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To: Angelus Errare
Whoa...

Angelus does AQ have a presence in Myanmar?

4 posted on 03/15/2003 12:11:20 PM PST by Dog ( Groundhog Day II -- the Sequel.....America held hostage by the UN.......where everyday is the same)
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To: Dog
From Rohan Gunaranta's "Inside Al-Qaeda":

"The Islamic Party (Mahaz-e-Islami) of Myanmar is thought to have connections with al-Qaeda, and through Harakat ul-Mujahideen, an associate group of the latter, Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have joined al-Qaeda. As many as 200,000 Muslim Rohingya fled Myanmar for Bangladesh in 1992 after suffering persecution for their beliefs from the authorities. Their living conditions are poor and they are therefore vulnerable to recruitment by Islamist groups, including al-Qaeda. Although Mahaz-e-Islami has only a small presence inside Myanmar, it has a significant following in Pakistan and Afghanistan; in Pakistan it is led by Nour Alem and Abdul Halim. The group also fought with the Taliban and al-Qaeda against the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan with the intention of gaining combat experience before returning to Myanmar. Along with other compatriots, Abdullah Yunus was captured in Daresh Suf on June 8, 1999. He said that if pardoned and released, he would "continue his Islamic political studies and military training and the return to his country and try to free it and implement sha'riah."

"Indian intelligence reported that two Pakistani nuclear scientists under investigation by the US for their links with al-Qaeda arrived in Myanmar in early November 2001. This may be linked to Pakistan's interest in protecting its scientists working on strategic weapons development programs from being interviewed by foreigners, especially US federal agents."

So it looks as though there is at least some al-Qaeda activity there through Mahaz-e-Islami. I also recall that one of the tapes CNN found last summer had footage of an al-Qaeda training camp in Burma from 1990, so it seems as though the group has been active there for sometime. And given the type of country that Myanmar is, it'd sure be a great place to hide something you didn't want found.

Incidentally, wasn't Ayman al-Zawahiri reported in Bangladesh last September? That's right on the border with Myanmar. It'd been interesting to see whether or not he was checking up on something.
9 posted on 03/15/2003 1:53:48 PM PST by Angelus Errare
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