6/3/2010 7:47 AM ET
(RTTNews) - The chief of Russia's state security service has disclosed that the Winter Olympic Games the country is to host in four years faces threat from rebel groups.
The Black Sea resort city of Sochi, venue for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, is close to Russia's North Caucasus region, scene of a long-running Islamist insurgency.
Russian news agencies quoted head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov as saying that he believed that Islamist insurgent groups would try to force the cancellation of the Games, but did not mention any specific plots.
He warned of a possibility similar to the cancellation of the Lisbon-Dakar Rally in 2008 following threats from al-Qaeda. "Militant leaders have clearly expressed their intention to play out a similar scenario on the eve of the 2014 Olympics," he told a security conference in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on Thursday.
"The threat of terrorist acts is becoming a factor which exerts a serious influence on political decision-making," he added.
He also told the conference that Russia's security forces had prevented 23 terrorist attacks and detained more than 250 bandits and their associates so far this year.
A sharp upswing in lawlessness and separatist violence in Muslim-dominated autonomous Republics in the North Caucasus - Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia - is undermining Kremlin's control of its southern flank.
Several people, including Ministers and top government officials, had been killed in attacks by armed militants.
Muslim separatists from the Caucasus region have been blamed for bomb attacks on the Metro system in Moscow and elsewhere in the country.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Who is the real Muslim?
Wednesday June 02, 2010 (1557 PST)
After each terrorist attack, the favourite statement of the PML-N and other right wing parties is, “No Muslim can do this.” Are they actually asserting that the act was not carried out by Muslims but by the followers of another religion? Were these people Muslims before the act but after they carried out the attack, they were no longer the same? The case of the May 28 attacks on the Ahmedi community is of particular importance in this regard.
Unfortunately, they have been declared ‘non-Muslims’ by the revered constitution. Well, here we have a couple of ‘non-Muslims’ who, according to witnesses, raised “Allah is great” slogans before throwing each grenade, killing a few dozen other ‘non-Muslims’ who, at that moment were worshipping the same ‘Allah’ in a place that appears to be a mosque, but cannot be referred to by that name. Both the attackers and the victims claim they will enter heaven as promised in the holy book.
Was it just an infidel killing a few other infidels, thus exonerating the Muslims and the Islamic government of Pakistan of any responsibility? What about the madrassa where they underwent training? Was it also run by ‘non-Muslims’?
Is there any chance the government will crack down on these terrorists and their mentors while they are still ‘Muslims’ and the only ‘un-Islamic’ act of their austere lives is still on the planning desk?
After each terrorist attack, the favourite statement of the PML-N and other right wing parties is, “No Muslim can do this.” Are they actually asserting that the act was not carried out by Muslims but by the followers of another religion? Were these people Muslims before the act but after they carried out the attack, they were no longer the same? The case of the May 28 attacks on the Ahmedi community is of particular importance in this regard.
Unfortunately, they have been declared ‘non-Muslims’ by the revered constitution. Well, here we have a couple of ‘non-Muslims’ who, according to witnesses, raised “Allah is great” slogans before throwing each grenade, killing a few dozen other ‘non-Muslims’ who, at that moment were worshipping the same ‘Allah’ in a place that appears to be a mosque, but cannot be referred to by that name. Both the attackers and the victims claim they will enter heaven as promised in the holy book.
Was it just an infidel killing a few other infidels, thus exonerating the Muslims and the Islamic government of Pakistan of any responsibility? What about the madrassa where they underwent training? Was it also run by ‘non-Muslims’?
Is there any chance the government will crack down on these terrorists and their mentors while they are still ‘Muslims’ and the only ‘un-Islamic’ act of their austere lives is still on the planning desk?
Belmarsh inmates plotted to behead guard on video
Prison Officers' Association reveals 'credible intelligence' of foiled plot to highlight growing threat of serious attacks in prison
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Mark Townsend
The Observer, Sunday 6 June 2010
Article history
Inmates at one of Britain's highest-security jails hatched a plot to behead a prison officer and post the killing on the internet, officials have revealed.
The Prison Officers' Association said it had received "credible intelligence" of a kidnap plot by a group of Muslim extremist inmates at Belmarsh prison in south-east London. The plot was subsequently foiled, but officers warn that serious attacks on prison guards have hit an all-time high.
The association said that scores of its members have had to be moved to "safe houses" or temporary hotel accommodation after receiving threats from inmates, and that an increasing number of shivs – knife-like weapons – are being made inside jails. Three prison guards in Frankland top-security prison in county Durham were recently stabbed with a shard of glass.
Glyn Travis, assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said: "The concern throughout the prison estate is that a member of staff is going to get killed."
Prison authorities compiled an action plan two years ago for dealing with a kidnap plot involving radicalised Muslim convicts. The Belmarsh beheading plot was hatched three years ago; Travis said he had decided to reveal details now because of growing risks to his members.
Latest official figures show that a record 1,177 assaults resulted in serious injury in 2008. According to the association, current projections indicate the level of assaults for last year is likely to eclipse that total by several hundred.
The association is pressing for a meeting with the new justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, to discuss a review on protective clothing and safety gear.
(2)
Tweet this (8)
Mark Townsend
The Observer, Sunday 6 June 2010
Article history
Inmates at one of Britain's highest-security jails hatched a plot to behead a prison officer and post the killing on the internet, officials have revealed.
The Prison Officers' Association said it had received "credible intelligence" of a kidnap plot by a group of Muslim extremist inmates at Belmarsh prison in south-east London. The plot was subsequently foiled, but officers warn that serious attacks on prison guards have hit an all-time high.
The association said that scores of its members have had to be moved to "safe houses" or temporary hotel accommodation after receiving threats from inmates, and that an increasing number of shivs – knife-like weapons – are being made inside jails. Three prison guards in Frankland top-security prison in county Durham were recently stabbed with a shard of glass.
Glyn Travis, assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said: "The concern throughout the prison estate is that a member of staff is going to get killed."
Prison authorities compiled an action plan two years ago for dealing with a kidnap plot involving radicalised Muslim convicts. The Belmarsh beheading plot was hatched three years ago; Travis said he had decided to reveal details now because of growing risks to his members.
Latest official figures show that a record 1,177 assaults resulted in serious injury in 2008. According to the association, current projections indicate the level of assaults for last year is likely to eclipse that total by several hundred.
The association is pressing for a meeting with the new justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, to discuss a review on protective clothing and safety gear.
2 Killed, 28 Injured In Bomb Attacks By Suspected Muslim Rebels In Thailand
(RTTNews) - Two people were killed and 28 injured in bomb attacks by suspected Muslim separatists in the Southern Thai city of Yala, 700 kilometers south of the capital Bangkok, officials told media on Tuesday.
The first blast occurred outside a car showroom when a bomb placed on a motorcycle went off while the second one took place in front of a nearby photo shop.
Thai authorities blamed the attacks on Islamist insurgents who have been active in the country's southernmost provinces -Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala - which have seen a surge in violence over the past six years as a result of a long-running separatist movement.
Until now some 3,700 people have died in clashes, bombings, revenge killings and beheadings there with the separatists adopting a tit-for-tat strategy in the fight against government forces.
It is believed that the inability of the region's majority Malay population to assimilate themselves with Thai customs has fueled separatist sentiments.
The first blast occurred outside a car showroom when a bomb placed on a motorcycle went off while the second one took place in front of a nearby photo shop.
Thai authorities blamed the attacks on Islamist insurgents who have been active in the country's southernmost provinces -Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala - which have seen a surge in violence over the past six years as a result of a long-running separatist movement.
Until now some 3,700 people have died in clashes, bombings, revenge killings and beheadings there with the separatists adopting a tit-for-tat strategy in the fight against government forces.
It is believed that the inability of the region's majority Malay population to assimilate themselves with Thai customs has fueled separatist sentiments.
4 killed, more than 10 wounded by militants in Russia's restive southern province
NAZRAN, Russia — Several attacks by militants across Russia's restive North Caucasus on Friday killed at least four people, including a police officer and a local administrator, officials said.
In the province of Ingushetia west of Chechnya, unidentified assailants shot and killed a sales clerk at a grocery store in the village of Sagapshi in the province. When a group of police officers and local officials arrived at the scene, they were hit by an explosion and more than 10 were wounded, regional police spokeswoman Madina Khadziyeva said.
Islamic rebels in Russia's North Caucasus region have widely employed such tactics, targeting officials who arrive to investigate an attack with a second explosion.
In a separate attack in the Caspian Sea province of Dagestan east of Chechnya, an unidentified gunman killed a local administrator in the village of Magaramkent. His predecessor was killed last fall, said Nizami Radzhabov, a spokesman for the regional branch of Russia's top investigative body.
And in the village of Novye Tarki near Dagestan's provincial capital, Makhachkala, an unidentified attacker opened fire at crowd of people leaving a local mosque, killing one and wounding another person, Radzhabov said.
The mostly Muslim provinces in Russia's North Caucasus have been destabilized by regular attacks by Islamic militancy. Rights groups said endemic poverty, broad unemployment and police abuses against suspects have contributed to swelling the ranks of rebels.
In the province of Ingushetia west of Chechnya, unidentified assailants shot and killed a sales clerk at a grocery store in the village of Sagapshi in the province. When a group of police officers and local officials arrived at the scene, they were hit by an explosion and more than 10 were wounded, regional police spokeswoman Madina Khadziyeva said.
Islamic rebels in Russia's North Caucasus region have widely employed such tactics, targeting officials who arrive to investigate an attack with a second explosion.
In a separate attack in the Caspian Sea province of Dagestan east of Chechnya, an unidentified gunman killed a local administrator in the village of Magaramkent. His predecessor was killed last fall, said Nizami Radzhabov, a spokesman for the regional branch of Russia's top investigative body.
And in the village of Novye Tarki near Dagestan's provincial capital, Makhachkala, an unidentified attacker opened fire at crowd of people leaving a local mosque, killing one and wounding another person, Radzhabov said.
The mostly Muslim provinces in Russia's North Caucasus have been destabilized by regular attacks by Islamic militancy. Rights groups said endemic poverty, broad unemployment and police abuses against suspects have contributed to swelling the ranks of rebels.
Muslim Activists Murder Three Farmers
RELIGION — BY ARNOLD VINTNER ON JUNE 5, 2010 AT 2:50 AM
Muslim activists from the Abu Sayyaf group murdered three rubber farm workers this week outside the Sumisip township in the Philippines.
The activists, led by senior Abu Sayyaf commander Furuji Indama, abducted the men from a passenger mini-bus on 27 May. The Muslims demanded 3 million Philippine pesos (approximately $64,000 USD) from their families. The families had no ability to pay the ransom and the Muslims responded by murdering the hostages.
Abu Sayyaf and other Muslim groups believe that all non-Muslims must pay Muslims tribute (Jizya) for protection against these attacks. This belief is codified in the Qua’ran:
9:29 Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low.
It is also supported in the Hadith:
Muslim (19:4294):If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah’s help and fight them.
Bukhari (53:386): Our Prophet, the Messenger of our Lord, has ordered us to fight you till you worship Allah Alone or give Jizya (i.e. tribute); and our Prophet has informed us that our Lord says:– “Whoever amongst us is killed (i.e. martyred), shall go to Paradise to lead such a luxurious life as he has never seen, and whoever amongst us remain alive, shall become your master.”
Ishaq 956 & 962: He who withholds the Jizya is an enemy of Allah and His apostle.
The Abu Sayyaf group is a part of the worldwide Islamist movement which seeks to overthrow secular governments and replace them with an Islamic caliphate ruled by sharia law.
Muslim activists from the Abu Sayyaf group murdered three rubber farm workers this week outside the Sumisip township in the Philippines.
The activists, led by senior Abu Sayyaf commander Furuji Indama, abducted the men from a passenger mini-bus on 27 May. The Muslims demanded 3 million Philippine pesos (approximately $64,000 USD) from their families. The families had no ability to pay the ransom and the Muslims responded by murdering the hostages.
Abu Sayyaf and other Muslim groups believe that all non-Muslims must pay Muslims tribute (Jizya) for protection against these attacks. This belief is codified in the Qua’ran:
9:29 Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low.
It is also supported in the Hadith:
Muslim (19:4294):If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah’s help and fight them.
Bukhari (53:386): Our Prophet, the Messenger of our Lord, has ordered us to fight you till you worship Allah Alone or give Jizya (i.e. tribute); and our Prophet has informed us that our Lord says:– “Whoever amongst us is killed (i.e. martyred), shall go to Paradise to lead such a luxurious life as he has never seen, and whoever amongst us remain alive, shall become your master.”
Ishaq 956 & 962: He who withholds the Jizya is an enemy of Allah and His apostle.
The Abu Sayyaf group is a part of the worldwide Islamist movement which seeks to overthrow secular governments and replace them with an Islamic caliphate ruled by sharia law.
Two N.J. men arrested at JFK airport before boarding plane to join Islamist terrorist group, authorities say
NEWARK — Two New Jersey men intent on killing American troops were arrested Saturday as they boarded flights to link up with a virulent jihadist group in Somalia, authorities said.
The men, both North Jersey residents, were charged with conspiring to commit an act of international terrorism through a group tied to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network, according to officials familiar with the details of the arrests.
Mohamed Hamoud Alessa, 20, of North Bergen, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 26, of Elmwood Park were apprehended at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens before they could board separate flights to Egypt, where they were to start journeys to Somalia. The men were arrested by teams of state and federal law-enforcement agents who have been investigating the pair since October 2006, according to the officials, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the operation publicly.
Late Saturday night, the state homeland security agency confirmed a police action at the airport but gave few details.
"Two individuals were arrested at JFK in connection with an ongoing investigation. At this time, we can provide no further details because the investigation is ongoing. The arrests do not relate to an immediate threat," said Jose Lozano, a spokesman for the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.
U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Rebekah Carmichael issued a similar statement just after midnight, , saying "the arrests do not relate to any known immediate threat to the public or active plot against the United States."
About 90 minutes earlier, shortly after 10:30 p.m., FBI agents sealed off Alessa’s street in North Bergen. The local police department would say only that an investigation was in progress. FBI agents, North Bergen police and the New York Police Department descended on the home on 81st Street as neighbors looked on. According to property records, Alessa’s parents, Mahmoud and Nadia Alessa, rented the top floor of their house amid a quiet row of middle-class homes. As agents poured in, lights went on throughout the house.
Just over 10 miles away, in Elmwood Park, over a dozen cars with agents and police arrived at Almonte’s home about 11 p.m. Neighbors emerged from their homes as the racket from the raid broke the silence of quiet Falmouth Avenue. Again, agents turned on lights throughout the house, from the basement to the attic. They also could be seen looking around the exterior with flashlights and also searched the detached garage. Neighbors of Almonte declined to comment, but a couple who appeared to be family members showed up around 11:30 and greeted the agents as if they knew them.
The older man was escorted into the house and could be seen embracing one of the FBI agents in the kitchen.
Throughout the night, agents brought out about a dozen white cardboard boxes and loaded them into an FBI van. At 1:30 a.m., an agent carried out the central processing unit of a personal computer, wrapped in red tape.
Well past midnight, neighbors could be seen sitting outside their houses to watch the ongoing raid.
Mary Laboeria, a resident of Falmouth Avenue for nearly 40 years who lives three houses down from the Almonte residence, said she was surprised that someone on her street had any alleged ties to terrorism.
"I'm shocked. He graduated in our school system," she said. "It really hurts. We don't need it."
Neither Alessa nor Almonte is married. Both are American citizens, said the anonymous officials.
The men are scheduled to appear Monday in U.S. District Court in Newark.
The arrests were the culmination of Operation Arabian Knight. Details were still sketchy Saturday night, but authorities said the suspects have been under surveillance for some time and were being shadowed by an undercover New York City cop who managed to infiltrate their circle of friends and keep tabs as they consumed jihadist videos and literature, bought airline tickets and prepared to travel overseas.
Officials said the suspects were not planning an imminent attack in the New Jersey-New York area but were believed to be joining with the terrorist fight against Americans in Somalia.
Authorities said the men planned to wage jihad as part of a Somalia-based Islamist terror group called al Shabaab, an organization of several thousand fighters spread through Somalia’s southern region. Al Shabaab, whose full Arabic name means "Mujahideen Youth Movement," has had ties to al Qaeda since 2007, according to national security experts.
Last year, federal authorities in Minnesota charged 14 men connected to a plot designed to entice young Americans to join up with al Shabaab. And, in February, the New York Times reported the group announced it was joining forces with the ‘’international jihad of Al Qaeda."
As in the Minnesota case, investigators believe Alessa and Almonte were recruited by others, who are also now coming under scrutiny. "We hope this will lead to a spider web of arrests," said one official briefed on the case.
Officials said the New Jersey suspects were believed to have led fairly normal lives in North Jersey but then started acting strangely and gravitating toward anti-American sentiment. Their families aided in the investigation after growing worried about the beliefs and actions of the men, officials close to the probe said.
The arrests come on the heels of last month’s attempt to set off a car bomb in Times Square and, before that, the Christmas Day incident in which a 23-year-old Nigerian tried to blow up an airliner by setting off explosives inside his underwear. Both attacks were unsuccessful.
Saturday night’s arrests had been planned for days, officials said, as agents tried to determine the best possible time and place to apprehend the men without interfering in their planning or tipping them off. In order to prove the suspects had "intent" to commit an act of terror, federal prosecutors in New Jersey insisted that the men be allowed to go to the airport and begin the boarding process. That way, there would be less of a chance they could later say they had changed their mind or grown uneasy with their plans.
By early Saturday morning, agents had worked out a strategy of following the men to the airport and tracking them through their security check-in, officials said. After that, they planned to quietly get the men out of public view so their arrests could not be seen by any associates who might have been following them. The men were allowed to make it to the jetway boarding ramps before agents took them into custody.
The arrests and planning were coordinated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a multi-agency group that includes agents of the FBI, state homeland security office, New York Police Department, Port Authority police and an assortment of federal security agencies. The investigation began as two separate probes after the FBI and New Jersey homeland security detectives received individual tips about the men, officials said.
In the months leading up to their planned travel, authorities said, Alessa and Almonte saved thousands of dollars, conditioned themselves physically through tactical training and dry runs at paintball fields and acquired gear and apparel to be used once they joined up with al Shabaab in Somalia. The men boasted that they wanted to wage holy war against the United States both at home and overseas, said investigators.
The prosecution of Alessa and Almonte is being led by New Jersey’s new U.S. attorney, Paul Fishman. In a meeting with The Star-Ledger’s editorial board last month, Fishman hinted there were serious national-security investigations on the verge of becoming public, though he declined to say anything more.
"There are cases in the pipeline that are of huge significance," Fishman said.
Somalia has long been a trouble spot for Western nations and, especially, the United States. With the country in tatters because of civil war, the United States sent in troops in mid-1992 and by year’s end the operation had been transformed into a military deployment designed to protect humanitarian efforts.
In October 1993, 18 American soldiers were killed trying to take out key members of the leadership of the warring clan that controlled the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Some have suggested there was a link between that skirmish and bin Laden, although others dispute that.
More recently, the Pentagon’s top commander in the region included Somalia on a small list of countries where clandestine American military operations would be targeted to disrupt militant groups.
Somalia is still caught in the throes of civil war, but there has recently been a renewed effort to bring peace to the lawless country. The United States is backing the current Somali government in its attempt to re-establish law and order.
Al Shabaab has been waging its own militant battle and has been listed on the U.S. government’s roster of international terror organizations.
According to a Council on Foreign Relations briefing, al Shabaab’s leader released a video in September 2008 pledging allegiance to bin Laden and calling for Muslim youth to come to Somalia. In February 2009, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s second-in-command, released a video that began by praising al Shabaab’s seizure of the Somali town of Baidoa. The group will "engage in Jihad against the American-made government in the same way they engaged in Jihad against the Ethiopians and the warlords before them," Zawahiri said.
The men, both North Jersey residents, were charged with conspiring to commit an act of international terrorism through a group tied to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network, according to officials familiar with the details of the arrests.
Mohamed Hamoud Alessa, 20, of North Bergen, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 26, of Elmwood Park were apprehended at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens before they could board separate flights to Egypt, where they were to start journeys to Somalia. The men were arrested by teams of state and federal law-enforcement agents who have been investigating the pair since October 2006, according to the officials, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the operation publicly.
Late Saturday night, the state homeland security agency confirmed a police action at the airport but gave few details.
"Two individuals were arrested at JFK in connection with an ongoing investigation. At this time, we can provide no further details because the investigation is ongoing. The arrests do not relate to an immediate threat," said Jose Lozano, a spokesman for the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.
U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Rebekah Carmichael issued a similar statement just after midnight, , saying "the arrests do not relate to any known immediate threat to the public or active plot against the United States."
About 90 minutes earlier, shortly after 10:30 p.m., FBI agents sealed off Alessa’s street in North Bergen. The local police department would say only that an investigation was in progress. FBI agents, North Bergen police and the New York Police Department descended on the home on 81st Street as neighbors looked on. According to property records, Alessa’s parents, Mahmoud and Nadia Alessa, rented the top floor of their house amid a quiet row of middle-class homes. As agents poured in, lights went on throughout the house.
Just over 10 miles away, in Elmwood Park, over a dozen cars with agents and police arrived at Almonte’s home about 11 p.m. Neighbors emerged from their homes as the racket from the raid broke the silence of quiet Falmouth Avenue. Again, agents turned on lights throughout the house, from the basement to the attic. They also could be seen looking around the exterior with flashlights and also searched the detached garage. Neighbors of Almonte declined to comment, but a couple who appeared to be family members showed up around 11:30 and greeted the agents as if they knew them.
The older man was escorted into the house and could be seen embracing one of the FBI agents in the kitchen.
Throughout the night, agents brought out about a dozen white cardboard boxes and loaded them into an FBI van. At 1:30 a.m., an agent carried out the central processing unit of a personal computer, wrapped in red tape.
Well past midnight, neighbors could be seen sitting outside their houses to watch the ongoing raid.
Mary Laboeria, a resident of Falmouth Avenue for nearly 40 years who lives three houses down from the Almonte residence, said she was surprised that someone on her street had any alleged ties to terrorism.
"I'm shocked. He graduated in our school system," she said. "It really hurts. We don't need it."
Neither Alessa nor Almonte is married. Both are American citizens, said the anonymous officials.
The men are scheduled to appear Monday in U.S. District Court in Newark.
The arrests were the culmination of Operation Arabian Knight. Details were still sketchy Saturday night, but authorities said the suspects have been under surveillance for some time and were being shadowed by an undercover New York City cop who managed to infiltrate their circle of friends and keep tabs as they consumed jihadist videos and literature, bought airline tickets and prepared to travel overseas.
Officials said the suspects were not planning an imminent attack in the New Jersey-New York area but were believed to be joining with the terrorist fight against Americans in Somalia.
Authorities said the men planned to wage jihad as part of a Somalia-based Islamist terror group called al Shabaab, an organization of several thousand fighters spread through Somalia’s southern region. Al Shabaab, whose full Arabic name means "Mujahideen Youth Movement," has had ties to al Qaeda since 2007, according to national security experts.
Last year, federal authorities in Minnesota charged 14 men connected to a plot designed to entice young Americans to join up with al Shabaab. And, in February, the New York Times reported the group announced it was joining forces with the ‘’international jihad of Al Qaeda."
As in the Minnesota case, investigators believe Alessa and Almonte were recruited by others, who are also now coming under scrutiny. "We hope this will lead to a spider web of arrests," said one official briefed on the case.
Officials said the New Jersey suspects were believed to have led fairly normal lives in North Jersey but then started acting strangely and gravitating toward anti-American sentiment. Their families aided in the investigation after growing worried about the beliefs and actions of the men, officials close to the probe said.
The arrests come on the heels of last month’s attempt to set off a car bomb in Times Square and, before that, the Christmas Day incident in which a 23-year-old Nigerian tried to blow up an airliner by setting off explosives inside his underwear. Both attacks were unsuccessful.
Saturday night’s arrests had been planned for days, officials said, as agents tried to determine the best possible time and place to apprehend the men without interfering in their planning or tipping them off. In order to prove the suspects had "intent" to commit an act of terror, federal prosecutors in New Jersey insisted that the men be allowed to go to the airport and begin the boarding process. That way, there would be less of a chance they could later say they had changed their mind or grown uneasy with their plans.
By early Saturday morning, agents had worked out a strategy of following the men to the airport and tracking them through their security check-in, officials said. After that, they planned to quietly get the men out of public view so their arrests could not be seen by any associates who might have been following them. The men were allowed to make it to the jetway boarding ramps before agents took them into custody.
The arrests and planning were coordinated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a multi-agency group that includes agents of the FBI, state homeland security office, New York Police Department, Port Authority police and an assortment of federal security agencies. The investigation began as two separate probes after the FBI and New Jersey homeland security detectives received individual tips about the men, officials said.
In the months leading up to their planned travel, authorities said, Alessa and Almonte saved thousands of dollars, conditioned themselves physically through tactical training and dry runs at paintball fields and acquired gear and apparel to be used once they joined up with al Shabaab in Somalia. The men boasted that they wanted to wage holy war against the United States both at home and overseas, said investigators.
The prosecution of Alessa and Almonte is being led by New Jersey’s new U.S. attorney, Paul Fishman. In a meeting with The Star-Ledger’s editorial board last month, Fishman hinted there were serious national-security investigations on the verge of becoming public, though he declined to say anything more.
"There are cases in the pipeline that are of huge significance," Fishman said.
Somalia has long been a trouble spot for Western nations and, especially, the United States. With the country in tatters because of civil war, the United States sent in troops in mid-1992 and by year’s end the operation had been transformed into a military deployment designed to protect humanitarian efforts.
In October 1993, 18 American soldiers were killed trying to take out key members of the leadership of the warring clan that controlled the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Some have suggested there was a link between that skirmish and bin Laden, although others dispute that.
More recently, the Pentagon’s top commander in the region included Somalia on a small list of countries where clandestine American military operations would be targeted to disrupt militant groups.
Somalia is still caught in the throes of civil war, but there has recently been a renewed effort to bring peace to the lawless country. The United States is backing the current Somali government in its attempt to re-establish law and order.
Al Shabaab has been waging its own militant battle and has been listed on the U.S. government’s roster of international terror organizations.
According to a Council on Foreign Relations briefing, al Shabaab’s leader released a video in September 2008 pledging allegiance to bin Laden and calling for Muslim youth to come to Somalia. In February 2009, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s second-in-command, released a video that began by praising al Shabaab’s seizure of the Somali town of Baidoa. The group will "engage in Jihad against the American-made government in the same way they engaged in Jihad against the Ethiopians and the warlords before them," Zawahiri said.
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