Posted on 01/20/2009 2:48:21 AM PST by Cindy
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - Plans to close Guantanamo are not sitting well with the Sept. 11 victims' relatives who sat stunned while two alleged terrorists declared they were proud of their role in the plot.
(Excerpt) Read more at wtop.com ...
Note Photos included.
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/06/saudi_gitmo_recidivi.php
“Saudi Gitmo recidivists”
By THOMAS JOSCELYN
June 21, 2010
SNIPPET: “According to an account published by Agence France Presse, Saudi interior ministry spokesman General Mansour al Turki explained that “10 or 11 are believed reunited with al Qaeda in Yemen, four have been killed in anti-Qaeda operations, and the others have been rearrested and jailed.”
The Saudis have not released a list of all known Saudi recidivists. But publicly-available information reveals that the following 15 Saudis, all of whom were detained at Guantanamo and enrolled in the Saudi rehabilitation program, have reengaged in militancy or terrorism since they were repatriated to their home country.”
SNIPPET: “The 15 known Saudi Gitmo recidivists:”
NOTE: The second paragraph in post no. 222 is a separate SNIPPET.
http://www.defense.gov/news/returntothefightfactsheet2.pdf
#
Note: Photo included.
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/07/former_gitmo_detaine_5.php
“Former Gitmo detainee arrested in Pakistan”
By THOMAS JOSCELYN
July 6, 2010
SNIPPET: “A former detainee held at Guantanamo Bay for nearly three years has been arrested in Pakistan on terrorism charges. Pakistani officials told Agence France Presse that Issa Khan, who had been detained in Afghanistan in late 2001, held at Gitmo, and then repatriated to Pakistan in September 2004, was arrested today in the Bannu district of Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).
“We have arrested doctor Issa Khan. He was wanted on different terrorism charges,” a local Pakistani official told AFP. An anonymous Pakistani intelligence official was also cited by AFP as saying that Khan was a Pakistani Taliban (Tehreek-e-Taliban) commander prior to his most recent arrest.
Khan has long been suspected of rejoining the terror network. An analysis (PDF) prepared by the US Department of Defense in April 2009 listed Khan as a “suspected” recidivist who was wanted for his “association” with the Pakistani Taliban.”
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2554247/posts
GERMANY AGREES TO ACCEPT TWO GITMO DETAINEES
LONG WAR JOURNAL.org ^ | July 12, 2010 | By THOMAS JOSCELYN
Posted on July 17, 2010 1:10:49 AM PDT by Cindy
SNIPPET: “Germany agreed to accept two Guantanamo detainees last week.
In justifying the decision, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere explained: “The United States has asked us to take three people who were cleared for release. We decided to take in two who we were almost certain would pose no threat to society. With the third we weren’t sure.””
SNIPPET: “But in this case the press has reported the identity of the two detainees in question. The German newspaper Bild has named them: Ayman al Shurafa, a 34-year-old citizen of Saudi Arabia, and Mahmud Salim al Ali, a 35-year-old Syrian.
A review of the declassified files produced at Gitmo, and available on The New York Times’ web site (see here and here) reveals that the two were new jihadist recruits in 2001. Neither was a master terrorist at the time of their capture. However, both traveled to Afghanistan to receive training in al Qaeda’s camps, and one of the two allegedly wanted to conduct a “suicide operation.””
SNIPPET: “From Hamas recruit to al Qaeda trainee
Ayman al Shurafa, also known as Ohmed Ahmed Mahamoud al Shurfa (ISN # 331), is a Saudi citizen who was studying in the Palestinian territories when he decided to pursue jihad in 2001.”
SNIPPET: “The hold of the sheikhs is so strong that even as he sat at Gitmo answering military officials’ questions, al Shurafa said he would “have to ask the higher religious leaders, the sheikhs” about the necessity of waging jihad if and when he was released from Gitmo.”
SNIPPET: “The second detainee reportedly awaiting transfer to Germany is Mahmud Salim al Ali (ISN # 537), a Syrian who was living in Kuwait in late 2001 when he allegedly decided to travel to Afghanistan to fight US-led forces.”
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/07/germany_agrees_to_ac.php#ixzz0tvNXPipf
(Excerpt) Read more at longwarjournal.org ...
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2556310/posts
TWO GITMO DETAINEES TRANSFERRED TO ALGERIA, CAPE VERDE
LONG WAR JOURNAL.org ^ | July 19, 2010 | By THOMAS JOSCELYN
Posted on July 21, 2010 2:29:26 AM PDT by Cindy
SNIPPET: “The Department of Defense announced the transfer of two Guantanamo detainees today. Abdul Aziz Naji, a native of Algeria, was repatriated to his home country. Abd-al-Nisr Mohammed Khantumani, a Syrian, was resettled in Cape Verde, an island republic approximately 300 miles off the west coast of Africa.”
SNIPPET: “US military officials at Gitmo alleged that Abdul Aziz Naji (whose internment serial number at Gitmo was 744) was a member of Laskar-e-Taiba (LET), a Pakistani-based terrorist organization closely linked to al Qaeda.
A senior intelligence official contacted by the Long War Journal explained that not only was Naji a member of the LET, but he was also the instructor for an improvised explosive device (IED) cell and trained al Qaeda members to build explosives.”
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/07/two_gitmo_detainees.php#ixzz0uJ5aW75Z
(Excerpt) Read more at longwarjournal.org ...
ADDING to post no. 226:
UPDATE:
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE66L02D20100722
“Algeria denies detaining Guantanamo returnee”
Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:42am GMT
SNIPPET: “ALGERIA (Reuters) - An Algerian man sent home from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay has not been detained on his return, an Algerian official said on Thursday, rejecting rights groups allegations he was being mistreated.
Abdul Aziz Naji was transferred from the military prison in Cuba to Algeria against his will, having said he feared persecution. A U.S. based rights group said on Wednesday he had gone missing and could be in secret detention.”
NOTE The following text is a quote:
http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13743
IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 653-10
July 22, 2010
Detainee Transfer Announced
The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of two detainees from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the Governments of Spain and Latvia.
As directed by the President’s January 22, 2009 executive order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of these cases. As a result of that review, which examined a number of factors, including security issues, the detainees were approved for transfer by unanimous consent among all the agencies involved in the task force. In accordance with congressionally mandated reporting requirements, the administration informed Congress of its intent to transfer these individuals at least 15 days before their transfer.
The identities of the individuals are being withheld for privacy reasons at the request of the receiving governments. The United States is grateful to the governments of Spain and Latvia for their willingness to support U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The United States coordinated with the governments of Spain and Latvia to ensure the transfers took place under appropriate security measures and will remain in close consultation with both governments regarding these individuals.
Since 2002, more than 600 detainees have departed Guantanamo Bay for other destinations, including Albania, Algeria, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, Chad, Denmark, Egypt, Georgia, France, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Palau, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Somalia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom and Yemen.
Today, 176 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2566678/posts
“State Department: former Gitmo detainee led terror cell in Jordan”
LONG WAR JOURNAL.org ^ | August 7, 2010 | By THOMAS JOSCELYN
Posted on August 8, 2010 2:25:00 AM PDT by Cindy
SNIPPET: “A former Guantanamo detainee named Usama Abu Kabir led a terror cell in Jordan that was broken up in 2009, according to a new report by the US State Department. On Thursday, the State Department released its Country Reports on Terrorism for 2009. “In April [2009],” the report notes, “four men were arrested and charged with plotting attacks in Israel in retaliation for the Israeli incursion into Gaza.” Kabir was one of the four. A fifth member of the cell was arrested in May 2009.
Kabir’s arrest was previously reported in the Israeli and Jordanian press. But the State Department’s latest report adds a new detail, saying that Kabir is suspected of being the cell’s leader.
The “alleged leader of the cell,” the State Department reports, was Kabir, a Jordanian who “had been released from US custody at Guantanamo Bay in November 2007.” Kabir’s terror cell was “reportedly in possession of firearms at the time of their apprehension.”
In February of this year, a Jordanian court sentenced Kabir and two other cell members to 15 years in prison. An additional two plotters were sentenced to 5 years in prison. A sixth member of the cell, who remains at large, was sentenced in absentia to life in prison.”
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/08/state_department_for.php#ixzz0w0JwdhWa
(Excerpt) Read more at longwarjournal.org ...
Previously...
http://www.haaretz.com/news/jordan-jails-6-for-plotting-to-fight-israel-during-gaza-war-1.264003
Published 17:01 02.03.10Latest update 17:03 02.03.10
“Jordan jails 6 for plotting to fight Israel during Gaza war
Five suspects arrested in April, May 2009, with the other, still at large, tried in absentia.”
By DPA and Haaretz Service
Tags: al-Qaida Israel news Gaza Jordan
SNIPPET: “Mohammad Jamal Hamdan, who is still at large, was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor.
Osama Abu Kabir, Sakhr Zeidan and Hassan Khalayleh were sentenced to 15 years with hard labour. The court also jailed Walid Abu Ourah and Alauddin Khawaldeh for five years with hard labour.
“All defendants plotted to leave Jordan illegally and join fighters in the Gaza Strip at the beginning of 2009,” the indictment said.
On Sunday, extremist web sites released a new video by a Jordanian Al-Qaida operative, responsible for an attack on an U.S. army base in Afghanistan last December which killed 7 CIA agents as well as a Jordanian intelligence officer.”
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/71514
“Obama Administration Tells U.N. It’s Committed to Closing Gitmo, ‘Fixing’ Immigration”
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/09/libya_frees_exgitmo.php
“Libya frees ex-Gitmo detainee”
By THOMAS JOSCELYN
September 2, 2010
SNIPPET: “The Libyan government has released dozens of Islamist extremists and terrorists in recent days as part of an effort to reconcile with its opposition.
The initiative is being led by Saif al Islam Qaddafi, the son of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi. Saif Qaddafi is battling other forces in Libya to one day succeed his father as ruler. And Saif’s reconciliation with terrorists who once opposed his father’s regime is part of a gambit to build his base of power.
Among the Islamists released is Sofiane Ibrahim Gammu, a former Gitmo detainee who was transferred to Libya on Sept. 28, 2007, and spent the next three years in a Libyan prison. Libyan officials say Gammu was once a driver for Osama bin Laden. But Gammu denied this allegation to Reuters: “I am not bin Laden’s driver. It’s a misunderstanding.”
Declassified memos prepared at Guantanamo tell a different story. The memos allege that Gammu, who was known as Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda Bin Qumu (internment serial number 557) during his time in detention, was a longtime jihadist who served both the Taliban and al Qaeda.”
“9/11 family members defend 9/11 rally against Islamic supremacist mega-mosque at Ground Zero”
(September 3, 2010)
Note: Photo included.
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/09/yemen_arrests_exgitm.php
“Yemen arrests ex-Gitmo detainee who fought in Afghanistan and Kashmir”
By THOMAS JOSCELYN
September 7, 2010
Jabir Jubran al Fayfi. Photo courtesy of the NEFA Foundation.
SNIPPET: “A former Guantanamo detainee who joined al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) after graduating from a Saudi rehabilitation program has been arrested in Yemen. Fox News reported Tuesday that Yemeni authorities have detained Jabir Jubran al Fayfi, who was transferred from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia on Dec. 13, 2006.
More than two dozen former Gitmo detainees have graduated from the Saudi rehabilitation program only to return to jihad. [See LWJ report, Saudi Gitmo recidivists.] Eleven of them, including al Fayfi, were added to the Saudi Kingdom’s most wanted list in early 2009. Along with other former detainees, he escaped across the border in a disappearance that was orchestrated by al Qaeda.
An admitted jihadist
Al Fayfi was given the internment serial number (ISN) 188 at Gitmo. During his combatant status review tribunal (CSRT), al Fayfi admitted that he was a jihadist who had traveled to Pakistan, Kashmir, and then Afghanistan to wage jihad. Al Fayfi denied any affiliation with al Qaeda, but US officials found otherwise. And al Fayfi conceded that he had joined the Taliban.”
Note: Photo included.
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/10/judge_finds_that_kuw.php
“Judge finds that Kuwaiti Gitmo detainee was no charity worker”
By THOMAS JOSCELYN
October 9, 2010
SNIPPET: “On Sept. 15, DC District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by a Kuwaiti detainee held at Guantanamo named Fayiz al Kandari. The ruling remained classified until late September, when it was released online. Al Kandari and his attorney have repeatedly claimed that he was a mere charity worker in Afghanistan in 2001. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly disagreed, finding that al Kandari’s story was “implausible” and “not credible.”
In particular, Judge Kollar-Kotelly found that al Kandari was overly evasive for a man who claimed to be innocent. Both during his interrogations at Guantanamo, and even in his declaration to the court, al Kandari refused to explain what he was up to during a “missing” two-month period in Afghanistan. This in and of itself was not enough to reject al Kandari’s petition, the judge determined, as detainees have “no burden to prove” their innocence in habeas proceedings.
Judge Kollar-Kotelly found, however, that al Kandari’s “repeated unwillingness to provide details as to his time in Afghanistan is nonetheless inconsistent with, and undermines the credibility of, his claim that he was an innocent charity worker who became inadvertently trapped in Afghanistan in the wake of September 11, 2001.”
The judge’s ruling is consistent with what interrogators at Guantanamo found – that al Kandari is “deceptive” and “most likely withholding information” about his true identity and role. Indeed, intelligence officials at Gitmo concluded that al Kandari is an especially effective al Qaeda recruiter with ties to the most senior al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden.
US intelligence officials also concluded that al Kandari played an instrumental role in indoctrinating an al Qaeda cell that killed a US Marine on the Faylaka Island in Kuwait on Oct. 8, 2002.”
NOTE The following text is a quote:
www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1010/101008detroit.htm
October 8, 2010
ICE deports Somali-born Canadian national with close ties to al-Qaeda
DETROIT - A Somali-born Canadian national - who received military training at an al-Qaeda terrorist camp, met with and attended lectures by Osama bin Laden, and provided security guard services and money to al-Qaeda - was deported to Canada on Friday by agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Mohammed Warsame, 37, was indicted in January 2004 in the District of Minnesota for conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaeda, a designated terrorist organization, following an investigation by the Minneapolis Joint Terrorism Task Force, which included agents from the ICE Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Warsame attended the Minneapolis Community and Technical College prior to his arrest in December 2003.
Warsame was charged with providing material support and resources to al-Qaeda, specifically that he traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan between 2000 and 2001to attend al-Qaeda training camps. Court documents showed that al-Qaeda paid Warsame’s travel expenses to return to Canada, that Warsame sent money back to an al-Qaeda associate as repayment, and that Warsame maintained contact with al-Qaeda after returning to Canada.
Warsame pleaded guilty on May 20, 2009 in the District of Minnesota to providing material support to al-Qaeda, and was sentenced to 92 months federal prison with credit for time served. On July 9, 2009, the District of Minnesota issued Warsame a judicial order of removal to Canada.
“There is no place in this country for anyone who advocates violence by associating, supporting or conspiring with terrorists,” said ICE Director John Morton. “ICE will use every tool at our disposal to protect the American people and remove those who pose a threat to our national security.”
According to court documents, in March 2000, Warsame traveled through the mountains from Pakistan to Afghanistan, where he attended an al-Qaeda training camp outside Kabul. For the next three to five months, Warsame received training in physical fitness, the use of weapons and martial arts. Warsame also traveled to the front lines with the Taliban and observed combat between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance.
In the summer of 2000, he then traveled to the al Faruq training camp, where he received further military training and met Osama Bin Laden. Warsame described Bin Laden as “very inspirational.” At this camp, Warsame was trained to use AK-47 rifles, Uzis and other weapons; he also received training in tactics and navigation. During this time, Warsame again fought for the Taliban and said he was exposed to heavy fighting.
Warsame returned to Pakistan, and while there, he was in contact via email with al-Qaeda associates he had met in Afghanistan. In one of those e-mails, Warsame described his time spent at the camps as “one of the greatest experiences of my life. I will be going back there very soon.”
In another email dated Dec. 6, 2000, Warsame wrote, “If you have any news or important information please let me know, because I don’t want to be late for the action, you know what I mean. We hear there might be an attack soon.”
After a few months in Pakistan, Warsame returned to Afghanistan and to an al-Qaeda guesthouse. The guesthouse was used as a place of rest for people attending Bin Laden’s camp. Warsame was assigned to guard the guesthouse and later met a variety of individuals who have been indicted and convicted of terrorism-related offenses in the United States, including Zacarias Moussaoui and Richard Reid.
Warsame attended an Islamic institute near the guesthouse that taught radical Islam and preached jihad to students and said, according to court documents, the institute’s leader was a high-ranking al-Qaeda member. Warsame admitted that he approached this individual for money in order to bring his family from Canada to Afghanistan.
Warsame admitted that in March 2001, he traveled from Pakistan via London to Canada and continued his email contacts with the al-Qaeda associates he had met in Afghanistan. In addition, he sent about $2,000 (Canadian) to one of his former training camp commanders. Warsame also provided information to an individual he met in Afghanistan about the process for entering Canada.
Warsame then relocated to Minneapolis. Throughout 2002 and 2003, he continued to exchange email messages with and provide information to several individuals associated with al-Qaeda.
Warsame was released about 6 a.m. on Oct. 8 from the Bureau of Prison’s facility at the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Ind. He was immediately turned over to ICE. He was transported under ICE escort to Canada and was turned over to officials from the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) at about 12:30 p.m. (EDT).
For the most up-to-date ICE information, sign up for ICE e-mail alerts. You may also visit us on Twitter and YouTube.
— ICE —
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/10/analysis_two_exgitmo.php
“Analysis: Two ex-Gitmo detainees featured in al Qaeda’s Inspire magazine”
By THOMAS JOSCELYN
October 13, 2010
SNIPPET: “The newly released issue of Inspire, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) quarterly online magazine, features two former Guantanamo detainees. The first is Othman Ahmed al Ghamdi, who is the military commander of AQAP. Al Ghamdi also appeared in an AQAP tape released in May. [See LWJ report, Former Gitmo detainee featured as commander in al Qaeda tape.]
The second former Gitmo detainee featured is Said al Shihri, who is listed as the “vice emir,” or roughly number two leader, of AQAP. Al Shihri has appeared in several communiqués since early 2009, when the formation of AQAP was first publicly announced. Al Shihri himself was a participant in AQAP’s founding. [See LWJ report, Return to Jihad.]
The chief purpose of Inspire, which is produced entirely in English, is to spread AQAP’s propaganda in the West and woo new recruits. In that vein, Inspire focuses on what US counterterrorism officials call “the narrative.” The magazine portrays the West, and in particular America, as being at war with Islam as part of a Zionist-Crusader conspiracy. This is a typical al Qaeda recruiting message.
Both al Ghamdi and al Shihri rely on “the narrative” in their messages to readers. Their words are only partially true, and mostly mythology.”
NOTE: Photo included.
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/10/exgitmo_detainee_sur_1.php
“Ex-Gitmo detainee reportedly surrenders to Saudi authorities”
By THOMAS JOSCELYN
October 17, 2010
SNIPPET: “Saudi authorities claimed last week that a former Guantanamo detainee named Jabir Jubran al Fayfi has turned himself in. Al Fayfi was arrested by Yemeni authorities in September, and his surrender was likely coordinated by the Saudi and Yemeni governments.
Al Fayfi was transferred from Gitmo to Saudi Arabia on Dec. 13, 2006. At Gitmo, he admitted that he was a jihadist who joined the Taliban in Afghanistan. During his combatant status review tribunal (CSRT), al Fayfi tried to deny any substantive connection to al Qaeda. But US intelligence officials concluded that he was a hardcore al Qaeda fighter who retreated to Tora Bora along with other al Qaeda and Taliban members in late 2001. According to declassified memos produced at Gitmo, al Fayfi also trained and fought in Kashmir. [See LWJ report, Yemen arrests ex-Gitmo detainee who fought in Afghanistan and Kashmir.]
In early 2009, al Fayfi was one of 11 former Guantanamo detainees included on the Saudi Kingdom’s list of 85 most wanted terrorists. Most, if not all, of the 11 ex-Gitmo detainees on the list had relocated to Yemen, where they joined al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).”
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