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Afghan inside attack kills 4 US troops

by HEIDI VOGT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan police officer turned his gun on NATO troops at a remote checkpoint in southern Afghanistan before dawn Sunday, killing four American service members, according to Afghan and international officials.

It was the third attack by Afghan forces or insurgents disguised in military uniforms against international forces in as many days, killing eight troops in all.

Recent months have seen a string of such insider attacks by Afghan forces against their international counterparts. The killings have imperiled the military partnership between Kabul and NATO, a working relationship that is key to the handover of security responsibilities to Afghan forces as international troops draw down.

Meanwhile, according to Afghan officials, airstrikes by NATO planes killed eight women and girls in a remote part of the country, fueling a long-standing grievance against a tactic used by international forces that Afghans say causes excessive civilian casualties.

Villagers from a remote part of Laghman province's Alingar district drove the bodies to the provincial capital, claiming they were killed by NATO aircraft while they were out gathering firewood before dawn.

"They were shouting 'Death to America!' They were condemning the attack," said Laghman provincial government spokesman Sarhadi Zewak.

Seven injured females were also brought to area hospitals for treatment, some of them as young as 10 years old, said provincial health director Latif Qayumi.

NATO forces at first said that about 45 insurgents and no civilians were killed in the attack but spokesman Jamie Graybeal stressed later that they took the charge of civilian deaths seriously and were investigating the allegations.

"Protecting Afghan lives is the cornerstone of our mission and it saddens us when we learn that our action might have unintentionally harmed civilians," Graybeal said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the airstrike and said a government investigation had been opened.

The recent violence also comes amid an international uproar about an Internet video mocking the Prophet Muhammad that many fear could further aggravate Afghan-U.S. relations. The video has sparked protests throughout the Muslim world and the Afghan government blocked the YouTube site that hosts the video and its parent company, Google Inc., over the weekend in a move to prevent violent protests. So far, protests in Afghanistan have remained peaceful.

Details of Sunday's attack were slow to come out because it took place in a remote area, said Graybeal, the NATO forces spokesman.

"The attack took place in the vicinity of an outpost in southern Afghanistan. It is my understanding that it was a checkpoint," Graybeal said. International forces often work with Afghan police to man checkpoints as part of the effort to train and mentor the Afghan forces so that they can eventually operate on their own. The goal is to turn over all security responsibility for the country to the Afghans by the end of 2014, though numbers of NATO forces have already been reduced in many areas.

Graybeal said one police officer was killed in the clash with NATO troops but that the other officers at the site fled and it was unclear if they were involved in the attack or not.

Two international troops were wounded and were receiving treatment, Graybeal said. He did not say how serious the injuries were.

Afghan officials said the checkpoint in Zabul province's Mizan district came under attack first from insurgents sometime around midnight. American forces came to help the Afghan police respond to the attack, said Ghulam Gilani, the deputy police chief of the province.

It was not clear if some of the Afghan police turned on their American helpers in the middle of the battle with the insurgents, or afterward, or were somehow forced into attacking the American troops by the insurgents, Gilani said.

"The checkpoint was attacked last night. Then the police started fighting with the Americans. Whether they attacked the Americans willingly we don't know," Gilani said.

He said all four of the dead were American. A U.S. official speaking on anonymity because the information had not been officially released confirmed that the four killed were American.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said the police who attacked were not affiliated with the Taliban insurgency.

"But they are Afghans and they know that Americans are our enemy," Ahmadi told The Associated Press. In an emailed statement, he said the police who fled have joined up with the insurgency.

The coalition said in a statement that they were investigating what happened.

So far this year, 51 international service members have died at the hands of Afghan soldiers or policemen or insurgents wearing their uniforms. At least 12 such attacks came in August alone, leaving 15 dead.

On Saturday, a gunman in the uniform of a government-backed militia force shot dead two British soldiers in Helmand district in the southwest.

Britain's defense minister said the two soldiers, from 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, were killed at a checkpoint shooting in Nahri Sarraj district of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban have their strongest roots. NATO said earlier that the gunman was wearing a uniform used by the Afghan Local Police, a village-level fighting force overseen by the central government.

That strike came a day after insurgents wearing U.S. Army uniforms attacked a military base, killing two American Marines, wounding nine other people and destroying six Harrier fighter jets, military officials said. Fourteen insurgents were killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack and said that it was revenge for the video insulting Prophet Muhammad.

In the capital on Sunday, several hundred university students chanted "Death to America!" and "Long life to Islam!" over several hours to protest the video. Riot police cordoned off the area and the protest ended without incident in the early afternoon. A smaller protest went forward in the western city of Herat.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iTuhfxgNWjUo0xKX8aMtTclClRYA?docId=7587a561003e4b3cab64978736b28d6d

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Feds: U.S. teen held in 'jihad' terrorist bomb attempt at Chicago bar

by Ryan Haggerty, Dawn Rhodes and Annie Sweeney

A Hillside teenager was charged Saturday with trying to detonate a car bomb outside a bar in downtown Chicago, following months of surveillance in which he boasted to undercover federal agents of ignoring reprimands from a mosque leader against plans for terrorism, the U.S. attorney's office announced.

Adel Daoud, 18, parked a green Jeep Cherokee in front of the bar Friday night, then tried to detonate a device he believed to be a bomb as he walked away into an alley, court documents allege.

But the bomb, which was inert and had been planted by FBI agents , didn't explode and Daoud was arrested on the spot, federal authorities said.

Daoud was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to damage and destroy a building by means of an explosive. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon at the U.S. Dirksen Courthouse.

Authorities did not name the bar that Daoud allegedly targeted.

Daoud acted alone, although he talked of trying to "brainwash" others and at one point allegedly enlisted a partner, who later changed his mind, according to an FBI affidavit.

In one string of emails to an undercover operative filled with American teen slang, Daoud allegedly complained: "man is hard to tell people to be terrorists."

"Even my sheikh … was talking to me about NOT talking about jihad," Daoud allegedly wrote in another message.

"lol man I will be the opposite," Daoud allegedly wrote.

Daoud, a U.S. citizen, had allegedly been sharing information online about killing Americans in a terrorist attack since October 2011.

He was motivated to target U.S. citizens because of what he perceived as American abuses overseas and because he believes the U.S. is at war "with Islam and Muslims," the affidavit says.

In May, two undercover FBI operatives started exchanging messages with him.

One of the operatives told Daoud he had a cousin who wanted to commit terrorism. Daoud allegedly replied that he "would love to meet him."

The "cousin" was actually an FBI agent. He and Daoud met several times in Villa Park. During their first meeting, in July, the agent told Daoud "that he and his brothers were interested in attacking a major city, including perhaps Chicago," the affidavit said.

At their next meeting, Daoud allegedly gave the agent a handwritten list of 29 potential targets, including military recruiting offices, bars, malls and tourist attractions in the Chicago area.

Daoud allegedly told the agent that he wanted it to be clear that the attack was an act of terrorism.

"It'll be like frantic," Daoud allegedly told the agent.

Daoud also allegedly said he wanted the attack to be as deadly as possible.

"If it's only like five, 10 people, I'm not gonna feel that good," Daoud allegedly told the agent. "I wanted something that's … massive; I want something that's gonna make it in the news like tonight."

Daoud allegedly discussed his plans with several people, and successfully enlisted one person who suggested they target a popular nightclub.

But just a month before Daoud allegedly planted the explosives, both he and that person -- who was not named in the complaint -- were called into a meeting with Daoud's sheikh after someone at his mosque overheard Daoud debating the topic of jihad with another person.

One sheikh yelled at both of them, the affidavit says. Later Daoud's father also told him to stop talking about it.

The confrontations caused the second person to drop out of the plot. Daoud allegedly continued with his plan, settling on targeting the downtown bar.

The undercover agent who was investigating Daoud repeatedly gave him chances to back out, according to the affidavit.

"I'm totally fine with this," Daoud allegedly told the agent.

On the night of the planned attack, while driving a different vehicle into the city, Daoud allegedly led the agent in a prayer that they would "succeed in their attack, kill many people, and cause destruction," the affidavit says.

At the family's home Saturday, a girl who appeared to be in her teens answered the door but declined to comment.

"We're trying to be civil so please don't call and don't come by here anymore," she said.

Later, a man who answered the phone would only say: "Thank you, and good night," before hanging up.

Neighbors said they were shocked by Daoud's arrest.

Dorothy Leverson described Daoud as intelligent and kind, a whiz with computers who always brought pastries to her home for Ramadan.

"He's always been a very nice kid," said Leverson, whose twin sons, 18, were childhood friends with Daoud.

Daoud had recently committed himself more fully to Islam and began wearing the religion's more traditional garments, Leverson said. Leverson, whose family is Southern Baptist, said her sons and Daoud discussed religion, but the conversations were never acrimonious.

"He was still friendly with my son," Leverson said. "It wasn't like he had made a complete turn. It was never anything like, 'We hate Americans.'"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-man-charged-with-trying-to-blow-up-downtown-bar-with-car-bomb-20120915,0,5328293,full.story


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From the Department of Homeland Security

Welcome to the FEMA Corps Inaugural Class

Originially posted by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deputy Administrator Rich Serino
Thursday, August 13, 2012

Yesterday, we welcomed 231 energetic members into the first ever FEMA Corps class. The members just finished off their first month of training with our partners at the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and are one step closer to working in the field on disaster response and recovery. They will now head to FEMA's Center for Domestic Preparedness to spend the next two weeks training in their FEMA position-specific roles. Once they complete both the CNCS and FEMA training, these 231 dedicated FEMA Corps members will be qualified to work in one of a variety of disaster related roles, ranging from Community Relations to Disaster Recovery Center support.

FEMA Corps builds on the great work of AmeriCorps to establish a service cadre dedicated to disaster response and recover. To be sure, responding to disasters is nothing new for Americorps. In fact, the great work that AmeriCorps already does during disasters was the inspiration for FEMA Corps. When I visited communities all over the country that were devastated by disasters, from Joplin, MO to Bastrop, Texas, I always encountered the incredible members of AmeriCorps lending a helping hand to survivors. I was continually struck by the level of compassion, dedication, and skill these members brought to the table.

The inductees are pioneers, combining the exceptional record of citizen service at AmeriCorps' National Civilian Community Corps with FEMA's specialized mission of supporting survivors with their recovery after a disaster. The new members, who range in age from 18-24 years old, will contribute to a dedicated, trained, and reliable disaster workforce by working full-time for ten months on federal disaster response and recovery efforts. As we announced in March, FEMA Corps sets the foundation for a new generation of emergency managers; it promotes civic engagement and offers an educational and financial opportunity for young people; and is designed to strengthen the nation's disaster response by supplementing FEMA's existing Reservist workforce.

I commend and thank every member of the inaugural class of FEMA Corps for their dedication to helping communities in need. Welcome to FEMA Corps!

To learn more about the new program, visit the AmeriCorps website or our FEMA Corps page

http://www.dhs.gov/blog/2012/09/14/welcome-fema-corps-inaugural-class