teeRROrits might send bombs in the MALE be alERT for SUSpishis packages

-- Mac (mac@sneak.lurl), December 23, 1999

Answers

CNN this morning that they'd have a postmark of Frankfurt, I believe.

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), December 23, 1999.

U.S. FBI Warns That Unexpected Mail From Frankfurt May Contain Letter Bomb By James Rowley

U.S. FBI Warns of Threat of Package Bombs Mailed From Germany

(For a special report, type Y2KN .)

Washington, Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Citing unsubstantiated information that terrorists plan to mail bombs to U.S. addresses, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning Americans not to open parcels from unknown senders bearing Frankfurt postmarks.

The latest warning about possible terrorist threats came as an 32-year-old Algerian man arrested December 14 at a U.S. border crossing in Washington state was indicted by a federal grand jury in Seattle on charges of smuggling explosives into the country and lying about his identity.

The FBI, meantime, said it had received ``unsubstantiated information that individuals may be planning to send bombs in small parcels'' to U.S. addresses. ``The public should be cautious with parcels originating from or bearing Frankfurt, Germany, postal markings'' from unfamiliar senders. The FBI said it alerted the public to the information ``out of an abundance of caution.''

Deutsche Post AG, Germany's state-owned postal service, said it was screening all parcels sent to U.S. and British addresses because of ``rumors'' of possible attacks by terrorists linked to Osama Bin Laden. U.S. authorities suspect Bin Laden, a Saudi, of orchestrating attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania last year. The German postal service said it had not received any threat or official warning.

U.S. authorities continued close inspections of travelers at airports and border checkpoints. The State Department has cautioned U.S. travelers overseas to avoid large crowds where Americans might gather over the New Years holiday in foreign cities, citing the threat of terrorist attacks on American citizens.

Border Security

Heightened border security was prompted initially by the arrest of Ahmed Ressam after he had driven off a ferry that brought him from Canada to the logging town of Port Angeles. U.S. Customs Service inspectors said they found nitroglycerine equivalent, timing devices and other bomb-making material in the trunk of Ressam's car.

The five-count indictment accuses Ressam of falsely identifying himself to Customs inspectors, smuggling, transportation of explosives, possession of an unregistered firearm and carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony. Upon conviction, the charges together carry a maximum prison term of 40 years.

Authorities in Canada said they are trying to determine if Ressam has ties to a crime ring in Montreal that police said was raising money for overseas terrorist organizations.

French authorities also have been looking at Ressam's possible connection to a loosely organized group of Islamic radicals that staged armed robberies in France, the New York Times reported yesterday.

Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters yesterday that Ressam's arrest, coupled with the December 19 apprehension of another Algerian at a remote border checkpoint in Vermont, ``suggest there is a heightened risk'' of terrorist attacks domestically and overseas.

No explosives were found in the car stopped at Beecher Falls, Vermont, though dogs trained to detect the scent of black powder and plastic explosives sat down at the same spot while searching the vehicle. Bouabide Chamchi, 20, of Algeria, and Lucia Garofalo, a 35-year-old woman authorities say was driving the car, were charged with conspiring to misuse a false passport

-- kevin (innxxs@yahoo.com), December 23, 1999.

'Scuse me. That's what CNN SAID this morning. Either way, it doesn't hurt to be suspicious of ANY package that's coming from someone you don't know...

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), December 23, 1999.

Considering the odds against it - even if the FBI et al are right - you might more usefully say "Look both ways before crossing the street" or "Smoking causes lung disease".

Yes, be casually aware, but if you're looking for something to worry about, you can find scarier stuff elsewhere on this forum.

-- Servant (public_service@yahoo.com), December 23, 1999.

Those DAMN Germans....

-- STFrancis (STFrancis@heaven.com), December 23, 1999.

I, and several members of my family, work for the Post Office. Our "Heightened Security Measures" are a joke. A person could mail a Topol-M missile as long as it had correct postage and a good zip. The good news is that any "mail bomb" would most likely be detonated prematurely when we threw a box of Christmas oranges on top of it.

About a year ago we had a scare when a pckage was found leaking a red fluid in the Coppell mail processing plant. Evidently there had been a threat of someone mailing Anthrax. The plant was shut down, and CDC people came in in bio-suits to clean it up. If it had been real, many would have died. We have NO procedure for that kind of scenario.

I hope you feel safer, I don't.

-- MegaMe (CWHale67@aol.com), December 23, 1999.

Sot thats what happened to my box o' candied cherries last year...

-- Billy Boy (Rakkasan101st@Aol.com), December 23, 1999.

Doesn't DiETeR live in Frankfort?

-- (you've@got.mail), December 23, 1999.