City said to be terrorist breeding ground

UPI ^ | 11/25/06

[TexKat]

TETOUAN, Morocco, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- A Moroccan seaport 3,000 miles from Iraq has become one of the world's most fertile recruiting grounds for jihadists, U.S. officials say.

In the past eight months a group of young men, all worshippers at the same mosque, have left their homes in Tetouan, a few miles from the Strait of Gibraltar, to become suicide bombers in Iraq, The Daily Telegraph of London reports.

U.S. intelligence traced at least nine of the men responsible for recent suicide missions in and around Baghdad to Tetouan and its surrounding area, the newspaper said.

Local reports suggest another 21 individuals have left the area to seek martyrdom, following in the footsteps of five other men from Tetouan who blew themselves up in the Madrid suburb of Leganes when cornered by police in April 2004. Police believed they played a part in the train bombings in the Spanish capital in March 2004.

The young men, all in their 20s, became disillusioned with the daily struggle to earn, their families say.

[TexKat]

Mounir El Motassadeq (2nd L) of Morocco is escorted by German police officers after being arrested at his home in the Hamburg suburb of Harburg, November 17, 2006. Germany's top appeals court ruled on Friday that Motassadeq, a friend of the Sept. 11 hijackers, should be jailed while he waits to receive a new sentence for abetting mass murder. The ruling overturns previous decisions by Hamburg courts which had allowed Motassadeq, who has been on bail since February, to remain free until his return to court. REUTERS/Morris Mac Matzen (GERMANY)

[TexKat]

City said to be terrorist breeding ground ping.

[SledgeCS]

When I saw the title my first city I thought of was Ithaca.

[cripplecreek]

I was thinking Oklahoma city.

[TexKat]

In Morocco, a town breeds bombers

Saturday, November 25, 2006 23:29 IST

Fiona Govan

Their destination may be almost 3,000 miles away, but the draw of martyrdom in Iraq is proving irresistible for the jobless unemployed men of Tetouan.

American intelligence officials believe that the Moroccan town, less than 30 miles from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, has become one of the world’s most fertile recruiting ground for jihadis.

In the last eight months a group of young men, all worshippers at the same mosque, left their homes to become suicide bombers in Iraq.

After DNA tests on their bodies, with Moroccan authorities asking families to provide samples, US intelligence agencies traced at least nine of those responsible for recent suicide missions in and around Baghdad to Tetouan and its surroundings in the foothills of the Rif Mountains.

Local reports suggest that another 21 individuals have left the area to seek martyrdom, following in the footsteps of five other Tetouanis who blew themselves up in a Madrid suburb when cornered by police, who believed they played a part in the train bombings in the Spanish capital in March 2004.

The families of the young men, all in their twenties, tell the same stories of sons, brothers, husbands who became disillusioned with the daily struggle to earn.

Early each morning Abdelmonem Amakchar El Amrani, 21, would leave the home that he shared with his wife and infant daughter to travel 30 miles to work as a porter hauling merchandise across the border between Morocco and Ceuta. On a good day he could make four or five trips, earning around £3 a time.

When he arrived home exhausted each evening he would talk of his dream of making the short journey across the Mediterranean to Spain, where he would build a life for himself before sending for his family.

Earlier this year he began spending more time at the mosque, grew a beard and one day disappeared.

The first the family learnt of his fate was when police informed them that on March 6 he had driven a car bomb into a funeral procession, killing six and wounding 27 in the Iraqi city of Bakuba, 35 miles northwest of Baghdad.

Like many of the other men, he lived in Jamaa Mezuak, one of the poorest districts of Tetouan, where unemployment and illiteracy are high, and many houses in the labyrinthine streets have no running water. Young men loiter on street corners in groups of four and five, selling contraband cigarettes and hashish from the nearby mountains.

“This part of Morocco is a place of misery, of poverty, unemployment and a place devoid of hope,” said Aissa Acharki, a prominent member of Justice and Spirituality, a controversial Islamic political party which promotes non-violence and understanding between different religions.

“That so many of these men are choosing to become martyrs in Iraq is shocking but we should not be surprised that they are making this choice.”

He believed that the region’s proximity to Europe creates a state of mental torture in the young. “They watch western television, they follow the Spanish football league, they look at the style of life that people have over there and they become frustrated.

“The idea of reaching paradise through martyrdom is becoming increasingly attractive. This is promoted by imams in some of the mosques and prepares them for the call to jihad.”

Acharki, like others in the town, believed that the men were persuaded to join the insurgents through extremist literature on the internet and DVDs distributed secretly across town by agents of extremist groups in Algeria.

The fact that all nine suspected of being suicide bombers worshipped in the Daawawa Tabligh mosque has caused the imam to become very protective of his activities and aggressive to those asking questions.

When approached by a local reporter on behalf of , Imam Abdel Ihah, who is in his mid-twenties, said: “I know who you are and where you live. Be careful about asking questions about these boys. They are Muslims and are free to follow their chosen path.”

A local worshipper said that before they left for Iraq the bombers would meet in groups, often with the imam present, to discuss Islamic teachings.

“Sometimes strangers from Arab countries would visit and join them. They would sit on the terrace of the mosque and talk. This still happens,” he whispered nervously. “But it is other young men now.”

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1066179

[TexKat]

ping!

[Cindy]

Let's make that link clickable:

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1066179

[TexKat]

Thanks Cindy!

[Cindy]

You're welcome Texkat.

[rabscuttle385]

The young men, all in their 20s, became disillusioned with the daily struggle to earn, their families say.

No.

In the past eight months a group of young men, all worshippers at the same mosque, have left their homes in Tetouan, a few miles from the Strait of Gibraltar, to become suicide bombers in Iraq, The Daily Telegraph of London reports.

What do they have in common? Oh wait, they went to the same mosque! Perhaps the mosque and the teachings of the imams in residence might warrant additional scrutiny.

Dumb journalists.

[TexKat]

Mounir El Motassadeq

[EDINVA]

Why am I missing the logical progression from poverty and envy to suicide bombings as a rational alternative? Why is the entire area so poor and underdeveloped? Could it be all the young men hanging around street corners making drug deals? This sounds mighty like any US inner city, come to think of it.

[Gideon Reader]

"Hmmm?
Say Achmed. Nice little seaport fishing town you got here in Morrocco.
I understand it is a fertile breeding ground for terrorism.

Shame if something happened to it. Like an accident or something.

Lets sell you some accident insurance fella."

Me? Why I'm just an insurance salesman. :~)

[GSlob]

"City said to be terrorist breeding ground...."
Then fire and brimstone [ MOABs] are to be poured down on it.

[TexKat]

Una decena de islamistas de Tetuán, «kamikazes» en Irak

[SunkenCiv]

...a group of young men, all worshippers at the same mosque, all in their 20s, became disillusioned with the daily struggle to earn, their families say.

A couple of observations. First, one smart bomb would take care of the mosque, the imam inside, and a couple hundred potential recruits. Second, at least those who blew themselves up probably won't produce another generation.

[Former Proud Canadian]

Yes. Do it now! This is a war! Doesn't anyone understand that?

[VeritatisSplendor]

And Morocco is one of the most "enlightened" friendly Muslim countries. What is wrong with these young fools that their highest ambition is to go blow up a bunch of grieving Shiite heretics at a funeral?
Mrs VS

[Cobra64]

I thought it was Los Angeles.

[Cindy]

Thank you Texkat.