Balkans: Wahabis seen as growing regional threat 2007-04-20 10:30:00 (AKI).- Although still a small group, Wahabis, followers of a fundamentalist school of Islam, are being seen by officials and observers as a growing threat
to the Balkans. Tensions between Wahabis and mainstream Muslims have been simmering for the past 18 months as Wahabis seek to gain influence in Bosnia-Heregovina and also in Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo. In the past months, seven suspected militants were arrested in southern Serbia and a radical Islamist training camp and weapons cache uncovered. Evidence, the Serbian interior ministry says, that Wahabis are trying to recruit potential terrorists and plot attacks.More Read more:regional
Fugitive iranian assassin claims missing FBI agent being held by Tehran 2007-04-20 10:23:00 A former FBI
agent missing for more than a month may be in the hands of Iranian authorities, according to an American fugitive assassin living in Iran. Dawud Salahuddin, an American citizen who was granted asylum in Iran after admitting to the 1980 murder in Maryland of a former Iranian diplomat, told the Financial Times that he met retired FBI Agent Robert Levinson in a hotel on Kish Island on March 8, three days before he was reported missing on March 11. Levinson's family has said he was at the Iranian resort to help with a film about the island, which is known for its beaches, turtles and liberal atmosphere. While the FBI has stressed that Levinson is not working for the bureau, Salahuddin told the Financial Times that he met with Levinson to put him in touch with Iranian officials who might assist him in a cigarette-smuggling investigation he was conducting for a tobacco company.More Read more:claims
, Fugitive
Is Al Qaeda's influence spreading to Morocco? 2007-04-20 10:16:00 (Jill Carroll).- Troubling signs are emerging that Morocco
is becoming fertile ground for more sophisticated militant groups. The latest evidence: A trial of 50 Islamists who allegedly planned to attack the US Embassy in Rabat, a military base, and tourist destinations. And unlike the groups behind previous terrorist bombings in this moderate Muslim monarchy, this group was drawn not from the slums of Casablanca, but from the society's upper echelons. There is also evidence of NorthAfricans working with Al Qaeda
insurgents in Iraq and Pakistan – raising concerns that they will return home with their newfound skills. The group on trial, called Ansar al Mehdi, includes middle-class Moroccans, some drawn from the Army, and four women, two of whom are married to Royal Air Maroc pilots, according to statements government officials have made to Moroccan media. That's a significant shift.More Read more:influence
In Overture to Iran, Qaddafi Declares North Africa Shi'ite and Calls for Establishment of New Fatimid State 2007-04-18 09:41:00 (MEMRI).- On March 31, 2007, Libyan leader Mu'ammar Qaddafi called, in a speech in Niger to Tuareg tribal leaders, for the establishment of a second Shi'ite Fatimid state in NorthAfrica
, after the model of the 10th-13th century empire that ruled North Africa, Egypt, and parts of the Fertile Crescent. In his speech, Qaddafi denounced the division of Muslims into Sunni and Shi'ite as a colonialist plot, and rebuked the Arab League members for "hating Iran." "Colonialism… Has Begun to Group the Arabs Against Iran and Iran Against the Arabs". On the other hand, at the beginning of the month, Qaddafi gave a speech in which he denied the existence of a non-Arab Berber people (this also being a colonialist plot), provoking protest among Berbers and supporters of minority rights in the Middle East and North Africa.More Read more:Establishment
, Overture
, State
France: muslims mull political choices 2007-04-21 17:47:00 (ADNKI).- France
's largest, conservative Muslim group, the Union of Muslim Organisations in France (UOIF), on Friday began its annual conference in the Le Bourget neighbourhood on the outskirts of Paris, with the country's presidential elections, due next weekend, looming large. The presidential hopefuls had been invited to attend but as the event got underway it was still unclear which if any of them would be attending. In an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI) UOIF president Thami Breze said the conference would "urge Muslims to go to the polls" and "question candidates about the fears and worries of the Muslim community". However Breze underlined that Islamic groups did not intend to give indications to Muslims on the choice of one candidate over an other but encourage them to choose based on the position of the candidate regarding Islam.More Read more:choices
, political
Darfur: UN report denounces rapes by Sudan soldiers 2007-04-21 17:38:00 (ADNKI).- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called for investigations into widespread sexual violence during attacks by Sudan
ese government forces and allied militia in Darfur
as well as the disappearance of over a dozen men allegedly at the hands of rebels there. In a new report
, the High Commissioner's Office describes attacks in December 2006 in eastern Jebel Marra, Darfur. At least 15 cases of sexual assault, including rape, had occurred, according to the report. At least two pregnant women were targeted in the violence. "Soldiers came in cars heading towards the hills. Three were in green military uniform and the fourth was in civilian clothes. All four of them were armed and all of them raped me," said one 13-year old victim, according to the report.More
300,000 Turks protest possible run for president by Islamic-rooted prime minister 2007-04-21 17:35:00 (International Herald Tribune).- Protesters draped themselves in the flag and poured into the capital's streets and squares, calling on the government to resign and chanting slogans including, "We don't want an imam as president". Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan represents a challenge to secularists' traditional approach to government in this 99-percent Muslim country. Many fear that if he or someone close to him wins the presidency, the government will be able to implement an Islamist agenda without opposition. But with Erdogan's popularity and firm control over parliament, his opponents may have little power to stop him if he does decide to run. His party was elected to an overwhelming majority in parliament and can appoint whomever it wants to the presidency.More Read more:Islamic
, prime
Al-Qaeda’s ‘British propagandists’ 2007-04-28 07:59:00 (Timesonline).- Violent al-Qaeda
propaganda, including footage of the beheading of hostages, was distributed around the globe by computer by young men sitting in their bedrooms in Britain, a court heard yesterday. Three men appeared before Woolwich Crown Court accused of inciting terrorism abroad. They were said to have a “close affiliation” with al-Qaeda in Iraq. Younis Tsouli, 23, Waseem Mughal, 24, and Tariq al-Daour, 21, allegedly played important roles in al-Qaeda’s “media war” and had massive quantities of films, audio recordings, books and documents promoting the extremist ideology of Osama bin Laden and global jihad. Among the footage found in police raids on their homes in London and Kent were films of the beheading of the British
engineer Kenneth Bigley as well as the executions of American, Korean, Japanese, Egyptian, Iraqi, Turkish and Bulgarian hostages.More
Ethiopian rebels kill 74 in oil attack 2007-04-27 15:26:00 (Associated Press).- Ethiopian
rebels who have fought alongside Islamic militants in neighboring Somalia stormed a Chinese-run oil field at dawn Tuesday, killing 74 people and destroying the exploration facility in a restive border region. It was the first such attack
on a foreign company in this Horn of Africa nation, in contrast to Nigeria on the western side of the continent, where rebel groups frequently attack international oil concerns. Chinese officials said nine Chinese oil workers and 65 Ethiopians died and seven Chinese were taken away by the rebels. It wasn't known if the rebels suffered any casualties. The assault by more than 200 gunmen lasted nearly an hour, and followed a warning last year from the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front against any investment in eastern Ethiopia's Ogaden area that could benefit the U.S.-allied government. Formed by Ethiopia's ethnic Somali minority, the Muslim group has been fighting for secession of the Britain-sized region with 4 mi
Debate on Virginia Tech Muslims Students' Mailing List Concerning Permissibility of Praying for Mercy for Non-Muslim Victims 2007-04-25 13:40:00 The liberal Arabic-language website Aafaq reports that a Muslim
student set off a debate when she sent an email to the mailing list of a Muslim students' association (rabitat al-tullab al-muslimin) at Virginia
Tech asking the students to pray that Allah have mercy on those killed and wounded in the shooting attack at the university. According to Aafaq, the dean of student affairs at American International University, Abu Hamza Hijji, responded, writing that Allah the Most Merciful forbids praying for mercy for the non-Muslim dead, or even for the non-Muslim living, and that it is only permitted to pray that they be rightly guided. He added that what happened was a sad occurrence, but that does not give Muslims
the right to transgress the laws of Allah the Most Merciful.More Read more:Debate
, Mailing
, Mailing List
, Victims
, Virginia Tech
Philippines: Abu Sayyaf beheads seven christians 2007-04-24 16:01:00 (ADNKI).- The al-Qaeda-linked Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels have decapitated seven hostages and sent their heads to the army in Jolo, in the southern Philippines
archipelago of Sulu. The victims, all Christians, were working on a government road construction project in the city of Parang, when they were abducted Tuesday by rebels led by commander Albader Parad. The Philiippine army said on Friday it will intensify its efforts to wipe out Abu Sayyaf. Two were reportedly teenagers, aged 16 and 17, who were working to pay for their college education and help their impoverished parents in nearby Zamboanga City. Militants had asked a ransom of 5 million pesos, approximately 105,000 dollars for them. Military sources say the beheadings are Aby Sayyaf's response to the army's offensive against the rebel group which started last August. Over 70 alleged terrorists, including Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffi Janjalani who died in a firefight in September 2006, have been killed in the offensive.More
Sunni sheiks in Anbar to form new national party to oppose al-Qaida 2007-04-23 15:40:00 More than 200 Sunni
sheiks in Iraq's western Anbar province have decided to form a new political party to oppose al-Qaida. The men met Thursday in Ramadi, Anbar's provincial capital, and agreed to form a new party called Iraq Awakening, said Sheik Jubeir Rashid, a participant at the meeting. The group would be a national party, with a platform of opposition to al-Qaida and cooperation with the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. Rashid is also an aide to Sheik Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi, leader of the Anbar Salvation Council — an alliance of clans in the province which back the government. Al-Rishawi is one of the chief organizers of the new party as well. The Iraq Awakening party would not be linked to any existing Sunni groups, Rashid said.More
Italy: New 'immigrant party' launched 2007-04-30 08:23:00 (ADNKI).- A new political party representing the interests of immigrants has been launched in Italy
, coinciding with proposed changes to the law which would allow immigrants the right to vote in Italian local body elections. "The party is a result of the collaboration between Italians and the representatives of the main immigrant communities present here in Rome," Ukrainian Maria Pratsiuk, spokesperson of "Nuovi Italiani" (New Italians) told Adnkronos International (AKI). "If parliament approves the bill presented in cabinet on Tuesday... there will be a million and a half new electors in Italy," added Pratsiuk. "The creation of this new party coincides with the decree-law changing the current immigration norms. The text applies the Strasbourg Convention giving active and passive voting rights in local administrations to foreigners who have lived legally in Italy for more than five years," she said.More...
Guantanamo prisoners have no place to go 2007-05-03 10:00:00 (ADNKI).- The US military has cleared as many as 85 Guantanamo prisoners for release but they are still at the prison camp because they have no where to go. Only three have gone home. Eighty-two remain at the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as US officials try to find a country that would accept them. In many cases, the prisoners' countries do not want them back. Yemen, for instance, has refused to accept some of the 106 Yemeni nationals at Guantanamo. US laws prevent the deportation of people to countries where they could face torture or other human rights abuses. Virtually, all the prisoners at Guantanamo come from countries that the State Department has cited for records of human rights abuses. There are 17 Chinese Muslim separatists who have been cleared for release but fear they could be executed for political reasons if returned to China. Compounding the problem are persistent refusals by the United States, its European allies and other countries to grant asylum to prisoners wh
Iran’s complicity in al-Qaeda operations 2007-05-02 12:17:00 (DEBKAfile).- The US Pentagon states that the senior al Qaeda
operative -Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi- was captured by the CIA at an undisclosed location while attempting to reach his native Iraq after meeting al Qaeda operatives in Iran. DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources say this disclosure points to four significant developments:1. Iran is again providing al Qaeda members with a path to Iraq from Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2002, the Islamic Republic afforded defeated al Qaeda groups an escape route from Afghanistan.2. Iran is allowing al Qaeda terrorists operating in Iraq to strike from within its borders. Evidence of this, if confirmed by al Hadi ,would further exacerbate the military tensions between Washington and Tehran.3. DEBKAfile’s sources surmise that he was picked up crossing the Iranian border into Iraq.4. Word is awaited to clarify if the CIA’s capture of al Hadi’s capture was a fluke or the result of a tip-off by an Iraqi informant, whether in Kurdistan or from inside
U.S. military arrived in Algeria to fight al-Qaida 2007-05-05 08:56:00 According to Washington Examiner newspaper, United States of America have sent U.S. Marines and a group of military experts specialised in intelligence to Algeria upon its request in order to help the country fight
ing terrorism. Adm. Eric T. Olson, SoCom's deputy commander said the U.S. military arrived in Algeria after Algerian authorities had asked for the American help and declared the war against “al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb”. This terrorist organisation targeted Algiers in April 11th by suicide bombings attacks. The American special operations troops are on a mission to train Algerian troops in how to track and capture terrorists, said Washington Examiner. The deployment of U.S. special operation forces is not just in Northern Africa, but in several parts of the world, in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, said Eric T. Olson. He added that U.S. Special Command did not have enough for the increasing demands. The Pentagon's decided to devote $2,5 billion for 2008 budget pro
Sudan: Evangelists killed in Nuba mountains 2007-05-04 13:24:00 (Compass Direct News) – An Egyptian and three Sudan
ese Christians were killed last week when their truck came under gunfire after holding an evangelistic meeting in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains region. Egyptian Daniel Girgis, 37, and local Sudanese Christians Markous Tiya, Rihab Kafi Jadeen and an unidentified young boy were killed when unknown assailants opened fire on their vehicle last Friday night (April 27). At least five others, two foreigners and three Sudanese, were injured in the attack that began when the truck driver refused to stop at a makeshift roadblock of large rocks. “When they finished [showing] the Jesus film [in the village of Gnaya] they were going back to the town they were visiting,” Barnaba Timothous, evangelism coordinator at the Bahry Evangelical Church, told Compass. “On their way there, someone behind the mountain fired at them. It was night, they saw just two men.” Though the motive for the attack remains unclear, Timothous said he suspects it was cau Read more:Evangelists
, mountains
Schalit´s incertain future 2007-05-10 11:05:00 Hamas's armed wing, Izzadin a-Kassam, has threatened to execute kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit if the army enters Gaza. In an as-yet-unpublished statement to a Palestinian Web site, the group's spokesman, Abu Obaidah, was quoted as saying that if the IDF carries out a military incursion in Gaza, Schalit's life could be in clear danger, and he may even be killed. "One way or another, it is in the hands of Izzadin Kassam," Obaidah said in the statement. Shortly after the report was released, Hamas sources in Gaza denied that Abu Obaidah had made any such statement.In response, MK Yisrael Katz (Likud) called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to declare that if Hamas harmed Schalit, PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and his friends in the Hamas government would be assassinated. More
Al-Qaeda: Hamas betrayed God 2007-05-09 11:23:00 Terror group says it cannot 'keep silent' over Hamas
path 'which will lead to hell'.Hamas has been accused of "betraying its own martyrs and God" during a recent statement issued by al-Qaeda
.A video made by al-Qaeda leader Yahya al-Libi, who is in Afghanistan, was released at the end of April. Ynetnews has obtained the full recording, one of a number of growing scathing verbal attacks on Hamas by al-Qaeda."I am sending this message to the people of Palestine, whose blood is being shed by the Jewish occupiers," al-Libi said. "Hamas has abandoned jihad for politics. It has betrayed its youths. Its main activity is politics. Since its decision to go down the path of politics, Hamas has begun to descend on a downhill slope. They betrayed the dreams of their young fighters and they stabbed them in the back," al-Libi added.More
Al-Qaeda fanatics in bid toi join MI5 2007-05-08 18:46:00 AL QAEDA extremists are trying to infiltrate Britain’s spy agencies. Dozens of suspected Islamic fanatics have been weeded out after attempting to join MI5 and MI6.They were identified by the vetting process applicants go through over six to eight months.The success in exposing the moles has underlined the dangers faced by the security services as they seek to recruit more Muslims.Britain is also facing a bigger threat from home-grown extremists than has so far been admitted, say experts.Police and MI5 say they are working at full stretch to defend Britain from Al Qaeda
attacks.Last week MI5 declared there were 2,000 terror suspects and their supporters active in the UK. Lord Stevens, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, believes the true figure is nearer 4,000. He called on the Government to increase the manpower of police and intelligence services to combat Al Qaeda-linked terror gangs.In full
Cheney Lines up Middle East Arab Allies for US Iraq Pull-out and Possible Iran Attack 2007-05-12 18:43:00 DEBKAfile - US Vice President Dick Cheney
arrived in Riyadh Sat. May 12, with a full caseload for his talks with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz . He is seeking coordination with the Saudis in good time for the approaching winding-down of US military forces in Iraq
. Cheney will also clinch the Bush administration’s offer to double the Saudi air force in size, boosting its capability for contending with Iranian air might and the Revolutionary Guards’ naval and marine strength. More Read more:Lines
, Middle East
, Possible
Saudi Arabia: Bin Laden fatwa behind attack on oil platform 2007-05-16 09:38:00 Osama bin Laden directly ordered the failed attack
against an oil platform in SaudiArabia
in February 2006, Saudi authorities announced on Tuesday. The revelation came from a terror suspect arrested by the police accused of having given logistic support to the suicide bomb cell that sought to attack the Abqiq site. Abdullah al-Muqrin said "an operation of this nature could not be carried out without a fatwa (religious edict) from bin Laden himself and to receive it we had to wait for eight months". According to the statements by the terror suspects, the aim of the terror network was to reproduce in the kingdom the same effect that the 11 September attacks had in the United States. In addition, the cell reportedly planned to carry out attakcs in neighbouring Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Last month the Saudi authorities arrested 172 suspected members of seven terrorist cells, some of whom had reportedly been training as pilots to be used in attacks on state oil sites. More Read more:behind
, Bin Laden
, Saudi Arabia
Hezbollah builds a Western base: From inside South America’s Tri-border area, Iran-linked militia targets U.S. 2007-05-15 17:28:00 The Iranian-backed Hezbollah
militia has taken root in SouthAmerica
, fostering a well-financed force of Islamist radicals. From its Western
base in a remote region divided by the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina known as the Tri-border, or the Triple Frontier, Hezbollah has mined the frustrations of many Muslims among about 25,000 Arab residents whose families immigrated mainly from Lebanon.An investigation by Telemundo and NBC News has uncovered details of an extensive smuggling network run by Hezbollah. The operation funnels large sums of money to militia leaders in the Middle East and finances training camps, propaganda operations and bomb attacks in South America
, according to U.S. and South American officials. U.S. officials fear that poorly patrolled borders and rampant corruption in the Tri-border region could make it easy for Hezbollah terrorists to infiltrate the southern U.S. border. In full Read more:inside
, linked
, targets
Germany Terror Threat May Involve Kurd Radicals 2007-05-14 11:05:00 A threat warning issued by the United States in Germany
last month could involve attack plans by an al Qaeda-affiliated group of Kurdish militants, officials said on Friday. U.S. and German authorities said, however, that there was no new threat in Germany beyond the official April 20 State Department warning. They were responding to a report by ABC News on its Web site on Friday that officials believe terrorists were in the advanced planning stages for an attack on U.S. military personnel or tourists in Germany.Some German media reports have suggested involvement by Iraqi militants. However, U.S. officials rejected the notion of a role by Ansar al-Islam, a militant group of Iraqi Kurds and Arabs who have vowed to establish an independent Islamic state in Iraq. "There is intelligence reporting suggesting there is a group interested in staging an attack, potentially in Germany," said a U.S. official who asked not to be named because the issue involves classified information.In full Read more:Involve
, Radicals
, Terror
Turkish Daily Hurriyet: "Turkey - A Stage For Spy Wars Related to Iran's Nuclear Activities" 2007-05-17 21:46:00 The mainstream, high circulation Turkish
daily Hurriyet reported on the mysterious crash of a small aircraft near Trabzon, under the headline "Again, Iran. Again, A General. Again, Nuclear
Espionage."The paper said that on May 10, during a visit to Ankara, retired Pakistani general Zakaullah Bhangoo, who is close to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, flew in a Sky Arrow 650T craft piloted by a Briton, Michael Newman, to the Turkish city of Trabzon, on the Black Sea. After spending the night in a small neighborhood hotel, the two took off for Tebriz, Iran.When the plane did not arrive at its destination, search and rescue operations were launched; the remains of the plane and the bodies of the two were found in a forested area near Trabzon.While the crash is being investigated, autopsies were carried out on the two victims. The bodies will be repatriated via their countries’ diplomatic missions.The Turkish daily Hurriyet reported that authorities had confirmed that the Turkish Inte Read more:Daily
, Stage
, Turkey
Al Qaeda's New Front in Lebanon 2007-05-22 00:51:00 Walid Phares - In northern Lebanon
, a group named Fatah al Islam conducted several attacks against the Lebanese Army, killing (up to) 25 soldiers and losing (up to) 15 members in addition to civilian casualties. The fighting is still raging at this hour. This security development, which could be happening in many other spots in the troubled Middle East, from Iraq to Gaza, and from Somalia to Afghanistan, has however a special dimension. It signals in fact the opening of a new front in the War with al Qaeda
’s Terror: Lebanon.Fatah al Islam, formed last November and headed by Palestinian-born Shaker Absi, is linked directly to al Qaeda. Absi was a colleague of Jordanian-born Abu Musab al Zarqawi, killed by an US air raid last year. Fatah al Islam since its inception has told its supporters and the population in its areas of training and operations that it follows the Jihad of al Qaeda.Fatah al Islam aims at creating an "Emirate" (Islamist principality as in the Taliban model) in the Su Read more:Front
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