Islamic Terrorism in the West ( Mega thread)

[George Wallace]

Just for those who may feel that all is well and that they have no fear of terrorism or violence here in Canada:  (Link in Title)

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

Ottawa prof arrested, suspect in 1980 Paris bombing

CTV.ca News Staff

The RCMP has arrested a Canadian man in Quebec at the request of France, which accuses the man of being behind a bomb attack that killed four people at a Paris synagogue in 1980.

The Department of Justice confirmed to CTV.ca that Hassan Diab, 55, was arrested at his home in Gatineau, Quebec Thursday.

"The arrest was made under a provisional arrest warrant for extradition as a request from France," Justice spokesperson Chris Girouard said.

Under a provisional arrest warrant, the official extradition request must be filed within 45 days. Diab will have a bail hearing within 24 hours of his arrest, according to Girouard.

France's Minister of the Interior, Michele Alliot-Marie, confirmed the arrest Thursday and credited cooperation between Canadian and French authorities.

Diab is a part-time sociology professor at the University of Ottawa, CTV News has learned. According to the university officials, he teaches one class at the undergraduate level.

Diab is also listed as a contract instructor in the department of sociology and anthropology at Carleton University for the fall of 2008. Carleton officials could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.

Two French anti-terrorism judges travelled to Canada earlier this week according to The Associated Press. Investigators are searching Diab's home and office for clues, including DNA samples.

A year ago the story broke that Diab was being investigated by French authorities. He told French media it was a case of mistaken identity.

Three French citizens and one Israeli woman were killed outside a synagogue in a posh area of Paris when a bomb went off minutes before a crowd of people were due to emerge from the synagogue. Twenty others were hurt.

The attack took place on a Friday evening, at the start of the Jewish Sabbath. More than 200,000 marched in France to protest the attack.

According to the French magazine L'Express, French authorities believe the bombing was arranged by a Palestinian militant group involved in a dispute with Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization.

Diab's name was attached to the group by German intelligence, The Associated Press is reporting.

(News footage on Link.)

 

[twistedcables]

Notwithstanding the usual (and empty) caveats of a presumption of innocence.  I tend to lean towards the side of the agencies that have the information that the media does not (and should not).

I have to say, very few deeds are as low as wanting to bomb a place of worship. That's when you can use the term EVIL appropriately.  Personally, I want to see more initiative from the mainstream Muslim community.  This is not (at all) to suggest we unfairly target a whole community but unless everyone works together, its true what they say: not a question of IF but WHEN.

Vigilance.

"Lest We Forget" should not become an empty phrase.  VIGILANCE is its core.

 

[Shec]

I hate to think what this innocent victim of mistaken identity taught the young minds that he was instructing.  A Desert Eagle .50AE is just the ticket for this SoB.

 

[FastEddy]

I hate to think what this innocent victim of mistaken identity taught the young minds that he was instructing.   A Desert Eagle .50AE is just the ticket for this SoB.

Oh ! that's not the Canadian way, "Nox Vulpes" will be very displeased with you.

Cheers.

 

[twistedcables]

SOURCE: Terrorism Focus - Volume V, Issue 39 Jamestown Foundation

SPAIN’S GUARDIA CIVIL SEIZES TERRORIST MANUAL ADVOCATING “SECRECY IN JIHAD”

Spain’s Guardia Civil has released details of a terrorist manual discovered in the Catalonian home of Muhammad Mrabet, a Moroccan national accused of organizing an al-Qaeda cell that sent prospective suicide bombers to Iraq. The most notorious product of Mrabet’s network was Belgacem Bellil, an Algerian who detonated a truck carrying 3,500 pounds of explosives at the Italian camp at al-Nasiriyah in 2003, killing 19 Italian soldiers and nine Iraqis.

As detailed by the Spanish daily El Pais, the 30-page Arabic language document was entitled, “Secrecy in Jihad is a Legitimate Duty - Security Manual" (El Pais [Madrid], November 10). As its title suggests, the manual provides a detailed description of the means and methods of covert operations, as sanctioned by selected Islamic scholars. “Secrecy is a key factor in every war. It is a mistake not to use it for jihad, because the infidel leaders recruit thousands of intelligence agents to obtain information about the mujahideen… Many ulama [religious scholars] allowed the use of lies to achieve a religious benefit that may put an end to the punishment inflicted on Muslims by infidels.”

Practical advice is given on methods of disguise, avoiding surveillance, forging passports, encrypting communications, using invisible ink and how to behave during police interrogations. The structure and functioning of a terrorist cell is explained in detail, with the author insisting the cell’s members must agree on “four key issues: obedience, secrecy, patience and the defense of the amirs.”

Intelligence work is also emphasized. The active jihadi should prepare by studying not only the secret services of his host nation, but also other radical Islamist groups operating in the area in order to divert police attention from the cell if necessary. Earlier successful jihadi operations must be examined in detail and meetings with experienced jihadis should be organized. Secrecy is to be upheld at all times:

It is necessary to change the way of dressing, the haircut, the place of residence, car, daily routes, arrival and departure times, places, and meetings…Use nicknames, false names and codes, even within the members of the same group; speak in a low voice, do not say much; to talk far too much may provide some information to the enemy and damage the rest of the mujahideen.

The author of the jihadi security manual remains unknown. In recent years Catalonia has become known as one of Europe’s most important centers for recruiting and training suicide bombers on their way to Iraq (La Vanguardia [Barcelona], June 3, 2007; see also Terrorism Monitor, June 7, 2007).

***Similar documents have been found among groups arrested all over the world: Canada, the UK, Australia and the U.S.  I am unsure if Netherlands and Denmark have also captured these same docs.

VIGILANCE

 

[leroi]

Follow-Up to initial article: File on 1980 Paris Bombing Revealed

Reproduced under the fair dealings provision of the Copyright Act

November 20, 2008 at 8:29 PM EST

OTTAWA — The author of the 1980 bombing of a synagogue paraded in the streets of Paris with two fake Cypriot passports, and carried a stack of $100 U.S. bills to pay for the material used in his deadly deed, according to French police records released Thursday.

The newly unsealed documents are part of the extradition case against Hassan Diab, an Ottawa sociology professor and Canadian citizen born and raised in Lebanon who was arrested in connection with the bombing last week.

According to information collected by French authorities since the 1980 attack, the bomber bought a Suzuki motorcycle for $1,000 U.S. at a store named Moto Shopping Etoile on Sept. 23.

Two days later, the bespectacled terrorist rented a Citroën GS in the French capital.

About 10 kilograms of explosives were stashed in bags at the back of the bike, which was blown up 15 metres away from the Copernic Street synagogue on Oct. 3, killing four people and injuring about 40 others. A few days later, the car was found abandoned in a parking lot, with leftover food inside.

During his stay in Paris, the alleged terrorist was also caught stealing wire cutters and paid $100 U.S. for a night at his Celtic Hotel room with a prostitute, who pointed out his smoking habits and the fact he was circumcised.

French authorities feel the carnage would have been much worse had the bomb detonated 25 minutes later, as hundreds of worshippers were exiting, and if security measures had not prevented the terrorist from parking the motorcycle any closer.

Twenty-eight years later, Mr. Diab appeared in an Ottawa court, fighting extradition to France where he is accused of murder, attempted murder, and willful destruction of property by an organized group, all in relation to attack ...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081120.wdiab1120/BNStory?cid=al_gam_nletter_newsUp

 

[George Wallace]

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act:    (Link in Title)

Wife says accused prof is innocent in Paris blast

Updated: Fri Nov. 21 2008 13:58:40

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The wife of a university professor accused in a 1980 Paris terrorist bombing says she is confident her husband had nothing to do with the attack.

French police allege Hassan Diab played a role in the blast at a synagogue which killed four people. They are seeking his extradition.

Diab's wife, Rania Tfaily, herself a university professor, told an Ontario Superior Court hearing on Friday she believes the charges against him are a mistake.

She says she's prepared to post thousands of dollars in bail.

Diab has been in custody since his arrest last week and is seeking bail as part of his extradition hearing.

Tfaily says their relationship has been strained in the last year, but she still supports him.

"I believe he's innocent, I've known him for some time," Tfaily told Justice Michel Charbonneau of Ontario Superior Court.

Questioned by federal lawyer Claude Lefrancois, she said she and Diab had discussed political events throughout their relationship including terrorism, the deaths of innocent people and mass murder.

"I know enough of that to realize he would never do such a thing," she said.

"It is not going to be the first time or the last time that innocent people are accused," she said.

The RCMP arrested Diab, 55, at the request of French authorities, who submitted affidavits to back their claim of Diab's involvement in the deadly attack.

The evidence includes claims by French police that Diab used an alias and a false Cypriot passport to enter France in 1980 before buying a motorscooter that carried explosives that detonated outside the synagogue.

The evidence also includes police sketches of the bombing suspect based on witness descriptions, and old passport photos.

 

[George Wallace]

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act:    (Link in Title)


Bombing suspect's ex-wife questioned his marriage motivation

Terrorist allegations come as complete surprise
Cassandra Drudi, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Sunday, November 23, 2008
The American ex-wife of a man accused in one of Europe's most shocking terrorist incidents suspected their marriage may have been a ploy to get an U.S. green card and was not surprised when she was questioned by authorities about their relationship a few weeks ago.

"That was under suspect from the very get-go," said Heather Winne, 35, of Hassan Naim Diab's marriage intentions.

A green card, or permanent resident card, gives its bearer official immigration status in the United States.

Mr. Diab, 55, was arrested at his Hull apartment on Nov. 13. He is wanted by French authorities in connection with a terrorist bombing at a Paris synagogue in October 1980 that killed four and injured dozens.

The allegations against Mr. Diab came as a shock to Ms. Winne, but she was not surprised that someone might want to question her about their relationship.

"The bombing, yes, I was surprised about. It totally took me off guard."

Ms. Winne was questioned for several hours while at work. She would not say who had questioned her.

Ms. Winne and Mr. Diab met in 1993 when he was an adjunct professor at Syracuse University where she was taking sociology classes, Ms. Winne said. They married in 1994 and separated in October 1995, when their daughter was born. The divorce was finalized in 1996.

"When my daughter was born things kind of took a turn for the worst," she said.

Ms. Winne's daughter, now 13, had been in contact with Mr. Diab over the phone and online until about two weeks before "this whole episode" took place, she said.

"Things came out online maybe a week after I was spoken to," Ms. Winne said. "I've followed the story very close, so I'm just waiting to hear the outcome."

René Duval, Mr. Diab's lawyer, said the idea that his client may have been motivated to marry Ms. Winne for U.S. permanent resident status is unfounded.

"Based on my confidential knowledge of certain information, this is sheer nonsense. This is yet again another way of trying to discredit Mr. Diab," he said.

"It's basically a smearing campaign. That's what it is."

© The Ottawa Citizen 2008

 

[twistedcables]

Hence the attention paid to immigration policies and fighting terrorism.  It's not about being xenophobic - that's just stupid - it's about taking a critical look at entry points as a natural course of action in any coherent security program.

 

[FastEddy]

[quote
[/quote]

What would you expect a Wife or Mother to say ?.

Let the Courts and his peers decide if he's Innocent.

 

[Spanky]

Oh his wife says he's innocent!  Well, that's good enough for me!  :

 

[Drag]

What do his neighbours say?  Was he " A nice quiet guy"

 

[Greymatters]

“Secrecy in Jihad is a Legitimate Duty - Security Manual" (El Pais [Madrid], November 10).

Unlikely, but has anyone found a link to a copy of this available on-line?

 

[leroi]

This slide show by Martin Rudner and Angela Gendron is worth viewing. Martin Rudner has been warning Canadians of the internal threat for some time. Unfortunately, Canadian MSM and some politicians have often not taken him seriously.

Penetrating Terror Threats: Counterintelligence as Counter Terrorism.

(Courtesy of The Canadian Centre of Intelligence And Security Studies.)

http://www.cacp.ca/media/events/efiles/103/DrMartinRudnerMs.pdf


***Mods, please feel free to move***

 

[Greymatters]

That organization (CCISS) was only formed in 2002 - saying its been around 'for some time' is an exaggeration.

Having said that, its nice to see a half-decent presentation on the subject...

 

[leroi]

This slide show by Martin Rudner and Angela Gendron is worth viewing. Martin Rudner has been warning Canadians of the internal threat for some time. Unfortunately, Canadian MSM and some politicians have often not taken him serious.

Actually Greymatters, if you re-read my highlighted sentence above, you'll see that's not what I said. It makes no claim that the organization has been around 'for some time.' My sentnce indicates Martin Rudner has been warning Canadians 'for some time'.

 

[Greymatters]

My error, I was going by the org not the person...

 

[George Wallace]

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.    (Link in Title)

Ottawa prof loses bid for bail in 1980 bombing case


Updated: Thu Dec. 04 2008 10:10:52

The Canadian Press

A university professor facing murder charges from a 1980 bombing in Paris has been denied bail as he awaits hearings for extradition to France.

Hassan Diab has been in custody since his arrest Nov. 13 at the request of French authorities, who allege he was involved in the explosion that killed four people outside a synagogue in the French capital.

Canadian government lawyers had argued Diab would be a flight risk if he was allowed to go free before the extradition proceedings begin, likely next month.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Michel Charbonneau agreed, saying in his ruling Wednesday that "all the ingredients exist to spur a flight in this case."

Charbonneau said evidence in the bail hearings last month -- including extensive trips in and out of Lebanon from 1998 to 2006 and a history of residence in several countries -- suggests Diab "does not have any real ties anywhere."

The judge added that evidence provided by the French government, while circumstantial, will "more likely than not" meet the threshold to justify extradition.

He said he was not basing his decision to keep Diab in custody on the basis of the information provided by the French government -- which could eventually could "fall like a house of cards" in a trial -- but noted the burden of proof for extradition is lower.

French police affidavits claim evidence links Diab, 55, to the purchase of a motor scooter that was used to place the explosives in front of the synagogue. French authorities allege he belonged to a terrorist group backing an independent Palestinian state at the time.

But Diab's Quebec-based lawyer, Rene Duval, argued it was a case of mistaken identity and said Diab was attending university in Beirut, Lebanon, at the time of the attack.

Diab has been a part-time sociology lecturer at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa for the last year.

His wife, Rania Tfaily, is a full-time professor at Carleton University and offered to put up bail and vouch for Diab's release conditions.

But Charbonneau noted the relationship between Diab and Tfaily, 24 years younger than Diab, was unstable and had only begun in 2006 after Tfaily obtained her position at Carleton University.

The judge noted Diab moved from Tfaily's Ottawa condominium last year into an apartment sublet in Gatineau, Que., and the pair gave contradictory reasons for the separation as well as the amount of time Diab later spent at Tfaily's residence.

Charbonneau also said Diab's failure to report the loss of his passport in 1981 for nearly two years "suggests he may have familiarity with forged documents." Part of the French evidence centres on the lost passport, which Italian police found on a man they arrested in 1981.

A Quebec judge in Gatineau will hear a request Thursday for the transfer to French authorities of evidence and material the RCMP seized from Diab's apartment when he was arrested. France has until Dec. 28 to formally request extradition, and hearings to decide whether he should be sent to France are likely to begin in late January or February.

The judge hearing the extradition case must be convinced a jury of reasonably informed Canadians could find Diab guilty based on the evidence France has provided.

 

[George Wallace]

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.    (Link in Title)

Police defuse bombs at Paris department store

A Paris news agency says an Afghan group has taken responsibility for explosives that were planted in a high-end Paris department store.


16/12/2008 7:39:30 AM

CTV.ca News Staff

Police defused the bombs earlier today after the explosives were found in the rest rooms of the prestigious Printemps Department Store, a favoured shopping spot with tourists.

The store was evacuated and anti-crime brigades and the bomb squad were called in. French TV later reported that five devices had been located and disarmed. No one was injured during the incident.

CTV's London Bureau Chief Tom Kennedy told Canada AM that authorities are trying to determine how serious the threat was.

He said after authorities neutralized the bombs, government officials announced that there were no detonators attached to the devices.

"We also know there was a phone call that went to Agence France Presse in Paris, (telling AFP) to warn the police that these devices were in the department store. Nevertheless, there is a lot of concern," Kennedy said, speaking from London.

"The group claiming responsibility is called the Afghan Revolutionary Front. They're calling for the removal from Afghanistan of all French troops by early in the new year."

Kennedy said little else is known about the group. AFP reported that the group said the bombs were supposed to go off on Wednesday. France has about 3,000 troops in Afghanistan.

 

[leroi]

By Ian MacLeod, Ottawa Citizen

(Reproduced in accordance with the Fair Dealing Provision of the Copyright Act.)

http://canadianarmedforcesblogger.blogspot.com/2009/02/number-of-homegrown-suspected.html

Number of Homegrown Suspected Terrorists Higher Than Ever: RCMP

OTTAWA, Ontario — Canadians should be concerned but shouldn’t overreact to news that more homegrown extremists and suspected terrorists are believed operating here than ever before, says the RCMP’s top national security officer.

In his first in-depth interview since assuming command of the nascent National Security Criminal Investigations unit, Assistant Commissioner Bob Paulson said more terrorism arrests are expected in coming months.

“The threat we’re facing today is as threatening as it’s ever been,” he said during a hour-long talk in his headquarter’s office this week. “We’re as busy as we’ve ever been and a little busier, frankly,” but he added that the sky is not falling.

“You want Canadians and people who have a role to play to be engaged and you want them to understand the nature of the threat, but you have to balance that against the Chicken Little criticism.

“Even discussing national security investigations publicly and openly runs the risk of being misunderstood of saying, ‘the sky is falling.’ The threat is a significant threat (and) we and other agencies of the government are actively managing that threat.”

He said the increase in national security criminal cases — from 848 last May to an undisclosed but larger number now — is “marginal” and “nothing that people ought to be excessively worried about. That’s what we get paid to do.”

More concerning is the evolving origin of the threat.

“Historically, it’s always been the threat from somewhere else in the world coming over here. But it’s no secret to anyone that a larger part of the threat is the so-called homegrown threat and that’s certainly the lion’s share of the threat that we’re dealing with.”

Homegrown radicalization is now at the top of the government’s national security agenda. Several of the biggest terror attacks and threats in the West in recent years, from the transit attacks in Madrid and London to the foiled “liquid bomb” airline plotters, have come from previously unremarkable, law-abiding citizens largely unknown to authorities.

The official concern is also partly a reflection of concerns about potential blowback from Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan and the terrorism prosecutions of Ottawa’s Momin Khawaja and the pending “Toronto 18” cases.

NSCI has laid charges in two other terrorism cases — the continuing trial of a Quebec man charged with supporting the Global Islamic Media Front, the propaganda arm of al-Qaida, and last year’s arrest of an Ontario man for allegedly collecting money for the outlawed Tamil Tigers, the only person ever charged with terrorist financing in Canada.


The stinging 2006 report and recommendations of the O’Connor Commission into the Maher Arar affair led to a fundamental re-organization of NSCI, with a priority on centralized oversight of national security investigations, including targeting, evidence-based decision-making, information collection and sharing and quality control.

“My desire (is) to re-establish a trust with people,” said the assistant commissioner, whose police career ranges from general patrol duties in British Columbia to senior positions fighting the Hells Angels and organized crime. Now 50, the Lachute, Que., native joined the Mounties in 1986 after a stint as a Canadian Forces pilot.

Since taking over NSCI in May, “I’m very satisfied that we have the business processes and systems that permit me to defend the criticism that we’re loosey-goosey sharing information all the time. The RCMP has pulled out all the stops in terms of implementing O’Connor’s recommendations and there were considerable costs associated to that.”

He also commented on:

• The need for manufacturers of leading-edge communications equipment to “build in a backdoor for authorities who — when properly authorized by the judiciary as we have always had to have been — can get access so that we don’t have to build research and development commensurate with leading state-of-the-art technology.”

In previous cases where judges authorized police to intercept suspects’ electronic communications, “if the gizmo was the latest version, then our tech guys would say, ‘we don’t know where to hook it up.’

“The objectives of justice shouldn’t be defeated by advancements in technology if everybody understands and signs off on the fact that the processes that permit authorizations of the state to eavesdrop or intercept are properly governed.”

• On co-operation with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service: “As good as it’s ever been.”

• On whether he knows why the Americans continue to harbour suspicions of terrorism against Maher Arar. “No.”

• On why there have been no espionage arrests in Canada in recent years, despite repeated statements by CSIS and others that some foreign intelligence services are engaged in aggressive industrial, economic and state-secret spying (and proliferation activities) in Canada:

“Oh yeah, it’s going on. My objective in this program is to bring these cases that come to our attention to resolution through prosecution, that’s my preferred course of action. But there are alternative ways of dealing with some of these threats (such as) disruption, and sometimes we’re forced to do that. You can’t arrest your way out and charge your way out of everything. So sometimes, there’s maybe just confronting people and saying, ‘we’re on to you, cut it out.’ ”

• On the importance of counter-radicalization philosophies and reaching out to Muslim, Sri Lankan, East Indian and other ethnic communities in Canada.

“We are seeing people accepting us, but we continue to face day-to-day-to-day suspicious of our motives. When I was a uniformed police officer, the extent to which I was successful as a criminal investigator was entirely dependent on the contacts I had in the community. And it’s not informants, it’s being able to persuade people that the problems that we face as police are their problems and if people buy in, which they ought to, then you got something.”

But there’s fine line to walk between that and being seen as recruiting sources or spying on the community.

“If the community senses that at all, then it’s ineffective, the trust is gone.”