Ryszard M. Machnikowski
Center for Strategic Studies and Forecast, WSSM in Łódź
Global Islamic Terrorist Networks (GITNs)
in Western Europe in the XXI st Century
- Introduction: think globally, act locally.
Today’s global Islamic terrorist networks (GITNs) are the effect of the evolution of global jihadi movement, having its intellectual, organizational and military roots deep in the previous century. The most recent materialization of this movement is conventionally called Al Qaeda. It can be assumed, after Jason Burke, that it is a hardcore organization, a network of networks and a militant ideology.[1]Hardcore organization was particularly visible during the 1990s, when Usama Bin Ladin, its leader, operated relatively freely while staying in Sudan (1991 – 1996) and Afghanistan (1996 – 2001). Its history was widely and precisely researched in numerous books and articles.[2] It seems that ideology is the coronation of the ages-old intellectual process which involved a significant number of important scholars of pure Islam – their work was meticulously studied and analyzed in many publications.[3]
In my article I want to focus attention on the second component of this violent global social movement – network of networks. We adapt the stance expressed by Mark Sageman in his insightful book Understanding terror networks: “A group of people can be viewed as a network, a collection of nodes connected through links. Some nodes are more popular and are attached to more links, connecting them to other more isolated nodes. These more connected nodes, called hubs, are important components of a terrorist network.”[4] We consider his analysis as an important first step in a difficult task to understand both motives and modus operandi of this formidable contemporary enemy of the Western open society, as this task is crucial first to constrain this enemy, and ultimately to win this drole de la guerre of the XXI st century, taking place on many continents. The scope of activity of Islamic terrorists is truly global as their actions are perfect illustration to a well-known slogan - think globally, act locally.
However, I want to narrow our analysis to Western Europe only and some considerable centers of terrorists webs there, as this is the continent of which our country, Poland, become more and more an integrated part. It implies that sooner or later we encounter here challenges and dangers so visible today in the streets of London, Madrid, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome etc. In Al Qaeda Now both Peter Bergen and Rohan Gunaratna, recognized experts on the subject, univocally claimed that “Europe is of central importance” to the struggle with AQ and that throughout the last 15 years all major Islamist terrorist attacks were at some point planned or prepared in Europe.[5] Ursula Mueller, a German diplomat went further when she noticed that “Europe is the target area and at the forefront is the UK”.[6] On the basis of the events of the last few years it is hard not to agree with her.
I should also note that editorial demands limited a bit the depth of our analysis, as we decided to present briefly some most striking cases, showing the structure and mode of operation of the Islamic terrorists networks currently acting in Western Europe.
- Spain. M 3/11 Cell.
Spain was the first European state to be successfully attacked by the Islamists in the XXI st century. Attacks on Madrid’s mass transportation system on March 11, 2004, decisively shattered Spanish political system, causing public outcry and influencing the result of the parliamentary elections there. As a consequence, those in power in this country were changed and it’s foreign policy significantly altered, when the new socialist government decided to withdraw Spanish troops from the antiterrorist coalition. This tremendous political success of the Islamists revealed complex and dense character of jihadi networks in this country and their connections with other networks dispersed all over Europe. It is worth noting that in December 2003, various jihadist websites published hints on the possibility of attacking Spain – one of them submitted detailed analysis of the political situation in Spain, which included references to the elections in March 2004. M3/11 terrorist attack seems to be the response to Usama Bin Ladin’s call to attack this country expressed by him on al-Jazeera in October 2003.[7]
Thorough investigation carried out after Madrid attacks revealed that they had been perpetrated by the cell allegedly led by the Tunisian Serhane bin Abdelmajid Fakhet - brother-in-law of the Moroccan Mustapha al-Maymouni, recruited earlier by his fellow Moroccan Amer Azizi – a former member of the Syrian Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas aka Abu Dahdah’s cell, closely connected to Moroccan Islamic Combatants Group (GICM or al-Jama`ah al-Islamiyya al-Muqatila bi’l- Maghrib) and Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, both associated with Al Qaeda (Al Jazeera’s journalist, the Syrian Tayssir Alouni allegedly was the member of this cell).Abu Dahdah cell was dismantled through the action of Spanish antiterrorist police as early as at the end of 2001, following information that it members were tied to 9/11 attackers in USA.[8]
After that Azizi and al-Maymuni continued their activity, creating terrorist networks composed mostly of Moroccans in Madrid and Moroccan cities of Kenitra and Larache. Al-Maymuni was later arrested, being involved in terrorist attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Casablanca on May 16, 2003, Azizi managed to escape. Two Spanish citizens of Syrian origin, brothers Moutaz and Mohannad Almallah Dabas played an important role in this cell’s activity. They had contacts with Abu Khalid (considered "Osama bin Laden's personal representative in Europe") and with British resident of Egyptian origin, notorious preacher of hate, Abu Qatada (Moutaz lived in London and attended the infamous Finsbury Park mosque, Qatada was recently sentenced in UK – more on him in Kacper Rękawek’s text).
After al-Maymuni’s arrest, Serhane bin Abdelmajid Fakhet became the leader of this cell, which included the Algerian Allekema Lamari,the Moroccan Jamal Zougam, and the Moroccan Jamal Ahmidan. Serhane used to work in a real estate company as a salesman, while pursuing a doctorate in economics at the University (he obtained a Spanish government scholarship – sic!), Allekema was a former member of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and spent 5 years in Spanish jail (being released in 2002), Zougam owned amobile phone shop in Madrid, Ahmidan was a narco-trafficker, who joined jihadi movement in Spanish prison and whose main duty was to provide financial means to the cell and obtain weapons and explosives. Other noteworthy members of the group were the MoroccansMohamed Afallah and Driss Chebli. They were related to Yousef Belhadj, a leading member of the GICM in Europe who is believed to be Aby Dujanah, Al Qaeda's purported spokesman who claimed responsibility for the Madrid attacks on a videotape days after the attacks (he was later arrested in Belgium and extradited to Spain). Afallah and Chebli supposedly introduced Belhadj to Serhane.[9]
This cell was closely connected to two incredible individuals - Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, known as Mohamed the Egyptian, and the Syrian Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, also known as Abu Musab al-Suri akaUmar Abd al-Hakim akaMustafa Abdul-Qadir Mustafa Hussein al-Sheikh Ahmed al-Mazeek al-Jakiri al-Rifa'ei. The former, an AQ high representative in Europe allegedly planned and executed the Madrid attacks as the cell’s Emir andwas very closely associated to Allekema Lamari. He supposedly controlled terrorist cells in six European countries (Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium and France) and is currently detained and trialled in Italy after his arrest in Milan on June 7, 2004. Italian security forces were tipped by the Spaniards and his phone calls were intercepted. One of his cells was completing preparation to attack the European Parliament in Strasbourg and NATO’s headquarters in Brussels (three members of this cell were already sentenced to seven years (two of them) and six years in Belgium in February 2006).
The latter, Mustafa Setmariam Nasar is a person of an almost unmatched calibre in Islamist networks - a veteran jihadi militant who took part in almost every Islamic insurgency since the early 80s. His c.v. is interesting – he fought in Syria, Afghanistan and Algeria, travelled around the world (living in Spain and Great Britain), worked for the Taliban and Al Qaeda. His work not only included training of the mujahideen, as an explosives engineering and urban guerrilla warfare expert but also the authorship of lengthy Islamic treatises, books and audio lectures – he was a warrior, a propagandist and a strategist, combining many talents and being one of the most important and formidable jihadi activist, close to the top of its hardcore structure. He is said to be a founder of Abu Dahdah’s cell in Spain, passing his skills and experience to its leaders. On October 31, 2005 he had been arrested by the Pakistani security forces in the city of Quetta and quickly passed to the Americans, who are currently having the opportunity to extract some of his knowledge on the Islamic jihadi movement in Europe and the rest of the world.[10]
Arrests made after 3/11 revealed that although new Spanish government primarily acted according to Islamists demands, this country maintained endangered by the terrorist actions of radical Muslims. Javier Jordán and Robert Wesley observed: “The hurried withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq by the new government of President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, which assumed power following the Madrid attacks, has not diminished the terrorism threat. In fact, there have been at least four foiled terrorist attacks since the withdrawal. One of these groups was composed of Pakistanis who had relationships with important members of original al-Qaeda cadres. The other three networks were primarily composed of members with familial origins in the Maghreb. In addition to these groups, Spanish police arrested two Moroccans related to the Madrid attacks network in December 2004, who were in possession of a camera with photographs of a nuclear power plant”.[11]Numerous counterterrorist raids constantly disrupt terrorist cells e.g. disrupting “prisons cells” (November 2004), “Iraqi cells” (Operation Tiger, June & December 2005), showing the growing development of jihadi networks in Ceuta and Melila – Spanish Moroccan Communities.[12] As Kathryn Haahr observes: “The Spanish government’s recent counter-terrorism operations illustrate the depth and breadth of radical Islamic operations in Spain in support of al-Qaeda’s operations overseas, particularly in Iraq. Over the last decade, militant Islamists in Spain organized themselves into distinct cells for specific jihadist activities. This “bee-hive” organizational infrastructure – which replicates the activity of other jihadist networks in Europe – became increasingly sophisticated in terms of recruiting individuals in Spanish prisons and mosques for overseas terrorist operations. The Muslims involved in jihadist activities in Spain were not necessarily members of al-Qaeda. Instead, they were religious activists that either individually or in groups or cells, decided to act locally in support of al-Qaeda’s global jihad ideology.”[13]
3. Holland. The Hofstad Cell (the Polder Mujahideen).
Holland was the second European country to familiarize itself with Islamic terrorism in the XXI st century. The killing of the Dutch controversial film director Theo Van Gogh (a substitute target as theprime target – Ayan Hirshi Ali - Dutch member of parliament and outspoken critic of radical Islam was well protected by the police) in Amsterdam on November 2, 2004 by the Dutch citizen of Moroccan descent, Muhammad Bouyeri, aka Abu Zubair was aimed at terrorizing the society of Holland and was planned to be the first in the series of subsequent terrorist attacks, fortunately prevented due to the police work and dismantling of so called Hofstad cell later on. Hofstad cell, called after the name of Dutch city the Hague, where it has it’s origins, was founded and recruited by another preacher of hate, the Syrian Qur’an teacher Ridwan al-Issar aka Abu Khalid (who suddenly disappeared shortly before Boyeri’s attack - probably he escaped to Syria).[14] He gathered and organized a group of young Muslims born in the Netherlands, providing them with his spiritual support and connections in Pakistan, where some members of this cell allegedly were trained. It is not exactly known how Bouyeri joined this group, possibly he was contacted through the as-Sunna Mosque in the Hague, where he and other member of this cell were frequenting. He radicalized himself probably in jail, where he spent 7 months for violence-related-crimes, where he could have close contact with radical Muslims, as jails are the places where they are easy to spot, not only in Holland. Some other members of this cell were Samir Azzouz and his wife Abida Azzouz, Ahmed Hamdi, Ismael Akhnikhaka Suheib, Jason Walters akaAbu Mujahied al-Amrikie, his brother Germaine, Outhman Ben Ali, Nouredine el Fathni and his wife Soumaya Sahla, and Malika Shabi.
They were very young, second generation immigrants, Dutchcitizens of North African descent, who were under surveillance of Dutch security service AIVD at least since 2002 and initially considered as not particularly dangerous. Samir Azzouz and Muhammad Bouyeri were allegedly the leaders of this cell, Ahmed Hamdi was its treasurer, Ismael Akhnikh and Jason Walker (a convert to Islam and a son of African American father and Dutch mother) managed to receive some training on the Afghan – Pakistani border and were responsible for purchase and preparation of arms and explosives, Outhman Ben Ali, who worked as a translator for AIVD was the cell’smole there. Nouredine el Fathni seems to be a spotter, recruiter and propagandist, showing propaganda materials, including beheadings, to the newcomers to the group. Interestingly, Samir Azzouz was arrested, among others, in November 2004 and later cleared of plotting terrorist attacks by the Dutch court. In his house, police found maps and fertilizers and chemicals that could be used for bomb-making. Yet the court decided that evidence of planning alone was not enough to convict him – finally he and other members of this cell were arrested in October 2005 in a huge police raid against Islamic terrorist cells in this country. They are now in court awaiting for the judgment. Their plans included attacks on politicians (including Geert Wilders and Ayan Hirshi Ali), governmental buildings, the parliament, AIVD’s offices, Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and Borssele nuclear power plant station.
As Norwegian Defence Research EstablishmentReport (Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt - FFI), entitled The slaying of the Dutch filmmaker – religiously motivated violence or Islamist terrorism in the name of global jihad? notes: “The Hofstad Network was involved in activities outside the Netherlands, and established multiple international jihadist connections. The group allegedly maintained contacts with Islamist militants in Morocco, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia. The terrorist suspects who were arrested in October 2003 allegedly exchanged “coded communications” with a Moroccan Islamist militant, imprisoned in Spain, who has been identified as Abdeladim Akoudad aka Naoufel. In Naoufel’s calendar police found encoded telephone numbers of members of the Hofstad Network.Naoufel allegedly is a member of a Moroccan Salafist-Jihadist group established by so-called “Afghan Arabs” who returned to Morocco. (…) Moroccan authorities want Naoufel because they believe he was involved in the terrorist operation in Casablanca on May 16, 2003.”[15] Another personal link between these cells is Algerian militant currently imprisoned in Switzerland, Muhammad Achraf. He was: “regularly in contact with militants in Spain and members of the Hofstad Network in Holland. For example, he made several phone calls to Muhammad Bouyeri. According to The New York Times he also wired money to members of the Hofstad Network.One of the detainees held in Spain in connection with the High Court – plot, Abdol Ghaffar Hashemi, held a Dutch passport, whereas another, Mourad Yala, a friend of Samir Azzouz was arrested in Holland in 2003, suspected of falsifying travel documents. Spanish investigators believe these two militants had been trying to convert laptops into bombs that could be used in terrorist attacks in the Netherlands.”[16]
Moreover, as NDRE report states: “The Hofstad Network was also involved in planning attacks outside the Netherlands. On 11 June, 2004, Portuguese police arrested a group of Islamist militants in Porto. It is suspected that they planned to assassinate the Portuguese president-designate of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, as well as other foreign guests, at a reception at the FreixoPalace on the night before the opening match of the Euro 2004 championship soccer tournament. Portuguese intelligence received a warning from their Dutch colleagues that three Dutch-Moroccan members of the Hofstad Network had travelled to Portugal. One of the terrorist suspects had shared an apartment with Van Gogh’s killer, and they drove from the Netherlands to Portugal in a VW Golf registered in the name of Bouyeri.”[17]In May 2005 French police arrested in Tours a 25-year-old Chechen in connection with the murder of controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Dutch prosecutors claimed that Bouyeri was helped by Chechen separatists, among them Ismailov. Press reports say Ismailov's fingerprints were found on a suicide note left behind by Bouyeri. A month later 32 year-old Dutch nationalRacid Belkacemwas held by officers from Scotland Yard's extradition unit in a street in Whitechapel, east London. He maintained close contact with members of Hofstad cell as computer files were found at his house in the Netherlands suggesting the recruitment of persons for the jihad.