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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".

It began in late 2007 as a routine audit. Retail giant Wal-Mart noticed that some exit signs at the company's stores and warehouses had gone missing. As the audit spread across Wal-Mart's U.S. operations, the mystery thickened. Stores from Arkansas to Washington began reporting missing signs. They numbered in the hundreds at first, then the thousands. Last month Wal-Mart disclosed that about 15,800 of its exit signs – a stunning 20 per cent of its total inventory – are lost, missing, or otherwise unaccounted for at 4,500 facilities in the United States and Puerto Rico. Poor housekeeping, certainly, but what's...

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:...

Brown's photo 'on al-Qaida disks' Seized computers included chancellor's image among information on potential US attacks David Teather in New York and Patrick Barkham Monday August 9, 2004 The Guardian Details emerged yesterday of potential terrorist targets found on captured al-Qaida computers, including a downloaded picture of Gordon Brown, and possible plans to use helicopters to attack New York. Information gleaned from the three laptops and 51 computer disks seized in Pakistan led to the specific warnings issued last week about possible attacks on five financial institutions in the US. US officials have hailed as a breakthrough the arrests and...

Al-Qaeda ace may have been arrested in UK By Peter Fray, Herald Correspondent in London, and agencies August 6, 2004 British authorities are believed to have foiled a well-developed plot to bomb Heathrow Airport by one of al-Qaeda's most senior operatives in Europe. The agent, known as Abu Eisa al Hindi, is believed to be among 13 men arrested by anti-terrorism police in Britain this week. Twelve of the men, aged 19 to 32, are still being questioned by Scotland Yard detectives on suspicion of being involved in the "preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism". Police have declined to...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A senior al-Qaida operative lived in New Jersey and posed as a student while conducting surveillance of financial institutions as possible targets for a terror attack, according to a published report. The operative, identified by U.S. officials in Washington as Dhiren Barot, 32, entered the United States on a student visa, The Record of Bergen County reported in Thursday's editions.

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...

Britons jailed over al Qaeda plot to bomb NYSE Fri Jun 15, 2007 9:02AM EDT By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Seven Britons linked to a plot to blow up U.S. financial institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange, and stage a series of attacks in Britain were jailed for a total of 136 years by a London court on Friday. Prosecutors said the men were part of a group headed by senior al Qaeda operative Dhiren Barot and described as "one of the most dangerous and ambitious terrorist cells ever to operate in this country". Barot is currently serving...

Al-Qa'eda bomb plot gang jailed for 136 years By John Steele, Crime Correspondent and Duncan Gardham Last Updated: 2:05am BST 16/06/2007 Seven members of a gang run by Dhiren Barot, one of the most dangerous al-Qa'eda terrorists seen in Britain, were jailed for a combined total of 136 years yesterday for plotting terrorist atrocities on both sides of the Atlantic. Dhiren Barot: the gang leader All seven were recruited by Barot, who was jailed for a minimum of 30 years last year for plotting to kill thousands of people using limousines packed with explosives and a "dirty" radiation bomb. They...

Dhiren who? Mention Dhiren Barot to anyone and the chances are that you’ll be met with a blank look. At best, some might say, ‘Oh, wasn’t he that guy who, er, that trial recently, yeah, bit worrying....’ Thus the British have somehow failed to register the significance of the conviction last month of a man who was one of al-Qa’eda’s biggest fishes, guilty of the most devastating terrorist plot ever known in this country and one which would have made 9/11 look like a minor warm-up act. This former airline ticket clerk plotted to kill hundreds of thousands of people...

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...

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...

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...

  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...