August 18, 2005

Jihad Comes Back to Bosnia

Followers of this will not be surprised, but evidence continues to mount that Bosnia is becoming the focus point for global jihadis in training. But, wait, I thought Bosnia........??

AINA:

Terrorists who previously targeted the U.S. are now in Bosnia, where they have access to a "one-stop shop" of jihad training camps, weapons and illegal Islamic 'charities' -- all at the doorstep of Europe, terrorism experts said.

"[Convicted terrorist] Karim Said Atmani recently returned to Bosnia after being released early from French prison for 'good behavior,'" terrorism expert and author Evan Kohlmann said.

Atmani, a Moroccan, was linked to the "millennium bomb plot" and convicted by a French court of colluding with Osama bin Laden. He has been linked to the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), an organization responsible for airplane hijackings and subway bombings in France...

Also finding haven in Bosnia is Abu el Maali, who like Atmani, was a foreign national who fought in the Bosnia war. El Maali was later accused by French authorities of attempting to smuggle explosives in 1998 to an Egyptian terrorist group plotting to destroy U.S. military installations in Germany. He was also accused of leading terrorist cells in Bosnia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"This activity is very significant," said Kohlmann. "Senior members of the former Muslim Brigade and their top commanders are still there, and they're still active."....

Cybercast News Service has also obtained a video that terrorism analysts say depicts an active jihad training camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a region previously described by analysts as an ideal gateway for terror missions into Europe.

The video, which is over four minutes in length, shows outdoor maneuvers, explosives training and training inside what appears to be a school gym. Exercises in hostage-taking are also shown....

The presence of active jihadist camps in Bosnia-Herzegovina was also confirmed by attorney and counter-terrorism expert Darko Trifunovic, who previously served as a diplomat in the foreign service of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Kohlmann said that the main camps used during the war have been closed, and a different tactic for jihad training has emerged: disguising them as youth camps. "These days, usually the kind of jihad camp you'll see in Bosnia and other countries are so-called 'youth camps.'" They are usually led by a former member of the mujahadeen, someone with military experience, and perhaps a fundamentalist cleric, said Kohlmann....

Al Qaeda cells were set up in Bosnia in the early 1990s by Ayman al Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's right-hand man, and bin Laden was said to visit the area twice in the mid-1990s," Brown added. "Iran was very involved in supporting the Islamist separatist movement in Bosnia, and Hezbollah was doing training there in the 1990s."

Training also takes place inside youth centers and school gyms, according to Trifunovic....

Fortunately, all the experts seem to be in agreement that Bosnian Muslims are far more likely to be secular in orientation than Muslims of other countries. Unfortunately, it only takes a small number of well trained people to commit major acts of terrorism. Hat tip: Evan Kohlmann.

Posted by: Rusty at 01:38 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 513 words, total size 3 kb.

1 Well I for one am glad we bombed the crap out of the Serbs and stopped them from wiping out the muslims, especially since it's paying such great peace dividends now. Why is it every time a dhimmicrat is in ofice, things only get worse?

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at August 18, 2005 02:42 PM (0yYS2)

2 Lot of Muslims victimized (as in made into victims by something) by a quite recent ethnic cleansing (you know, Slobodan and his merry fellows...) + Terrorists looking for a place where there absolutely can't be any prejudice against Muslims due to pity or such => Wooptiedoo, let's go to Bosnia, we'll be safe there, and it's in Europe, so no-one can attack us... Weeeeell, they're wrong, since the army is moving peacetime forces to offense, I mean peacekeepers, with some darn heavy assault gear and units we traditionally consider to be invasion forces (Who needs bomber aircraft and saboteurs when peacekeeping?). Who knows, maybe we'll start "peacekeeping" all the EU:s neighbours (not Russia, since politically we apparently like them now that we got trade going like back in the Soviet days) and countries that have problems with EU rules and regulations... Balkan-unit has already been doubled and re-equipped this summer. Next stop: Aceh. Finns getting involved in world politics has usually led to a world war (kicked all that Turkey booty back to Asia and Russians make Balkan a puzzle of independent countries that Austria nibbles bites of => wooptiedoo their emperor gets shot there, WWI. Slaughtered that Soviet horde of millions on the Kannas in Winter War => wooptiedoo Hitler thinks they're weak and starts spreading faster, WWII) or barbarian invasion (started using flamebombs and iron-tipped arrows and raiding back at them => Swedish Vikings notice it's easier to go south and loot everything along the rivers and create Novgorod the early Russia on their way to Black Sea. Chased those Sami people west and north => famine in Norway due to sudden population growth so Norse and Danish Vikings utterly destroy and conquer Britain France and Sicily), but I'm sure this time it's different... not. Completely irrelevant? Yes I know, but I'm bored yet not sleepy.

Posted by: A Finn at August 18, 2005 03:20 PM (lGolT)

3 Why don't we just let the Serbs deal with this? Oh, wait, I forgot...NATO decided that the best thing to do was to bomb them, handcuff them, and allow Islamofascists a prime training ground and stepping stone to western Europe. Oh yeah, and I'm still waiting to see evidence of this "genocide" we were all told was going on. What a fucking joke.

Posted by: Venom at August 18, 2005 03:35 PM (dbxVM)

4 Never understood stance against the Serbs. We should have been on their side. Who the hell was president then?

Posted by: greyrooster at August 18, 2005 09:39 PM (CBNGy)

5 Lol, sure, "NATO" decided...

Posted by: A Finn at August 19, 2005 12:58 AM (lGolT)

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