Resource Center

Stories

The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast.

These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need.

Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:



Search results for "terrorist cell" ...

  • Dateline NBC: Inside the Cell

    Dateline NBC investigates an alleged terrorist plot to blow up a transatlantic airliner in flight using liquid explosives concealed as sports drinks. Some critics challenged the viability of the plot and the new security measures restricting liquids on airplanes. However, Dateline discovered the conspiracy was far more developed than the public had known and that plotters had received direction from individuals linked to al-Qaida's senior leadership.

    Tags: al-Qaida; terrorism; airline; explosive; Pakistan; counterterrorism; Great Britain; London

    By Richard Greenberg; Chris Hansen; Paul Cruickshank

    NBC News

    2008

  • Threat Assessment

    The First Coast News TV reporters investigated possible terrorist cells active in their area.

    Tags: Terrorism; threat assessment; FBI; Super Bowl

    By Jackelyn Barnard;Paul King

    5280 (Denver)

    2005

  • "I Am A U.S. Soldier"

    This investigation tells the tale of Sean Baker, a former U.S. soldier who was involved in a military drill gone wrong. Baker was a member of the 438th Military Police Company, and was sent to a prison to guard terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. One day in 2003, Baker volunteered to participate in a military drill which would require him to dress as a detainee, hide under a bunk in one of the cells where the worst terrorists were housed, and wait for another team to arrive and "extract" him. Moments later, a five-man team charged into the cell, pulling him from underneath the bunk. One of the men grabbed Baker's head, slamming it on the floor repeatedly, despite him repeatedly calling out "I am a U.S. soldier." As a result of this "drill," Baker still suffers from four or five seizures each day, while a criminal investigation was not initiated for any of the other soldiers involved in the incident.

    Tags: U.S. National Guard; military police; Guantanamo Bay; Cuba; terrorists; military drills; disability; 303rd Military Police Company; 438th Military Police Company

    By Bob Simon;Draggan Milhailovich;Wendy Krantz;Matt Richman

    CBS News 60 Minutes

    2004

  • CNN presents: Seeds of Terror

    CNN traces the roots of Al Qaeda to Southeast Asia, based on a terrorist plot that occurred in that region in 1995, which was a blueprint for what happened on September 11, 2001. With rare footage shot in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, hundreds of intelligence documents and access to top-level sources throughout the region, this documentary shows how Al Qaeda has grown in power and influence, spreading through the region, gathering followers and executing some of the world's most violent terrorist plots.

    Tags: TAPE; terrorism; September 11; 9/11; 9-11; nine eleven; Al Qaeda; terrorist; plot; top secret; Indonesia; Malaysia; Philippines; Singapore; terror; attack; Southeast Asia; intelligence; government; agency; FBI; Federal Bureau of Investigations; CIA; Central Intelligence Agency; military; Islam; terrorist cell; Osama Bin Laden; cold war.

    By Maria Ressa;Ken Shiffman;Jess Liwanag;Kathy Quiano;Armand Sol;Scott McGhee;Conrado Palileo;René Santiago;Gino Bruno

    CNN (Atlanta)

    2003

  • Unclear Danger: Inside the Lackawanna terror case

    In the spring of 2001, seven young Yemeni-American from Lackawanna, New York went to Afghanistan to train for Jihad. What followed is one of the most intense and high profile terrorism cases since Sept. 11. The story offers the perfect backdrop for a story about how terrorist cases are pursued in the wake of the Patriot Act.

    Tags: jihad; al qaeda; buffalo; sleeper cell; terrorist; bombing; yemen

    By Matthew Purdy;Lowell Bergman

    New York Times

    2003

  • Chicago FBI: The failure of operation Vulgar Betrayal

    ABC reports on the shutdown of a 1997 intelligence operation that could have revealed criminal connections leading to Sept. 11. Operation Vulgar Betrayal, which investigated the money trail of a suspected terrorist cell in Chicago, found members of the cell were connected to Osama bin Laden. Just a few months after the bombings of American embassies in Africa it became clear that the FBI headquarters and the Justice Department did not support the operation.

    Tags: Muslims; Islam; jihad; anti-terrorism; security; safety; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT

    By Brian Ross;Vic Walter;Simon Surowicz;Gerilyn Curtin;David Doss

    ABC News

    2002

  • Explaining Terrorism

    The Los Angeles Times provides explanations and warnings of the terror threat to the United States published before September 11, and further explanations and insights after the attacks about the methods and nature of the terror networks behind the attacks. Major findings include: the Millennium bomb plot aroused fears of sleeping terrorism cells in the U.S.; two months before the attacks reporters documents the high level of threat from sleeper cells throughout the West; after the attack the Times identified Mohammed Atta as the leader of the plot; a major terrorist threat was exposed in Western Europe and Bosnia; tied September 11 hijackers to the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole; foretold problems for Islamic charities; detailed the warnings authorities missed prior to September 11; discovered bin Laden's extensive use of aircraft and secret U.S. fears as early as 1996 that terrorists might use crop dusters as weapons.

    Tags: terrorism; September 11th; 2001; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Central Intelligence Agency; terrorism threats; terrorism in Europe; Afghanistan; Osama bin Laden; Mohammed Atta; Millennium bomb plot

    By Bob Drogin;John Meyer;Craig Pyes;William Rempel;Sebastian Rotella;Stephen Braun;John-Thor Dahlburg;Mark Fineman;Lisa Getter;Greg Krikorian;Eric Lichtbalu;Robert Lopez;Alan Miller;Chuck Neubauer;H.G. Reza;Paul Watson;Carol Williams;David Willman;David Zucchino

    Los Angeles Times

    2001

  • From Milan to Madrid to Montreal: the world wide web of terror

    This radio documentary examines the link between the Al Qaeda terrorist cells in Europe and Canada. It reveals that the FBI's initial portrayal of Al Qaeda, as a scattering of independent cells was completely false. The reporters found that the key terrorists known in Canada had direct connections to European members of Al Qaeda.

    Tags: AUDIO TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; Al Qaeda; terrorism; Canada; intelligence; Federal Bureau of Investigation; FBI; terrorism suspects; CAR

    By Kelly Ryan;Sandra Bartlet

    Canadian Broadcasting Corp. - CBC Radio News

    2001

  • Arrested Italian cell sheds light on Bin Laden;s network

    The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a project of the Center for Public Integrity, reveals that month before Sept. 11 terrorist attacks the Italian police arrested men now believed to be al Qaeda operatives. Based on the findings in a 100-page secret report by Italian investigators, the article tells "a stunning story of cooperation among suspected Bin Laden cells across Europe ... and previously unknown connections among alleged Bin Laden loyalists in Italy, Britain, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and France."

    Tags: September 11; 2001; al Qaeda; holy war; Chechnya; Bosnia; Muslims; Islam; justice; law enforcement; intelligence

    By Leo Sisti;Maud Beelman

    Center for Public Integrity

    2001

  • Terrorism Series

    Newsweek investigates the global reach of the terrorist network Al Qaeda, how its "cell" structure worked, how it laundered money and how its leader Osama bin Laden attempted to obtain weapons of mass destruction. The first part of the series, published in February 2001, predicts that the threat posed by bin Laden is growing. The second one, two weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, reveals details of a possible 20th hijacker involved in the tragedy. Some of the online stories examine possible links between the WTC suspects and USS Cole bombers, and reveal that FBI has identified more than 1,000 people with suspected terrorist ties inside the U.S. The series documents "numerous intelligence and policy failures that kept U.S. authorities from detecting the terror plot being hatched under their noses."

    Tags: Hamas; Islamic Jihad; Al Qaeda; Hizbullah; Chechnya; Indonesia; Palestine; Afghanistan; Lebanon; intelligence; CIA; Islam; Muslims; National Security Agency; FBI; Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS); Arabs; Israel; mujahedin; Cole bombing; money laundering

    By Mark Hosenball;Evan Thomas;Joshua Hammer;Rod Nordland;Jeffrey Bartholet;Scott Johnson;Barbie Nadeau;Christopher Dickey;Brad Stone

    Newsweek Magazine (New York, NY)

    2001