Posted on 06/13/2003 10:07:36 AM PDT by knighthawk
ASIO was powerless to stop a Melbourne man who allegedly trained with al-Qaida from boarding an international flight out of Australia.
The 23-year-old terror suspect, known as Abu Jihad, is now in custody in Cairo.
The Federal Government, through ASIO, was forced to issue an international alert to find Jihad after he disappeared from Australia last October.
Jihad was named as an al-Qaida terrorist by captured American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh in December 2001.
But ASIO was not able to verify Lindh's claims until after Jihad had boarded the aircraft in Melbourne almost 10 months later.
Jihad, a house painter who lived with his mother in Melbourne, had been under surveillance for some time.
ASIO was aware he was leaving Australia but was unable to stop him because his al-Qaida training pre-dated anti-terrorism laws introduced last July.
"We have been trying to track him down with our overseas partners," a senior government source said yesterday.
During an FBI interview on December 9 and 10, 2001, Lindh told investigators his Melbourne comrade had trained with him in explosives and assassinations and had volunteered to attack US and Israeli targets.
Lindh said Jihad trained with him in al-Qaida's al-Farooq camp in the months before the September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
Jihad, an alias, later re turned to Australia with the help of an anonymous Pakistani financier.
Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said the terror suspect flew to Egypt last October and was arrested in Cairo on May 26 for a visa violation.
Mr Downer said the man, who the Government has refused to name, "has been and remains the subject of investigations by Australian authorities".
A Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said consular officials in Cairo were still seeking access to the suspect, who they have listed under his birth name and not as Abu Jihad.
But a senior government source confirmed the man detained in Cairo was known to Australian investigators as Abu Jihad.
Attorney-General Daryl Williams' office refused to confirm or deny whether Australian authorities were forced to issue a global alert for him after he flew out from Melbourne or when they became aware of the allegations against him.
It is believed an Interpol red alert would have been issued to flag Jihad's whereabouts when he tried to move through Customs at international airports.
The Government has consistently said several people known to have trained at terror camps were being closely watched in Australia.
Foreign Affairs said the passports of eight Australians have been seized in the past 18 months for terrorism and security-related concerns.
Jihad was born in Australia but has dual nationality passports.
The Australian embassy in Cairo is continuing negotiations to get access to Jihad but the Egyptians are treating him as an Egyptian national and have so far refused access.
In addition to Afghanistan, Indonesian authorities claim they believe an Australian known as Abu Jihad underwent terrorism training at a Sulawesi camp in December 2000.
Mr Williams' office said it was unaware of the Cairo suspect having trained in Indonesia.
Intelligence sources said another man, from Sydney, also known as Jihad, had trained in camps in Indonesia and Australian authorities had been working to differentiate the three men who share the same name.
Jihad is a commonly adopted name among the Muslim community.
Its generic meaning refers to struggle but is also used as a term calling for holy war against infidels.
And people complain about US security.
I'm interested in this 'anonymous Pakistani financier.'
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