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| Europe |
| Eta bought Stinger missiles from Bin Laden |
| 2004-03-12 |
| From February 27, 2002 Three Eta members travelled to al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan last year to buy ground-to-air missiles and train in their use, according to a report from an unnamed Arab intelligence service obtained by Tiempo magazine in Spain. The magazine said the Basque separatists had bought three Stinger missiles, which Spanish intelligence services feared they would try to use to bring down official aircraft carrying government ministers or King Juan Carlos. Official Spanish documents seen by the Guardian confirm that officials believe Eta has obtained anti-aircraft missiles. Some of Spain’s major airports, especially those in the Basque country in the north, have put into place special protective measures to avoid ground-to-air attacks, according to Tiempo. The intelligence report quoted by Tiempo said that the three Eta members travelled from Brussels to Islamabad, Pakistan, in January using false Belgian passports. They were reportedly accompanied by Syrian-born Imad Eddin Barakat, alias Abu Dahdah, the alleged leader of a Spanish-based al-Qaida cell who is in jail in Madrid under suspicion of being involved in the September 11 plot. The four travellers were spotted by an intelligence service informer in Islamabad airport because they spoke to one another in Spanish, despite their Belgian passports. They told immigration officials they were Belgian journalists travelling to Afghanistan. The Eta members were reportedly met at Islamabad airport by Anwar Adnan Salah, a Palestinian who previously lived in Madrid. According to Spanish court documents, Mr Salah founded the Spanish al-Qaida cell but left to help run the Jalada training camp in Afghanistan three years ago. A Spanish judge has claimed he worked for Osama bin Laden’s Makhtab al-Khidamat recruiting organisation. The party travelled to Peshawar and Jalalabad before arriving at the Jalada training camp, where they stayed for 18 days and trained in the use of several kinds of ground-to-air missiles. It was unclear how the Stinger missiles, originally given to Bin Laden by the CIA when his group was fighting the Russians, could have been transported to Spain or to Eta’s logistics bases in France. Tiempo reported that Eta paid around £300,000 for them. Last year Eta was reported to have made contact with other Middle Eastern groups, including Hamas. El Mundo newspaper claimed that the Basque group, which has carried out several spectacular explosives robberies in French warehouses in recent years, was providing the group with explosives for use in suicide attacks in Israel. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |
| #6 OK Mike - now I'd pay to see that! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-3-12 4:34:52 PM |
| #5 El Id - The Stingers we sent to Afghanistan would have been useless within a year or so at most. Chuck is right on the money when he points out that they require serious, consistent maintenance and storage. In addition, the batteries would have been useless in a year or so. Even if these were original missiles with new batteries, there's a strong risk that if you tried to fire them, you'd get a spectacular visual display where the launching guy used to be. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2004-3-12 9:44:09 AM |
| #4 Two different issues here. First, whether the Stingers (assuming the story is correct) represent a real threat. Can't comment on that. Second, whether previously disparate groups are now cooperating. Serious concern if true. |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-3-12 9:34:30 AM |
| #3 The Stingers are quite the urban legend. As I understand it, they take a certain amount of care and maintenance, which they were unlikely to receive in the caves and dusty huts of Afghanistan. In addition, their batteries would be long dead. The only danger you might be in from one of bin Laden's Stingers is dropping one on your foot. BTW, the notion that the CIA gave bin Laden anything is also questionable. There has been some discussion about him fighting much of his war from a hotel room in Pakistan, bragging to reporters. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2004-3-12 9:31:08 AM |
| #2 I read somewhere those Stingers were built to go out of order after a few years:none of the 80's stock should be in working order or even reparable now.Can you confirm that? |
| Posted by: El Id 2004-3-12 9:12:12 AM |
| #1 The convergence of multiple terror networks with roots in a variety of different ideologies is IMO the clearest sign that what we really face is a general threat to civilization as a whole. |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-3-12 8:31:39 AM |