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Important Web Sites • The White House  • Report Information to FBI • American Red Cross - New York City • New York Blood Center • American Airlines Call: 1-800-245-0999 • United Airlines Call: 1-800-932-8555 • Family Member Information Lines (MSNBC) • New York Emergency Information (NYC.gov) • Nationwide Emergency and Contact Information (USnews.com) • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Defense Department • State Department • Justice Department • FBI • Transportation Dept. • Federal Emergency Management Agency • USAMA BIN LADEN - FBI Ten Most-Wanted poster

Chronology: All time shown below are approximate Eastern Daylight Times.

Wednesday, December 12, 2001

NOTE: Reports from news sources involving movements or operations of United States military personnel NOT confirmed by named U.S. government officials will be labeled as such.

Maps Detailing Allied Attacks (CNN)
Map of Coalition Bases of Operation (CNN)
Detailed Afghanistan Maps and Information (About Geography)
Afghanistan and Area Weather Forecast (AccuWeather)
Most Wanted Terrorist List (FBI)
To Report Terrorist Activities to the FBI (FBI)

Also Today: Due to its poor technical quality leading to difficulty in translation, the White House decided to delay the release of the videotape supposedly showing Osama bin Laden bragging about the destruction caused by the September 11 attacks on America. [Details on CNN]

8:45 am - A suicide terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament left 12 people dead in New Delhi. The unidentified attackers broke in as the Parliament was adjourning, detonating bombs attached to their own bodies and tossing hand grenades. The dead included five attackers and seven guards. At least 15 other people were injured. [See: India on alert after parliament shootout (CNN)]

8:15 pm - CNN reported that the Israeli Cabinet had voted to cut off all contact with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and to deploy its military to arrest terrorists. 

4:15 - CNN reported that Palestinian authorities had stated its intention to close all offices and institutions of the militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas. The announcement came after yet another day of violence. Palestinian gunmen attacked a bus killing 10 Israelis in the West Bank, spurring retaliatory strikes by Israeli F-16's against Palestinian security installations.

4:00 pm - The chairman and a member of the militant Jewish Defense League were arrested for conspiring to bomb a major Mosque in Los Angeles, the offices of U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa of California and the Muslim Public Affairs Council office in Los Angeles. Authorities think Issa was targeted because he is of Lebanese descent. [See: Jewish Defense League Chief Arrested in L.A. (Reuters)]

3:30 pm - Palestinian security installations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank came under fire from Israeli F-16s in swift retaliation for a Palestinian attack on a bus in the West Bank that killed 10 Israeli citizens earlier in the day. [See: Israeli Planes Fire Missiles at Gaza and West Bank (Reuters)]

3:15 pm - A senior al Qaeda officer told reporters from the Christian Science Monitor that Osama bin Laden had escaped into Pakistan 10 days ago. U.S. officials stated they still had reason to believe bin Laden was still in Afghanistan. [See: Bin Laden Said to Be in Pakistan -Newspaper (Reuters)]

2:00 pm - The Pentagon announced that all four crewmembers of the U.S. B1-B Lancer bomber downed in the Indian Ocean had been rescued and were safely on board the U.S.S. Russell. [See: Pentagon: B-1 crew rescued (CNN)] 

1:15 pm - The Pentagon reported that a U.S. B1-B Lancer bomber had gone down in the Indian Ocean while returning to the Diego Garcia Island airbase after completing its mission over Afghanistan. CNN reported that a U.S. KC-10 refueling plane in the area had made contact with at least one of the downed B1-B's crew of four. There was no indication that the crash was caused by hostile fire, according to the Pentagon.

12:15 pm - Israeli police reported that at least eight people had been killed in the attack on a bus in the West Bank town of Immanuel. Palestinian gunmen were said to have attacked the bus with gunfire and grenades. At least 30 other people were reported wounded. [See: Several Dead in Shooting on Israeli Bus (Reuters)]

12:00 noon - Palestinian gunmen opened fire and tossed grenades at a bus in Jewish settlement of Immanuel in the West Bank. At least 30 people were injured, at least five critically, according to officials. The gunmen were reported to have continued firing on ambulance crews as they assisted the injured. [See: At Least 30 Wounded as Bus Shot at in W.Bank (Reuters)]

10:45 am - All talks of surrender by al Qaeda fighters seemed to have failed as the U.S. returned to full-out bombing of the Tora Bora Mountains of eastern Afghanistan. "The issue of a surrender seems to be untrue," a Northern Alliance spokesman told reporters. "Those who have remained in the mountains are all Arabs and they want firstly to fight or retreat to Pakistan." U.S. officials expressed a growing concern that Osama bin Laden and deposed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar may have escaped from their mountain hideout. [See: Endgame Looms as Bin Laden Men Shun Surrender (Reuters)]

8:00 am - John Walker Lindh, the American captured while fighting for the Taliban, told U.S. intelligence officials that Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda planned to launch a biological attack on the U.S. prior to the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Sunday, Dec. 16. Intelligence officials questioned the credibility of Lindh, who held only a low-level position inside the Taliban. [See: Report: American Taliban Says Biological Attack Near (Reuters)]

5:00 am - With the last surrender deadline past, the U.S. renewed bombing strikes against the al Qaeda forces hold up in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. Alliance commanders were reported to have extended yet another surrender offer to the al Qaeda. Under the new offer, al Qaeda and Taliban fighters would be allowed to go free if Osama bin Laden and at least 20 of his top al Qaeda leaders gave themselves up to be taken into custody. [See: Bombers pound al Qaeda as deadline passes (CNN)]

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