US intelligence may have targeted Krekar for rendition: report

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Three undercover CIA officers arrived in Norway in the spring of 2003 as part of a possible secret operation targeting for rendition an Islamic militant living in Oslo known as Mullah Krekar, The Washington Post reported.

Citing lawyers and unnamed European investigators, the newspaper said shortly after the agents arrived, Krekar received a warning from an anonymous Norwegian official that Krekar, then head of a Kurdish insurgent group, was a CIA target and should watch his back.

The spies left Norway by the end of the summer, the report said. If the CIA was planning to abduct Krekar, like other Islamic radicals it had secretly apprehended in Europe after the September 11, 2001, attacks those plans were quietly abandoned.

The case shows how the United States has struggled to deal with Islamic militants who are allowed to live freely in Europe despite being labeled serious security risks, The Post said.

Others have included radical clerics in London and supporters of the Hamburg cell responsible for the September 11 hijackings.

But the pursuit of Krekar also demonstrates how US tactics in confronting those militants have sometimes backfired, giving ammunition to critics who accuse the Bush administration of skirting the law or relying on questionable evidence, the paper said.

But other charges have been refuted in court or publicly discredited, including allegations by US and Iraqi officials that Krekar ordered followers to carry out suicide bombings.

The intense US interest in Krekar came at a time when the CIA was targeting other Islamic radicals in Europe for "extraordinary rendition," the clandestine practice of seizing terrorism suspects and transferring them to allied nations that sometimes practice torture, The Post said.

Among suspects grabbed by the CIA: a Muslim cleric in Milan, two Arabs living in Stockholm and two others from Germany, according to the paper.

The CIA and the US Embassy in Norway declined to comment on whether Krekar was a rendition target, The Post said

In a prepared statement for this article, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said, "The United States continues to consider Krekar to be a threat to national security, and we think the same with respect to Ansar al-Islam."

Timeline relating to Krekar and Ansar al Islam- note the U.S. presence of his group:

1990s : (KREKAR IS MEMBER OF IMK) Mala Krekar was one of the military figures of the Islamic Movement in Kurdistan, IMK, during late 1990s. - "Ansar al-Islam’s leader arrested - Jordan asks his extradition," Iraqi Kurdistan Dispatch, news, 15 September 2002

[* My note : the IMK is known for being one of the two main groups which together form Ansar-al-Islam; another is Jund-al-Islam; subgroups of Ansar al Islam include the Al Aqsa Battalion and the Yahia Ayash Battalion [named after a Hamas terrorist killed by the Israelis]; Ansar al Islam is led by Mullah Krekar and its members consider themselves a part of al Qaeda]

1990s? : (YASSIN AREF ALLEGEDLY "FLEES" IRAQ, ENDS UP IN DAMASCUS, SYRIA WHERE HE WORKS FOR THE IMK - See ALBANY NY CELL, MASJID AS SALAM MOSQUE) ------ "Calls Key in Terror Case," by BRENDAN LYONS, timesunion.com, March 22, 2006

1991 : (ANSAR AL ISLAM FOUNDER MULLAH KREKAR BEGINS RESIDING AS A REFUGEE IN NORWAY ) Krekar has enjoyed refugee status in Norway since 1991 .- "Norway charges Kurdish Islamist with terrorism ," Reuters, Friday, March 21, 2003

1991 : (NORWAY : KREKAR GRANTED REFUGEE STATUS) Mala Krekar was granted refugee status in Norway in 1991, which has recently (as of Sept 2002) been revoked by Norwegian authorities. His family still lives in Norway.- "Ansar al-Islam’s leader arrested - Jordan asks his extradition," Iraqi Kurdistan Dispatch, news, 15 September 2002

1990s late : (AL QAEDA RECRUITS IRAQI KURDS) The mountainous tracts near the border with Iran have traditionally held to a strict religious way of life, however, and Iraqi Kurds from these villages were recruited to al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan in the late 1990s. - "Chemical war threat by Iraq's 'Taliban' ," By Damien McElroy in Nicosia, UK Telegraph , Filed: 12/01/2003 (jan 12, 2003)

1999 : (ALBANY NY : A LARGER BUILDING FOR THE MASJID AS-SALAM MOSQUE BY THE NAIT [probably another name for NAIF]) The mosque was bought in 1999 by the North American Islamic Trust, a public charity that controls hundreds of other mosques nationwide. It features a large open area carpeted for prayer, mismatched chairs and few amenities.
The mosque was previously in a smaller building on Central Avenue, but as its membership grew, the trust purchased the larger building five years ago [1999]. Membership has increased to about 200 regular worshippers, members said. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks FBI agents questioned members about a mosque founder, Ali Mounnes Yaghi, an openly anti-American Jordanian immigrant who operated pizza businesses in the city for about 15 years. Yaghi was jailed as a federal detainee for almost a year as the FBI investigated whether he or any of his acquaintances had connections to terrorist cells or the Sept. 11 attacks. ------ "Federal Agents Raid Mosque In Albany, N.Y. : Authorities say arrests of two members of Albany mosque, though not linked to current alert," by BRENDAN LYONS and PAUL GRONDAHL, Courtesy of The Times Union, Updated: August 9th, 2004 10:31 AM EDT

1999 : (A MAN AFFILIATED WITH THE IMK'S OFFICE IN DAMASCUS, SYRIA, YASSIN AREF, MOVES TO ALBANY NY-- See ALBANY CELL, MASJID AS SALAM MOSQUE) [Yassin] Aref, 35, a Kurdish refugee who moved to Albany with his family in 1999 ... "Aref kept his IMK affiliation hidden and secret, specifically omitting any reference to the IMK in his 1999 refugee application," according to a memorandum filed by the Justice Department. "Aref has had contacts with terrorists and discussions about terrorist acts." ------ "Calls Key in Terror Case," by BRENDAN LYONS, timesunion.com, March 22, 2006

DECEMBER 3, 1999 : (ALBANY NY IMAM YASSIN AREF CALLS FOR JIHAD) "Raise the Jihad sword ... Raise the Qu'ran with blood ... So we can bring back the freedom for ourselves and the entire people of this Earth." -Yassin Aref, Albany NY Islamic Spiritual Leader; 3 December 1999

1999 : (NORWAY : KREKAR GETS NORWEGIAN CITIZENSHIP) Bearded Krekar, 47, won asylum after the Gulf War and his wife and four children went on to gain Norwegian citizenship in 1999. - "Reviled by U.S., Islamist is hero for some in Oslo, by Alister Doyle, Reuters 07 Feb 2003

1999 : (IRAQI INTELLIGENCE OFFICER LATIF aka ABU WA'IL IS IN AFGHANISTAN - See ANSAR AL ISLAM) Sa'adoon Mohammed Abdul Latif, or Abu-Wa'il, an Iraqi intelligence officer, first visited Afghanistan in 1999. - "U.S. negotiates trade of terror suspects," By Eli J. Lake, UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL via The Washington Times, May 9, 2003, http://washingtontimes.com/world/20030509-22822443.htm

1999 late : (SUWEID LEAVES SYRIA FOR JORDAN : SUWEID CONTACTS MILITANTS IN SYRIA & IRAQ, SETS UP TERROR CELL IN JORDAN- See ZARQAWI, ANSAR AL ISLAM) Libyan Salem bin Suweid left Syria for Jordan late in 1999 under a fake Tunisian passport. His Jordanian assistant, Freihat, helped him rent a house in Russeifa -- a predominantly Palestinian town, 15 miles northeast of the Jordanian capital Amman, the prosecutor said. - "11 terror suspects charged in Jordan," By Jamal Halaby, Associated Press, via Boston Globe , 5/12/2003 , http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/132/nation/11_terror_suspects_charged_in_Jordan+.shtml

1999 late - 2001 summer : (MILAN CELL CONVERSATIONS OVERHEARD) The overheard conversations, which took place in apartments, offices and even automobiles in and around Milan, include numerous discussions of false travel documents and the clandestine movement of al-Qaida fighters across international borders — the twin specialties, investigators say, of the erstwhile Milan al-Qaida base. - "Milan cell linked to al-Qaida operatives, " By John Crewdson and Tom Hundley, Chicago Tribune via Seattle Times June 30, 2002

1999 - 2001 ? : (JORDAN : SUWEID RECRUITS FOR HIS JORDANIAN TERROR CELL, GETS FUNDS FROM ZARQAWI) For more than two years, Suweid allegedly contacted militants in Syria and Iraq, enlisted group members to his Jordanian terror cell, sent Yasser Freihat to Syria for weapons and bomb-making training courses and received funds from Ahmed al-Khalayleh aka Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi. - "11 terror suspects charged in Jordan," By Jamal Halaby, Associated Press, via Boston Globe , 5/12/2003 , http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/132/nation/11_terror_suspects_charged_in_Jordan+.shtml

1990s late - spring 2003 : (ITALY : MOSQUES USED AS BASES FOR TERRORIST RECRUITMENT - See ANSAR AL ISLAM) The Via Quaranta mosque and another on Milan's Viale Jenner have been bases for terrorist recruitment and logistics since the late 1990s, according to police. Investigations led by prosecutor Stefano Dambruoso have resulted in a dozen arrests and eight convictions of extremists affiliated with the mosques. - "Ansar al Islam's European connection : A Road to Ansar Began in Italy," By Sebastian Rotella, Times Staff Writer, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES , Second of two parts April 27, 2003, Times staff writer Jeffrey Fleishman, in northern Iraq, contributed to this report.

JANUARY 22, 2000 : (THE INDIAN PAPER, THE HINDU REPORTS RADICAL SUNNI TERRORIST GROUP HAS BEEN RISING IN LEBANON NEAR THE SYRIAN BORDER; IT HAS BACKING FROM OSAMA BIN LADEN & HAS AFGHANIS AT ITS CORE) The Hindu 1/22/2000 Kesava Menon "…..If Islamic militancy in Algeria seems to be entering its terminal stage, the militancy in Lebanon appears to be entering into a new and dangerous phase….However, recently there has risen the new phenomenon of a radical Sunni group which has decided to take on the Lebanese army. Earlier this month, this group which has been training near the Syrian border ambushed a unit of the Lebanese army and 11 soldiers and 30 militants were killed in the fighting. Not many details are known about this new Sunni group but Lebanese newspapers report that it is believed to be part of a loose network of militant groups which have ``Afghanis'' at their core and draw at least a part of their funding from the al Qaeda of Saudi dissident, Osama bin Laden…. Developments in Sudan are at a shaky stage…. It is early days yet but if the Sudanese Government decides to go against the Islamists, if for no other reason than to please the U.S., it would mean that yet another Arab country has turned against the Islamists……The current head of the Islamic radical group which assassinated Anwar Sadat, former Egyptian President, is believed to be yet another militant who has taken refuge in Afghanistan. These are the underlying causes which have restrained these Arab countries from recognising the Taliban. Unofficially, all these Governments also state that they have been taking up the matter with Pakistan but it is probably the necessity of retaining the semblance of Islamic solidarity which prevents them from talking about it more openly…." --- by Kesava Menon, The Hindu, 1/22/2000 via ALAMO-GIRL'S DOWNSIDE LEGACY AT TWO DEGREES OF PRESIDENT CLINTON ; SECTION: BREACH OF TRUST; SUBSECTION: TERROR; Revised 1/8/01
(*My note : The following is a good one to use for those who claim "Al Qaeda wasn't in Iraq until after our invasion... it was in Afghanistan" ; this may very well be Zarqawi's ANSAR AL ISLAM)

2000 : (ZARQAWI RETURNS TO AFGHANISTAN TO OVERSEE TERRORIST TRAINING CAMP) Zarqawi, aka Khalayleh, who fought with Afghan guerrillas against Russian forces in the late 1980s, returned to Afghanistan in 2000 to oversee a terrorist training camp. Jordanian officials have said Khalayleh later took refuge with a militant Islamic group Ansar al-Islam in Iraq's northern Kurdish region. - "11 terror suspects charged in Jordan," By Jamal Halaby, Associated Press, via Boston Globe , 5/12/2003 , http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/132/nation/11_terror_suspects_charged_in_Jordan+.shtml

MARCH 2000 : (AFGHANISTAN : EX-CON JOHN EARL JOHNSON IS ARRESTED CARRYING COMPUTER DISCS CONTAINING TERRORISM MANUALS- See ALBANY CELL, MASJID AS SALAM MOSQUE) Johnson, who has served at least two prison terms, was also arrested in Afghanistan in March 2000 carrying similar computer discs, according to the FBI report and law enforcement sources. ------ "Calls Key in Terror Case," by BRENDAN LYONS, timesunion.com, March 22, 2006
[* My note: Arrested by who? In March 2000 the Taliban were in control of most of the country- so was he arrested by the Northern Alliance or is the date just wrong?]

JULY ? 2000 : (ABDULRAHMAN CONVERSATION WITH SALEH) Recorded conversation of [Abdulsalam Ali Ali] Abdulrahman remarking to [Abdelkader Mahmoud Es Sayed] aka Abu Saleh about an impending attack that "will wreak such a great havoc" and "leave them all dumbfounded." - "Milan cell linked to al-Qaida operatives, " By John Crewdson and Tom Hundley, Chicago Tribune via Seattle Times June 30, 2002

AUGUST 2000 : (ITALY : AL QAEDA : MILAN CELL : YEMENI HINTS TO ES SAYED aka SALEH OF POSSIBLE INTENT TO DESTROY AIRCRAFT) During one wiretapped conversation between Abdelkader Mahmoud Es Sayed aka [Abu Saleh] and a Yemeni in August of 2000, the Yemeni tells Es Sayed that "God willing, I hope that I can bring you a window or piece of airplane the next time we meet." (This same Yemeni has also once referred to "studying airplanes.") - "Terrorists' Twin Tower Images, Secret Porn Messages ," ABC News , 5/8/03

AUGUST 2000 : (MILAN CELL, ABDULRAHMAN VISITS ES SAYED aka SALEH IN MILAN, CONVESATIONS ABOUT AL QAEDA OPERATIVES IN US CLAIMING TO BE EGYPTIAN, 'MAIL ORDER BRIDE MAGAZINE TRICK') A suspected al-Qaida organizer, Abdulsalam Ali Ali Abdulrahman, paid a brief visit to Abu Saleh in Milan and was overheard referring to "some brothers who entered America thanks to a mail-order-bride magazine trick," but who "claimed to be Egyptians and kept their true identity concealed." - "Milan cell linked to al-Qaida operatives, " By John Crewdson and Tom Hundley, Chicago Tribune via Seattle Times June 30, 2002

OCTOBER 2000 : (USS COLE BOMBED TWO MONTHS AFTER ABDULRAHMAN CONVERSATION WITH SALEH) Two months after Abdulrahman's remarks to Abu Saleh about an impending attack that "will wreak such a great havoc" and "leave them all dumbfounded," suspected al-Qaida terrorists in the Yemeni port of Aden detonate a bomb next to the destroyer USS Cole, killing 17. - "Milan cell linked to al-Qaida operatives, " By John Crewdson and Tom Hundley, Chicago Tribune via Seattle Times June 30, 2002

NOVEMBER 7+, 2000 : (US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS - GORE WAR )

2000 end : (ACCORDING TO LATER CLAIMS BY ANSAR AL ISLAM FOUNDER MULLAH KREKAR, KREKAR MET WITH A CIA "REPRESENTATIVE" AND A US ARMY REPRESENTATIVE IN AL-SULAYMANIYAH CITY IN IRAQ WHERE THE OFFICIALS ASKED ANSAR AL ISLAM TO COOPERATE WITH THE US "LIKE THE TALIBANI GROUP AND OTHER KURDISH PARTIES WERE DOING" AGAINST THE IRAQI REGIME) He was reticent about the details of the "documents" but asserted that he had met Americans before the 11 September 2001 events and said: "I met a CIA representative and another from the American army in Al-Sulaymaniyah city at the end of 2000. They asked Ansar al-Islam and me to cooperate with them like the Talabani group and other Kurdish parties were doing. We refused and we have photographs of this meeting in our archives." He added: "The Ansar al-Islam group was one of the seven parties that former President Bill Clinton had placed on the list of Kurdish parties that could cooperate with the Americans against Iraq. But he removed us from the list after we declared our clear stand on this issue."
------ "Ansar al-Islam Leader Threatens to Reveal "Evidence" that Convicts USA," Kurdistan Observer, Feb 3, 2003, http://home.cogeco.ca/~observer/3-2-03-krekar-threaten-reveal-evidence-usa.html.
[* My note : Assuming there is any truth to this - and I'm not assuming it- could this CIA rep be one of those infamous ex-CIA John Kerry staffers we know from the Nigerflap stories whose name starts with a B?]

JANUARY 2001 : (INAUGERATION DAY)

FEBRUARY 2001 : (MILAN CELL, ES SAYED aka SALEH CONVESATION ABOUT AL QAEDA OPERATIVES NEEDING DUAL CITIZENSHIP PASSPORTS, INCLUDING ONE WITH SYRIAN & US NATIONALITIES ON IT) Six months later, in a conversation dated February 2001, Abu Saleh, unaware of the microphone hidden in his Citroen ZX, mentions to a passenger that "three brothers" will soon need dual-citizenship passports, including one with both Syrian and American nationalities. "Make sure the passports bear stamps," he admonishes the young man, a Tunisian. " The higher-ups want the job to be done properly, to make sure that they won't get caught as they reach their final destination." - "Milan cell linked to al-Qaida operatives, " By John Crewdson and Tom Hundley, Chicago Tribune via Seattle Times June 30, 2002

FEBRUARY 2001 : (MILAN CELL, SALEH CONVERSATION ABOUT GETTING TERRORISTS INTO US) Abu Saleh, unaware of the microphone hidden in his Citroen ZX, mentions to a passenger that "three brothers" will soon need dual-citizenship passports, including one with both Syrian and American nationalities. "Make sure the passports bear stamps," he admonishes the young man, a Tunisian. "The higher-ups want the job to be done properly, to make sure that they won't get caught as they reach their final destination."
Six months earlier, in August 2000, a suspected al-Qaida organizer, Abdulsalam Ali Ali Abdulrahman, had paid a brief visit to Abu Saleh in Milan and was overheard referring to "some brothers who entered America thanks to a mail-order-bride magazine trick," but who "claimed to be Egyptians and kept their true identity concealed."
It was in the same conversation that Abdulrahman made several cryptic remarks about an impending attack that "will wreak such a great havoc" and "leave them all dumbfounded." - "Milan cell linked to al-Qaida operatives, " By John Crewdson and Tom Hundley, Chicago Tribune via Seattle Times June 30, 2002

2001 summer : (IRAQ : KREKAR LEADS HIS FIGHTERS ACROSS NORTHERN IRAQ TO IRAQ'S BORDER WITH IRAN) In the summer of 2001, Mullah Krekar led 300 fighters across northern Iraq into the radical Islamic belt near the Iranian border. - "Ansar al Islam's European connection : A Road to Ansar Began in Italy," By Jeffrey Fleishman, Times Staff Writer, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES , First of two-parts SUNDAY REPORT April 27, 2003

2001 summer : (ITALY : MILAN CELL : ES SAYED LEAVES ITALY 2 MONTHS BEFORE 9/11 ATTACKS ON US) An Egyptian national, Abdelkader Mahmoud Es Sayed was in Italy last year (2001) but left two months before the Sept. 11 attacks. - "Italy: Judge Indicts Three North Africans (connected to al-Qaeda)," AP via Europe Daily , July 18 2002

JULY 2001 : (ITALY : IRAQI INTELLIGENCE AGENT AL-MAMOURI DISAPPEARS FROM HIS JOB, SHORTLY AFTER HE MET 9/11 HIJACKER MOHAMMAD ATTA; BOTH HAD BEEN SEEN TOGETHER IN HAMBURG GERMANY & PRAGUE, CZECHOSLAVAKIA BEFORE) One of Saddam’s intelligence agents, Habib Faris Abdullah al-Mamouri, was sent to be the new headmaster of a school for Iraqi diplomats in Italy. The bogus headmaster has not been seen in Rome since July, shortly after he also met Atta.
The pair are also said to have been together in Hamburg and Prague. There is no proof the men were in direct contact, but as one intelligence source in Madrid said [later in the year] : “They chose a strange time and place to take a holiday.” The Rome daily Il Messaggero, quoting Western intelligence sources, said of Mr al-Mamouri that “he spent more time pursuing contacts helpful to the Iraqi regime among fundamentalist Islamic groups than he had on his supposed teaching duties”.
Italian officials say that Mr al-Mamouri held the rank of general in the Iraqi secret service, and from 1982 to 1990 worked in the Special Operations Branch forging Baghdad’s links with Islamic fundamentalist groups in Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Gulf and Sudan. He was transferred to his “teaching duties” in 1998, although all the Iraqi Embassy will say of his sudden departure is that “he had money problems”. - "Hijacker 'given anthrax flask by Iraqi agent'," by DANIEL MCGRORY, The London Times, SATURDAY OCTOBER 27 2001

2001late : (IRAQI KURDS FORMERLY RECRUITED BY AL QAEDA TO TRAIN IN AFGHAN CAMPS RETURN HOME TO PUK TERRITORY IN NORTHERN IRAQ, WILL EVENTUALLY MERGE INTO ANSAR AL-ISLAM & SET UP ANTI-PUK ENCLAVES) On their return home to PUK territory, they merged a variety of radical organisations into the Ansar movement in 2001 and established their breakaway anti-PUK enclave. Following the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, scores of Arab al-Qaeda fighters have joined them after escaping through Iran - "Chemical war threat by Iraq's 'Taliban' ," By Damien McElroy in Nicosia, UK Telegraph , Filed: 12/01/2003 (jan 12, 2003)

SEPTEMBER 1, 2001 : (JUND AL ISLAM ESTABLISHED) Jund al-Islam, was established on 1 September 2001, controlled a strip on the Iranian border, comprising several villages and two townships, Biyara and Tawela. The group immediately declared “holy war” on Iraqi Kurdish secular ruling parties. - "Ansar al-Islam’s leader arrested - Jordan asks his extradition," Iraqi Kurdistan Dispatch, news, 15 September 2002

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 : (911 ATTACKS)

SEPTEMBER 23, 2001 : (JUND AL ISLAM ATTACKS PUK FIGHTERS) On 23 September 2001, they attacked and slaughtered more than 40 fighters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, PUK, which led to a wide range armed confrontation between the two sides. Jund al-Islam was reported, by PUK officials and London-based Arabic newspapers, to have Afghan Arabs in their ranks, as well as Kurds who served in Afghanistan and Chechnya. It was also reported that the group was financed by Al-Qaeda organization and its members were trained in Afghanistan. - "Ansar al-Islam’s leader arrested - Jordan asks his extradition," Iraqi Kurdistan Dispatch, news, 15 September 2002

SEPTEMBER 2001 late : (FOUR JORDANIAN FIGHTERS FORMERLY IN AFGHANISTAN WERE KILLED IN IRAQI KURDISTAN : THEY BELONGED TO JUNG AL-ISLAM) The Saudi newspaper, Al-Watan reported on 23 November 2001, involvement of Jordanian nationals in the Islamic radical group. The newspaper said four Arab afghans of Jordanian origin were killed late September 2001 in Iraqi Kurdistan. They were members of Jund al-Islam group, or Soldiers of Islam, which became Ansar al-Islam later in December of the same year.- "Ansar al-Islam’s leader arrested - Jordan asks his extradition," Iraqi Kurdistan Dispatch, news, 15 September 2002

SEPTEMBER 2001 : (ANSAR AL-ISLAM BECOMES ACTIVE AL QAEDA AFFILIATE) Ansar al-Islam, an al-Qaeda affiliate active in Iraqi Kurdistan since September 2001, is a prototype of America's enemies in the "war on terror." The group serves as a testament to the global spread of al-Qaeda affiliates, achieved through exploitation of weak central authorities and a utilitarian willingness to work with seemingly differing ideologies for a common cause. Lengthy reports on Ansar have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, and Kurdish leaders have given Washington a plethora of intelligence on the group.
Nevertheless, Ansar has yet to appear on official U.S. terrorism lists. Meanwhile, political complexities would make military action against the group difficult, at best. Hence, this small force of 650 fighters is a textbook example of the ongoing challenges posed by the war on terror. - "Ansar Al-Islam: Iraq's Al-Qaeda Connection, " By Jonathan Schanzer, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, via FrontPageMagazine.com , Friday, January 17, 2003

2001 late, adter the Sept 11 attacks : (ALBANY, NY : FBI QUESTIONS MOSQUE MEMBERS ABOUT ALI MOUNNES YAGHI- See ALBANY CELL, MASJID AS SALAM MOSQUE) In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks FBI agents questioned members about a mosque founder, Ali Mounnes Yaghi, an openly anti-American Jordanian immigrant who operated pizza businesses in the city for about 15 years. Yaghi was jailed as a federal detainee for almost a year as the FBI investigated whether he or any of his acquaintances had connections to terrorist cells or the Sept. 11 attacks.
------ "Federal Agents Raid Mosque In Albany, N.Y. : Authorities say arrests of two members of Albany mosque, though not linked to current alert," by BRENDAN LYONS and PAUL GRONDAHL, Courtesy of The Times Union, Updated: August 9th, 2004 10:31 AM EDT

2001 late, after Sept 11 : (USA : ALI MOUNNES YAGHI IS DETAINED DURING THE FBI's 9/11 WTC ATTACK INVESTIGATIONS - See ALBANY CELL, MASJID AS SALAM MOSQUE) Yaghi... was jailed as a federal detainee for almost a year after the Sept. 11 attacks as the FBI investigated whether he or any of his acquaintances had connections to terrorist cells or attacks on the World Trade Center. FBI agents said Yaghi failed a polygraph examination during an interrogation in which he was shown photographs of the 19 hijackers and asked whether he knew any of them. But Yaghi was never connected to any terrorist plot before being deported. ------ "Calls Key in Terror Case," by BRENDAN LYONS, timesunion.com, March 22, 2006

OCTOBER 2001 : (AN INFORMANT IS APPROACHED BY SOMEONE SEEKING INTEL ABOUT FLIGHT TRAINING SCHOOLS, ACCESS TO AIRPORTS, ETC -- See ALBANY CELL, IMK, SYRIA) ALBANY -- The spiritual leader of an Albany mosque repeatedly called a phone number in Syria that an FBI report indicates had been used to gather terrorist intelligence for Osama bin Laden, according to classified documents unsealed late Tuesday [March 2006] in U.S. District Court. The FBI report, which was based on information from a confidential informant, was among several once-secret documents that federal authorities say raise questions about Yassin Aref's connections to terrorist organizations across the Middle East.
...The FBI report on bin Laden is undated and heavily redacted. It states that an informant told the FBI that during October 2001 he was approached by someone soliciting intelligence about "flight training schools, access to airports in (redacted)" and information about "how close the individual could get to an aircraft." The informant said he was instructed that any information could be distributed to "brothers" through two phone numbers in Damascus, Syria. ------ "Calls Key in Terror Case," by BRENDAN LYONS, timesunion.com, March 22, 2006

2001 fall : (ANSAR AL ISLAM PERSONNEL SMUGGLED VX NERVE GAS THROUGH TURKEY in 2001, WASHINGTON POST SAYS) Some Bush administration and PUK officials claim that Ansar has established chemical weapons facilities in Iraqi Kurdistan. Reports allege that Baghdad helped to smuggle these weapons from Afghanistan and that Ansar has tested substances such as cyanide gas and the poison Ricin. Salih has cited "clear evidence" that such tests have been performed on animals. The Washington Post reported that the group smuggled VX nerve gas through Turkey in fall 2001. - "Ansar Al-Islam: Iraq's Al-Qaeda Connection, " By Jonathan Schanzer, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, via FrontPageMagazine.com , Friday, January 17, 2003

DECEMBER 2001 : (ALBANY NY : EX-CON JOHN EARL JOHNSON IS ARRESTED BY LOCAL POLICE AS HE EXITS A MOSQUE CARRYING A RIFLE - See ALBANY CELL, MASJID AS SALAM MOSQUE) One of the men, a 26-year-old ex-convict named John Earl Johnson, was arrested by Albany police in December 2001 as he exited the mosque carrying a rifle. ------ "Calls Key in Terror Case," by BRENDAN LYONS, timesunion.com, March 22, 2006

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