BRIEFS

DANISH INTELLIGENCE OFFERS HASHISH BUSINESS TO TERROR SUSPECT

The Danish Security Intelligence Service (DSIS) has come under fire for its questionable approach to intelligence work. A 22-year old Muslim man of Turkish descent was offered the opportunity to purchase and resell several pounds of hashish without police interference in exchange for providing information on suspect Islamists in Denmark. When the man was arrested two days later on charges of promoting the abduction of Danes abroad, he released recordings of the DSIS offer from his cell phone to two Danish news agencies (Politiken, November 15). DSIS claims that the suspect was closely tied to two of eight men arrested in September for preparing explosive charges for use in Denmark and abroad. Danes kidnapped by al-Qaeda were to be exchanged for the two detainees (Copenhagen Post, November 19). Both DSIS and Denmark’s Prosecutor-General have refused comment, but the Foreign Ministry has issued a warning to Danes traveling in Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria.

DID AL-QAEDA PLAN TO POISON HEZBOLLAH LEADER IN LEBANON?

A Lebanese daily has reported that an al-Qaeda cell in Lebanon planned to assassinate Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah last summer. Authorities recovered 70 pounds of cyanide at the home of a Libyan national in the Sunni-dominated Iqlim al-Kharrub district. Reportedly 30 pounds of cyanide had already been sent to Iraq for use against U.S. forces (Al-Safir, November 15). Two other cells were reported to be active; one in Sidon and another in Qassimieh, near Tyre. One cell was reported to be preparing “false-flag” attacks against UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon. The attacks were designed to be blamed on Hezbollah. Security sources cast doubt on some of the revelations, claiming that the terrorist suspects are “all trained to lie and mislead investigators.” Some security sources claimed the groups were actually “sleeper cells” left behind by Syria and closely tied to the Syrian-supported Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (Daily Star, November 16). The U.S. Embassy has asked to be kept informed of the investigation.