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September 4, 2007
Denmark: Nine Islamists Arrested - Al Qaeda Ties
News from Jyllands-Posten (in Danish) and Copenhagen Post: Last night, people suspected to be plotting a terror attack were arrested in raids in the Greater Copenhagen area. Accompanying security officials to raids on two locations were representatives of the National Emergency Management Agency, suggesting police assumed explosives to be present. The Police Intelligence Service states that the men arrested had been under surveillance for some time. Since 2005, this is the third series of arrests in Denmark.
On October 28 and October 29, 2005, six young people were arrested in the Copenhagen area. The majority of these were members of the congregation at the Waqfs mosque, run by radical Islamist preacher Abu Laban (now dead). Those arrests were connected with investigations in London and in Bosnia.
In Britain, Waseem Mughal, Younis Tsouli and Tariq al-Daour had been arrested on November 4, suspected of plotting terror attacks. The group in Denmark were also connected to a Bosnian Turk nicknamed "Maximus" (Mirsad Bektasevic), who also had links to the trio from Britain. Bektasevic and three others were jailed in Bosnia on January 10, 2007. The three London plotters, who ran an international jihadist website, were jailed on July 5, 2007.
Of the Copenhagen suspects initially arrested in October 2005, four stood trial on December 6, 2006. Adnan Avdic, Abdul Basit Abu-Lifa, Elias Ibn Hsain, Imad Ali Jaloud all pleaded not guilty of ""attempting terrorism". On February 15, 2007, Danish national of Palestinian parentage Abdul Basit Abu-Lifa, aged 17, was found guilty and was sentenced to seven years' jail. The other three were acquitted.
The other major raid involving Muslim terror suspects in Denmark happened on September 4, 2006, when nine people were arrested in Odense. Their trial will begin this week.
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Following last nights raids in the Greater Copenhagen area, Jyllands-Posten has issued a further report, based on a press conference held at midday today. We are extremely grateful to our good friend from Denmark - Wiking - who has provided us previously with translations and articles.
He has translated the report for us, which we present below. He says he did it in a hurry, and apologises for grammar - but it seems fine to me.
The arrested have close ties to Al Qaeda
The police arrested eight persons this morning in an extensive operation. The detained are charged with attempt to manufacture explosives for use in one or more terror bombings. According to the police, several of the detained have ties to leading persons within the Al Qaida network.
The operation took place at 2 AM this morning the chief of police Jakob Scharf stated on the press conference todat at 12:00.
The police searched 11 addresses in the Copenhagen area and the arrests are the results of surveillance that has taken place over a long period of time according to the police chief.
"We regard the main suspects as militant islamists with international ties - this includes direct contacts with leading persons within the Al Qaeda network," says Jakob Scharf.
"There is a general threat of terrorism against the western countries and according to our assessment of the situation, Al Qaeda after having been forced in the defensive, is regaining strength and is again capable of organizing a terror attack against a wester country."
Foreign origin
All the detained men are of foreign origin, between 19 and 29 tears of age. There are six with Danish citizenship and two foreign subjects with a Danish residence permit. They come from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Turkey.
The investigation has shown that persons among the detained have procured material for the production of explosives. The police has secured a number of tools and implements related to the manufakturing of explosives.
"They have been involved in the production of an explosive intended for an act of terror. We think that with these arrests we have prevented an attack ," Jakob Scharf said.
Ties to other countries
The arrests this morning follows after several months of investigation, where the police has worked with a number of foreign partners. The chief of police does not want to reveal which countries have contributed.
"We strike now because we believe the results of the investigation are solid and because several of the suspects have produced an unstable explosive in a build up area," says Jakob Scharf.
According to the police, this mornings arrests have prevented an act of terror, but they do not want to name the specific targets, nor do they want to comment on any arrests that might have been done in other countries.
Jakob Scharf denies that this case has anything to do with the cartoon crisis.
The operation was conducted in the districts of Vanløse, Amager, Albertslund, Hvidovre, Ishøj, Nørrebro and Nordvestkvarteret, all in the Copenhagen area.
Translation by Wiking
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at September 4, 2007 10:40 AM
Comments
Hi,
Excellent Blog. Just wanted to know where the link b/w Tsouli and this cell in Denmark was established/announced first?
Posted by: RH ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.westernresistance.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 5, 2007 10:01 AM
Hi RH,
The original link, which we described on November 10, 2005:
http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/000867.html
came from Copenhagen Post, Nov 9, 2005. Their articles disappear after two weeks, but this is from my archive:
09.11.2005
Print article (IE & NS 4+)
Police fear that terror suspects arrested in Denmark are linked to a British plot to attack the US White House
A British police dragnet has raised suspicion that nine terrorist suspects arrested in Denmark and Bosnia are linked to a plan to attack the White House and other strategic targets in the United States.
British police became interested in one of the suspects after they arrested three men in London and found they had had email correspondence with a man living in Bosnia. The man living in Bosnia had been suspected of running a network that sought to draw alienated youths to the rebellion in Iraq.
Seven 16-20-year-olds are currently under arrest in Denmark along with two 18-year-old men in Sarajevo, one of Danish-Turkish heritage and the other from Sweden, in connection with the find of cache of weapons and explosives in Sarajevo.
Two days after the two were arrested in Sarajevo, British police arrested three people in Great Britain on suspicion of planning a terror attack on The White House.
The three men had apparently been in email correspondence with someone in Sarajevo who used the codename 'Maximus'.
Posted by: Giraldus Cambrensis at September 5, 2007 2:13 PM
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