Yemeni Al Qaeda Suspect Says Lured to Go to Germany

SANNA (Reuters) - A Yemeni Islamic cleric arrested in Germany for suspected al Qaeda links has said he was lured to travel there to receive a charitable donation from a U.S. Muslim, a state-run newspaper said on Thursday.

Sheikh Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Mouyad, held along with an aide in Germany on a U.S. request last week, said he had been led to believe the U.S. Muslim man wanted to meet him to make a contribution, the September 26 weekly said.

The cleric told Yemen's ambassador at a German detention center he had been told "he should travel to the United States or Germany to get the donation directly from the American."

Sheikh Mohammed said he had met the American, identified only as Saeed, and received a check for a Muslim charity before being arrested, the weekly said.

A Frankfurt court this week ordered the cleric and his aide, Mohammed Moshen Yahya Zayed, to be detained in custody pending a U.S. extradition request.

U.S. authorities say the two are al Qaeda supporters, but have not linked them directly with the September 2001 attacks.

Yemen says it has asked for the two men's extradition and that they would be interrogated as soon as they returned home.

U.S. officials have said Sheikh Mohammed, a prominent mosque preacher, is a significant fund-raiser for al Qaeda but not a financial official for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Both men belong to Yemen's Islamic opposition Islah party, whose members have denounced the arrests and said the pair had no connection to al Qaeda. Sheikh Mohammed's son has said the cleric had gone to Germany for medical treatment.

Yemen, the ancestral home of bin Laden, is seen in the West as a haven for Muslim militants, including al Qaeda. The poor Arab state has cooperated with the U.S. war on terror.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

FOX NEWS.com (AP): "'BUFFALO SIX' MEMBER AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY" (ARTICLE NOTE: The Buffalo Six member is identified as Faysal Galab, age 26, a Yemeni-American.) (011003)

HAMBURG NEWS.com (AP): "GERMANY ARRESTS TWO AL-QAIDA SUSPECTS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "German authorities, acting on a U.S. request, arrested two Yemeni men Friday on suspicion they belong to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization, a German security official said. Federal and state police arrested the men at a hotel at the Frankfurt international airport, the security official said on condition of anonymity. One of the men was identified as Mohammed Ali Hassan Sheik al Mujahed, in his mid-50s. He is supposed to have been the imam of a large mosque in the Yemeni capital, San'a, and is suspected of being responsible for al-Qaida's logistics in Yemen, the official said. The other man, Said Mohammed Mohsen, is in his late 20s and was accompanying al Mujahed on his travels, the official said. The official said Mohsen was considered the less important of the two.") (011003)

An Informative Discussion on FREEREPUBLIC.com regarding an AP article via DALLASNEWS.com: "PHARMACIST TELLS PARENTS OF ATTACK Texas Man Wounded In An Attack in Yemen 'Thought He Would Die'" (010103)

ANANOVA.com: "'BIN LADEN TAPES FOUND IN HOME' OF MURDER SUSPECT" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Audio tapes of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden have reportedly been found at the house of a Yemeni who allegedly shot dead three American missionaries. Yemeni officials believe Abed Abdul Razak Kamel and his alleged collaborator, Ali al-Jarallah, are members of a terrorist cell connected with al-Qaida. Both men are in police custody.") (010503)

ALBAWABA.com - The Middle East Gateway: "REPORT: YEMENI KILLER OF U.S. DOCTORS MET AL QAEDA MEMBERS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The Yemeni gunman who killed three U.S. missionaries earlier this week has confessed to meeting al Qaeda members, including a suicide bomber who attacked the USS Cole, a state-owned Yemeni magazine reported on Thursday. The September 26 weekly said Abed Abdel Razzak Kamel told police he joined Yemen's Islamic Jihad group in 1997 after he met the man who three years later participated in the attack that killed 17 U.S. sailors on board the U.S. destroyer in Aden port.") (010203)

***CNS NEWS.com: "THREE AMERICAN CHRISTIANS KILLED, ONE WOUNDED IN YEMEN ATTACK" by Julie Stahl (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A security guard overpowered the assailant and authorities arrested the lone gunman identified as Abed Abdul-Razzaq al-Kamil, 32, by the Yemen News Agency, Saba. The gunman was quoted as having told police that he had shot the four, all representatives of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, to "cleanse his religion and get closer to Allah." An unnamed Yemeni official was quoted by wire reports as saying that the gunman had confessed to belonging to Yemen's Islamic Jihad organization and said he killed the Americans because "they were preaching Christianity in a Muslim country."") (123002)

YEMEN TIMES.com: "U.S. MILITARY COOPERATION DISCUSSED" (December 24, 2002 - January 5, 2003)

BBC News: "TWO DEAD IN YEMEN IN AL-QAEDA CLASH" (122102)

YAHOO! News - Article Search: "YEMEN"

U.S. EMBASSY (Yemen)

An Interesting Discussion on FREEREPUBLIC.com regarding a NYPOST.com article by Uri Dan: "'YEMEN' SCUDS BAGHDAD-BOUND" (122702)

FOX NEWS.com (AP): "REPORT: TWO YEMENI OFFICERS DIE IN GUNBATTLE WITH SUSPECTED AL QAEDA MEMBERS" (122002)

FOX NEWS.com (AP): "FEDS ARREST THREE 'BUFFALO SIX' RELATIVES" (ARTICLE NOTE: The "relatives" are identified as Mohamed Albanna, age 51, Ali Albanna, age 29, and Ali Taher Elbaneh, age 52.) (121702)

FREEREPUBLIC.com - Discussion Threads - Topic: "YEMEN"

YEMEN TIMES.com Online

GULF NEWS.com: "SONS OF YEMENI SPEAKER ARRESTED" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The press office of Yemeni Parliament Speaker, Sheikh Abdullah bin Hussein Al Ahmer, has confirmed that two of his sons are in custody for the shoot-out which took place near the British Embassy last Sunday. "Sheikh Abdullah regrets for what was circulated by media about the incident. Fallasies, exaggerations and lies have been circulated by some sick people," said a press release issued by the office.") (100302)

FOX NEWS.com: (AP): "YEMENI STUDENT SUSPECTED OF AIDING HIJACKERS SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS" (ARTICE NOTE: The Yemeni student is identified as Mohdar Abdullah, age 24, a former San Diego State University student. ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Abdullah, 24, acknowledged that he lied when he told an immigration officer that he entered the United States on Dec. 7, 1998, at New York on an Italian passport. In truth, he entered three days later from Canada on a Yemeni passport. The sentencing did not address the explosive allegations made in court documents that investigators suspect Abdullah helped three Sept. 11 hijackers who lived in San Diego in 2000.") (100202)

stepping back in time: OCTOBER 12, 2000: ATTACK ON THE USS COLE

NY POST.com: "LOCAL BUSINESSMAN DENIES TERROR TIES" by Katie Cornell Smith (ARTICLE NOTE: The suspect is identified as Mohamed Ali Alriany, a man born in Yemen.) (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "But while Mollo admits that his client shipped millions of dollars in customers' money to Yemen through his unlicensed money-transfer business, he noted that the feds have failed to charge Alriany, a U.S. citizen for 23 years, with terror crimes.") (120902)

stepping back in time...SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: ATTACK ON AMERICA!

What I am amazed about...because this is the effort of the CIA to entice these idiots to come to 'neutral countries'...is that the CIA bosses actually agreed to scenario. You can't predict what the silly Germans will do, and you can't tell them the Islamic terrorists are coming to Germany. Plus you can't guess if the Germans will be bold enough to arrest these idiots after you announce they are already in your country.

Some facts to consider, between the lines. The CIA ran this entire sting operation. The Germans knew all these names...probably from the CIA after 9-11, yet without the CIA telling them anything...they allowed them to fly in, and walk right through customs. No one picked up on them at all. After the CIA called the Germans...one can guess that a special CIA team was standing by and ready to simply grab the Muslim terrorists if the Germans refused to do anything...and take them out via a US air base in Germany. The Germans were likely very embearessed over the whole episode but can't say a word...otherwise they look really stupid. The Germans probably were thanked in a sarcastic way for their tremendous efforts in catching these guys...which the leadership hated. And finally, I would guess that the Germans will take months, if not years, to release these guys to the American...so they think. But the US will likely be expecting some release by March...and if not...we can start court cases to get them busy.

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