European terror arrests: The Bosnian connection

European terror arrests: The Bosnian connection

A European terror cell that recruited suicide bombers and insurgent fighters for Iraq and Afghanistan has been dismantled yesterday in a series of coordinated raids in Italy, France and Portugal.

20 Algerian and Tunisian militants have been arrested throughout Europe. The leaders of the group, Dridi Sabri, Mehdi Ben Nasr and Imed Ben Zarkaoui where operating from Northern Italy since at least 2002.

Among the arrested cell members in Italy was Bechir Kaouana (37), a Tunisian who since 1999 is known to have connections with the terrorist network of Essid Sami Ben Khemais. During searches at his home at the time, propaganda material was found, including a videotape on “Jihad in Chechnya” with pictures of fighting mujahideen and summary executions of Russian soldiers captured by Chechen rebels.

Another arrested cell member, Tunisian Habib Ignaoua (47), was also identified in 1998 as a member of the cell of Ben Khemais. According to Italian legal records, Ignaoua is as a veteran of the Bosnian war.

Two other men were arrested in England under an extradition warrant from the Italian authorities on charges of providing logistical support to the cell between 2003 and 2005. The Italians charged them for providing forged documents facilitating the illegal entry into Italy of recruited volunteers on their way to fight jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ali Ben Zidane Chehidi (34), was arrested in the London suburb of Croydon, and Mohamed Salah Ben Hamadi Khemiri (53), was arrested in the northern English city of Manchester.

Interestingly, Khemiri is also a veteran of the Bosnian war, where he is believed to have fought with the Muslim Mujahideen Brigade according to our sources. One document from the Bosnian police lists “Mohamed Salah Khemiri”, son of Hamad, born on April 7, 1954 in Beja, Tunisia. Khemiri was granted Bosnian citizenship in 1995, as were hundreds of foreign fighters.

In a pattern recently highlighted by the British MI5 Director-General, the cell was recruiting young candidates for suicide bombings. The core of the network was led and coordinated by Algerian and Tunisian veterans of the Bosnian war, that now appears as a key factor in many European terrorist networks.

According to the Italian investigation, the cell was financed by the trafficking of false passports and by donations raised in mosques. The cell was using legitimate businesses fronts to cover its activities, including butcher shops, call centers and car dealers.

During an intercepted telephone conversation in November 2006, the leader of cell reportedly said: “We want projects for the long term. Create a group of three or four persons with no criminal records, and with legal documents. We should open three or four butcher shops in Italy, and France. We should open a call center and trade in clothing. I’m talking about projects that bring profits.”

Click to view an exclusive surveillance video of the cell provided by the Special Operations Unit of the Italian police (ros_surveillance_tape.avi).

 

 <http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/2007/11/european-terror.html>

 

An inside look at the Swiss investigation on Yassin Al Kadi

An inside look at the Swiss investigation on Yassin Al Kadi

The Canadian press recently provided an inside look into the Swiss investigation on Yassin Al Kadi. According to the report, in 2006 the Swiss judge investigating the case of Yassin Al Kadi has requested the Canadian judicial cooperation to provide insights on Kadi’s relationship to Ibrahim Afandi, a Saudi businessman who has been for years a member of the executive board of the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and whose name appeared on the “Golden Chain”, a list of individuals suspected of having provided financial support to the Al Qaeda network in or about 1988, that we’ve recovered from archives of a Bosnian charity in 2003. His name also appeared in the Al Taqwa Bank phonebook seized at Youssef Nada’s house in 2001.

The Swiss judge specifically requested access to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) files in order to assess “links and/or interesting similarities between some financial set-ups performed by Mr. Yasin Al Kadi and Mr. Ibrahim Afandi”.

In an unusual interview during the course of an ongoing investigation, the Swiss judge said she was “looking for evidence, for connections with other proceedings” in America and Europe.

The Canadian press report suggests that the Swiss authorities are carrying out a broad investigation, extended from the Swiss transactions that have shaped the initial prosecution, to include international collateral and tangential networks.

The ongoing case against Al Kadi was opened by the Swiss Federal Prosecutor on October 15, 2001. Al Kadi was formally charged in July 2003 of participating to a criminal organization. In June 2005, the case was transferred to a Swiss Federal investigative judge.

 

 <http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/2007/11/an-inside-look-.html>

 

Muslim forces anesthetist from operating room

November 13, 2007

Muslim forces anesthetist from operating room

Here’s a glimpse into the New Europe, courtesy the ReligionNewsBlog (thanks to all who sent this in):

A Belgian anesthetist has filed a complaint against a Muslim who blocked him from entering the operating theatre where his wife was to undergo emergency surgery.

The woman was operated with the male doctor shouting instructions from a hallway to a female nurse.

Doctor Philippe Becx from Bree, Belgium, was called to the hospital in the middle of the night because a woman had to undergo an emergeny caesarean section.

However, her husband blocked the door and demanded a female anesthetist. The latter was unavailable.

After a two-hour discussion proved fruitless, an imam was summoned. The imam permitted the doctor to apply an epidural injection, but only if the woman was fully covered with only a small area of skin showing.

During the surgery itself, performed by a female gynecologist, the anesthetist was to remain in the hallway. Through a door that was slightly ajar, he shouted instructions to a nurse who was monitoring the anesthesia.

According the hospital’s directors, the doctor acted with ‘admirable understanding.’ He would have been in his right to have the man removed by

 

 <http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/018782.php>

Italy: Pakistani man sentenced to 30 years in jail for daughter’s ‘honor killing’

November 13, 2007

Italy: Pakistani man sentenced to 30 years in jail for daughter’s ‘honor killing’

“She was found with her throat slit buried in the garden of her family home with her head facing Mecca.”

An update on this story. “Italy: Pakistani man sentenced to 30 years in jail for daughter’s ‘honour killing’,” from Adnkronos International:

Brescia, 13 Nov. (AKI) – A Pakistani man in Italy, Mohammed Saleem, and two male relatives, have been sentenced to 30 years in jail in the northern Italian town of Brescia for murdering his daughter, Hina Saleem.

Hina’s maternal uncle was also implicated in the crime and received a sentence of two years and eight months for helping to conceal her body.

In what has been termed an ‘honour killing’ the Pakistani girl was allegedly killed because she had “dishonoured” her family and refused an arranged marriage.

Hina, dressed in western clothes, wore make up, worked in a pizzeria in the northern town of Sarezzo and lived with her Italian boyfriend. She was found with her throat slit buried in the garden of her family home with her head facing Mecca in August 2006.

Her father Mohammed confessed to her slaying.

When the sentence was announced in the court on Tuesday, Hina’s mother broke down and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

The case shocked Italy and sparked a debate about the integration of Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic country.

As well it should.

 

 <http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/018785.php>