Belgian 'al Qaeda cell' linked to 2006 airline plot

CNN ^ | 2/10/09 | Nic Robertson and Paul Cruickshank

[nickcarraway]

Last December 11, fourteen individuals were arrested in the early hours of the morning in one of the largest counterterrorism operations in Belgian history. Six were eventually charged with participation in a terrorist group. The others were released.

The officials told CNN that the alleged cell had connections to a senior al Qaeda operative who helped orchestrate the 2006 "Airline Plot," widely recognized as al Qaeda's most serious terror attempt since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

The source could not reveal the operative's name to CNN because of the ongoing investigation. The 2006 plot involved plans to simultaneously blow up U.S.-bound passenger jets with liquid explosives hid in carry-on luggage.

A senior counterterrorism source with detailed knowledge of the investigation told CNN the alleged cell was connected to the top ranks of al Qaeda through Moez Garsallaoui, a Tunisian Islamist militant who left Belgium for the tribal areas of Pakistan in late 2007.

Garsallaoui, 41, is the husband of Malika el Aroud, 49, a Belgian-Moroccan who was one of those charged in December. When she was arrested, Belgian authorities publicly described her as an "al Qaeda Living Legend."

El Aroud's former husband, al Qaeda operative Abdessattar Dahmane, helped assassinate Ahmed Shah Massoud, the head of Afghanistan's anti-Taliban Northern Alliance group, in a suicide bombing operation two days before 9/11.

Belgian investigators told CNN that a pro-al Qaeda Web site administered by el Aroud helped radicalize the members of the alleged Brussels terrorist cell. El Aroud is the subject of a half-hour documentary, "One Woman's War" which airs this week on CNN International.

Garsallaoui and el Aroud were interviewed by CNN in February 2006 in Switzerland, where they were then living. During the interview, el Aroud said, "Most Muslims love Osama (bin Laden).

[Milagros]

It didn’t help Belgium to be on the anti Bush French-anti-war side, did it?

[JCG]

Last December 11, fourteen individuals were arrested in the early hours of the morning in one of the largest counterterrorism operations in Belgian history.

Congratulations to Belgium for bagging these bozos but, damn, is there any country that doesn't have these jihadi termites in the walls?

Belgium? What's next -- Switzerland?

Oops, I guess so.

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[Proud_USA_Republican]

The Amsterdam Court of Appeals has ordered the criminal prosecution of a Dutch Member of Parliament for criticizing Islam. The court’s ruling overturns a previous decision by Dutch public prosecutors, who had determined that there was not enough evidence to charge Geert Wilders, leader of the conservative Freedom Party, for hate crimes after he produced a hard-hitting film that says Islam promotes violence.