UK CT arrests: an emerging story
Quote:
British police say they have arrested 12 men suspected of plotting a terrorist attack in Britain. The men were taken from different areas around the country as a result of counter-terrorism intelligence work. The country remains on high alert.
Police picked up the men in early morning raids in Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent in central England, Cardiff in Wales; and, in the capital, London. The men are between the ages of 17 and 24.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/...112197989.html
UK CT arrests: an emerging story
I think this deserves its own thread and so I will move a few post here. Yes, this post will then appear not at the start.
Some "light", maybe some facts too
A variety of reports:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12048598 and http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...-Pakistan.html
A mixture:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...d-in-jail.html
From which:
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Muslims leaders said they tipped off police about the group of extremists in the Welsh capital, where five men between the ages of 23 and 28 were arrested. They said they had stopped the group from holding meetings in mosques in the last month and told them to "go elsewhere."
Mosque officials informed police but it is thought that MI5 was already aware of the group.
I know of one analyst who is puzzled that amongst the 'Xmas Twelve' are reportedly five Bangladeshi's, who went for training in Pakistan.
Why do Bangladeshi arrest cause surprise?
Omarali50,
You asked:
Quote:
Why the surprise about Bangladeshis? Bangladesh has been an important hub of ISI's jihadist project for decades...
IMHO the surprise is that those of Bangladeshi origin have not featured in most UK plots for a few years, other groups dominate, notably Kashmiri / Pakistani and coming up Somalis. IIRC the last UK CT case with a Bangladeshi was Moinul Abedin and he was arrested in 2000. Secondly, there was the assumption that contemporary history would preclude any Bangladeshi going to Pakistan for training.
There has also been Bangladesh-UK co-operation in CT, although it has hiccups:http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/j...ims-bangladesh
Joining the dots: 7/7 bombings in London
There is another thread on the 7/7 bombings, shown below, but it covers the post-attack response and this thread starts following - late agreed - the missed opportunities to stop the attacks. Like others I do not like the phrase 'joining the dots', but it is an easy headline.
After much official resistance there is now a coroners inquest, with its own website:http://7julyinquests.independent.gov.uk/index.htm
There have been some headlines as witnesses have come forward. Today we learnt of a missed opportunity, which I cannot recall ever being in the public domain:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...e-Lindsay.html
Sub-titled:
Quote:
Bedfordshire police failed to follow up an armed incident involving a car used by one of the July 7 bombers five weeks before the bombings, the inquest has heard.
Data management is a key issue, although this article is not new, it illustrates the LE aspects:http://www.fipr.org/terrorismdetention.pdf
Previous related SWC thread on 7/7: Interagency Coordination http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=6270
The bookseller and incitement to acts of terrorism
For many years the Jihadist bookshop 'Maktabah al-Ansar' in Sparkhill, in East Birmingham had a certain notoriety, with repeated police search warrants and finally in February 2007 property was seized that enabled a prosecution in October 2011. The bookshop being described by the prosecutor as:
Quote:
This case is about the distribution of books and DVDs and other material which we say represent steps along the road to radicalisation of Muslims to engage in violent terrorist attacks around the world, including the UK....This case is also about the ways and means by which to solidify that radicalisation and provide practical assistance for those who have been radicalised. To encapsulate it in a single phrase, this case is about priming people for terrorism...now serving long prison sentences, having been found guilty of plotting to terrorise the British public
Link:http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oc...ople-terrorism
At the trial several expert witnesses appeared for the prosecution and yesterday one of them authored a very significant article IMHO. This is the headline and sub-title:
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This bookseller deserved his incitement to terrorism conviction (followed by) I was a witness in Ahmed Faraz's trial – this is the first time anyone involved has spoken about what really happened
Adding:
Quote:
Much of the media discussion of the trial treated the texts as if they were translations of originals. In fact, all of the original texts had been doctored or adulterated in extremist ways....Throughout, the authority of the Qur'an and the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) was invoked in false, de-contextualised ways to justify acts of violence against innocent people. The texts and videos divided the world strictly into the realm of "pure" Islam – godliness, virtue and knowledge – and the world of "pure" disbelief (kufr) – vice, godlessness and ignorance (jahiliyyah).
Link:http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...ism-conviction
The bookseller's conviction:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16149299
A contrary viewpoint on the conviction is here:http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourking...ady-chatterley