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Sunday, August 31, 2008

General Batista Tagme Na Wai Promises to Attack Traffickers

Keep an eye on General Batista Tagme Na Wai. The article that follows looks like the front-stage theatrical act to hide back-stage collusion. What did his financial transactions look like after his people began intimidating local police holding traffickers who were mysteriously released?

-Shimron

Guinea-Bissau's military will shoot down any aircraft that enters its airspace without permission as part of efforts to fight drug-trafficking by criminal gangs in the West African state, its top officer said.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Batista Tagme Na Wai promised a "crusade" against narcotics smuggling in the tiny, poor nation on the Atlantic coast, which experts say is used by drugs cartels as a staging post to smuggle cocaine to Europe.

Guinea-Bissau authorities say shipments of Colombian cocaine seized by local police have been flown in by small planes from Latin America to bush airstrips. The drugs are then flown or shipped out of the country to Europe by the traffickers.

  • "We will shoot down every plane that tries to violate our air space without previous permission from the authorities," Na Wai told reporters late on Thursday.
  • He added stores of aircraft fuel used by drugs smugglers had been found and seized.
  • The general said anti-aircraft batteries had been installed in the offshore Bijagos islands
  • The International Institute for Strategic Studies, which reports on the strength of armies around the world, lists the Guinea-Bissau military as possessing Russian-made anti-aircraft guns and SAM SA-7 ground-to-air missiles but it was not clear how many of these weapons were operational.
  • Guinea-Bissau's government, police and military have faced international criticism for not doing enough to combat the cocaine trafficking, but they say they do not have enough equipment and technology and have demanded more foreign aid.
  • In July, the country formally adopted the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime as part of its efforts to crack down against the traffickers.

The Rest @ Javno

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Taqiyya - Shi'ia Doctrine, Opposed by Some Salafiyya

"[Yusufali 16:106] Any one who, after accepting faith in Allah, utters Unbelief, except under compulsion, his heart remaining firm in Faith, but such as open their breast to Unbelief, on them is Wrath from Allah, and theirs will be a dreadful Penalty." [5]
And the following

"[Yusuf Ali 3:28] Let not the believers Take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than believers: if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah: except by way of precaution, that ye may Guard yourselves from them. But Allah cautions you (To remember) Himself; for the final goal is to Allah."[6]

Ibn Kathir says:“(unless you indeed fear a danger from them) meaning, except those believers who in some areas or times fear for their safety from the disbelievers.
  • In this case, such believers are allowed to show friendship to the disbelievers outwardly, but never inwardly
  • For instance, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Ad-Darda' said, "We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them."
  • Al-Bukhari said that Al-Hasan said, "The Tuqyah is allowed until the Day of Resurrection.
More @ tafsair

Found here @ Wikipedia

Dahabshiil, The Qutbist Jihadi's Best Friend

Somalia based, Dahabshiil has many locations in:

Austria
Bahrain
Canada
Denmark
Djibouti
Egypt
Ethiopea
Finland
India
Jordan
Kenya
Kuwait
New Zealand
Norway
Qatar
Sengal
Sudan
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Tanzania
Uganda
United Arab Emirites
United Kingopm
United States
Yemen

Find Cities Here

Anyone Who can fill out this application can join their Hawala Network.

dahabsiil
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Don't worry they trust your good judegment. al Taqiyya is really a Shi'ia problem. They will believe what you say.

Do they really check to see if these anti terror ism standards are being met?

(THIS POST or SITE IS NOT AFFILIATED OR A SUPPORTER of Dahabshiil )

Ethiopia May Withdraw from Somalia

Ethiopia hints that they may withdraw from Somalia, and The Shabaab and Islamic Courts Union suggest that they have given the Somali people a great victory with repelling the invaders.Check Spelling

Ethiopia is right that African Union has dropped the ball, and the US then sees that they must intervene to prevent a the setting up a spot of land that al Qaeda has stated they will use as a base to establish a multi-national caliphate.

Below are links that describe both points of view:

-Shimron

Ethiopia's story (Reuters, August 28th, 2008)

Nairobi - Ethiopia could withdraw its troops from war-torn Somalia even if the transitional government is not stable, but will hold on at least until the AU deploys additional peacekeepers, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said.

Ethiopian troops invaded neighbouring Somalia in 2006 to help kick out the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and put the transitional federal government back in power.
  • Ethiopia has long worried that instability in Somalia and the existence of Somali separatist groups in Ethiopia's Ogaden region only increases the anxiety.
  • "The operation has been extremely expensive, so we will have to balance the domestic pressures on the one hand and pressures in Somalia on the other and try to come up with a balanced solution," Zenawi told the Financial Times in an interview.
  • The Somali government and some moderate opposition leaders recently signed a peace agreement, but Islamic insurgent group al-Shabaab - the armed wing of the UIC - has refused to recognise it.

Al-Shabaab says Ethiopian must leave Somalia before any kind of peace can be achieved.
UN agencies say over 6 000 civilians have died in the insurgency that exploded in early 2007. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis who fled fighting in the capital Mogadishu are now living in camps.

  • Ethiopian troops, backed by a small contingent of AU soldiers, have struggled to contain the insurgents, who last Friday seized control of the strategic port town Kismayo.
  • Despite Zenawi's apparent impatience with the state of play and also squabbles between the Somali president and prime minister, he said that Ethiopia would "hold the ring" until the AU could deploy more peacekeepers.
  • However, he made it clear that Ethiopia was not happy with carrying the burden by itself, with little backing from the AU and no backing from the international community.

"We didn't anticipate that the international community would be happy riding the Ethiopian horse and flogging it at the same time for so long," he told the British daily.

Only a quarter of the planned 8 000-strong AU force has been deployed so far. The UN has also been mulling sending in a peacekeeping force, but has so far taken no action.

Shabaab - UIC's Story (August 29th, 2008)

UIC: We destroyed the Ethiopian dream Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:48:09 GMT

Zenawi had said Ethiopia was to leave Somalia urgently. The Somali opposition has commented on the news about the 'urgent' Ethiopian withdrawal from Somalia saying they dashed the Ethiopians' hopes.

  • We destroyed the Ethiopian dream and taught them an unforgettable lesson, the spokesman for the Somali opposition, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC)'s military wing Al-Shabaab, Abdi Rahim Isse Addow told a Press TV correspondent.
  • The Al-Shabaab spokesman added that they were elated by the news about the pullout which would mark a turning point in Somalia's recent beleaguered history.
  • He noted that Ethiopia brushed off the international community's advice against (the 2006) Somalia invasion which the troops carried out with US encouragement.

"Somalia is too great a nation to fall to Ethiopia. We form an independent state which won freedom a long time ago" - added the spokesman who had earlier vowed they would fight off the Ethiopians even throughout the holy month of Ramadan.

The Rest @ Press TV (Iran)

Albadé Abouba blamed by MNJ for delaying Peace

Saturday, 30 August, 2008

The MNJ web sight posted a statment suggesting that it is Niger's Interior Minister, Albadé Abouba who is undermining the discussions between them and the government.

In it, they acknowledge that the MNJ Initaited Hostilities.

What follows is a rough translation and summary from the french language site:

-Shimron
  • After several months of research and investigations, we are now able to inform our countrymen of manoeuvers in Niamey which led to the stalemate in the conflict between us and the Nigerian Authorities.
  • In initiating hostilities, the MNJ has set the goal of bringing the Nigerian Government to take into account the distress and anguish of our people and the development oinjustice in our country, because of multiple Peaceful efforts remained fruitless.
  • The person of Minister of the Interior Mr. Albadé Abouba this windfall as the chance of his life:
Whenever the Nigerians are trying to work for peace and national reconciliation, the Minister of the Interior manages to dissuade President of the Republic, who believes that he is able to settle the conflict in his own way.

It then puts in motion a strategy as old as the World: "divide and conquer".

To achieve his ends, he [ Albadé Abouba ] managed to gather a few lost brothers in his living room and deploy an important intelligence apparatus.

[ this intelligence effort ] is A boon for many of our compatriots who find the way to round off their end month [ desire for money ] through hawking, slander and [finding ] informers.

For this, the Minister has the budget needed to carry out this [ Low life or underground ?] activity.

Some Nigerians have taken advantage of this situation to grow their business.

Thus, [ some have taken the position of ] "combatants who lay down their weapons".
  • These traders buy weapons in a neighbouring country use of mercenaries who have no training in the profession of arms.
  • The case of Gouré is illustrative of this maneuver unhealthy.
We hope that one day the president of the republic and the FAN discover his game and that justice is done.

- The movement.

The Rest @ MNJ Blogspot

Friday, August 29, 2008

AMerican War Planes Fly over Kismayu, Somalia

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:21:13 GMT

American military aircraft have flown over the town of Kismayu in southern Somalia frightening the civilians out of their residences.

Hundreds of civilians broke into a gallop after the warplanes flew low-speed in threesomes over the town which is situated 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of the capital, Mogadishu, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The reason for the presence of the aircraft in the Somali airspace is yet unknown. Fighters from the Somali opposition, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and its military wing Al-Shabaab together with other gunmen from Islamic Jihad of Somalia are expected to be on the move apparently taking the necessary precautions against the aircraft.

The Rest @ Press TV

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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Keny Investigation - How LAAICO Gains Ownership Outside of Libya

Chief justice Abdul Majid Cockar is invstigating how LAAICO Libya deceptivly moved into Kenya to buy The Grand Regency Hotel

This is how:


  • Form a shell company with a small mount of money, formed by local citizens
  • Buy the Hotel
  • Petition the court to change the Directors
  • LAAICO keeps 998 shares, the 2 local owners retain 1 share each.

-Shimron

The company with a majority shareholding in Grand Regency Hotel was registered and incorporated in Tripoli, Libya, and Bought the Hotel.

  • Libya African Investment Company (Laaico) has 998 shares compared to only two shares of Mr Ahmed Mohamed Amaer and Mr Mohammed Shtewi Maawal who locally incorporated the Libya Arab African Investment Company (Laaico).
  • Laaico (Libya)purchased the hotel from Central Bank of Kenya for Sh2.9 billion.
  • Ms Pauline Wanja told the inquiry that Laaico was locally incorporated with Amaer and Maawal as the directors.
  • Laaico Ms Wanja told the commission, was registered with a nominal share capital of Sh100,000 divided into Sh1,000 ordinary shares of Sh100.
  • Mr Amaer and Mr Maawal have one share each with Laaico retaining the remaining 998 shares.
  • After the registration of Laaico in August last year that Laaico was brought on board earlier this year and allotted the remaining 998 shares.
  • Giving a chronology of events as they unfolded during the registration of Laaico, Ms Wanja, said a certificate of incorporation number C143168 was issued after the company fully complied with registration requirements.
  • J.W. Wambua and Company Advocates that applied for registration of Laaico,
  • Mr Ahmed Adan of Adan, Wetangula and Makokha Advocates signed the company’s declaration forms for change of new directors,
  • Before the registration, Mr Amaer and Mr Mawaal had presented three company names, Strategic Property, Original Communications and Libyan Arab African Investment Company to the Registrar General for search and verification.
  • The eventual directors settled on Laaico.“Any of the three companies could have been registered but the businessmen settled for Libyan Arab African Investments Company,”

The Rest @ The Business Daily (Kenya)

Is there a Connection Between Piracy and Union of Islamic Courts?

Nairobi Mogadishu - Piracy off the coast of Somalia reached new heights last week when four ships - German, Japanese, Iranian and Malaysian - were seized within 48 hours.

  • 'For many years, piracy was simply robbery, but now it has changed,' Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
  • We told people not to pay ransoms, but they started paying, he continued. Other gunmen realized that they can earn money and started taking ships hostage instead of robbing them.

Authorities in Somalia have also called on shipping companies and governments not to pay ransoms, but the sums of money changing hands have gone up and up.

  • Mwangura said that the pirates were now largely ignoring African ships and going for the big money jobs - cargo ships and tankers owned by international shipping lines or tourists in their luxury yachts.

  • The going rate now appears to be around one million dollars - the figure paid this month to secure the release of two German tourists who were seized from their yacht in June.

  • According to Mwanguras figures, there were fewer than 100 gunmen operating in 15 groups in 2005.
  • Now there 160 groups with a total of up to 1,200 pirates operating in Somalia coastal waters.

  • Mwangura believes that at least some of the ransom money is finding its way into the hands of Islamist insurgents currently wreaking havoc in the Horn of African nation.
  • "We think they are collecting money going to fund other projects onshore ... we can say they are doing this on behalf of organized crime and for terrorist activities."

  • The peak in piracy has coincided with a gathering of strength among insurgent groups.

  • Ironically, piracy fell during the six months the UIC controlled Mogadishu as the strict religious body brought relative order.

  • The seven ships currently being held by pirates represent a potential seven million dollars that could partly finance the insurgency.
  • The United Nations Security Council in June approved incursions into Somali waters to combat the pirates. But despite the resolution, and recent interventions by a coalition warships, piracy has continued to climb.
  • The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) believes the situation is on the verge of spiralling out of control and wants nations with warships in the area to take the UN resolution to heart.
  • The US Naval Central Command on Friday said it had ordered the set up of Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) - basically coalition warships backed by aircraft - to patrol the Gulf of Aden.
  • The idea is to deter destabilizing activities in the area, Lt Stephanie Murdoch, a spokesperson for the central command told dpa.
  • This includes drug smuggling, human trafficking and of course piracy.
  • Considering the IMB on Tuesday warned that three pirate motherships were believed to be lurking in the Gulf of Aden

The Rest @ Terror Free Somalia

Even More

Hussain Bhayat Detained for "Charity Work" in Uganda

JOHANNESBURG - The arrests of two South Africans in Uganda on suspicion of terrorism has left the local Islamic community angered, frustrated and in fear for their safety.
The wife of one of the two South Africans who were arrested told The Citizen yesterday that she hoped her husband would return home safely.

Speaking to The Citizen, the angry and concerned woman, who did not want her name printed in the media, said that her husband, Haroon Saley, together with the Islamic cleric Mufti Hussain Bhayat, left for Kenya last week on Tuesday before heading to Uganda where they had been doing relief work.

Saley, aged 56, is a community leader from Azaadville near Krugersdorp on the West Rand.
He is part of an organisation known as the Crescent of Hope which has been involved in humanitarian work since 1992.

The organisation also seeks to help people from impoverished communities by donating clothes food and carrying out skills training.

News of the arrests reached South Africa when an Ugandan source reportedly told Radio Islam that the two men had been detained on Sunday at Entebbe International Airport in Kampala, Uganda.

A government source also confirmed this, saying the duo were stopped by the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force of Uganda.

The duo are reportedly being held by the Chieftaincy of military intelligence in Uganda.

The Rest @ The Citizen in South Africa

(thanks for the Heads Up, JihadWatch )

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Under Sharia Law in Kismayo,Somalia, Every Man is Mobilized for Jihad

Yusuf Ali of Garowe Online is again is serving as the propoganda mouth piece for the Islamic Courts Union and the Shabaab. You can read the full Story here, but he does provide an interesting look into what the Islaimists think life should look like under sharia law.
Mainly, that every man from 15 to 50 will be recruited as a fighter.

-Shimron

KISMAYO, Somalia Aug 26 (Garowe Online) - After years of militia violence, roadblocks and assassinations, the southern Somali port city of Kismayo is reportedly calm under the rule of a coalition of local clans and Islamist guerrillas.

  • For the past two days, fighters who seized the strategic port town have been invited to feasts by the region’s traditional elders.
  • Aqil Abdullahi Bile, a Kismayo-based clan chief, tells Radio Garowe that traditional elders are holding clan conferences as the first phase and are planning to hold an “all-clan gathering” soon.

“The second phase of the peace process is to bring together all clans,” the ‘Aqil told me during a telephone interview Tuesday.

  • He pointedly stated that the traditional elders’ aim is to avoid marginalizing any of the local clans, especially the clan whose warlord-turned-parliamentarian, Col. Barre Hirale, was violently chased out of Kismayo after two days of fighting that claimed upwards of 50 lives.

The third phase of the peace process would involve a conference between Kismayo’s traditional elders – who represent the region’s various clan groups – and Islamist guerrillas who spearheaded the war to oust Col. Hirale and his militia.

  • As part of the first phase, representatives from the Harti clan, including elders, religious persons and businessmen, held a private meeting and reached a three-point agreement, according to ‘Aqil Abdullahi.

“We agreed that Islamic [Shariah] Law is our constitution,” the ‘Aqil said. The other two points, he added, include an agreement that......

..... all men between the ages of 15 and 50 will be “recruited as fighters”......

and to invite Islamist fighters to feasts as a "show of appreciation."

He described the security situation in Kismayo as “100 percent safe,” adding that local businesses remained open until midnight.

Plane shooting

  • On Tuesday, Islamist fighters standing guard at Kismayo’s airport shot at a small plane as it attempted to land.
  • The airplane was “transporting a khat shipment,” according to airport sources, referring to a narcotic plant used widely across Somalia.
  • One Islamist fighter who spoke with Radio Garowe on the condition of anonymity said the plane shooting “happened by accident." “Our men were not informed of an airplane that was supposed to land,” he said, adding: “When the plane attempted to land, they fired [bullets] but there was no damage and the plane flew away.”

Understandably, the security situation in Kismayo is tense, with Col. Hirale’s militia commander vowing to retake the town by military force during comments to the press.

Unconfirmed reports from Gedo region, where Hirale fled to safety, say the warlord was wounded in the leg as he fled Kismayo.

In Bardhere, an agricultural town in Gedo, Hirale’s militias are reorganizing while fighters loyal to al Shabaab are reportedly “in the outskirts of the town,” according to locals.

On Tuesday, business activity was minimal in Bardhere as buyers and sellers remained anxious about new security developments and feared an armed clash between al Shabaab and Hirale’s militias.

Yusuf Ali, managing editor GaroweOnline.com

Monday, August 25, 2008

AQIM Threatens Canadians in Africa UnlessThey Leave Afghanistan

A senior Taliban official has issued a very specific warning to the government of Canada and the people of this country that they will be targeted deliberately and with every intent to obliterate their presence in Afghanistan if Canadian troops are not pulled out of the country.

This is fair warning, we're informed, because Canadian troops, along with other countries' forces representing the international community in Afghanistan have occupied a sovereign country.The fanatical Taliban represent a legal presence in the country, since they are native to the country. NATO troops are not, and their presence there represents a challenge to the Taliban, Whose only purpose in battling the infidel presence is to restore Islam to the country, under Shariah law, a reality that the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan overturned.

  • The Taliban leadership purports to be outraged that Western forces have inadvertently - on lamentably too-frequent occasions targeting Taliban forces, but bombing off-target - killed Afghans.
  • That the Taliban deliberately murder Afghans is a reality denied by them.They have pledged themselves to deliver a complementary dispatch to Canadian troops in their country. It is, after all, their country. To dispose within as they choose.
  • Not, however, according to the current government of Afghanistan which has gone out of its way to reassure international troops that their presence is a requirement to permit the re-building of vital infrastructure, and to fend off the advance of the Taliban.This is the same Taliban that indiscriminately murders Afghan civilians, police and members of the armed services at will. To ensure that their message is delivered and well understood. Yet, the Taliban, and al-Qaeda, in the wake of harsh condemnation from some Islamic clerics and governments, now seek to distance themselves from that reality by claiming to have the best interests of Muslims at heart.

Recently, Al-Qaeda in the Magreb bombed a SNC-Lavalin bus taking the Canadian company's employees to their workplace in Algeria, result; all locally-engaged Algerians.

AQIM claimed the attack had long been planned to kill Canadians, and they celebrated the success of their mission, claiming the victims to be Canadian.Their statement claimed the attackers "made sure that passengers on the protected bus were Canadian citizens.

The Rest 0f the Commentary @ Generalspeaking

Robow Abu-Mansur Gives Speech in Kismaayo, Somalia

August 25, 2008, (Terror Free Somalia)

Terrorist , Al-Shabaab, has addressed Kismaayo city residents for the first time. Terrorist Robow (Abu-Mansur), the spokesman of the armed religious movement al-Shabaab, delivered a multifaceted lengthy speech to a gathering of people in Kismayo city, Jubadda Hoose Region (Southern Somalia).

  • "Our fighters are pursuing Marehan clan army" (jubbland army)that controlled Kismayo]
  • He also stated that jehadist administration would be set up for the city.
  • Speaking on the recent fighting in Kismayo city and other places in lower Jubba Region, the al-Shabaab jehadist spokesman claimed that they attained major victories in the fighting.
  • [Robow] said the war they were waging would not be confined to lower Jubba and middle Jubba regions but it would be carried out "elsewhere as well" "Thank God for granting us victory over those who brought the enemy into the country, and we say to them that we will follow them every place where they set foot," the Terrorist said.

This is the first time the al-ShabaabTerrorist spokesman has delivered a speech in Kismayo since they [Islamists] captured the city.

(The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) said on Sunday that it had wrested control of the southern port city from clan militias a day earlier. ICU Terrorist forces moved into Kismayo at the request of its residents, and the city "will remain under Islamic control", said Terrorist sheik Ibrahim Shukri, a spokesman for the ICU in , which controlled the capital, Mogadishu, and much of the south for six months in 2006.

Two foreign journalists - a Canadian woman and an Australian man - were kidnapped while travelling near Mogadishu on Saturday, two Somali civilians said.

Journalists and relief workers are frequently abducted for ransoms in Somalia, even those who travel in convoys heavily guarded by freelance armed men.

A report on the website of Canada's National Post newspaper identified the woman as 27-year-old Amanda Lindhout, her father, John Lindhout, as saying she had recently arrived in the country with an Australian friend who was also kidnapped.

An official at the hotel where the two were staying in Mogadishu identified the man only as Nigel, a 27-year-old from Australia.Their Somali translator was also kidnapped, according to reports from Mogadishu.

In Kismayo, the International Committee of the Red Cross delivered by plane two tons of medical supplies to Kismayo Hospital on Saturday, said Nicole Engelbrecht, an ICRC spokeswoman.

Also there was fighting in Afmadow, about 110km northwest of Kismayo, during which 135 people were wounded.She said the agency did not have details of fatalities.

The Rest @ Terror Free Somalia

Friday, August 22, 2008

Hezbollah and Salafi Groups Sign Agreement in Lebanon

Shiia Islam and Sunni -Salaf Islam are historically in opposition, sometimes war against each other, though they have been agreement in their anti-American and Israel positions.

There is an unconfirmed memorandum of understanding (See below) between Shiia and Salafis about war against America. If this alleged Lebanon based agreement is true, it has significant implications for Jihad in Africa.

Hezbollah has significant connections in African commerce, especially in the coastal regions. To date most Hezbollah contribution to terror appears to be in the form of "tax" collection that gets funneled back to Hezbollah in Lebanon, which directs the terror acts using the funds.

There are significant terror groups all over North Africa and the Horn of Africa, and if Hezbollah starts directing some of their funds into Salafi Terror groups which range from AQIM in the Maghreb to the Shabaab in Somalia, The Salafi terror groups could divert their time and efforts from petty local criminal, kidnapping, and trafficking activities to raise funds to significant acts of war against Western Targets in Africa.

-Shimron


Hezbollah Signs Pact with Salafis
By Walid PharesAmidst a growing world crisis, new developments in Lebanon may signal what lies ahead in the sphere of global jihadist forces in the near future. A memorandum of understanding has been signed by Hezbollah, the main pro-Iranian organization in the region, and a number of Salafist groups outlining efforts to "confront America."

The Rest @ Muslims Against Sharia


On Aug. 19, leaders from Hezbollah and Salafist organizations called a press conference at Al Safir Hotel in Beirut's Raouche district and signed a memo of understanding between the two forces.

Radwan Aqeel wrote in the Beirut daily An-Nahar (Aug. 18): "Hezbollah is practicing a calm policy of overture toward the Sunni political and religious forces, especially since last May (against the Sunni Future Movement) to save the image the party has developed in the past as an 'Islamic resistance' in the Arab and Muslim world including in the Arab Gulf, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian territories."

It is believed that the move by Hezbollah to sign an agreement of understanding with Salafist organizations aims ultimately at penetrating the Arab Sunni world via Lebanon's Muslim community and maintaining an influence over the region's attitude toward the West.
According to Aqeel, "this move didn't come [out of the] void, but after many meetings away from media between representatives of Hezbollah and some Salafist groups." These encounters, said An-Nahar, included the head of Hezbollah's political bureau Ibrahim al-Amin and Sheikh Safuan al-Zuhbi from the Salafist movement.

Another Beirut daily, Al-Mustaqbal (Aug. 18) wrote that Hezbollah has been successful in recruiting 15 Salafist groups in Lebanon including the Waqf Ahya' al-Turath al-Islami to form a "Salafist camp" allied to the Iranian-Syrian axis. Hezbollah officials, wrote Al-Mustaqbal, are declaring that Americans have been defeated in the region by "resistance" in Lebanon, Iraq and Gaza.

The Rest @ Counterterrosim Blog

Late breaking news

Other Salafi Groups appear to be "excommunicating" these 15 Salafi Groups, and they are now claiming to "freeze the agreement

Salafis freeze memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah

Published: Tuesday, 19 August, 2008 @ 10:10 PM in Beirut

Tripoli -The Salafi groups in Lebanon on Tuesday announced indefinite freezing of a memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah, 24 hours after it was announced at a press conference in Beirut.

Sheikh Hassan Shahhal, who signed the understanding on Monday with Hezbollah 's Ibrahim Amin al-Sayyed, declared freezing the agreement pending "appropriate circumstances that allow its implementation."

Sheikh Hassan made the announcement after a meeting with leaders of Salafi factions presided over by their highest authority Dai al-Islam al-Shahhal who had rushed to denounce and criticize the deal with Hezbollah, minutes after it was announced on Monday.

The Dai, or Preacher, on Monday termed the agreement "media crackling in favor of Hezbollah and the Shiite community" and called for abolishing it.

The freeze was announced in the northern town of Tripoli, power base of the Salafi movement.
"The Salafi movement totally rejects this document … and who signed it has no right to claim belonging to the Salafi movement or representing it," the ageing Dai al-Islam Shahhal said on Monday.

"This document is … harmful to the Sunni community and would end up in vain, God willing," he added.

"Those who signed it have no influence, and whoever wants to defuse tension should talk to forces that do exist," he stressed.

Hezbollah and its allies welcomed the understanding that was sharply rejected by almost all Sunni factions and members of the March 14 majority alliance.

Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri, who heads the largest Sunni bloc, had avoided direct comment on the understanding. But his aides and members of his parliamentary bloc said he opposed it.

The Rest @ Yalbinan

Thursday, August 21, 2008

AQIM MOves into a ombing Offensive

August 20th 2008
COUNTRY BRIEFING

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

Some 60 people have been killed in a series of car bomb explosions over two days in a region to the south-east of Algiers, marking a major escalation in the activity of Islamist underground groups that have acquired new purpose since affiliating with al-Qaida in 2006. The upsurge in violence appears to reflect the concern of al-Qaida's leadership to open up new fronts in the Middle East and North Africa after the serious setbacks that the movement has suffered in Iraq. Some Algerian commentators have also blamed the escalation on the government's reconciliation policy, thereby raising questions over whether the president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, should be allowed to stay on for a third term.

The heaviest casualties from the latest attacks occurred when a suicide bomber exploded his vehicle outside a gendarmerie training college in Issers on August 19th where a large number of prospective new recruits were waiting for the gates to open. The government said that 43 people were killed and 45 injured. The next day there were two car bomb explosions in the nearby town of Bouira. The first, outside a military building, left four soldiers lightly wounded, according to the official Algerian Press Service. The second exploded outside a hotel, and killed 11 people. It was reported that the hotel was being used to house contractors working on the nearby Koudiet Acerdoune dam project. Companies from Canada, Turkey and Italy have been involved in this project, but it was not immediately clear whether any foreign nationals were among the casualties.

Summer offensive

In the first half of 2008 there was a lull in attacks by Islamist groups as the security forces stepped up their operations following the mid-December bombing of the UN headquarters in Algiers, which, together with another attack in the capital on the same day, left 41 people dead. However, there has been a marked increase in attacks in recent weeks. On August 3rd a police station in Tizi Ouzou, the capital of the Kabylia region, was damaged in a suicide bomb attack, leaving 25 people injured; six days later eight people—all civilians—were killed in an attack on a police station in Zemmouri al-Bahri, a seaside town to the east of Algiers; and the following day three policemen were killed in a bomb attack on the nearby beach of Tigzirt. On August 15th an army patrol was ambushed near Skikda, in the northeastern corner of Algeria and several soldiers, including one senior officer, were reported to have been killed.

All of these attacks are presumed to be the work of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the new incarnation of the Groupe salafiste pour la prédication et le combat (GSPC). Prior to the proclamation of AQIM by Abdelmalek Droukdal, the former leader of the GSPC, with the blessing of Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaida's number two, Algeria's armed Islamist forces appeared to be close to extinction.

The bulk of these forces had been neutralised as a result of a truce with the army that went into effect in 1999, at the start of Mr Bouteflika's first term. Mr Bouteflika sought to persuade the remaining militants to lay down their arms in response to his Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, which was approved in 2005, and which offered an amnesty for fighters as well as exempting members of the security services from prosecution. A hard core of the GSPC rejected the charter, and there is some evidence that the ranks of the movement may even have been swelled as a result of the government's release of more than 2,000 former militants as part of the Charter's provisions.

Mr Droukdal has presented the mission of AQIM as being to contribute to al-Qaida's global campaign by attacking Western interests in Algeria. These interests are clearly taken to include the Algerian security forces.

In denial

Mr Bouteflika has largely refrained from commenting on the increase in Islamist violence since AQIM's emergence, and has left it to his interior minister, Yazid Zerhouni, to present the government's view. Mr Zerhouni has consistently sought to downplay the significance of AQIM attacks, and has claimed on several occasions over the past two years that the group's resort to suicide bombings was a sign of desperation. Following the Issers attack, Mr Zerhouni was quoted as saying that AQIM was riven with divisions and rivalries, and that the recent incidents were a sign of rival factions trying to outbid each other.

Mr Bouteflika's concern to downplay the Islamist terrorist threat could reflect his sensitivity on the subject of his reconciliation initiative. The Charter has manifestly failed to deliver peace and security, and it could even be blamed for exacerbating the violence by fostering a permissive attitude towards past crimes.

Mr Bouteflika also recently vented his frustration at the relatively poor performance of the Algerian economy during his time in office, pinning part of the blame for this on foreign investors, whom he accused of profiteering at Algeria's expense. It has long been assumed that Mr Bouteflika would push through the necessary changes to the constitution to enable him to stand for a third term in April 2009. However, with security deteriorating and the economy failing to perform to its potential, the record of Mr Bouteflika's first two terms is looking steadily less impressive, and there are some indications that powerful figures in the military and political establishment are looking for an alternative—preferably someone who will take a more resolute line on AQIM.

The Economist Intelligence Unit

Source: ViewsWire

Canadian Company SNC-Lavalin Car bombed in Algeria

A dozen employees of Canada's SNC-Lavalin were killed in a car bombing in Algeria Wednesday, the latest in a wave of terrorist attacks that have targeted Canadian and Western companies in the North African country.

Fifteen staff of the Montreal-based engineering firm were also wounded in the early morning attack, which occurred when an explosive-laden vehicle struck their bus near a hotel entrance as the workers were on their way to the Koudiat Acerdoune water treatment plant.

A spokesperson for Canada's Foreign Affairs ministry said none of the dead or injured were Canadian citizens. All were believed to be Algerians locally employed by SNC-Lavalin, which said in a statement that "we strongly deplore this act of terrorism."

Canadian intelligence officials have been warning about the dangers to Canadians in Algeria, where a large number of Canadian companies operate despite car bombings, suicide attacks and a resurgent Islamist terrorist faction aligned with al-Qaeda.

"Terrorists have previously targeted Western interests, including Canadian interests, in Algeria," says a declassified Canadian intelligence report obtained by the National Post. "Canadian companies and individuals in Algeria have been attacked.

The report by the federal government's Integrated Threat Assessment Centre said guards protecting a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin were attacked by gunmen in April 2006. Eight months later, a Canadian was wounded when a bus carrying Western oil workers was attacked with small arms and improvised explosive devices, the report said.

"Al Qaeda has identified oil infrastructure and workers, especially Westerners, as legitimate and priority worldwide targets," says the report, titled The Al Qaeda Threat to Canadian Interests in Algeria and released under the Access to Information Act, "Canada is considered a legitimate target by al-Qaeda."

Although nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the attack on the SNC-Lavalin employees, it is almost certainly the work of the Algerian branch of al-Qaeda, known as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM.

The terrorist group, which wants to turn Algeria into an Islamic state, was formerly known as the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, which was outlawed by Canada under the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2002.

The Canadian government describes the Salafist Group as "a radical Sunni Muslim group seeking to establish an Islamist government in Algeria" and says it targets foreigners and "has been affiliated to Osama bin Laden and groups financed by him."

Last weekend, following the killing of four aid workers near Kabul, the Taliban threatened more attacks against Canadians unless Ottawa pulled out of Afghanistan, but there is no indication Wednesday's bombing was related to that threat.

Algeria's Ambassador to Canada said in a recent interview, conducted before Wednesday's bombing, that the security situation in his country was not that bad.

"Like many countries, terrorist activism exists in Algeria but it is no longer a danger to the institutional, political or economic stability," Ambassador Smail Benamara said. "Concerning more particularly the situation of Canadians in Algeria, I can assure you that there are no specific risks."

Oil and gas fields in the south "enjoy specific safety precautions from the Algerian state. The interest and presence of Canadian companies in Algeria, such as Talisman Energy, Petro-Canada, First Calgary Petroleum and many others testify of this sector's vitality and the security of the workers of those companies, Canadian or others," the ambassador said.

SNC-Lavalin said in a statement that the health and safety of its employees was a "top priority." The engineering and construction group is building a water treatment plant near Bouira, 90 km southeast of the capital Algiers.

"In 50 years working worldwide, this is the first time that we have had a terrorist attack like this against us. It's a whole new ball game for us," said SNC-Lavalin spokesperson Gillian MacCormack, adding that the company was "saddened and a little stunned" by the events.

Ms. MacCormack said SNC-Lavalin has worked in Algeria for more than 30 years and had built a strong relationship with the community. The company employs 2000 people in the country, 800 of whom are dedicated to the water treatment and distribution plant. She said the company has a risk assessment process in place for every project.

A statement released by the company expressed "deepest sympathies to the families of the victims -- and to those who are currently being treated in a local hospital."

State radio said another bombing 15 minutes before the bus attack, had targeted a military commander inside an army barracks. Algeria, with a population of 34 million, is an OPEC member and a major oil and gas supplier to Europe. It is emerging from a more than decade-long conflict with Islamist rebels that has killed about 150,000 people since 1992.

The Rest @ National Post (Canada).

The Rest @

Shabaab Taking on Local Clans in SouthWest Somalia

82996893

Clashes between al-Shabaab fighters and Marehan clan-members have left dozens dead or injured in Kismayu in Somalia's Jubbada Hoose region.

  • At least nine Marehan militants were killed and 23 others were injured during Wednesday's fighting, a Press TV correspondent reported.
  • There was no immediate report of casualties on al-Shabaab fighters' side.
  • Hundreds of civilians fled the area in Kismayu, some 500 km (300 miles) south Mogadishu, once the clashes erupted.

The Marehan are a clan who mostly reside in Jubbada Hoose, Gedo and Jubbada Dhexe regions in southwest Somalia. In July, former Defense Minister Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale's militia joined in Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabelle) the clan.

The clan captured Kismayu after defeating the government forces in January 2006. Al-Shabaab fighters, affiliated to the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), took control of the port city of Kismayu following 12 hours of fight in September 2006.

The Rest @ Press TV

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Droukal calling for a Caliphate in Mouritania?

A Group of Peace Corps volunteers who do a blog called Arms Distance are reporting that local press has calimed the Doukal, the Leader of AQIM has called for a Caliphate State in Mouritania, this after a recent Mouritianian Coup.


-Shimron

AQIM kills 43 People in ssers, Kabylie, Eastern Algeria

Tuesday, 19 Aug 2008 18:32

The bomb attack is the worst for several months in the country At least 43 people have been killed and 38 injured in a suicide bomb attack on an Algerian police school.

The attack occurred in the town of Issers, in the Kabylie region of Algeria, 60km east of the capital Algiers.

The suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives at the main entrance to the school as candidates for an entry exam were waiting outside, witnesses said.

The Algerian interior ministry says civilians as well as police officers were among the victims.

The casualty figures were still provisional, it added in a statement.

The attack is the deadliest in the country in several months, worse than the December 2007 attack in Algiers against government and UN buildings, which killed at least 41 people and injured many others.

The explosion left a crater several metres across.

"It's utter carnage," the father of one of those killed in the attack told news agency AFP.

"It's a catastrophe. May God punish them for the crime they have committed against these youngsters, and their country."

Another candidate survived because he went to buy cigarettes but his father, mother and brother were killed in the blast, witnesses said.

As well as devastating the entrance to the school, the blast destroyed several nearby houses and blew out windows in nearby shops.

Emergency workers gathered up the remains of the dead, wrapping them in blankets and placing them in waiting ambulances.

Today's attack follows a similar attack on Sunday in which 11 members of Algeria's security forces and a civilian were killed in an ambush by armed rebel groups in the east of the country.

The attack, which took place in Skikda, was one of the deadliest in the past few weeks and also left about a dozen security officers wounded, Quotidien d'Oran and Liberte newspapers reported today.

The papers also reported that four rebel fighters were killed. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

One bomb exploded as security forces in a convoy of three vehicles were on patrol in the Skikda region. The blast was then followed by a second bomb.

The Rest @ Adfero

GIABA Trains Liberian Civil Groups and Media on Money Laundering

Money Laundering Threatens Financial Systems
…GIABA Boss Discloses

The Director General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) says money laundering and terrorist financing pose a real threat to the stability of financial systems in West Africa.

Delivering a keynote address at the start of a two-day sensitization workshop at a local hotel in Monrovia, Dr. Abdullahi Shehu said money laundering and terrorist financing can destroy economic development efforts.

Dr. Shehu observed that large-scale money laundering in West African financial systems may result in a systematic banking threat to the international financial system.

He told the participants that once money is laundered, it is immediately transferred to other countries, adding that bold actions should be taken by member states in order to avert this ugly situation.

He noted that GIABA was established to serve as a forum for regional alliance that will deal with money laundering and terrorist financing in West Africa.

He called on the Liberian government to develop a framework that would control cash transactions in a bid to deal with money laundering and terrorist financing.

The workshop is being held under the theme: “Enlisting the Support of the Liberian Media, Civil Society Organizations and Professional Groups for GIABA’s Strategic Action Plan to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Liberia.”

“We encourage our member states to develop the necessary regulatory framework to combat money laundering and terrorist financing,” Dr. Shehu said.

He said the civil society and the media have a crucial role to play in combating money laundering because, according to him, no government can sustain a fight against money laundering and terrorist financing without the support of the media and civil society.

For his part, Deputy Justice Minister for Economic Affairs, Cllr. Joseph Jallah acknowledged that money laundering and terrorist financing are threats across the globe.

He noted that every society or government is vulnerable to agents of money laundering.

Minister Jallah then called for prevention mechanisms through inter-governmental efforts against these crimes.

“Money laundering and terrorist financing represent a grave threat that cannot be ignored. We urge the media, civil society and professional groups to help fight money laundering in Liberia,” Cllr. Jallah stated.

Cllr. Isaac E. Wonasue, GIABA National Correspondent in Liberia presented a paper on the background of money laundering in Liberia, while Solicitor General Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe gave synopsis on the legal frameworks against money laundering, terrorism and other economic crimes in Liberia.

The Rest @ The News (Monrovia, Liberia)

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Hawala , Money Laundering , and Terror Financing

What Follows is an excerpt from an excellent book ,if you want to understand how groups like al Qaieda fund their operations:

Hawala, or the Bank that Never Was

By: Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.
Also published by United Press International (UPI)

-Shimron

I. OVERVIEW
In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the USA, attention was drawn to the age-old, secretive, and globe-spanning banking system developed in Asia and known as "Hawala" (to change, in Arabic). It is based on a short term, discountable, negotiable, promissory note (or bill of exchange) called "Hundi". While not limited to Moslems, it has come to be identified with "Islamic Banking".

Islamic Law (Sharia'a) regulates commerce and finance in the Fiqh Al Mua'malat, (transactions amongst people). Modern Islamic banks are overseen by the Shari'a Supervisory Board of Islamic Banks and Institutions ("The Shari'a Committee").

The Shi'a "Islamic Laws according to the Fatawa of Ayatullah al Uzama Syed Ali al-Husaini Seestani" has this to say about Hawala banking:

"2298. If a debtor directs his creditor to collect his debt from the third person, and the creditor accepts the arrangement, the third person will, on completion of all the conditions to be explained later, become the debtor. Thereafter, the creditor cannot demand his debt from the first debtor."

The prophet Muhammad (a cross border trader of goods and commodities by profession) encouraged the free movement of goods and the development of markets. Numerous Moslem scholars railed against hoarding and harmful speculation (market cornering and manipulation known as "Gharar").

Moslems were the first to use promissory notes and assignment, or transfer of debts via bills of exchange ("Hawala"). Among modern banking instruments, only floating and, therefore, uncertain, interest payments ("Riba" and "Jahala"), futures contracts, and forfeiting are frowned upon.

But agile Moslem traders easily and often circumvent these religious restrictions by creating "synthetic Murabaha (contracts)" identical to Western forward and futures contracts. Actually, the only allowed transfer or trading of debts (as distinct from the underlying commodities or goods) is under the Hawala.

"Hawala" consists of transferring money (usually across borders and in order to avoid taxes or the need to bribe officials) without physical or electronic transfer of funds. Money changers ("Hawaladar") receive cash in one country, no questions asked. Correspondent hawaladars in another country dispense an identical amount (minus minimal fees and commissions) to a recipient or, less often, to a bank account. E-mail, or letter ("Hundi") carrying couriers are used to convey the necessary information (the amount of money, the date it has to be paid on) between Hawaladars. The sender provides the recipient with code words (or numbers, for instance the serial numbers of currency notes), a digital encrypted message, or agreed signals (like handshakes), to be used to retrieve the money. Big Hawaladars use a chain of middlemen in cities around the globe.

But most Hawaladars are small businesses.

  • Their Hawala activity is a sideline or moonlighting operation.
  • "Chits" (verbal agreements) substitute for certain written records.
  • In bigger operations there are human "memorizers" who serve as arbiters in case of dispute.
  • The Hawala system requires unbounded trust. Hawaladars are often members of the same family, village, clan, or ethnic group. It is a system older than the West.

The ancient Chinese had their own "Hawala" - "fei qian" (or "flying money"). Arab traders used it to avoid being robbed on the Silk Road.

  • Cheating is punished by effective ex-communication and "loss of honour" - the equivalent of an economic death sentence.
  • Physical violence is rarer but not unheard of. Violence sometimes also erupts between money recipients and robbers who are after the huge quantities of physical cash sloshing about the system.
  • But these, too, are rare events, as rare as bank robberies. One result of this effective social regulation is that commodity traders in Asia shift hundreds of millions of US dollars per trade based solely on trust and the verbal commitment of their counterparts

Purpose

Hawala arrangements are used to avoid customs duties, consumption taxes, and other trade-related levies.

  • Suppliers provide importers with lower prices on their invoices, and get paid the difference via Hawala.
  • Legitimate transactions and tax evasion constitute the bulk of Hawala operations.

Modern Hawala networks emerged in the 1960's and 1970's to circumvent official bans on gold imports in Southeast Asia and to facilitate the transfer of hard earned wages of expatriates to their families ("home remittances") and their conversion at rates more favourable (often double) than the government's.

Hawala provides a cheap (it costs c. 1% of the amount transferred), efficient, and frictionless alternative to morbid and corrupt domestic financial institutions. It is Western Union without the hi-tech gear and the exorbitant transfer fees.

Hawala use in Terror Financing and Reverse Money Laundering

Unfortunately, these networks have been hijacked and compromised by drug traffickers (mainly in Afganistan and Pakistan), corrupt officials, secret services, money launderers, organized crime, and terrorists.

  • Pakistani Hawala networks alone move up to 5 billion US dollars annually according to estimates by Pakistan's Minister of Finance, Shaukut Aziz.
  • In 1999, Institutional Investor Magazine identified 1100 money brokers in Pakistan and transactions that ran as high as 10 million US dollars apiece.
  • As opposed to stereotypes, most Hawala networks are not controlled by Arabs, but by Indian and Pakistani expatriates and immigrants in the Gulf.
  • The Hawala network in India has been brutally and ruthlessly demolished by Indira Ghandi (during the emergency regime imposed in 1975), but Indian nationals still play a big part in international Hawala networks.
  • Similar networks in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Bangladesh have also been eradicated.

The OECD's Financial Action Task Force (FATF) says that:

"Hawala remains a significant method for large numbers of businesses of all sizes and individuals to repatriate funds and purchase gold.... It is favoured because it usually costs less than moving funds through the banking system, it operates 24 hours per day and every day of the year, it is virtually completely reliable, and there is minimal paperwork required."

  • (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), "Report on Money Laundering Typologies 1999-2000," Financial Action Task Force, FATF-XI, February 3, 2000, at http://www.oecd.org/fatf/pdf/TY2000_en.pdf )

Hawala networks closely feed into Islamic banks throughout the world and to commodity trading in South Asia.

  • There are more than 200 Islamic banks in the USA alone and many thousands in Europe, North and South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states (especially in the free zone of Dubai and in Bahrain), Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and other South East Asian countries.
  • By the end of 1998, the overt (read: tip of the iceberg) liabilities of these financial institutions amounted to 148 billion US dollars. They dabbled in equipment leasing, real estate leasing and development, corporate equity, and trade/structured trade and commodities financing (usually in consortia called "Mudaraba").

While previously confined to the Arab peninsula and to south and east Asia, this mode of traditional banking became truly international in the 1970's, following the unprecedented flow of wealth to many Moslem nations due to the oil shocks and the emergence of the Asian tigers.

Islamic banks joined forces with corporations, multinationals, and banks in the West to finance oil exploration and drilling, mining, and agribusiness. Many leading law firms in the West (such as Norton Rose, Freshfields, Clyde and Co. and Clifford Chance) have "Islamic Finance" teams which are familiar with Islam-compatible commercial contracts.

II. HAWALA AND TERRORISM

  • Recent anti-terrorist legislation in the US and the UK allows government agencies to regularly supervise and inspect businesses that are suspected of being a front for the ''Hawala'' banking system, makes it a crime to smuggle more than $10,000 in cash across USA borders, and empowers the Treasury secretary (and its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network - FinCEN) to tighten record-keeping and reporting rules for banks and financial institutions based in the USA.
  • A new inter-agency Foreign Terrorist Asset Tracking Center (FTAT) was set up. A 1993 moribund proposed law requiring US-based Halawadar to register and to report suspicious transactions may be revived.
  • These relatively radical measures reflect the belief that the al-Qaida network of Osama bin Laden uses the Hawala system to raise and move funds across national borders.
  • A Hawaladar in Pakistan (Dihab Shill) was identified as the financier in the attacks on the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

But the USA is not the only country to face terrorism financed by Hawala networks.

  • In mid-2001, the Delhi police, the Indian government's Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the Military Intelligence (MI) arrested six Jammu Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF) terrorists.
  • The arrests led to the exposure of an enormous web of Hawala institutions in Delhi, aided and abetted, some say, by the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence, Pakistan's security services).
  • The Hawala network was used to funnel money to terrorist groups in the disputed Kashmir Valley.

Luckily, the common perception that Hawala financing is paperless is wrong.

  • The transfer of information regarding the funds often leaves digital (though heavily encrypted) trails.
  • Couriers and "contract memorizers", gold dealers, commodity merchants, transporters, and moneylenders can be apprehended and interrogated.
  • Written, physical, letters are still the favourite mode of communication among small and medium Hawaladars, who also invariably resort to extremely detailed single entry bookkeeping.
  • And the sudden appearance and disappearance of funds in bank accounts still have to be explained.

Moreover, the sheer scale of the amounts involved entails the collaboration of off shore banks and more established financial institutions in the West. Such flows of funds affect the local money markets in Asia and are instantaneously reflected in interest rates charged to frequent borrowers, such as wholesalers. Spending and consumption patterns change discernibly after such influxes.

Most of the money ends up in prime world banks behind flimsy business facades. Hackers in Germany claimed (without providing proof) to have infiltrated Hawala-related bank accounts.

The problem is that banks and financial institutions - and not only in dodgy offshore havens ("black holes" in the lingo) - clam up and refuse to divulge information about their clients.

Banking is largely a matter of fragile trust between bank and customer and tight secrecy. Bankers are reluctant to undermine either. Banks use mainframe computers which can rarely be hacked through cyberspace and can be compromised only physically in close co-operation with insiders.

The shadier the bank - the more formidable its digital defenses.

The use of numbered accounts (outlawed in Austria, for instance, only recently) and pseudonyms (still possible in Lichtenstein) complicates matters.

Bin Laden's accounts are unlikely to bear his name. He has collaborators.

Hawala networks are often used to launder money, or to evade taxes. Even when employed for legitimate purposes, to diversify the risk involved in the transfer of large sums, Hawaladars apply techniques borrowed from money laundering.

  • Deposits are fragmented and wired to hundreds of banks the world over ("starburst"). Sometimes, the money ends up in the account of origin ("boomerang").
  • Hence the focus on payment clearing and settlement systems. Most countries have only one such system, the repository of data regarding all banking (and most non-banking) transactions in the country. Yet, even this is a partial solution. Most national systems maintain records for 6-12 months, private settlement and clearing systems for even less.

Yet, the crux of the problem is not the Hawala or the Hawaladars. The corrupt and inept governments of Asia are to blame for not regulating their banking systems, for over-regulating everything else, for not fostering competition, for throwing public money at bad debts and at worse borrowers, for over-taxing, for robbing people of their life savings through capital controls, for tearing at the delicate fabric of trust between customer and bank (Pakistan, for instance, froze all foreign exchange accounts two years ago).

Perhaps if Asia had reasonably expedient, reasonably priced, reasonably regulated, user-friendly banks - Osama bin Laden would have found it impossible to finance his mischief so invisibly.

The Rest @ Samvak

Monday, August 18, 2008

Shabaab's English Website is Back Up

http://revolution.muslimpad.com/2008/08/17/gimf-shabaab-al-mujaahideen-o-aba-muhsen-you-gained-in-the-deal-english/

http://revolution.muslimpad.com/about-2/

Batista Tagme Na Wai How far up does the Coruption go?

It appears someone high on Batista Tagme Na Wai staff, or he himself, has been hired by drug traffickers for protection, check contacts with known FARC and/or Venezuelan connections.

-Shimron

Friday, August 15, 2008

Hezbollah Venezuela

abdallah nasserdine
nabil Haj


190-76-57-226.dyn.movilnet.com.ve (190.76.57.226)

Somalia-Canada-Denver-Poison: Is there a Shabaab connection?

I think this story is still a bit of a reach, but lets us see where this goes eventually:

An Ottawa, Canadian man of Somali descent is found dead with over a pouond of Sodium Cyanide Poison in a Denver Hotel, a week before the democratic convention is scehdueld to start...this is a story that bears watching, especially after Jihadist forums very recently been hosting discussions about poisoning water supplies in North American cities...

-Shimron


DENVER (AP/CBS4) ― Authorities say they found about a pound of sodium cyanide in a Denver hotel room where the body of a Canadian man was discovered.

The man of Somali descent may have also made Internet postings last month of a deadly nature.

Police on Wednesday identified the white powder as sodium cyanide.

Fire officials say they found a bottle containing about a pound of the white powder, or between a pint and a quart by volume. Sources told CBS4 the bottle was hidden in the room, although authorities won't verify that.UPDATE 8/14/08...."The death of a man in Denver . Let's play connect the dots: start with a Somali Muslim living in Canada.

  • Then have him travel to the city that in just a few days will be hosting the Democratic National Convention.
  • Then have him die in a hotel room. Finally, have police search the room and find a POUND of cyanide -- enough poison to kill a couple hundred people, if distributed and delivered properly".
  • "Some lone nut? I'm not so sure. I did some checking, and the Burnsley Hotel -- where Saleman Abdirahman Dirie died -- is NOT a cheap hotel.
  • I just checked online, and rooms start at $199 a night. Mr. Dirie was in that room, dead, for six days before his body was found, so there's about $1200 sunk into just rent. Toss in transportation and acquiring the cyanide and other expenses, and this was obviously no impulsive, fly-by-night operation".
  • "The FBI says there's no apparent connection to terrorism, but I'm not buying it. What Mr. Dirie apparently wanted to do was not disrupt, not call attention to his pet cause, but murder hundreds of Democrats.
  • Americans participating in the political process, exercising their Constitutional rights to shape events and influence policy and help choose our next government. That's something that transcends politics". "Or, at least, it ought to. The FBI says there's no apparent connection to terrorism. As I said, I'm not buying it.
  • I'm hearing that as "we haven't found any conclusive evidence of conspiracy as of this moment." I can not believe that Mr. Dirie was acting alone.
  • There was a support mechanism behind him, one that helped him get the money and the material and the know-how together (although apparently not enough of the last part) to go to the site of the Democratic National Convention over a week in advance with enough poison to kill hundreds of people.
  • I want them identified, I want them hunted down, and I want them killed"............That would be the al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia, they have a website hosted in Vancouver WA and has the majority of it's subscribers living in the USA !

The Rest @ CBS and the Bill Warner Blog

Somalia-Canada-Denver-Poison: Is there a Shabaab connection?

I think this story is still a bit of a reach, but lets us see where this goes eventually:

An Ottawa, Canadian man of Somali descent is found dead with over a pouond of Sodium Cyanide Poison in a Denver Hotel, a week before the democratic convention is scehdueld to start...this is a story that bears watching, especially after Jihadist forums very recently been hosting discussions about poisoning water supplies in North American cities...

-Shimron


DENVER (AP/CBS4) ― Authorities say they found about a pound of sodium cyanide in a Denver hotel room where the body of a Canadian man was discovered.

The man of Somali descent may have also made Internet postings last month of a deadly nature.

Police on Wednesday identified the white powder as sodium cyanide.

Fire officials say they found a bottle containing about a pound of the white powder, or between a pint and a quart by volume. Sources told CBS4 the bottle was hidden in the room, although authorities won't verify that.UPDATE 8/14/08...."The death of a man in Denver . Let's play connect the dots: start with a Somali Muslim living in Canada.

  • Then have him travel to the city that in just a few days will be hosting the Democratic National Convention.
  • Then have him die in a hotel room. Finally, have police search the room and find a POUND of cyanide -- enough poison to kill a couple hundred people, if distributed and delivered properly".
  • "Some lone nut? I'm not so sure. I did some checking, and the Burnsley Hotel -- where Saleman Abdirahman Dirie died -- is NOT a cheap hotel.
  • I just checked online, and rooms start at $199 a night. Mr. Dirie was in that room, dead, for six days before his body was found, so there's about $1200 sunk into just rent. Toss in transportation and acquiring the cyanide and other expenses, and this was obviously no impulsive, fly-by-night operation".
  • "The FBI says there's no apparent connection to terrorism, but I'm not buying it. What Mr. Dirie apparently wanted to do was not disrupt, not call attention to his pet cause, but murder hundreds of Democrats.
  • Americans participating in the political process, exercising their Constitutional rights to shape events and influence policy and help choose our next government. That's something that transcends politics". "Or, at least, it ought to. The FBI says there's no apparent connection to terrorism. As I said, I'm not buying it.
  • I'm hearing that as "we haven't found any conclusive evidence of conspiracy as of this moment." I can not believe that Mr. Dirie was acting alone.
  • There was a support mechanism behind him, one that helped him get the money and the material and the know-how together (although apparently not enough of the last part) to go to the site of the Democratic National Convention over a week in advance with enough poison to kill hundreds of people.
  • I want them identified, I want them hunted down, and I want them killed"............That would be the al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia, they have a website hosted in Vancouver WA and has the majority of it's subscribers living in the USA !

The Rest @ CBS and the Bill Warner Blog

Thursday, August 14, 2008

From December 2006 article in Crossroads Arabia, claimingn that Saleh Kamel

I’ve met Kamel several times, most recently in the home of Arab News‘ Editor-in-Chief, in 2003. He did not strike me at all as one with any interest in funding extremism, no matter the issue. In fact, he scandalized some of the other guests, including royal family members, by stating bluntly that the Palestinian issue should be of no concern to Saudis, who have enough on their plates to get excited about. What he is, though, is a very astute businessman, with extensive media holdings including:

  • the ART satellite TV network of nearly a dozen channels.
  • He has also successfully invested in banks, in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Sudan, which seem to be what attracted attention post 9/11.

-Barbara Ferguson- Arab NEws

AQIM suffering from Loss of Junior Emirs.

A suicide bomber attacked a coast guard post in the beach town of Zemmouri east of Algiers on Saturday night (August 9th), killing at least six and injuring 18.

Algerian officials say the latest suicide attack is in response to the killing of 12 al-Qaeda terrorists last week in Tizi Ouzou.

  • The suicide bomber reportedly drove a car laden with explosives into the police post at 10 pm on Saturday.
  • The explosion was heard in nearby towns, and damaged a number of buildings.
  • "I was surprised by how powerful the blast was and thought it was an earthquake similar to the one that struck the region in 2003," El Arbi, 50, told Magharebia.

According to the interior ministry, most of the victims were civilian.
Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for similar attacks in recent weeks, the latest of which occurred on August 3rd and targeted a police station in Tizi Ouzou.

Speaking from the site of the attack on Sunday, Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni told reporters that the attacker blew himself up after being shot at by a policeman who saw his car approaching.
  • Zerhouni said the attack was probably in response to the "major operation" by the Algerian army in the town of Beni Douala in Tizi Ouzou that culminated in the elimination of 12 al-Qaeda terrorists, some of whom were Emirs.
  • Acting on information obtained from detained al-Qaeda members, the army on Friday launched a surprise attack that security experts saw as part of the authorities' effort to move the war against terror to the "stronghold of terrorism".

The army operation reportedly took place near the forests of Tizi Ouzou in the wilaya of Boumerdès, where organisation leader Abdelmalek Droukdel is believed to be hiding.

  • The army clashed with 16 more terrorists in 4 vehicles. One of the cars with four terrorists on board managed to flee.
  • The interior ministry said many weapons, including Kalashnikov rifles, pistols and guns, as well as a radio transceiver, were found.

Saturday's attack is an attempt by al-Qaeda to avenge the killing of its leaders, security affairs journalist Mounir Abi told Magharebia.

  • Abi said 15 emirs have been eliminated since last year, including
  • Zoheir Harik, also known as Sofiane Fassia, considered Droukdel's right hand man and in charge of procuring weapons for the organisation.

He said the attacks aim at boosting the morale of the increasingly insecure group after the severe blows dealt by the army and security forces.

He added that the group is trying to demonstrate to al-Qaeda's global leadership that they are capable of launching attacks on security forces and foreign interests.

In an internet message posted on August 6th, AQIM claimed that two attacks on August 3rd and July 23rd killed 38 policemen and army soldiers, and accused the interior minister of deceiving the public by providing a false death toll.


Zerhouni had announced earlier that the attacks killed only the suicide bombers themselves.

The Rest @ Magharebia

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

UFDD Video

Here is a Brand New video From the UFDD rebels led by Abakar Tollimi .
Note the close up on the passanger in Front Seat of the Truck. He looks familiar, but Ican't quite place him.

-Shimron

Monday, August 11, 2008

Hersi Haji Ali Supported by al Shabaab

'Al Shabaab' Gathering Outside Somaliland Town, Says Minister
Aug 11, 2008 (Garowe Online/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) --

Al Shabaab militants who are spearheading an Islamist insurgency in southern Somalia are gathering outside of Burao, a key town in the northern breakaway region of Somaliland, a government minister has said.

Abdullahi "Irro" Ismail, Somaliland's interior minister, told the BBC Somali Service on Saturday that the militants organizing in the outskirts of eastern Burao are loyal to Mr. Hersi Ali Haji Hassan, a businessman who was arrested by local police last week.
***************************************************************
-From a brief March 28th 2008 - post Hassa Seems to be the Depety cahir of the NEX in Somalialand.


The Deputy Chair of the NEC, Mudane Hersi Ali Haji Hassan welcomed the election of the new chair and stated all the members of the committee pledged their full support.

Omar Mohamed Farah Qaranne Hargeisa

The Deputy Chair of the National Elections Commitee ( NEC ), Mudane Hersi Ali Haji Hassan welcomed the election of the new chair and stated all the members of the committee pledged their full support.
Omar Mohamed FarahQarannewsHargeisa


http://www.qarannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1080&Itemid=59

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Drug Trafficking Continued During Aleged Coup Attempt in Guinnea-Bissau

Last week Justice Minister Carmelita Pires said she had received death threats after a plane was seized carrying more than 500 kilos (1,100 pounds) of cocaine, according to police sources.

-AFP

Guinea-Bissau Continues to Destabilize

BISSAU (Reuters) - Military officers in Guinea-Bissau tried to stage a coup last week as the West African nation faced a political crisis, the armed forces spokesman said on Friday.

Lieutenant-Colonel Arsenio Balde said Rear-Admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto, the head of the navy, was in custody and other officers were being questioned about the attempt. He said the situation was under control.

"A military commission of inquiry has been set up and all those implicated in this attempted coup are being questioned to shed light on this affair," Balde told reporters in the capital Bissau. "We have Americo Bubo Na Tchuto in our hands," he said.

He said officers toured barracks in the West African country last week, trying to enlist support for military intervention to end a political crisis while Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Batista Tagme Na Wai was abroad.

  • Na Tchuto's arrest on Wednesday added to a deepening political crisis in the former Portuguese colony, which has come under increasing diplomatic pressure to curb a booming international cocaine trade.
  • Within the past week, President Joao Bernardo Vieira has dissolved parliament and appointed a new prime minister after the Supreme Court declared the lawmakers' mandate invalid and the opposition withdrew from the unity government.
  • Legislative elections are not scheduled until November.
  • Guinea-Bissau is no stranger to coups and instability, having been shaken by a series of crises since independence in 1974, but it is now under international scrutiny over its role in the multi-billion-dollar global cocaine trade.

Taking advantage of long, porous borders and poor policing, smugglers have turned Guinea-Bissau into a transit point for cocaine on its way from Latin America to Europe.
Some political analysts say local civilian and military authorities are complicit.

Last month, two planes were seized in Bissau. International drug experts were allowed on board one of them only after a standoff between two branches of the security services.

The plane was found to be empty but sniffer dogs confirmed it had carried cocaine. The head of the control tower was subsequently arrested and the deputy head of the air force is wanted for questioning, security sources said.

Drug experts have said the drugs trade and rivalry between factions involved in it risked aggravating instability in weak countries in West Africa.

Guinea-Bissau's northern neighbour Senegal said late on Thursday it had sent a minister to Bissau after Vieira spoke to Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade on the subject.

The Rest @ Reuters Africa

BISSAU, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Military officers in Guinea-Bissau tried to stage a coup while Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Batista Tagme Na Wai was abroad last week, Na Wai's spokesman said on Friday.
Lieutenant-Colonel Arsenio Balde said Rear-Admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto, the head of the Navy, was in custody and other officers were being questioned in connection with the "attempted coup". He said the situation was now under control. (Reporting by Alberto Dabo)

The Rest @ alertnet

Friday, August 08, 2008

Shabaab Continues their Murderous Rampage of Long Term Aid Workers in Somalia

MOGADISHU (AFP) - A well-known Somali aid worker who had been running the country's largest orphanage for 18 years was gunned down Wednesday south of Mogadishu, witnesses and relatives said.

Abdikadir Yusuf Kariye was the head of an orphanage in Lafole -- a town some 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Mogadishu -- which has been providing shelter for many children fleeing the deadly civil strife in the capital.

"Two unidentified men armed with handguns shot him three times in the head as he was entering his home. He is dead now," his younger brother Mohamed Yusuf Kariye told AFP.
"He leaves behind about 200 orphans in the centre he had been running for 18 years," he added.
"Many orphans and displaced families will miss him, there's no doubt. Nobody knows why anyone would target a man like him, who looks after the needy," said Mohamed Moalim Ali, an elder in Lafole who witnessed the murder.
"I saw the attackers running away after they shot him. He died on the spot, right in front of his house," he said.

The Rest @ Yahoo News
Another Report of what appears to be the same incident
-Shimron

Mogadishu, Somalia A Somali aid worker has been shot dead by al-shabaab close to Somali capital later on Wednesday eyewitnesses has said.Abdu Qadir Abdi Yusuf known as Owliyo the supervisor of KM13 IDPs area was killed in the similar area on the northern outskirt of Mogadishu.“He was fired nine rounds of bullets, he suddenly died” IDP woman Qadro Mohamud told.
A group of armed men shot dead Mr Owliyo at about 6:01 local time.al-shabaab consecutive attacks against the aid workers operating in Somalia

The Rest @ Terror Free Somalia
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