Sirri, who was arrested in his native Egypt as early as 1980 for suspected opposition activities, fled in 1989 and wandered through such countries as Jordan, Sudan and Yemen. In 1994, an Egyptian court sentenced Sirri in absentia to death for his alleged involvement in a failed assassination attempt of former Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Sidki. Sidki was spared in the 1993 car bomb attack, but a twelve year-old girl was killed.
Sirri entered the UK with a false passport in 1994 and was granted asylum, thwarting attempts by Egypt to have him extradited. Sirri, a former social worker, established a “human rights organization” (that sells Islamic books on how to kill Jews) he called the Islamic Observation Centre in Paddington, one of London’s fashionable West End neighborhoods. Sirri became a favorite source of Arab and Western journalists for news about such countries as Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria.
Western intelligence sources were warning in the late 1990s that Sirri was more than just a publicist. His exclusive information on Islamic dissidents and insurgency operations was based on nearly daily contact with terrorist groups such as Al Qaida, Egypt's Gamiat Islamiya and Jihad.
These groups were not so interested in bragging about their exploits, the sources said. Instead, they used Sirri to pass messages -- both public and private. Often, the messages were best relayed through the mass media.
Intelligence sources said that in the year before the September 11th attacks, Sirri helped Al Qaida establish a worldwide communications network through the Internet. Sirri set up websites that allowed Al Qaida to freely send messages to agents. Sirri also carried statements by Al Qaida leaders that contained both public and concealed messages.
Sirri is linked to the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon because of his alleged role in the assassination of Afghan Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud. The assassination of the rebel leader, intelligence sources said, was a condition by the ruling Afghan Taliban regime for Al Qaida’s attacks against US targets. The United States has requested Sirri’s extradition to the US on based on mounting CIA evidence against him, but a British judge has thrown out the charges and called Sirri “an innocent fall guy.”
Intelligence sources have concluded that Britain has simply granted Al Qaida operatives a safe haven. Britain has become the propaganda center for Islamic insurgents, even angering such countries as Saudi Arabia, long a supporter of Al Qaida.
Currently, Sirri lives freely in London posing for Arabic-language newspapers with his daughter, Lina, who holds a victory sign, and predicts that he will prevail over the United States.
And I thought the Brits were our allies. Aren't we fighting a war here against terrorist?
Hmm. Are we at FR unwittingly passing on Alqaida messages? Is DEBKA such a medium? What about Chandra being a cover story?