Free Republic

SNIPPET: "They are believed to have supported "terrorist groups that operate in the Algerian area of the Maghreb, specifically al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb" (AQIM), a Spanish ministry statement claimed. The group, aged 36 to 49, is also suspected of linking up with Islamist support groups in Italy, France, and Switzerland."

Group is funded by donations in mosques and Muslim community centres around the country. “We are not like a government, we depend on individuals,” a Taliban commander told Sky News. “We get donations from our Muslim brothers in Britain for jihad and they help us. It is the duty of all Muslims to pay towards fighting a jihad. And this is how we get our money and buy our weapons and carry on fighting.” The commander added that an attack on Britain and Europe could happen “at any time”. However, in what was seen as a blow to the insurgents,...

SNIPPET: "BARCELONA: A US citizen was arrested in this Spanish city for sending money to al-Qaida's North African branch, police said. Mohamed Omar Debhi, who is of Algerian descent, is accused of sending more than 60,000 euros to the al-Qaida Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which is based in Algeria. Debhi, 43, was arrested in the Esplugues de Llobregat district, where he is a resident. He also faces charges of possessing a false ID and defrauding Spanish social security services. He is alleged to have sent money via a bank transaction to a fugitive Algerian militant named by police...

A New York man was arrested Wednesday on charges that he unwittingly funded a Connecticut man's attempt to bomb Times Square on May 1 by providing unlicensed banking services, an arrest that continues an effort by federal authorities to reduce the illegal flow of money that can finance terrorism. Mohammad Younis, 44, was accused in an indictment in U.S. District Court in Manhattan of engaging in hawala activities, an informal banking system which relies on wire transfers, couriers and overnight mail. He was arrested at his Long Island home and brought to the courthouse, where he was expected to make...

Saudi Officials Try To Shut Down Oregon Charity Group Owns Property In Ashland ASHLAND, Ore. -- The Saudi Arabian government is trying to shut down an Islamic charity with ties to Oregon and to terrorism. Al-Haramain runs a branch in Ashland and owns a house and acreage (pictured) in the Southern Oregon town. The FBI shut down the Ashland branch and seized evidence several months ago. The Oregon foundation is accused of laundering money from overseas and channeling it to terrorist groups. Al-Haramain still owns the Ashland property but cannot use it until the investigation is complete. The organization's president...

MYFOXNY.COM - Fox 5 News reported Thursday that one of the financial backers of the Islamic mosque and cultural center project in Lower Manhattan once contributed to a terror group, although the investor says the contribution was made because he thought he was giving money to a harmless charity.

Pajamas Media | Friday, December 12, 2008 The funeral for Shirwa Ahmed last week in Burnsville, Minnesota, punctuated a growing national security threat metastasizing inside the U.S. — one Homeland Security and law enforcement authorities have quickly taken note of. Ahmed, who killed himself in a suicide bombing attack in Somalia in October, is just one of up to 40 men from the Twin Cities area who have disappeared and are feared to have returned to their homeland for training with the al-Shabaab terrorist group to wage jihad. The FBI is investigating similar disappearances in other major Somali communities in...

Note: Photo and Graphic Included. NOTE The following text is a quote: FIGHTING TERROR 14 Indicted for Supporting al Shabaab 08/05/10 Two Americans are under arrest and 12 other U.S. citizens have been charged with acts of terrorism that include providing money, personnel, and other material support to the Somali-based terrorist organization al Shabaab. Results of an FBI-led global investigation were announced today at Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, where indictments were unsealed charging individuals in Minnesota, Alabama, and California. Twelve of the 14 under indictment are fugitives believed to be in Somalia. About al Shabaab On Feb. 29,...

NOTE The following text is a quote: July 22, 2010 TG-782 Treasury Targets Taliban and Haqqani Network Leadership: Treasury Designates Three Financiers Operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated three key leaders and financiers for the Taliban and its affiliated group the Haqqani Network, for supporting acts of terrorism and for acting for or on behalf of the Taliban or the Haqqani Network. Today's designation, pursuant to Executive Order 13224 targets Gul Agha Ishakzai, the head of the Taliban's financial commission; Amir Abdullah, former treasurer to senior Taliban leader Mullah Berader; and...

(CNSNews.com) - Amid growing concern about the illicit drug trade across the U.S.-Mexico border, the terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas have been linked to South American drug trafficking organizations–and the money Hezbollah and Hamas make from narco-trafficking is used to finance their organizations, according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS). “International terrorist groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, have also reportedly raised funding for their terrorist activities through linkages formed with DTOs in South America, particularly those operating in the tri-border area (TBA) of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina,” stated CRS in an April 30 report. As evidence that Hezbollah and...

West Toledo couple arrested on terrorism charges involving Hezbollah FBI agents, Toledo police conduct raid at home Federal agents and police arrested a Toledo husband and wife Thursday and accused the couple of conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Hor I. Akl, 37, and his spouse, Amera A. Akl, 37, both of whom are dual citizens of the United States and Lebanon, were arrested on charges also that they conspired to launder money and committed arson relating to an insurance fraud scheme. Mr. Akl is also charged with two counts of bankruptcy fraud and one count...

Note: The following text is a quote: Gen. Petraeus statement on Saudi Fatwa on Financing of Terrorism U.S. Central Command MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (May 21, 2010) - U. S. Central Commander, General David Petraeus, released the following statement today regarding the recent fatwa issued by The Council of Senior Scholars in Saudi Arabia which, for the first time, specifically condemns and outlaws financing terrorism as a violation of Islamic law. "Last month in Riyadh, the Council of Senior Scholars issued an important fatwa that deserves wider recognition than it has received. The Council has, of course, issued fatwas...

SNIPPET: "An al-Qaeda-linked extremist group in Somalia has recruited more than 20 young people from Sweden to fight in the war-torn African country, the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) fears. Somali Islamic insurgency group Harakat al-Shabab Mujahideen ("Movement of Warrior Youth"), better known as Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, is thought to have recruited dozens of Swedish youth to engage in terrorist acts, according to Göteborgs-Tidningen." SNIPPET: "Gothenburg was identified by several sources as the largest recruitment base in the country, the report said. Sweden is also a fundraising hub for the group, according to Svenska Dagbladet editorial writer Per...

SNIPPET: “The recent news that Hamas militants broke into a Gaza Strip branch of the Bank of Palestine and stole $400,000 which had been frozen as part of terrorism investigation indicates that no matter what the Palestinian Authority may try, Hamas is willing to use violence to protect its interests. While the fractured government in the Palestinian territories has been making small steps towards stemming the flow of terrorist financing, it remains an uphill battle." Read more at: http://www.investigativeproject.org/1907/fighting-terrorist-financing-in-the-palestinian

Note: The following text is a quote: Westchester Man Sentenced to 121 Months in Prison in Manhattan Federal Court for Attempting to Finance Terrorism and Perpetrating Massive Investment Fraud PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ABDUL TAWALA IBN ALI ALISHTARI was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 121 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to charges of terrorism financing and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge ALVIN K. HELLERSTEIN. According to the Information to which ALISHTARI pleaded guilty, other publicly filed...

Obama amputates our nuclear arms By: Charles Krauthammer ...snippet...Under President Obama’s new policy, however, if the state that has just attacked us with biological or chemical weapons is “in compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” explained Gates, then “the U.S. pledges not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against it.” Imagine the scenario: Hundreds of thousands are lying dead in the streets of Boston after a massive anthrax or nerve gas attack. The president immediately calls in the lawyers to determine whether the attacking state is in compliance with the NPT. If it turns out that the attacker...

"Air Force strikes in Gaza" SNIPPET: "IDF retaliates for deadly Qassam attack: Air Force hits several Gaza targets, including metal foundry, smuggling tunnel; Vice PM Shalom says Israel to offer strong response to rocket attack that killed Thai worker Thursday" SNIPPET: "IDF aircraft struck at least four targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday, a day after a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave killed a Thai worker in Israel, Hamas security officials and witnesses said." SNIPPET: "Israel also sent a letter of complaint to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is due to visit Israel at the weekend,...

SNIPPET: "A federal judge in California has ruled that the Bush Administration illegally wiretapped the U.S. branch of the Saudi Arabian-based charity al Haramain Islamic Foundation. While ground breaking in its assessment of the controversial Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP), Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling is perhaps more important in that it may dismantle a five-year investigation into al Haramain's financial support for terrorist organizations. Al Haramain is active in more than 50 countries. The U.S. branch registered as a non-profit charity in Oregon in 1999.While it claims to "stand against terrorism, injustice, or subversive activities in any form, and [ ]...

Terrorism & Security "Somali pirates hijack eight ships in three days" "Somali pirates hijacked a cargo ship with 24 crew Monday, on the heels of capturing another seven vessels in the Indian Ocean over the weekend." Photo Gallery Somali pirates SNIPPET: "Pirates captured a Panama-flagged cargo ship just 10 miles from its port on Monday. The ship was last reported being sailed through the Gulf of Aden toward Somalia. The attack comes after seven ships were hijacked in the Indian Ocean this weekend and underscores the persistence of pirates even in the face of increased international patroling and private security...

SNIPPET: "BRUSSELS, March 24 (Reuters) - SNIPPET: "There is a Venn diagram that you could draw with overlap between al Qaeda and organised crime," said Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute and a former deputy assistant secretary for intelligence at the U.S. Treasury. "But in the real world, as opposed to the Jack Bauer world, you don't have the Sicilian mafia and Osama bin Laden's guys meeting at the hip," he told Reuters in an interview, referring to the fictional counter-terrorism agent in the TV series 24. Levitt, a former terrorism analyst with the FBI and a...