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| Oussama Kassir |
Posted on 10/22/2003 1:07:36 PM PDT by tubavil
A militant Muslim who reportedly traveled from London to Oregon in 1999 to scout out a possible terrorist training camp has been arrested in Sweden.
The arrest yesterday of Oussama Kassir — who authorities say once boasted of being "a hit man" for Osama bin Laden — appears linked to the federal investigation into Abu Hamza al-Masri, the radical London cleric accused of sending Kassir to the United States to help James Ujaama, of Seattle, and others train for jihad.
Ujaama pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to supply goods and services to the Taliban in Afghanistan. As part of a plea deal, he agreed to aid the government's investigation into Abu Hamza, who was Ujaama's friend and spiritual adviser.
Kassir and Abu Hamza were unnamed, uncharged co-conspirators in Ujaama's 2001 indictment on terrorism-conspiracy charges. Ujaama is serving a two-year sentence at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac.
FBI agents recently traveled to Sweden to discuss Kassir with counterterrorism officials there, said two Department of Justice sources, speaking on condition of anonymity.
It was unclear yesterday whether Kassir's arrest is tied to his activities in the United States. A spokesman for the Swedish Security Police in Stockholm said Kassir was being held on terrorism-related charges filed by the Swedish government but declined to discuss it further.
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"I am a supporter," Kassir said. "I love al-Qaida. I love Osama bin Laden."
Kassir, a Swedish citizen born in Lebanon in 1966, lived in London for a while at the mosque in Finsbury Park where Abu Hamza was an imam.
Ujaama also lived in London and designed and ran Abu Hamza's Web site, Supporters of Shariah, which advocates jihad against the West.
Abu Hamza's fiery, anti-Western sermons and his purported ties to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups have made him a target of the British government, which is attempting to strip him of citizenship and expel him.
Abu Hamza's ties to Ujaama and incidents in Bly, Ore., are what caught the attention of U.S. prosecutors.
In 1999, Ujaama sent a fax to Abu Hamza boasting he had secured a piece of property in northern Oregon, with features similar to those in Afghanistan, that could be used as a jihad training camp, according to federal prosecutors.
Abu Hamza then sent Kassir and another man, Haroon Aswat, to Bly from London in October 1999, according to court papers and federal law-enforcement sources.
There the two men met with Ujaama and a small group of militants from the Dar-Us-Salaam mosque in Seattle's Central District, according to court papers. The mosque has since closed.
In Bly, Kassir and Aswat found rundown trailers and dilapidated facilities, but spent several days firing weapons and riding horses before leaving, according to court documents.
While there, they were stopped by police for a traffic violation and their names recorded.
In February 2000, Kassir taught the preaching of Abu Hamza in Seattle and provided "urban tactical training," according to the Ujaama indictment.
Aswat, a Pakistani citizen, was killed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan, federal agents have said.
In May, Ujaama testified before a New York federal grand jury hearing evidence against Abu Hamza.
Marvin Smilon, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York, said yesterday his office would not comment on Kassir's arrest.
Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com
Staff reporter David Heath contributed to this report.
'I love bin Laden ... I hate Bush': Man connected to Ujaama, hijacking suspect speaks out
The link on post #4 has some of them listed.
It closed because it was too small to hold all the terrorists. A *larger* one (Al-Taqwa) opened nearby but was damaged in an earthquake. It re-opened two blocks away and is full of terrorists to this day.
The DC sniper mohammad worshipped at the nation of islam 'mosque' a few blocks away from the other three mentioned.
The arrest yesterday of Oussama Kassir — who authorities say once boasted of being "a hit man" for Osama bin Laden — appears linked to the federal investigation into Abu Hamza al-Masri, the radical London cleric accused of sending Kassir to the United States to help James Ujaama, of Seattle, and others train for jihad.
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Bad day for Kassir, the bad guy, ping!
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