesman, told AFP.

Seconds after the blast, chaos filled the theatre as the dead and the wounded were slumped on chairs or lying on the floor while police escorted some of the injured to awaiting ambulances.

At least seven journalists were also wounded, press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders said.

The Shebab, which have been fighting for the past five years to topple the Western-backed government, claimed in a Twitter message that they "managed to lay explosive devices before the ceremony".

"This operation was not carried out by a woman as they (Somali government officials) claim, but it was meticulously prepared and carried out by a specially trained unit," they said.

Shebab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamed Rage had earlier told the pro-Shebab radio Al Andalus the attack was "carried out by people who support the Shebab" but had stopped short of claiming responsibility.

The Chinese-built theatre was reopened last month for the first time in 20 years at a ceremony attended by President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the prime minister.

The president of football's world governing body FIFA, Sepp Blatter, expressed shock at the death of the two Somali sports chiefs.

"I knew both men personally and can only say good things about their endless efforts to promote sport and football in their country. They will be sorely missed," he said.

The slain sports chiefs had last week inspected the reconstruction of the national stadium in Mogadishu, a city which had slowly been coming back to life since Somali and African Union forces secured most of it late last year.

Somalia's deputy sports minister had said people were eager to "benefit from the peaceful atmosphere" in Mogadishu.

The stadium was once used by the Shebab rebels as a training centre, turning the pitch into a firing range to test homemade armour piercing bullets.

But last year, Western-backed AU troops seized the stadium and used it as a forward base for assaults on rebel holdouts before turning it over to the government for restoration as a sports venue.

Despite the lull in street fighting, Mogadishu has been plagued by a series of suicide and grenade attacks since the Shebab abandoned fixed bases in August and reverted to guerrilla tactics.

A suicide bomber last month killed at least five people in an attack at the heavily guarded presidential palace.

In regions under their control, the extremist militia have banned football, watching movies, Western music and dressing, with offenders often flogged or publicly executed.

AU force deputy commander Audace Nduwumunsi described the bombing as a "despicable crime against the Somali people" and UN special envoy Augustine Mahiga also expressed outrage.

"The reopening of the National Theatre is symbolic of the real change that is happening in Somalia: the city is being rebuilt, culture is being revived and hope is being restored," he said in a statement.

Britain, which has sought to lead international efforts to end the crisis, condemned what Prime Minister David Cameron branded a "sickening" and "mindless" attack.

"I utterly condemn the action of these terrorists who have shown complete disregard for the lives of the Somali people and for their desire to bring back normal daily life in Mogadishu.

The United States also strongly condemned what it called an "outrageous attack today in Mogadishu that resulted in a tragic loss of life".

"We offer our condolences to the Somali people, particularly those who lost family and loved ones," White House spokesman Jay Carney said, noting that Somalia had made great recent strides to rebuild after two decades of civil strife.

"We remain committed to the people of Somalia and assisting them in countering Al-Shebab's violence and in returning peace to their country."

Somalia has lacked an effective central government for years, allowing armed groups, pirates and extremists rebels to thrive and establish control in vast regions.

http://news.yahoo.com/girl-suicide-b...094136139.html

[Jolie Rouge]

Double female suicide bomb attacks kill 45 in Nigeria
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 8 hrs ago

More than 45 people were killed when two female suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowded market in northeast Nigeria on Tuesday, the latest in a wave of such attacks blamed on Boko Haram.

The explosions in the Borno state capital targeted the same Monday Market area where at least 15 people died on July 1 in a blast also thought to have been carried out by the Islamist militants.

Tuesday's attacks came after the militants seized control of another town in Nigeria's restive northeast, adding to their increasing haul of territory captured in recent months.

Health worker Dogara Shehu said he counted more than "45 people killed, some of them completely decapitated" in the Maiduguri blasts in an account supported by another witness.

An official with Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed that "many people have been killed" but did not have an official death toll.

"What we have is a case of suicide bombings involving two females," said a senior security source in the city, who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The source told AFP that the first bomber stood by a motorised rickshaw packed with goods in the bustling market and took a call on her mobile phone.

"She then dropped it (the mobile phone) and at that moment she blew herself up, so people thought the bomb was concealed in the rickshaw," he added.

"About 10 minutes later, another woman who looked about 19 and carrying what looked like a baby on her back under hijab arrived at the scene that was crowded by rescuers and locals.

"She then detonated the bomb on her back."

- Wave of bombings -

Northern Nigeria has been hit by a wave of suicide bomb attacks by women in recent months, including earlier this month in the northeastern state of Bauchi and Niger state in the northwest.

In July, there were four such attacks within a week in Kano city.

The previous month, a woman was said to have blown herself up in a twin bombing in the southwestern city of Lagos, although her involvement was never confirmed.

Weeks earlier, Nigeria saw its first female suicide bombing, when a middle-aged woman detonated her explosives at a military barracks in the northern state of Gombe.

Analysts have said that Boko Haram is using either willing volunteers or coercing young women and girls into becoming human bombs as part of its strategy to create a hardline Islamic state.

Three women said to be "female recruiters" for Boko Haram were reportedly arrested in July while an alleged trainer of women bombers was detained in Kano in August with up to 16 "trainees".

Boko Haram has attacked Maiduguri dozens of times during its five-year insurgency, using a range of tactics from suicide attacks and bombings to full-scale assaults on military barracks.

The Islamist group was founded in Maiduguri more than a decade ago and the city was once the epicentre of the conflict until its fighters were pushed out into more rural parts of the northeast.

- Another town seized -

Boko Haram had earlier taken over the town of Damasak, in the far north of Borno near the border with neighbouring Niger, starting their assault with an attack on the market there early Monday.

Maina Ma'aji Lawan, who represents northern Borno state in Nigeria's Senate, said soldiers and hundreds of residents fled when the heavily armed militants opened fire on traders.

"There is not a single male in Damasak. Boko Haram is in control because all males and soldiers have fled. No one expects women to fight them," Lawan told AFP by telephone from Abuja.

The security source in Maiduguri and a senior local government official both corroborated Lawan's account, although it was unclear how many were killed in the attack.

Boko Haram's territorial gains are a change in strategy from its previous trademark of deadly hit-and-run raids or high-profile strikes against government, police or military targets.

The group's seizure of towns has raised fears about a potential loss of government control in the region.

Many in recent weeks have warned that violence would return to Maiduguri and some have voiced concern that the Islamists might try to capture the key city.

Losing Maiduguri would be a huge blow for Nigeria's territorial integrity, but the military dismissed the warnings as alarmist.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/...d=ansnewsafp11

[Jolie Rouge]

US Soldiers Arrest Terrorist Dressed as Pregnant Woman
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?op...3538&Itemid=21

Commando air assault detains suspected insurgent disguised as pregnant woman
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 20070821-10

AL-OWESAT, Iraq — Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 14th infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y., detained several men during an air assault mission along the Euphrates River, Aug. 20.

One of the men detained was dressed as a pregnant woman.

Crimson Shogun was an operation targeting al-Qaeda-allied terrorist networks in the Owesat and Fetoah areas along the river and brought together more than 100 Soldiers of 2-14 Inf., 50 Iraqi army troops and two local residents who volunteered to help identify terrorists.

Thirteen men were detained for further questioning, one of whom was on the battalion’s list of persons of interest. His brother was also detained, and was found by the Soldiers of Company A disguised as a pregnant woman in an attempt to avoid capture.


French police detain woman with fake pregnant belly 'intended to hide bomb'

Prosthetic stomach - which have been used by female suicide bombers in Middle East - found at home of couple arrested on suspicion of condoning terrorism

By Rory Mulholland, Paris

5:31PM GMT 23 Dec 2015

French anti-terror police have detained a woman found with a fake pregnant belly which they suspect she may have been planning to use to conceal explosives for a suicide attack.


The arrest of the 25-year-old Muslim convert and her 34-year-old partner came as France remains on high terror alert during the Christmas holiday season, a month and a half after attacks by Islamic extremists killed 130 in Paris.


The couple were arrested late last week in Montpellier for condoning terrorism. Investigators later found the fake belly when they searched their home in the southern town.


The fake belly had been covered in aluminium foil in a possible attempt to make its potential contents undetectable at security gates, a source close to the investigation said.


Female suicide bombers have hidden explosives in fake pregnancy bellies for attacks in the Middle East on many occasions, and the prosthetic stomachs have also been used to conceal drugs.


Police also found extremist Islamist propaganda on the couple’s computer in their home in Montpellier, and the woman had searched online for information on how to make bombs, a police source said.

No explosives were found. Anti-terrorist police did not say what they think she may have been planning.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Tuesday that 10 terror attacks had been prevented this year in France, which suffered its worst atrocity for decades on November 13 when gunmen and suicide bombers carried out a series of coordinated assaults across Paris.

The latest was foiled just week when a pair of French citizens were arrested before they could carry out their plan to attack “soldiers, police and representatives of the state" in the region of Orleans, south-west of Paris, he said.

On Wednesday, the French cabinet backed reform proposals that could see the state of emergency called after last month's Paris attacks enshrined in the constitution.

Special policing powers used under the state of emergency - such as house arrests and the right to raid houses without clearance by a judge - are currently based on an ordinary law which can be challenged at the constitutional court.

There has been criticism from civil rights groups over the violence of police raids, cases of mistaken identity and people losing their jobs because they were placed under house arrest.

Amnesty International said the constitutional reforms were "deeply worrying" and added to an "already extensive and sometimes disproportionate arsenal" of measures.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...hide-bomb.html