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December 19, 2006

Spain: Arrested Islamists "Members Of Salafia Jihadia"

On December 12, 11 Islamists were arrested in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on the North African Coast ("Spanish Morocco"). Two of these were brothers of the "Spanish Taliban", Hamed Abderrahman Ahmed, who had spent time in Guantanamo.

News from: Reuters AlertNet, EITB24, Associated Press, Canoe News, Zee News and Eapatica.

The National Court judge who had ordered the arrests of the 10 Spaniards and one Moroccan, Baltasar Garzon, ordered on Sunday evening that four of the men should be released. These four should keep the authorities informed of their whereabouts at all times.

The surveillance of the eleven individuals had taken place for more than a year. The seven who were jailed include the two brothers of the "Spanish Taliban". According to Judge Garzon, the men are members of the group Salafia Jihadia, which he described as part of Al Qaeda's North African network.

Garzon made a statement: "The focus of this group is the Darkawia mosque. In this the leaders of the group... carried out proselytising and recruiting work to create a Yihad (Jihad) with international connections in Morocco, using common crime as a means of finance."

"Police action prevented the group from forming itself further, which would have greatly raised the threat against lives and physical targets."

The suspects had been arrested because they were believed to be close to mounting attacks. In the raids, which took place before dawn in locations around Ceuta, a farewell note had been written by one of the men, to his mother.

According to Garzon, this letter read: "Allah sent me to fight and to be sacrificed for his cause. We beg Allah to accept our effort and to give us shelter in the sublimity of his paradise. Do not suffer or cry for me. I will always be in your hearts."

Other items which had been seized in the raid included false identity papers, a bullet-proof vest, an "incriminating video", audio material and cash. Garzon suggested the men planned to attack an arms depot and a supermarket.

Salafia Jihadia

The group Salafia Jihadia or Salafia Yihadia, which is also known as At-Takfir wal-Hijrah, was formed in the 1990s and is based in Morocco. One of its leaders, Ilamado Yusef Fikri, was sentenced to death on July 12, 2003. 21 members of the group were sentenced to terms ranging from 12 months to life imprisonment. Eight people got life sentences, seven received 20 year terms, five had 10 year jail terms, and one individual was sentenced to a year's jail.

These individuals had not been accused of the bombings at Casablanca, which had taken place on May 16, 2003. Ilamado Yusef Fikri had written letters to the local newspapers, claiming to have killed people for being "enemies of Allah". One of those whom Fikri had killed was his own uncle, whom he suspected of being a homosexual.

Though the associates of Fikri were not themselves charged with the Casablancca bombings, the attacks of May 16 2003 killed 45 people, and led to a crackdown on other members of Salafia Jihadia.

As Fikri's cell was charged, ten members of Salafia Jihadia (including Fikri himself, Mohamed Damir, Saleh Zarli, Abderrazak Faouzi, Kamal Hanuichi, Bouchaib Guermach, Lakbir Kutubi, Buchaib Mghader, Omar Maaruf and Laarbi Daqiq) were sentenced to death for involvement in the plot to carry out the Casablanca bombings.

According to MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base, the goals of Salafia Jihadia are to overthrow "impious" Arab governments and to use violence to force the West to cease supporting such regimes. Salafia Jihadia is linked to GICM (Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain) which aims to establish an Islamist state in Morocco. GICM had its assets frozen by the US Treasury on November 22, 2002.

It has been argued that Salafia Jihadia, rather than being a coherent entity is in fact a grouping of smaller autonomous cells. In late 2004, the Moroccan Justice Ministry stated that Salafia Jihadia had 699 activists. Some of those who took part in the Casablanca suicide bombings, such as Abdelaziz Beyaich, are known to have been Salafia Jihadia activists. The 14 attackers had come from a bidonville of Casablanca, called Sidi Moumen. In the wake of the Casablanca, many youths from the run-down suburbs of Moroccan cities joined up to Salafia Jihadia.

On the second anniversary of 9/11, a leading Jewish Moroccan, Albert Ribido, was killed by Salafia Jihadia. The Casablanca bombings had attacked three Jewish targets, including a Jewish cemetery and a Jewish-owned restaurant.

The "spiritual leader" of Salafia Jihadia, Mohamed Fizazi is currently serving a 30-year jail term, imposed on him in August 2003. Originally from Tangier, but moved to Sidi Moumen, Casablanca. He claimed Osama bin Laden to be a "companion of the prophet", and said that "Christians and Jews should have their throats slit."

He preached at the Al-Qods mosque in Hamburg, Germany, where his audience included members of the "Hamburg Cell" which spawned the 9/11 attacks. Mohammed Atta attended this mosque. Fizazi left Germany before the attacks on the United States.

Fizazi is said to have had communications with Jamal Zougam, Mohamed Chaoui, and Abelaziz Benyaich from northern Morocco, three of the individuals who are charged with involvement in the Madrid train bombings of March 11, 2004.

For more information on terrorism and extremism in Morocco, see articles by the Jamestown Foundation, from May 2005 and October 2005.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at December 19, 2006 7:07 PM

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