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| Terror Networks |
| Italy Busts Al Queda attempt to Bomb/ Poison UK Military Base |
| 2003-01-23 |
| By MIKE SULLIVAN Crime Editor: The Sun A TERRORIST plot to launch a bomb blitz in London was foiled by Italian cops yesterday. Five Moroccan men with links to al-Qaâida suspects in Britain were seized during a raid near Venice. Police found explosives and maps of central London at the hideout. They also found documents addressed to men in the UK. The gang were seized by cops who raided a squalid, damp-ridden hovel in a yard filled with junk. Ah, just like home in palestine. The abandoned farm, with plaster missing from walls and rotten shutters gaping open at windows, had been used as a planning HQ by the mob. Cops found a cache of deadly C4 explosive, maps of central London and details of potential targets including a Nato military base in Italy. Incongruously, two pushbikes were propped up outside the house â which was strewn with empty beer cans despite Islamic laws banning alcohol. What are you saying? that the boys might be slipping in their faith? Yesterday the five were being held for questioning following Wednesdayâs dramatic swoop in Badia Polesin, 40 miles south of Venice. Only two could speak any Italian and interpreters were being brought in for the other three, but all five denied knowing the explosive was there. The arrests are understood to have resulted from intelligence supplied by British security forces including MI5. Italian police said the men, aged between 28 and 41, had contact with al-Qaâida suspects in this country. In contrast to Britain â where anti-terror operations are carried out with utmost secrecy and details of arrest given days later â an Italian TV crew were invited along on the raid. Key Clue there folks. IF you find out about raids in the Uk, its because the UK govt says you can hear about it. The fact that you dont hear about them is not evidence that they are not happening. TV footage showed one of the gang yelling âItâs a fit up, itâs a fit up,â before being bundled into a police car and driven away at high speed. no jokes about the guys name being "patsy" or "lee harvey" A source from British security forces, who are in constant liaison with European partners, said: âThis is a triumph for intelligence co-operation between different countries. âWe believe we have taken out a major al-Qaâida gang looking to target this country.â One down, how many to go..... A kilo of C4 was found stuffed inside a sock under a pile of dirty laundry. The explosive, the same type used in the devastating Bali nightclub bombing last year, is a military substance developed by the US Army and is not commonly available. On one map a Nato base at Verona was highlighted with the letters âBXBâ and the historic cathedral in Padua with a âBâ. Police believe these meant they were potential terrorist targets. There were no marks on the London maps but other documents contained details of churches and foreign embassies. Documents written in Arabic addressed to men in Britain were also found. A police source in the town of Rovigo said: âC4 is very difficult to come by casually and therefore very difficult to understand how these men say they donât know how it got there. This warrants a serious and thorough investigation.â The five were named as Anro Lahrajh, 28, Kamal Ben Reddad, 33, Moustapha el Bouhali, 33, Reduane Bhoughazi, 36, and Abdullah Mounder, 41. Police sources described Bhoughazi, a well-known figure in the areaâs Muslim community, as the gang leader. A lawyer acting for the men, Sofia Tiengo, said they so far faced charges only of possessing explosives â which carries up to eight years in prison. Today they were expected to be brought before a judge. Later it emerged that one of the gang, Lahrajh, had been held last year with four other Moroccans after a handgun with its serial number rubbed off was found. Italian justice minister Roberto Castelli said the arrests were proof that his countryâs commitment to the war on terrorism was ânot just theoretical but produces resultsâ. In October cops held three Egyptians in the port of Anzio after finding explosive and a map of a US military cemetery. Morocco is believed to have a number of al-Qaâida cells in operation. Last year three Moroccan-based Saudi fanatics were arrested after planning suicide attacks on British and American warships. Last night British terrorism expert Chris Dobson said a kilo of C4 would be enough to blow a car to pieces and kill or injure anyone nearby. But he added that it was normally used as an âinitiatorâ to trigger a small, intense explosion and then set off a much bigger bomb made from weedkiller or fertiliser â as happened in the Bali blast which killed 190. |
| Posted by:Frank Martin |
| #1 Only two spoke any Italian. Damn! If it had been in England the following joke would have been apropos; Q: Why is an al Qaeda terrorist like a cue ball? A: The harder you hit it the more English you get. |
| Posted by: Denny 2003-01-23 22:30:29 |