Posted on 09/22/2002 11:12:24 AM PDT by ganesha
Mystery shrouds group's oldest member By JERRY ZREMSKI and LOU MICHEL News Staff Reporters 9/22/2002
Kamal Derwish isn't the only mystery man connected to al- Qaida's suspected "Buffalo cell."
Like Derwish, the other alleged cell member who remains at large, 36-year-old Jaber A. Elbaneh, is believed to be on the run in Yemen.
By far the oldest of the eight men involved in the group, Elbaneh was a longtime resident of Lackawanna's Yemeni neighborhood. And like the seven other purported members of the cell, he is a registered Democrat.
Public records list three addresses for him: two on Wilkesbarre Avenue and one on Holland Avenue, three doors from the house where Derwish - believed to be the cell's ringleader - usually stayed on his visits to Western New York.
Elbaneh had worked for a cheese company in Buffalo, a relative said. About 18 months ago, though, he moved his wife and seven children to Sana, the capital of Yemen, the Middle Eastern country that was Derwish's adopted home. Like the others accused of belonging to the cell - and like Osama bin Laden, the purported terrorist mastermind - Elbaneh is of Yemeni heritage.
Ahmad Elbaneh of Holland Avenue, Jaber A. Elbaneh's elderly father, said his son rents a house in Sana and drives a taxi.
"He went to Yemen for his children to put them in an Arabian school to learn about Islam," the father said.
That's entirely in keeping with Jaber Elbaneh's character, according to those who know him.
They describe him as an extraordinarily devout Muslim.
"He went to the mosque and prayed when he was here. He laughed and played with us," said Mohamed Ali, a neighbor.
Mohamed Hassan, 23, recalled Jaber Elbaneh as someone devoted to the Yemeni community.
"Jaber used to watch my soccer team. He'd cheer us on. That meant a lot to me," Hassan said, describing Elbaneh as a religious man who prays regularly.
Elbaneh's father said he is shocked by the allegations against his son, but firmly believes he has done nothing wrong.
"He's a very good man. He takes care of his family," the elder Elbaneh said. "I'm hoping he comes home again so I can see him."
e-mail: jzremski@buffnews.com and lmichel@buffnews.com
This quote could be from a surviving family member of a Trade Center, Pentagon or PA fatality...too bad it's from a relative of a living member of a US based Al Queda cell!
I say moslem and you say muslim.
Al Queda, al quida, moslim, muslem,
Let's blow the whole thing up.
The list grows and the chain does not break.
Osama, Usama...but these are all "Mohammedan" things! (I think - hope - using that archaic term pisses 'em off....kinda like saying 'colored people').
Inside info on 911?
From ATP (yahoo). . .just one example. . .but from what I see, it is about fifty/fifty. . .
"Four wounded in gunfight to catch al-Qaeda suspects in Yemen. . ."
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