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| Britain |
| Mystery asylum seeker to be sentenced for terror manuals |
| 2007-07-06 |
| A failed asylum seeker who kept a collection of manuals on how to carry out car bombings, with guidance on "suitable targets" including nightclubs and airports, is facing a lengthy jail sentence. Omar Altimimi, 37, who had links to al-Qa'eda, was a "clean skin" who was unknown as a terror suspect when he arrived in England and applied for jobs with the police and as a teacher. However, he used multiple identities to cover his tracks and was so successful that police are still unsure of his true identity. He also hoarded computer files detailing how to carry out terror attacks. The father-of-three, from Bolton, Lancs, was found guilty on Wednesday of four counts of possessing material for the purpose of terrorism following a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court. Yesterday, he was convicted of two more charges of possession of material for a purpose connected with terrorism and two charges of money laundering. Altimimi claimed to have no knowledge of the material on his computer. But the court heard he was linked to terrorists in the Netherlands and to Junade Feroze, 31, from Blackburn, who was jailed last month for 22 years for his part in bomb plots led by Dhiren Barot, a prominent al-Qa'eda terrorists in the UK. Altimimi came to Britain from the Netherlands in 2002 claiming asylum for himself, his wife and their three children. He claimed benefits, including more than £100,000 from the National Asylum Support Service, while applying for jobs with Greater Manchester Police and a local college. He was arrested in March last year on suspicion of money laundering after £27,000 was stolen from the Yemen Tourist Board. Detectives searched two homes he kept in Bolton and seized his computer. Files on the computer contained instructions for making bombs, detonators and explosives as well as information on bombing strategies. He also had video clips of executions of hostages in Iraq. He kept video clips showing Osama bin Laden praising the London bombings of 2005, and information on carrying out suicide bombings on buses, as well as tips on other targets such as stadiums and cinemas. Police also found a shopping list of common substances used to make explosives and a reference to the use of radioactive radium in bombs. Much of the material was downloaded from a secret, password-protected al-Qa'eda internet site. The Recorder of Manchester, Judge David Maddison, is due to sentence Altimimi today. Det Chief Supt Tony Porter, head of the Greater Manchester Police counter terrorism unit, said: "We will never know who Altimimi really is. He developed a range of identities, which would allow him to expand his terrorist activities. We will never know exactly what Altimimi was preparing to do but it was clear he had support and links with terrorists across the world." |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 On the dole and had 2 houses? i want some of that!!! Seriously, hope they confiscate at least one and sell it off to repay some of the welfare. (fat chance of that) |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-07-06 13:56 |
| #2 I might consider a holliday in yemen if you paid me 27,000 pounds... and a pony... |
| Posted by: Abu do you love 2007-07-06 13:53 |
| #1 after £27,000 was stolen from the Yemen Tourist Board I'm surprised the Yemen Tourist Board had $27,000 |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-07-06 10:47 |