re: terroristsl: we'll kill them all..even appease
German president warned of assassination plot
German President Johannes Rau has cancelled a stopover in Djibouti on the last phase of his east African tour after German security services warned him of an alleged assassination plot by Islamists. Instead, he's flying back to Germany, direct from Tanzania. Rau's office said German intelligence agencies had a tipoff that terrorists had wanted to target Rau as a representative of a Western nation. Rau had been due to visit the crew of the German frigate "Augsburg". It's in Djibouti as part of international anti-terror patrols around the Horn of Africa. German Interior Minister Otto Schily said the apparent threat against Rau had to be taken seriously. In Tanzania on Tuesday, Rau had said terrorism could only be tackled effectively by combating root causes such as poverty and inequity via policies of development. A prosperous, stable Africa was also in Germany's interests, he said. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx By CRAIG S. SMITH
Published: March 24, 2004
ARIS, March 24 — A bomb was discovered on a rail line in northeastern France today, the second explosive device found since an obscure terrorist entity began threatening in December to attack France's railroads unless it was paid millions of dollars.
The bomb, which was neutralized by a French bomb squad, was half buried between the tracks near the town of Montieramey on the rail line linking Paris with the Swiss city of Basel, France's Interior Ministry said in a statement.
France's prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, on a campaign visit near where the bomb was found, urged the public to remain calm, saying it was not yet clear what danger the device posed.
The discovery comes amid growing terrorist threats from various groups against France causing the country to increase security here and abroad. It comes as anxiety over the safety of rail travel in Europe is already high because of the train bombings in Madrid earlier this month that killed 190 people. President Jacques Chirac was in Madrid today to attend a memorial Mass for the victims of the March 11 train bombings in the Spanish capital. xxxxxxxxxxx By ALAN RIDING
Published: March 17, 2004
ARIS, March 16 — France announced Tuesday night that a previously unknown Islamic group calling itself Servants of Allah the Powerful and Wise had threatened French interests in France and abroad in copies of a letter addressed to Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, received earlier in the day by two Paris newspapers, Le Parisien and Le Monde.
Christian de Villeneuve, news editor of Le Parisien, told the French television network TF-1 that the letter promised "reprisal attacks" after France recently adopted a law banning the wearing of head scarves in government-run schools. He added that the letter was accompanied by a copy of the first page of an edition of the Koran.
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Gee, i Dont like your appeasers odds, Mr Zapatero.
