Posted on 08/05/2004 5:52:24 AM PDT by Dog
JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- A South African citizen has been arrested in Mexico for alleged involvement in al-Qaeda-linked terrorist activities, South African media reported on Thursday, prompting further speculation about al-Qaeda presence in the country.
The man, so far unidentified, was carrying a South African passport and a mobile phone that had been used to make calls to South Africa when he was nabbed in Mexico near the US border on Tuesday, said local newspaper Thisday.
However, the South African government has yet confirmed if the man is genuine South African citizen or foreign national holding South African travel documentation.
Another newspaper, The Star, quoted a governmental official as saying that the 29-year-old with a Muslim name was arrested because the Mexican authorities believed his travel documents werenot in order.
If proved to be a South African, he would be the fourth South African citizen arrested overseas for alleged link with al-Qaeda in three weeks, said the newspaper.
Two South African men, Feroz Ganchi and Zubair Ismail, were arrested as terrorist suspects in Pakistan last month. And a SouthAfrican woman, Farida Goolam Mahomed Ahmed, was arrested in Texas,the United States, on July 19 on illegal immigration charges.
The South African government, through its diplomatic missions in Mexico, the United States and Pakistan, is trying to gain access to the arrested people. But the efforts have up to now unsuccessful.
The cabinet and the country intelligence heads on Wednesday refuted media reports that South Africa is a target of terrorist attack.
Reports from Pakistan alleged that the two men being held therehad confessed to a terror plot to attack tourist sites in Johannesburg. Enditem
Send the damn military to the border NOW!!!!!!
Score one more........
I'm curious whether these terrorists are really South African or whether they've found a source of illicit South African passports.
NO!!!!!!!!
Does it matter? AQ is AQ. Close the dang borders.
Although the borders remain a problem,it seems curious to me, that everytime we nabbed someone at the border,people scream: "Close The Borders". Sorry, but it looks to me like we are catching quite a few AT THE BORDERS and therefore, some of the protections at the border must be working.
DG, I too wonder about that. South Africa has a large Chinese and Indian community but I do not remember a muslim presence. If it's there it must be new as the old Nationalist government was close to Israel but at odds with the Arabs.
There's a large population from the SubContinent, of all religions. So, a SA could be someone with roots in the India/Pak area but have been radicalised by imams.
There have been tensions in the 90's between muslims and others......
Yes the Border Patrol is doing a great job under very difficult conditions but I am afraid it just a matter of time. Even if they catch 99 out of 100 (which they don’t) we are still in jeopardy.
This is why single simple solutions like putting the military on the border would fail. We must mobilize every element of government. State and local PDs and SOs must be given authority to protect us and enforcement of immigration laws is a proven and effective tool in this fight.
In addition to strengthening our homeland defenses, we must continue to hunt down the enemy and destroy him in his lair. We can’t win playing defense alone.
ping
>>Score one more........<<
This doesn't have a thing to do with our miserable border enforcement. The Mexicans caught him for us!
>>Reports from Pakistan alleged that the two men being held therehad confessed to a terror plot to attack tourist sites in Johannesburg<<.
I hope the prisoners weren't abused in order to gain this confession from them!
/heavy sarcasm
And there was the "Farida" woman caught last week in Texas...
Maybe they are listening. We get hit and go down for awhile and the cash cow will die.
Corruption in gov in South Africa seems to be fairly widespread, so it is distinctly possible that these were "purchased" rather than purloined.
Just for the record, I am an ex-South African, now a proud American for 22 years.
They also have a large very vocal and activist Moslem population in the Cape Town area.
I don't remember there being a particularly large Chinese community, though.
Somebody's on the ball down at the border, otherwise we wouldn't have caughtt this bad guy.
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