Posted on 10/24/2002 6:00:09 AM PDT by kingfish45n
newscourt.com - Authorities are investigating into possible ties between John Muhammad, John Lee Malvo and a training camp reportedly linked to Islamic terrorists in Marion, Alabama. European law enforcement officials believe Muslims were using the camp to prepare for a holy war, according to a July 25 2002, report by ABC NEWS.
An investigation by Britain's Scotland Yard led to the discovery of "Camp Ground Zero," in Alabama. Bullet-riddled school buses and police cars with mannequin targets were scattered around the grounds. Inside a large warehouse were shot-up mannequins, in domestic settings, with blood-like stains on them.
Ground Zero's operators - also British - offered world-class training in automatic weapons and urban warfare, supposedly to fight terrorism. Marion police became suspicious of the use of buses and police cars as targets, but the camp owners refused to comment on the matter in July.
"In the United States, it is not illegal for anyone to receive military training, high-grade military training," said Rohan Gunaratna, author of Inside Al Qaeda. We know of a number of cases where Islamic terrorists came and trained in this country in the early 1990s. It is likely that this scale of training is still continuing," Gunaratna said.
The most radical of London's Islamic clerics, Abu Hamza, told ABCNEWS in a July 2002 phone call that America's laws make paramilitary training easy, "like a picnic."
British intelligence officials told ABC NEWS they were examining ties between Hamza, who is said to have recruited alleged "20th hijacker" Zacarias Moussaoui, and Zain-ul-Albidin.
The pressing question for police is whether there is a connection between the camp, John Muhammad and John Malvo.
The credit card that Muhammad allegedly used as a transfer account for the $10 million demanded in ransom by the D.C. snipers belonged to a woman who was killed in a liquor store robbery in Marion, Ala., last month. Police also report that Malvo's DNA was found at the scene of that robbery and murder.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- State officials say an investigation uncovered no evidence that a camp near Marion was used as a terrorist training camp.
Wednesday night, ABC News said the camp could have possible ties to Osama bin Laden's terror network.
A Tuscaloosa man operates the Marion Camp, called Ground Zero USA.
Marion Police Chief Tony Buford said he was misquoted. Buford said the camp is used by police officers from Alabama and Louisiana for training that includes target practice.
NBC News first reported in December that a man with alleged Al-Qaida ties, named Zain Ul Albidin, was arrested in Great Britain. Albidin alleged that terrorists trained in the camp in Marion.
A spokesman for Gov. Don Siegelman and Department of Public Safety officials said they are aware of the reports. But after conducting background investigations of the site they found no reason to be concerned.
The camp made news again Wednesday because Albidin is being questioned in connection with the terror attacks of Sept. 11.
The Chief says much of the information being reported by the media is incorrect.
From the scroll at the bottom of the MSNBC screen, Police are not clear if Montgomery AL shooting is connected to DC sniper.
And if its not terror related, half of FR will still claim it is anyway. So its a ctach-22. No mater what they say, Freepers will still say its terror related.
Does this man think he's writing a cheap detective novel with his mouth? Everything he says reeks of over the top drama!!
Well, that's obviously BS if he said it like that. The police chief obviously knows about CGZ.
Yes indeedie. Last night, Aaron "Errin'" Brown looked as though he were covering his daughter's funeral on CNN's Newsnight - wincing every time he was forced to:
1. Say the name Muhammed;
2. Show the "pic' o' th' perp";
3. Describe the suspect as a BLACK and a MUSLIM.
CNN, for a while, seemed to have a policy of ALWAYS ID'ing the warrantee as "Williams" first and "Muhammed" second. By this morning, that policy, wisely, has been reversed.
I can't wait to see the post-mortems on the rest of the nets today. They were all gearing up for a MAJOR MAJOR push against Southern red-neck crazed Republican NRA members.
Michael
Its been there for years - its a legit place - unfortunately, anyone can rent it or train there. The owners have never been suspected of anything illegal.
Until this morning, when I heard about it from the media...I had never heard about it.
I didn't put that in quotes because it's not exact, but it is exactly the thought I heard him convey.
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