Minnesota Mujahadeen

March 6 (Bloomberg)

-- Seven months ago, Mustafa Salat told his father he was taking his clothes to the laundromat near their apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota. He never returned.
Salat, 19, later called from his birthplace, Somalia, and said he was okay, though he wouldn’t discuss what he was doing in a country he left when he was one year old, according to his parents, Lul and Ali.

Salat’s parents, along with U.S. authorities, said they fear he and other young Somali-Americans from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area were recruited to train at terrorist camps and fight in Somalia’s civil war.

• Now, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is concerned those Somalis may return to the U.S., where they are citizens, and plot terrorist attacks.
• Those fears were heightened last week when Robert Mueller, the FBI director, said a Somali-American living in Minneapolis was “radicalized” in his hometown, went to Somalia and became the first known U.S. citizen to carry out a suicide bombing.

“I am like a dead person walking,” said Lul, 42, who asked that her last name not be used and spoke in Somali through an interpreter. She and her husband go to bed with the phone under the pillow, fearing bad news about their son, they said. “I am not sleeping,” Lul said.

FBI Interviews

The FBI said it has been interviewing relatives of the missing and monitoring other cities with large Somali populations such as Columbus, Ohio, and Seattle, for reports of disappearances.

The bureau wouldn’t comment on Salat or estimate the number of Somali-Americans who have disappeared. The FBI wouldn’t say whether those who went missing would face charges if they return.

• At least 17 young men have vanished during the past two years from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and are believed to be in Somalia now, said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, a legal-aid organization.
• Jonathan Evans, a counter-terrorism official in the U.K., recently raised concern in a newspaper interview that residents there had trained in camps in Somalia and had returned to Britain.
• The FBI won’t say whether any of the Somali-Americans have returned to the U.S.
• The FBI is concerned that there may be more Somalis who have disappeared and whose parents haven’t reported them as missing, said E.K. Wilson, a bureau spokesman in Minneapolis.

Senate Hearings

The disappearances also are raising concern among lawmakers. Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who heads the Senate homeland security panel, plans a hearing March 11 on recruitment efforts in the U.S. by Somali groups.

Somali-Americans have gone to Somalia and trained there in terrorism camps associated with the militant group al-Shabaab, or “the Youth,” which has ties to al-Qaeda, said a U.S. counter- terrorism official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Al- Shabaab was designated as a terrorist group last year by the U.S.

The official said al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda are closely connected and it is unclear which organization runs the Somali training camps.

U.S.-backed Ethiopian troops entered Somalia in 2006. Islamist and clan-based opposition militias began a guerrilla war against the Ethiopian occupation.

Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia in January after the occupation failed to end Somalia’s civil war, leaving much of the south of the country under the control of al-Shabaab.

Obama’s Inauguration

While al-Shabaab has focused its activities within Somalia, its aspirations may be expanding. The FBI investigated a possible threatened attack by the group that could have been directed at Washington, coinciding with President Barack Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

The disappearances are worrisome because of the risk posed by citizens of the U.S. and U.K. who can travel freely and blend in with the population, terrorism analysts said.

“It’s a blinking yellow light that needs further attention before it deteriorates and becomes a dangerous opening for attack,” James Phillips, an analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington public policy organization, said in an interview.

The recruiting in the U.S. “raises the question of whether these young men will one day come home, and, if so, what they might undertake here,” the FBI’s Mueller said in a Feb. 23 speech in Washington.

Suicide Bomber

Mueller flagged the case of Shirwa Ahmed, 27, who lived in Minneapolis before going to Somalia, where he carried out a suicide bombing in October that killed at least 30 people, according to news reports. Ahmed was a naturalized U.S. citizen.

For their part, Salat’s parents said they don’t know if their son is involved with al-Shabaab.

Lul and three other mothers or grandmothers of missing young men have formed a group attempting to make sure the disappearances are reported, and to ensure that if their children return, they won’t be held by authorities. Other parents may not have reported disappearances for fear their children will be targeted by law enforcement, or that family immigration violations may come to light, said Jamal, who helped organize the mothers.

“If he comes back, I’m afraid he will be arrested,” Lul said of her son. “We don’t want him to be victimized again.”

Salat, a high school student, often asked questions about the food eaten in Somalia, and about universities there, his father said. He talked about wanting to become a nurse or police officer in the U.S., never about returning to Somalia.

Salat left behind some clothes and books in Arabic on a shelf in a room with a bunk bed that he shared with his brother Zacharia, 17.

‘Indoctrinated’

Lul said someone “indoctrinated” her son, though she isn’t sure who persuaded him to travel to Somalia.

• Jamal said those he knows of who disappeared had attended a Minneapolis mosque, the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center.
  
• Omar Hurre, director of the center, said the mosque played no role and that he has urged anyone with knowledge of what happened to come forward.
  
• “We don’t know where they picked up those ideas,” Hurre said in an interview. “Attending the mosque programs does not in any way, shape or form mean we had anything to do with this.”

Even so, he said the mosque’s imam and a leader of its youth group were placed on the U.S. government’s no-fly list, preventing them from traveling to Mecca. Amy Kudwa, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, said the department doesn’t comment on those on the no-fly list.

Another member of the mothers’ group, Fadumo Elmi, said through an interpreter that her grandson, Mahamoud Hassan, 18, disappeared in November. In the days before he disappeared, Hassan brought Elmi money to help pay for clothes and shoes for an Islamic celebration, she said.

Hassan called Elmi from Somalia last month. She told him to come back. He said he couldn’t, Elmi said. He also wouldn’t answer questions about what he was doing in Somalia.

“His mind was taken by something we don’t know,” said Elmi, as she wiped away tears using her head covering. “They forced him out of my hand.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Blum in St. Paul, Minnesota at jblum4@bloomberg.net

Viktor Bout Extradition drama May end by the end of March

Viktor Bout hit the press again. He has been held in Thailand. The US is trying to extradite him to stand trial for trying to sell stingers to the FARC.

The Thia Judge says that the extradition trial should close out this month, but that his decision will impact Thai relations with either Russia or the US.

-Shimron

The Russian businessman, Viktor Bout, who allegedly armed dictators around the world, described himself as the hapless victim enduring “extremely inhumane” conditions in a Thai prison. Viktor also accused the United States on Friday of framing him and pressuring Thailand to extradite him to face terrorism-related charges. He was arrested in March 2008 during a sting operation in Thailand in which undercover U.S. agents posed as rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym, FARC.


“What about human rights? What about presumption of innocence? What about rule of law?” Bout, 41, yelled waving his hands and shouting before he was led from a holding cell to a hearing on the extradition request.

Bout’s wife Alla handed out a statement in which her husband complained that the Thai prison was “probably worse than Guantanamo,” the U.S. military prison in Cuba, and said he was arrested “not for committing any crime but as a result of a provocation, or rather a frame-up operation by the U.S. intelligence.”

“This is like medieval times,” she said, speaking through a translator. “At first, I cried. But now I’m used to this atrocity.”

Bout, who has been dubbed the “Merchant of Death” and was the model for the arms dealer portrayed by Nicolas Cage in the 2005 movie “Lord of War,” has been linked to some of Africa’s most notorious conflicts, allegedly supplying arms to former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The Rest @ Thailand Hotel Guide

Mosque built in Northern Kenya, Islamist youths burn nearby Church

GARISSA, Kenya, March 5 (Compass Direct News)

On a sunny afternoon last Sept. 14, when angry Muslim youths threw more than 400 members of a Gospel Church out of their church building, the Christians hoped they would be able to return to the ruins of their former structure.

That hope is quickly giving way to anger, hopelessness and despair.
“After six months in the open, the church feels tired and cheated,” said the pastor “We are fed up with the empty promises from the government administration.”

He said the church, which began worshipping in Garissa in early 2001 with only a dozen members, is fast shrinking.

“Our church membership has decreased, which is of great concern to me,” he told Compass. “The church thinks that the government has decided to buy time – almost every month I do book appointments with the relevant authorities, who on several occasions have given us a deaf ear.”

Since the attack, church members have been meeting at the town show grounds. Just a few miles from the Somali border, the site has few trees to protect the congregation from the scorching sun, with temperatures ranging from 92 to 104 degrees F (30 to 40 degrees C).

Asked why he thought government officials were reluctant to grant the church a permanent place of worship as promised, an irritated Matolo did not hesitate to reply.

“The administration has decided, ‘kutesa [inflict pain on us],’ always making promises that never come to pass,” he said. “At times the provincial commissioner deliberately decides not to take my phone calls. I have had a painful experience.”

Matolo said he has asked the administration either to allow the church to build a new structure on land lying idle near a police training college or to let them return to their original site. “We are ready for any eventuality,” he said. “We feel that the administration is not concerned about our spiritual welfare.”

Asked about the pastor’s complaints, provincial police officer Stephen Chelimo told Compass, “The issue at the moment is not within my docket, but wholly rests upon the provincial commissioner.”

But Provincial Commissioner Stephen Maingi said the onus rested on the district commissioner. “Let the district commissioner sort this issue with the pastor,” Maingi said.

District Commissioner Onyango Ogango, in turn, indicated the church itself was the source of problems.

“If the church is allowed to return to their original site, we will expect a fight to erupt with the Muslims,” Ogango said. “Earlier on, the church began very well during its initial stage of inception with controlled worship, but later it turned out to hold noisy prayers and loud songs.”

Further questioned about these allegations, however, Ogango said he would call the pastor to discuss a resolution. Even so, Matolo said previous contact with the district commissioner did not leave him with high expectations.

“Our district commissioner seemed to have no feelings for our predicament,” he said. “The faces of the congregation members speak a lot.”

A glance at the worshippers confirmed his appraisal. They looked weary and anxious, with impending April rains expected to add to the indignity of their situation.

Matolo said his congregation feels that soon it will be difficult to worship at all.
Even a temporary home did not appear to be forthcoming. The pastor said their request for a site near the provincial commissioner’s residence was dismissed on the grounds that it would create a security concern.

Radical Islamic Influence

Tensions between Christians and the Muslim-majority population in the semi-desert town of 20,000 people began in June 2007, when Muslims built a mosque too close to the church building – only three meters separated the two structures.

Matolo said pleas to District Commissioner Ogango did nothing to reverse the encroachment of Muslim worshippers.

Land issues alone have not been responsible for tensions in the area. The Rev. Ibrahim Kamwaro, chairman of the Pastors’ Fellowship in Garissa, said Matolo had offended Muslims when he preached to a lame Muslim man. Muslims were said to be upset that the pastor persuaded the disabled man to stop going to the mosque and instead join his church.

Matolo’s alleged promise to the disabled man of a better life offended area Muslims, Rev. Kamwaro said.

Christians feel increasingly hunted and haunted as the spread of Islamic extremism is fast gaining ground in this town, located about 400 kilometers (249 miles) from Nairobi, the capital.

In neighboring Somalia, newly elected President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Feb. 28 offered the introduction of sharia (Islamic law) in exchange for a truce with a rebel extremist group said to have ties to al Qaeda, al Shabaab; the rebels said they would keep fighting.

Many fear that Muslim youths in this lawless part of Kenya will be tempted to adopt the radical, uncompromising posture of the fighters.

To date, the gang of more than 50 Muslim youths who attacked worshippers and brought their church to ruins have not been apprehended. Members of the congregation feel justice is increasingly elusive.

In Garissa, Muslims restrict churches in other ways. Christians are not allowed to pray, sing or use musical instruments in rented homes owned by Muslims. No teaching of Christian Religious Education in schools is allowed; only Islamic Religious Knowledge is taught.

Garissa has more than 15 Christian denominations, including the East Africa Pentecostal Church, the Redeemed Gospel Church, the Anglican Church, Deliverance Church, Full Gospel Churches of Kenya and the African Inland Church.

The Rest @ Compas Direct

Mustagbal Transfer in Antwerp?

Did The Mustagbal party, a group of former young Fatah members in Palestine just get a mony transfer though or in Antwerp?

National Insurance Company (NIC)

National Insurance Company (NIC) is a Palestine-based public shareholding company engaged in the provision of insurance and reinsurance business. The Company's services include property insurance, liability insurance, engineering insurance, marine insurance, personal and specialized insurance.

It is also involved in different financial and investment activities. NIC's wholly owned subsidiaries are

• Mount David Hospital
• Abaraj Alwataniah Company
• Ramallah Medical Services Company.

It also has investments in other companies and projects, such as

• Golden Wheat Mills
• The Palestinian Company for Investment & Development PLC
• Al-Mustaqbal for Education Development.

The Company is headquartered in Ramallah and has branches in the main cities and towns of the Palestinian areas.

Al-Wataniah Towers 34 Al-Bireh, Municipality St. P O Box 1819 Ramallah, Palestine +970-2-2983800 (Phone)+970-2-2407460 (Fax)

Company website:http://www.nic-pal.com/ Corporate History/Profile, Executives

Moroccan Abou Mosaab Anadori Arrested in Spain

March 5th, 2009

By Al Goodman
CNN Madrid Bureau Chie
fMADRID, Spain (CNN)

Spanish Civil Guards have arrested a Moroccan man wanted for alleged terrorist plots in Spain and Morocco, Spain’s Interior Ministry announced Thursday.

The 21-year-old suspect was arrested Tuesday in eastern Tarragona province, near Barcelona, on a Moroccan warrant, but the ministry did not make it public until Thursday.

The man — identified only by his initials, J.M., and an alias, “Abou Mosaab Anadori” — allegedly plotted terrorist attacks in Spain. Moroccan authorities also link him to an alleged plot against tourist sites in Morocco, the ministry said in a statement.

The Rest @ CNN Wire

Guinea-Bissau President and Army Commanders Assassinated

The president of Guinea-Bissau was assassinated Monday morning, a day after an explosion killed the head of the West African country's military, the prime minister said.

Circumstances of Joao Bernardo Vieira's death are unclear.

It was not immediately clear how President Joao Bernardo Vieira, 69, died. Prime Minister Carlos Gomes confirmed the death to CNN.

Early Monday, gunfire and rocket explosions that lasted for about an hour were heard near the presidential palace in the capital, Bissau, according to local media. Looting was later reported at the presidential palace.

Army spokesman Zamora Induta said an aide to the president was killed during the gunfire.
He added that the gunmen remained at-large and that a 10-member-commission will manage the army until a new chief of staff is named. The army, he said, will remain neutral.

Gen. Tagme Na Waie, chief of Guinea-Bissau's military, was killed in a bomb explosion in his office Sunday, according to local news reports. Five other high-ranking military officials were wounded, two of them critically.

After the attack, all local radio stations were ordered to immediately suspend their programs.
The United Nations said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed dismay over the killings.

"The secretary-general strongly condemns these violent acts, which have occurred soon after successful legislative elections which paved the way for enhanced U.N. support to the country's peace-building efforts," the statement said.

"The secretary-general calls urgently for calm and restraint, and urges the national authorities of Guinea-Bissau to fully investigate these assassinations and bring to justice those responsible for them."

The British government issued a statement advising against "all but essential travel" to the country.

Na Waie's predecessor also was assassinated. Soldiers shot and killed Gen. Verissimo Correia Seabra in October 2004.

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The Rest @ CNN

CNN's Umaro Djau contributed to this report.