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Turkish police arrest 5 al Qaeda suspects
This is interesting if true…
One of the suspects, the official said, is a 23-year-old mathematics student who was designing computer programmes aimed at jamming the flight controls of unmanned drone aircraft. He was also a bombmaker, the official said.
via Turkish police arrest 5 al Qaeda suspects | World | Reuters.
Police searching for bombs made by Dulmatin
Police are currently still conducting a search for bombs believed to have been assembled by top terrorist Dulmatin and his group before he was killed in a shootout last Tuesday.The police`s belief was based on the fact that bomb detonating remote controls were found in a safe house the militants had stayed in Pamulang, Tangerang, on Jakarta`s western outskirts, the National Police`s chief detective, Commissioner General Ito Sumardi said here Thursday.
via ANTARA News: Police searching for bombs made by Dulmatin.
An old list of names of alleged militants deported from Iran
I thought this might be of interest to some people out there. Its a list of alleged AQ linked persons deported from Iran. It’s old, but interesting. I haven’t read it yet but am meaning to–hence am posting here more as a reminder to myself to take a look and see who from this list has returned to the fight and for anyone else out there who might be interested.
قائمة اسماء لاعضاء في تنظيم القاعدة سلمتهم ايران لبلدانهم – دنيا الوط
Some interesting details emerging about the Jakarta plots last year
According to the indictment, he sent an email to his brother detailing the plot by Noordin, the terrorist mastermind who was gunned down last year by Indonesian police.
”Cleric N needs 100 million [rupiah or $12,000]. Please pray for me,” the email, sent a year before the twin hotel blasts, said. ”It’s really crazy. It’s the biggest after WTC [World Trade Centre]. It’s a secret, OK.”
Jibril’s brother, Ahmad Isrofil Mardhotillah, was studying in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia at the time and was subsequently visited by Jibril and Saefuddin Jaelani, the field commander of the Jakarta bombings.
The men went to do a minor pilgrimage and also sought funding for the terrorist act.
It is unclear if the men raised the money on the trip, as Jibril is not actually charged with financing the bombings. Instead, he is accused of hiding information in the lead-up to the bombing, document forgery and using a fake passport.
Prosecutors believe the funding for the Jakarta bombings came from a Saudi man, al-Khelawi Ali Abdullah, who faces court today.
Even so, prosecutors allege that the email was part of the early planning for the Jakarta hotel bombings.
Najibullah Zazi & AQ recruitment
This stood out like a sore thumb for me. I wrote about al Qaeda’s skill in ‘turning’ recruits for my piece in Jane’s (I am *still* waiting on a pdf copy to post on the blog). But anyway, this just serves as yet another reminder that most people do not go to these places to join al Qaeda. They go to join jihad, and then get recruited, and that’s an entirely new radicalization trajectory. I’m also interested in who the others were, when he mentions “we”.
THE DEFENDANT: Your Honor, during the spring and summer of 2008, I conspired with others to travel to Afghanistan to join the Taliban and fight against the U.S. military and its allies. We made this agreement in Queens, New York, to carry out this agreement. At the end of August 2008, we flew from New York airport to Peshawar, Pakistan.
THE COURT: Your purpose in going to Pakistan?
THE DEFENDANT: Was to join Taliban.
THE COURT: For the purpose of?
THE DEFENDANT: To fight alongside with the Taliban against the U.S. … Also, our plan was to go to Afghanistan and fight with the Taliban. While we were in Peshawar, we were recruited by Al Qaeda, instead. We were taken by Al Qaeda to training camp in Waziristan, where we received weapons training.
via Najibullah Zazi reveals chilling details on Al Qaeda training and terrorist plot to blow up subways.
Abdolmalek Rigi ‘arrested in Iran’ – Times Online
This is interesting.
Sunni militant group leader Abdolmalek Rigi ‘arrested in Iran’ – Times Online.
I was wondering when some more EO trainees would turn up
Norway, was not, however, a location that immediately came to mind. So there you go.
Wish I had the time to comment on this more generally but sadly still in midst of mad edits/referencing/and general tearing out of hair.
However, one thing I think is important is to bear in mind with this news is the time frame. From what has come out so far we’re talking links back into 08. I’m not sure that particular EO cycle is all done yet, nor that this is everyone who went through training around that time. However, thus far the disruption record is looking good. UK, US and now Norway.
Pity, however, about media apparently forcing the hand of Norwegian authorities. How disheartening for them. I hope being forced into action by media doesn’t totally screw their chances of getting a successful prosecution or have flow on affects into other investigations.
Will be contemplating this and all manner of things when I return back to blogging, hopefully in the next two months or so.
First off the deck will be the mother of all posts on things in the past year I screwed up, got wrong, and/or misjudged, or totally contradicted myself on, since it’s always nice to look back and learn. Served alongside of this will be the requisite (and I might add rather large) plate of humble pie. Then, it will be onto doing all those things I said I would, and wanted to focus on, but have slipped in the priority list while I finished thesis. Speaking of which, it’s back to the edits and referencing checks for me. Cheers.
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