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Sydney-based Syrian refugee linked to 93 WTC bombing, papal assassination plot
A Syrian-born refugee living in Sydney's south-west is allegedly connected to the international terrorism web of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.Living for a decade in the suburb of Riverwood, Ahmad al-Hamwi has been accused of being a senior al-Qaeda bagman linked to the 1993 World Trade Centre bomber, Ramzi Yousef, a newspaper reports. Also known by the alias Abu Omar, Mr al-Hamwi was given asylum in Australia in June 1996. Mr al-Hamwi has allegedly admitted he was a confidant of some of Osama bin Laden's closest lieutenants, and he is a relative by marriage to the world's most wanted man. According to Philippines police documents obtained by the newspaper, Mr al-Hamwi was allegedly a key figure in the Manila-based Islamic charity called the International Research and Information Centre (IRIC) that funded Yousef's terrorist cell which conspired to blow up US airliners and assassinate Pope John Paul II. Research by world-renowned terror expert Zachary Abuza alleges Mr al-Hamwi was an "important money man for the cell". "He was the hand-picked executive director of the IRIC which had little in the the way of charitable works and I refuse to believe he did not know what was going on," Professor Abuza said. The newspaper said it put detailed questions to Mr al-Hamwi but he declined to respond. Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-04-08 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=147759 |