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South American drugs gangs are providing millions of pounds of funding for al-Qaeda terrorists by paying them to ensure the safe passage of cocaine across north Africa and towards Europe.
Islamic rebels familiar with the barren terrain of the Sahara have struck deals under which they provide armed security escorts for drug traffickers in return for a slice of their profits.
Counter-terrorism experts said that the terrorists belong to the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group, which has kidnapped a series of Westerners and killed a British tourist last year.
They warned that the money they receive from drugs gangs could be used to attract new recruits and plan terrorist attacks on European cities.
Olivier Guitta, a counter-terrorism and foreign affairs consultant, said that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Marxist rebel group, was the “force behind the agreement with AQIM”.
In the past drugs were flown or shipped from South America straight to Spain or Portugal but the introduction of more rigorous controls in those countries led FARC to change its way of operating.
” Since the routes going through Europe became much more difficult to use, FARC saw an opportunity to use the Sahel and North Africa as its new drug route,” said Mr Guitta.
“And since AQIM has a hold over the area and was already involved in major smuggling operations it made sense to offer them a deal.
“AQIM is an independent unit of al-Qaeda and does not share the monies with al-Qaeda central but is looking to pull off terror attacks on its own in Europe.”
Terrorists linked to al-Qaeda in north Africa have made $130m (£84m) from helping drugs gangs and kidnap ransoms since 2007, according to one report citing an investigation by the Algerian government.
The Rest @ In Depth Africa
Showing posts with label Al Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Al Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Al Qaeda Trafficking Drugs to Europe from South America
This is old news to many but there are more detials to this story which are not written about in the following article. Find them here on this site.
Check out Brugges, Belgium airport.
They know tail numbers, flight schedules, and the airports used.
Shimron Issachar
************************************
Officials said U.S. intelligence first spotted AQIM's use of Boeing 727 jets for drug smuggling as early as 2006. They acknowledged that the threat was played down in the U.S. government, particularly by the Homeland Security Department.
AQIM has significantly expanded its use of jets to fly tons of cocaine and weapons to such countries as Mali and Mauritania. Officials said the weapons were used for Al Qaida's war against Algeria and Western interests while the cocaine was meant to finance insurgency operations.
"The planes have been owned by South American smugglers and terrorists, and AQIM operates flights, cargo transfer and smuggling to Europe," the official said. "AQIM could use the planes for their operations once they land in North Africa."
The Rest @ World Tribune
Check out Brugges, Belgium airport.
They know tail numbers, flight schedules, and the airports used.
Shimron Issachar
************************************
Officials said U.S. intelligence first spotted AQIM's use of Boeing 727 jets for drug smuggling as early as 2006. They acknowledged that the threat was played down in the U.S. government, particularly by the Homeland Security Department.
AQIM has significantly expanded its use of jets to fly tons of cocaine and weapons to such countries as Mali and Mauritania. Officials said the weapons were used for Al Qaida's war against Algeria and Western interests while the cocaine was meant to finance insurgency operations.
"The planes have been owned by South American smugglers and terrorists, and AQIM operates flights, cargo transfer and smuggling to Europe," the official said. "AQIM could use the planes for their operations once they land in North Africa."
The Rest @ World Tribune
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Taqiyya and the Long War in Africa
The Douglas Farah Post below re-introduces the concept of
Taqiyya into the Long War. It allows Islamist leaders at all levels to make promises to the enemies of the Umma in times of Jihaad that they never intend to keep.
Keep this in mind when dealing with Shabaab, AQIM and other emerging Islamist groups in Niger, Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Congos.
-Shimronn Issachar
concept coveredin Shiia Dawa, but also in Islamist network groups, if not mainstream Salafi.
Another Missing Element in the AfPak Analysis
By Douglas Farah
To build on my CTB colleague Walid Phares recent post, there is another missing element in the analysis of the Taliban's recent advances in Pakistan.
It is the concept or religious precept of taqiyya in Islam and fully embraced by radical Islamists (including the Muslim Brotherhood.
It blesses the concept of disguising one's beliefs, intentions, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions or strategies from the enemy and the infidel. In practical terms it is manifested as dissimulation, lying, deceiving, vexing and confounding with the intention of deflecting attention, foiling or pre-emptive blocking.
See this paper for a deeper look at what the term implies.
So, when the Taliban negotiates certain terms of its taking over parts of Pakistan and promises certain behaviors in return for limited power there, they have no intention of keeping to the terms of the agreement.
Under the terms of taqiyya, such behavior, which we widely view as duplicitous, is simply part of the accepted ways to spread sharia law and the caliphate. It has no moral consequence except to raise the esteem of the practitioner of this art in the eyes of his cohorts.
The Rest @ Counter Terrorism Blog
Taqiyya into the Long War. It allows Islamist leaders at all levels to make promises to the enemies of the Umma in times of Jihaad that they never intend to keep.
Keep this in mind when dealing with Shabaab, AQIM and other emerging Islamist groups in Niger, Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Congos.
-Shimronn Issachar
concept coveredin Shiia Dawa, but also in Islamist network groups, if not mainstream Salafi.
Another Missing Element in the AfPak Analysis
By Douglas Farah
To build on my CTB colleague Walid Phares recent post, there is another missing element in the analysis of the Taliban's recent advances in Pakistan.
It is the concept or religious precept of taqiyya in Islam and fully embraced by radical Islamists (including the Muslim Brotherhood.
It blesses the concept of disguising one's beliefs, intentions, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions or strategies from the enemy and the infidel. In practical terms it is manifested as dissimulation, lying, deceiving, vexing and confounding with the intention of deflecting attention, foiling or pre-emptive blocking.
See this paper for a deeper look at what the term implies.
So, when the Taliban negotiates certain terms of its taking over parts of Pakistan and promises certain behaviors in return for limited power there, they have no intention of keeping to the terms of the agreement.
Under the terms of taqiyya, such behavior, which we widely view as duplicitous, is simply part of the accepted ways to spread sharia law and the caliphate. It has no moral consequence except to raise the esteem of the practitioner of this art in the eyes of his cohorts.
The Rest @ Counter Terrorism Blog
Thursday, October 16, 2008
13 Maghreb Islamists Detained in Spain Today
MADRID, Spain - Spanish police on Thursday arrested 13 men accused of harboring Islamic extremists, including several suspects in the Madrid terror bombings of 2004, and helping them flee the country, the Interior Ministry said.
Police made the arrests in pre-dawn raids in four northeastern towns near Barcelona. Raids also occurred in Madrid and Algeciras in the south. At least 8 of the detainees are Moroccan. The identities of the rest were not immediately provided.
The arrests stemmed from a 2005 police operation during which Spain broke up a terror cell that allegedly recruited people to stage suicide attacks against U.S.-led forces in Iraq and other targets set by al-Qaida, the ministry said in a statement.
The 13 men arrested Thursday are suspected of giving shelter to Islamic extremists, including at least five suspects in the March 11, 2004, train bombings that killed 191 people in Madrid, and helping them to flee the country.
Muslim militants claimed responsibility for the Madrid attack, saying they had acted on behalf of al-Qaida to avenge the presence of Spanish peacekeeping troops in Iraq. However, Spanish authorities say they have found no evidence that al-Qaida ordered or financed the attacks.
Spanish investigators have said one of the fugitive suspects in the Madrid attacks,
Police made the arrests in pre-dawn raids in four northeastern towns near Barcelona. Raids also occurred in Madrid and Algeciras in the south. At least 8 of the detainees are Moroccan. The identities of the rest were not immediately provided.
The arrests stemmed from a 2005 police operation during which Spain broke up a terror cell that allegedly recruited people to stage suicide attacks against U.S.-led forces in Iraq and other targets set by al-Qaida, the ministry said in a statement.
The 13 men arrested Thursday are suspected of giving shelter to Islamic extremists, including at least five suspects in the March 11, 2004, train bombings that killed 191 people in Madrid, and helping them to flee the country.
Muslim militants claimed responsibility for the Madrid attack, saying they had acted on behalf of al-Qaida to avenge the presence of Spanish peacekeeping troops in Iraq. However, Spanish authorities say they have found no evidence that al-Qaida ordered or financed the attacks.
Spanish investigators have said one of the fugitive suspects in the Madrid attacks,
- Moroccan Mohamed Afalah, is believed to have died in a suicide attack in Iraq in 2005.
- A confidential police report quoted in Spanish newspapers has said another fugitive, Daoud Ouhnane of Algeria, died in Iraq while fighting coalition forces.
13 Maghreb Islamists Detained in Spain Today
MADRID, Spain - Spanish police on Thursday arrested 13 men accused of harboring Islamic extremists, including several suspects in the Madrid terror bombings of 2004, and helping them flee the country, the Interior Ministry said.
Police made the arrests in pre-dawn raids in four northeastern towns near Barcelona. Raids also occurred in Madrid and Algeciras in the south. At least 8 of the detainees are Moroccan. The identities of the rest were not immediately provided.
The arrests stemmed from a 2005 police operation during which Spain broke up a terror cell that allegedly recruited people to stage suicide attacks against U.S.-led forces in Iraq and other targets set by al-Qaida, the ministry said in a statement.
The 13 men arrested Thursday are suspected of giving shelter to Islamic extremists, including at least five suspects in the March 11, 2004, train bombings that killed 191 people in Madrid, and helping them to flee the country.
Muslim militants claimed responsibility for the Madrid attack, saying they had acted on behalf of al-Qaida to avenge the presence of Spanish peacekeeping troops in Iraq. However, Spanish authorities say they have found no evidence that al-Qaida ordered or financed the attacks.
Spanish investigators have said one of the fugitive suspects in the Madrid attacks,
Police made the arrests in pre-dawn raids in four northeastern towns near Barcelona. Raids also occurred in Madrid and Algeciras in the south. At least 8 of the detainees are Moroccan. The identities of the rest were not immediately provided.
The arrests stemmed from a 2005 police operation during which Spain broke up a terror cell that allegedly recruited people to stage suicide attacks against U.S.-led forces in Iraq and other targets set by al-Qaida, the ministry said in a statement.
The 13 men arrested Thursday are suspected of giving shelter to Islamic extremists, including at least five suspects in the March 11, 2004, train bombings that killed 191 people in Madrid, and helping them to flee the country.
Muslim militants claimed responsibility for the Madrid attack, saying they had acted on behalf of al-Qaida to avenge the presence of Spanish peacekeeping troops in Iraq. However, Spanish authorities say they have found no evidence that al-Qaida ordered or financed the attacks.
Spanish investigators have said one of the fugitive suspects in the Madrid attacks,
- Moroccan Mohamed Afalah, is believed to have died in a suicide attack in Iraq in 2005.
- A confidential police report quoted in Spanish newspapers has said another fugitive, Daoud Ouhnane of Algeria, died in Iraq while fighting coalition forces.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
15 Terror Suspects Arressted in Morocco
Morocco has raised the security alert to maximum, suggesting an attack was imminent [AFP]Moroccan police have detained 15 people on suspicions of plotting terror attacks in the North African country.
Ahmed Bouzouba, the Moroccan justice minister, said in an interview on Friday that the arrests had been made, according to the information from the Kingdom's public prosecutor. "Fifteen detainees are in custody, three of them had been extradited by Libya," he told the Moroccan Assabah newspaper.
"Indeed, these people were arrested as they prepared terrorist attacks," he added, declining to give details because of what he called the secrecy of the ongoing investigation. Bouzouba gave no details on the three Moroccans arrested in Libya before their extradition to Rabat.
"Indeed, security services had arrested 100 suspects since March and 15 others in the latest days," Bouzouba added in an interview to L'Economiste newspaper, also printed on Friday. He did not elaborate, citing the secrecy of the yet to be completed investigation. Police sources said dozens of "radical Islamists" had fled a police crackdown in Morocco in the 1980s and 1990s to settle in Libya.
Last week, Morocco raised the security alert level to the highest rating of "maximum", suggesting an attack was imminent. Morocco's Interior Ministry said it obtained intelligence information on the threat in recent days but gave no details.
Alert The region has been on alert since al Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa, the Al Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb which is based in Algeria, threatened to escalate its war against "corrupt" governments in the region and their Western allies.
The al Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility for attacks in Algeria in the latest four months, including three in Algiers on April 11 when 33 people were killed and another on Wednesday that killed eight soldiers at an army barracks in Lakhdaria, 120 km, east of the capital.
Morocco on 'maximum' security alert
The Rest @ Media with a Conscience
Ahmed Bouzouba, the Moroccan justice minister, said in an interview on Friday that the arrests had been made, according to the information from the Kingdom's public prosecutor. "Fifteen detainees are in custody, three of them had been extradited by Libya," he told the Moroccan Assabah newspaper.
"Indeed, these people were arrested as they prepared terrorist attacks," he added, declining to give details because of what he called the secrecy of the ongoing investigation. Bouzouba gave no details on the three Moroccans arrested in Libya before their extradition to Rabat.
"Indeed, security services had arrested 100 suspects since March and 15 others in the latest days," Bouzouba added in an interview to L'Economiste newspaper, also printed on Friday. He did not elaborate, citing the secrecy of the yet to be completed investigation. Police sources said dozens of "radical Islamists" had fled a police crackdown in Morocco in the 1980s and 1990s to settle in Libya.
Last week, Morocco raised the security alert level to the highest rating of "maximum", suggesting an attack was imminent. Morocco's Interior Ministry said it obtained intelligence information on the threat in recent days but gave no details.
Alert The region has been on alert since al Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa, the Al Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb which is based in Algeria, threatened to escalate its war against "corrupt" governments in the region and their Western allies.
The al Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility for attacks in Algeria in the latest four months, including three in Algiers on April 11 when 33 people were killed and another on Wednesday that killed eight soldiers at an army barracks in Lakhdaria, 120 km, east of the capital.
Morocco on 'maximum' security alert
The Rest @ Media with a Conscience
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