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March 15, 2008
UK: Moroccan Islamist "Foiled British Attack"
We mentioned here recently that Moroccan Islamist Abdelkader Belliraj who was arrested on February 18, was said to have been an informant with the Belgian State Security services (Belgische Staatsveiligheid), according to De Tijd newspaper.
Until mid-January 2008, Belliraj had been based in Belgium. It is thought he had gone to Morocco in January to visit a relative. Belliraj was arrested with 32 people suspected of involvement in an Islamist terror circle. Among the others arrested were two politicians. One - Mustapha Moatassim - was secretary general of the Al Badil Al Hadari (Civilizational Alternative) Party. This party, officially formed in 2005, took part in 2007 Moroccan elections, but won no seats.
Following the involvement of this party with an Islamist network, Moroccan prime minister Abbas El Fassi officially banned this party.
Eventually, the number of individuals arrested in Morocco reached 35 members. These appeared before the Appellate court of Rabat on Thursday, February 28. A large collection of weaponry (illustrated) was recovered during raids upon the homes of some of these individuals. The weapons were found in Casablanca and also Nador in the northeast of Morocco.
The group was accused of charges including: "setting up a criminal band to prepare for and carry out terrorist acts aiming to undermine the public order through fear and violence", "premeditated murder", "carrying and possessing illegal firearms and ammunitions to use them in terrorist projects", "forging official documents", "usurpation of function in order to carry out terrorist projects", "donation and fundraising to finance terrorist projects" and "money laundering".
The group had links to others, such as Moroccan Chabiba Islamiya (Islamic Youth), Moroccan Revolutionary Islamic Movement, the Mujahidine Movement in Morocco, Al Haraka Min Ajli Al Umma (Movement for the Ummah).
Mr. Chakib Benmoussa, Morocco's Interior Minister, has said that the group was "a dangerous terrorist network that has reached advanced stages in preparing and carrying out its operations, marked by the definition of specified targets and the setting up of a political and destructive organization, as evidenced by its plans to carry out assassinations in 1992, 1996, 2002, 2004 and 2005
The Belgian newspaper De Tijd had first broken the news that Belliraj had been an informant for the Belgian security and intelligence services. The Belgian newspaper De Morgen suggested that since the end of February, a delegation of CIA and FBI members had gone to Morocco to examine the information that Belliraj had given during his interrogation.
Other individuals, including Belliraj's landlord who rented him a comfortable house in Evergem, East Flanders province, were also named as informants. The property of "Brahim L" was searched in Ghent.
Chakib Benmoussa has said that it was obvious that Belgian authorities "knew about" Abdelkader Belliraj and his activities. He said that Belliraj had resided in Afghanistan in 2001. Belgian media maintains that it was here that Belliraj had met Ayman al-Zawahiri, the deputy leader of Al Qaeda.
Belgian justice minister, Jo Vandeurzen, has said that he can "neither confirm nor deny" whether Belliraj was employed by Belgian security services as a paid informant. The minister said the Permanent Intelligence Oversight Committee would be making inquiries and conclusions on this matter.
The Belgian minister for State Security, Alain Winaints, has announced that he would be filing a complaint against the unnamed individual who leaked the information that Belliraj had been an informer for Belgian intelligence. It appears that Belliraj had been an informant for 20 years.
Belliraj has confessed to six murders carried out in Belgium between 1986 and 1989. The identities of all these victims are now known and authorities are investigating. Apparently he had carried out some of these murders while an informant.
It was revealed earlier this month by Belgian newspaper De Tijd that information given by Belliraj to Belgian intelligence had allowed them to "foil an attack in another European country". The name of this other country has not been named.
Today, the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) states that the country that was due to have been subject to a terrorist attack was Britain.
The information was reported in a Belgian newspaper, La Libre Belgique.
The attack would have happened shortly after July 7, 2005 (7/7), when 52 people were killed by four Muslim suicide bombers on London Transport. Three weeks after 7/7, Belgian media reported that the Staatsveiligheid was claiming that "a tragedy had been averted".
According to new information now gained by La Libre Belgique, there had been arrests in summer of 2005 as a result of this information, and material which could have been used in a terror attack was recovered in Liverpool. Where the planned attack was to have happened inside Britain is still unknown. Britain later apparently thanked Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt for the assistance in tracking down details of the British "plot".
These are the victims who were murdered by Belliraj, according to his own confession:
Apparently, Belliraj has told his Moroccan interrogators that he had 20 accomplices in Belgium, individuals whom he has named. Three were full-time accomplices, and the rest were "casual" accomplices.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at March 15, 2008 7:28 PM
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