Free Republic

Problematic, in a very big way even if the offer was made.Qatar’s ties to Al Qaeda and ISIS aren’t news. They’ve effectively served as intermediaries in everything from ransom exchanges for hostages to Taliban negotiations. But actually trying to secure terrorist swaps for prisoners on their own behalf would have been a new frontier. Before he was released from a U.S. maximum-security prison last week, a confessed al Qaeda sleeper agent was offered up in a potential prisoner swap that would have freed two Americans held abroad.According to two individuals with direct knowledge of the case, the proposition was...

I never give time frames, because you never know where you'll have sufficient evidence to go public with a prosecution, " Mueller said.

A man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder people in terrorist campaigns in Britain and the US.Dhiren Barot, of north London, planned to use a radioactive "dirty bomb" in one of a series of attacks in the UK, Woolwich Crown Court has heard. He intended to cause "injury, fear, terror and chaos", the court was told. Barot also plotted to carry out explosions in US cities that were "designed to kill as many innocent people as possible".

Two of Britain's most dangerous Islamic terrorists moved to new prison - because they complained fellow inmates were 'too white'By GWYNETH REES - More by this author » Last updated at 09:58am on 21st March 2008  Two of Britain's most dangerous terrorists have been moved to different prisons after complaining their fellow inmates were "too white".  Dhiren Barot and Omar Khyam asked to be transferred from high-security Frankland prison near Durham. Barot masterminded a radioactive bomb plot involving limousines packed with nails and explosives and Khyam plotted to blow up Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.  Scroll down for more...Complained:...

  Prisoner 'throws boiling oil' over terrorist leader who plotted to murder thousands with dirty bombsLast updated at 18:03pm on 12th October 2007   Dhiren Barot planned to bomb the New York Stock Exchange, the International Monetary Fund HQ and London   A prisoner has been accused of throwing boiling oil over an al Qaida terrorist who planned to murder thousands with dirty bombs. The 22-year-old inmate is accused of scarring for life Dhiren Barot, who was jailed for life for leading a British-based terrorist cell that plotted bombings across the world. Barot's lawyer claimed he had the boiling oil...

Police check Bluewater gang’s links to attempt to bomb clubs (July 1, 2007) David Leppard and Dipesh Gadher Detectives hunting the West End car bombers believe the suspects are most likely to be home-grown extremists linked to an overlapping network of terrorist cells implicated in previous plots against British targets. Some may be known to police and be on the run after escaping Home Office control orders. Those in the frame may be associates of the so-called Crevice gang, which planned to attack the Ministry of Sound nightclub in central London and the Bluewater shopping mall in Kent. Members of...

British police have a "crystal clear" picture of the man who drove the bomb-rigged silver Mercedes outside a London nightclub, and officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com he bears "a close resemblance" to a man arrested by police in connection with another bomb plot but released for lack of evidence. Officials say the suspect had been taken into custody in connection with the case of al Qaeda operative Dhiren Barot (pictured), who was convicted of orchestrating a vehicle bomb plot involving targets in London, New York, Newark, N.J. and Washington, D.C. Officials say a surveillance camera caught the suspect "staggering...

Britain faces a "wave" of terrorist plots, prepared strategically and directed from abroad by al-Qaeda, Home Secretary John Reid has told the BBC. He agreed with MI5 head Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller's assessment that there were 30 major plots, and said an attack in the UK was "highly likely". New counter-terrorism laws are expected to be among a raft of Home Office Bills at the heart of the Queen's Speech. Counter-terrorism officials have said Britain is al-Qaeda's top target. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Reid said Dame Eliza had provided a "salutary warning". 'Great threat' "It is a...

LONDON (Reuters) - Muslim extremists are plotting at least 30 major terrorist attacks in Britain and the threats could involve chemical and nuclear devices, a British spy chief said. Eliza Manningham-Buller, head of domestic spy agency MI5, said young British Muslims were being groomed to become suicide bombers and her agents were tracking some 1,600 suspects, most of whom were British-born and linked to al Qaeda in Pakistan. "We are aware of numerous plots to kill people and damage our economy. What do I mean by numerous? Five? Ten? No, nearer 30 ... that we know of," Manningham-Buller said in...

The 40-year sentence imposed yesterday on Dhiren Barot, the Muslim convert who masterminded plans for mass murder on a horrendous scale, is one of the longest terms handed down for non-capital offences. It reflects not only the gravity of the appalling acts that this senior al-Qaeda operative was planning, his callous glee at the scale of death and injury and his cunning in elaborating plans to maim and terrify thousands of people in Britain and America; it is also a clear message to other fanatics abusing the name of Islam that a democracy will take whatever measures are needed to...

Judge says he doubts if a determined and dedicated al-Qaeda terrorist can ever be released The most significant al-Qaeda terrorist to be captured in Britain was sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday and ordered to serve a minimum of 40 years. Dhiren Barot, 34, a Hindu convert to Islam, admitted planning terrorist bomb outrages that could have caused “carnage, bloodshed and butchery” on both sides of the Atlantic. Passing sentence at Woolwich Crown Court, Mr Justice Butterfield told Barot that he was a “determined and dedicated terrorist, a highly intelligent and very dangerous man”. The judge said that Barot had begun...

LONDON: Dhiren Barot, the Muslim covert sentenced to life in jail on Tuesday for plotting terror attacks in Britain and the United States, was brought up in a middle-class Hindu household in suburban London. He turned to the Muslim faith at the age of 20 and subsequently travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan to learn more about jihad, making contacts there with the Al-Qaeda terror network of Osama bin Laden. Details of what happened along the way emerged from friends and family as the 34-year-old awaited sentencing in a London court for plotting a "black day for the enemies of Islam...

A British al-Qa'eda fanatic who planned to cause "indiscriminate carnage, bloodshed and butchery" on both sides of the Atlantic has been jailed for life. Dhiren Barot, from London, plotted explosions Muslim convert Dhiren Barot was told by a judge at Woolwich Crown Court this afternoon that he must serve at least 40 years before being considered for release. Mr Justice Butterfield told Barot: "This was no noble cause. Your plans were to bring indiscriminate carnage, bloodshed and butchery first in Washington, New York and Newark, and thereafter the UK on a colossal and unprecedented scale." He added: "Your intention was...

The British fanatic who plotted to kill thousandsBy Duncan Gardham Last Updated: 11:12am GMT 07/11/2006 Read Dhiren Barot's book: The Army of Madinah in Kashmir (pdf) A British al-Qa'eda fanatic plotted to murder thousands of innocent people on both sides of the Atlantic, a court heard yesterday. The detailed plans presented to terrorist handlers by Muslim convert Dhiren Barot revealed his goal of striking at major buildings and railway stations with gas bombs in cars, detonating a radioactive dirty bomb and blowing up a train under the Thames in London. Dhiren Barot, from London, plotted explosions Woolwich Crown Court heard...

Dhiren Barot was the least likely al-Qa'eda chief imaginable, nothing like the perceived picture of a man planning to set off a dirty bomb in London and hoping to rock western society with a series of terrorist atrocities. Short, quietly spoken and smartly dressed, Barot was born a Hindu and brought up in a north London suburb by middle-class parents before becoming one of the key figures in international Islamic terrorism. Barot suggested attacking Tube trains as they passed under the Thames, 'That would cause pandemonium' Family friends told The Daily Telegraph that Barot's father was a disciplinarian who expected...

  Diary of Tube bomb plotter  Ultimate horror ... graphic shows how Barot, inset left, would have collapsed tunnel on train as it went under Thames, inset right, drowning everyone     By SIMON HUGHES and NEIL SYSONNovember 07, 2006CRAZED Dhiren Barot planned to kill thousands of innocent people in Britain and America — with his Thames Tube horror the centrepiece of his plot.The attack formed part of an horrific blitz on the UK that included the Heathrow Express rail link and possibly top London hotels, a court heard yesterday.In a chilling document, the Al-Qaeda commander GLOATED about the prospect...

Prosecution case against al-Qaeda Briton Documents and computer files linked Barot to the bomb plot Dhiren Barot is to be sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to conspiracy to murder people through a series of bombings on British and US targets. Here is a summary of the prosecution case outlined at Woolwich Crown Court.Background Dhiren Barot, 34, a Muslim convert, was a "member or close associate" of the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation. The UK citizen had been under MI5 surveillance and was arrested in London in August 2004 after police decided he was "simply too dangerous to leave" on the...

The Savoy hotel, Waterloo station, the Heathrow Express and a Tube train under the Thames were on a hitlist of targets drawn up by a British al-Qaeda terrorist, a court was told yesterday.Dhiren Barot will be sentenced today after he admitted planning “back-to-back” attacks on London, which he predicted would have created “a black day for the enemies of Islam”. His two-day hearing, the most significant terrorist case since 9/11, can be reported after The Times and the BBC succeeded at the Court of Appeal in having reporting restrictions lifted. In detailed documents prepared for the approval of al-Qaeda’s leadership,...

'Gas Limos' terrorist faces sentencing By Matthew Moore telegraph.co.uk November 6, 2006 A British Muslim plotted to cause "massive explosions" in Britain and the United States designed to kill thousands of people, a court heard today. Dhiren Barot, a 34-year-old convert from north London, led a conspiracy to commit mass murder and was intent on causing, in his own words, "another black day for the enemies of Islam". Dhiren Barot was arrestedin August 2004 in London His plots included using radioactive dirty bombs, a petrol tanker, and a co-ordinated bomb attack using limosines packed with gas cylinders. He also...

LONDON - One of the top al-Qaida operatives known to have been captured in Britain appeared in court amid heavy security Monday for sentencing in a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange , the International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington and to use a dirty bomb in London. Flanked by two guards, Barot sat expressionless behind a glass wall as the proceedings began. Born in India but raised in Britain, he pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to commit mass murder in terrorist plots on both sides of the Atlantic. He faces a life sentence. Prosecutors say Barot...