MattB
2014-08-29 20:48:51 UTC
Laptop reportedly seized from ISIS hideout hints at bio weapons attack
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/08/29/laptop-reportedly-seized-from-isis-hideout-hints-at-biological-weapons/
A laptop reportedly recovered from an Islamic State jihadist contained
a hidden trove of secret plans, including weaponizing the bubonic
plague, and lessons on disguise, bomb-making and stealing cars.
A man identified by ForeignPolicy.com as Abu Ali, a commander of a
moderate Syrian rebel group in northern Syria, told the publication
the black laptop was seized earlier this year in a raid on an ISIS
hideout in the Syrian province of Idlib, close to the border with
Turkey, and belonged to a Tunisian jihadist.
"We found the laptop and the power cord in a room," Ali told
ForeignPolicy.com. "I took it with me."
Initially, it appeared the computer had been scrubbed, but on closer
inspection, thousands of secret files were discovered on the hard
drive, which was not password protected, Ali said.
"The advantage of biological weapons is that they do not cost a lot of
money, while the human casualties can be huge."
- Document found hidden on ISIS fighter's laptop
ForeignPolicy.com was permitted to copy of thousands of files, which
were in French, English, and Arabic. The information included videos
of Usama bin Laden, ideological justifications for jihad and tutorials
on how to carry out the Islamic State's deadly campaigns.
But most chilling were files that indicated the computer's owner,
identified as a Tunisian national named Muhammed S. who joined ISIS in
Syria after studying chemistry and physics at two universities in
Tunisia, was teaching himself how to manufacture biological weapons,
in preparation for a potential attack that could have been
catastrophic on a global scale. A 19-page document in Arabic included
instructions on how to develop biological weapons and how to weaponize
the bubonic plague from infected animals.
"The advantage of biological weapons is that they do not cost a lot of
money, while the human casualties can be huge," the document states.
The document includes instructions for testing the weaponized plague
before using it to attack.
"When the microbe is injected in small mice, the symptoms of the
disease should start to appear within 24 hours," the document says.
While some Islamic scholars have said the use of weapons of mass
destruction is prohibited, the material on the seized computer
included a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, permitting it.
"If Muslims cannot defeat the kafir [unbelievers] in a different way,
it is permissible to use weapons of mass destruction," states the
fatwa by Saudi jihadi cleric Nasir al-Fahd, who is currently
imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. "Even if it kills all of them and wipes
them and their descendants off the face of the Earth."
Foreign Policy verified that the computer's owner had indeed attended
a Tunisian university and studied chemistry and physics there until
some time in 2011.
Thousands of Tunisians have gone to Syria to join Islamic State,
according to an estimate from Tunisia's government.
Foreign Policy noted that the information on the laptop does not
indicate that Islamic State possess biological weapons. But it does
show they are seeking them.
"The real difficulty in all of these weapons ... [is] to actually have
a workable distribution system that will kill a lot of people," Magnus
Ranstorp, research director of the Center for Asymmetric Threat
Studies at the Swedish National Defence College, told the publication.
"But to produce quite scary weapons is certainly within [the Islamic
State's] capabilities."
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/08/29/laptop-reportedly-seized-from-isis-hideout-hints-at-biological-weapons/
A laptop reportedly recovered from an Islamic State jihadist contained
a hidden trove of secret plans, including weaponizing the bubonic
plague, and lessons on disguise, bomb-making and stealing cars.
A man identified by ForeignPolicy.com as Abu Ali, a commander of a
moderate Syrian rebel group in northern Syria, told the publication
the black laptop was seized earlier this year in a raid on an ISIS
hideout in the Syrian province of Idlib, close to the border with
Turkey, and belonged to a Tunisian jihadist.
"We found the laptop and the power cord in a room," Ali told
ForeignPolicy.com. "I took it with me."
Initially, it appeared the computer had been scrubbed, but on closer
inspection, thousands of secret files were discovered on the hard
drive, which was not password protected, Ali said.
"The advantage of biological weapons is that they do not cost a lot of
money, while the human casualties can be huge."
- Document found hidden on ISIS fighter's laptop
ForeignPolicy.com was permitted to copy of thousands of files, which
were in French, English, and Arabic. The information included videos
of Usama bin Laden, ideological justifications for jihad and tutorials
on how to carry out the Islamic State's deadly campaigns.
But most chilling were files that indicated the computer's owner,
identified as a Tunisian national named Muhammed S. who joined ISIS in
Syria after studying chemistry and physics at two universities in
Tunisia, was teaching himself how to manufacture biological weapons,
in preparation for a potential attack that could have been
catastrophic on a global scale. A 19-page document in Arabic included
instructions on how to develop biological weapons and how to weaponize
the bubonic plague from infected animals.
"The advantage of biological weapons is that they do not cost a lot of
money, while the human casualties can be huge," the document states.
The document includes instructions for testing the weaponized plague
before using it to attack.
"When the microbe is injected in small mice, the symptoms of the
disease should start to appear within 24 hours," the document says.
While some Islamic scholars have said the use of weapons of mass
destruction is prohibited, the material on the seized computer
included a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, permitting it.
"If Muslims cannot defeat the kafir [unbelievers] in a different way,
it is permissible to use weapons of mass destruction," states the
fatwa by Saudi jihadi cleric Nasir al-Fahd, who is currently
imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. "Even if it kills all of them and wipes
them and their descendants off the face of the Earth."
Foreign Policy verified that the computer's owner had indeed attended
a Tunisian university and studied chemistry and physics there until
some time in 2011.
Thousands of Tunisians have gone to Syria to join Islamic State,
according to an estimate from Tunisia's government.
Foreign Policy noted that the information on the laptop does not
indicate that Islamic State possess biological weapons. But it does
show they are seeking them.
"The real difficulty in all of these weapons ... [is] to actually have
a workable distribution system that will kill a lot of people," Magnus
Ranstorp, research director of the Center for Asymmetric Threat
Studies at the Swedish National Defence College, told the publication.
"But to produce quite scary weapons is certainly within [the Islamic
State's] capabilities."