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Intelligence agencies have had some success in tracking suspected al-Qaeda operatives. But the organisation is changing to continue its fight against the West. The West has never encountered an enemy like al-Qaeda before. The problem for the world's intelligence agencies is that it is not a unified organisation with an identifiable structure, like the IRA, but an amalgam of groups around the world whose members embrace Osama bin Laden's ideology of global jihad, or holy war. These Jihadi warriors share the belief that they have an obligation to fight the oppressors of their Muslim brothers, from Palestinians in the Middle...

Prosperity may have bypassed this corner of the Pacific Northwest, but self-styled entrepreneur Earnest James Ujaama sensed opportunity. In the secluded landscape of parched ranch land and rugged volcanic outcroppings, he saw visions of Afghanistan--and a chance for profit in the jihad training business. In the fall of 1999, federal authorities say, Ujaama faxed a proposal promoting creation of a "jihad training camp" in the United States. It was addressed to a radical London cleric and reputed Al Qaeda recruiter named Abu Hamza Al-Masri. Ujaama--a Muslim convert from Seattle, born James Earnest Thompson--had become a protege of Abu Hamza, according...

JACK Thomas, the Melbourne taxi driver charged this week with providing support to al-Qaeda, spent up to three months in early 2001 in a terrorist training camp in southern Afghanistan. Australian authorities believe Mr Thomas may have trained at the same camp, and at the same time, as Australian David Hicks, who is being held by US forces at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Mr Thomas arrived at Camp Farouq near Kandahar for basic military training in April 2001, a month after leaving Australia with his Indonesian-born wife Maryati Idris and baby daughter. For thousands of foreign supporters of al-Qaeda, Camp Farouq...

The twentieth issue of Al-Battar welcomes the approach of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins on October 15. Citing historic Ramadan battles in the time of the Prophet and more recently in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, and elsewhere, the lead editorial calls for an “eminent deed - the Jihad” at an “eminent time - Ramadan. . . . Here we are now, approaching this Blessed month. Lions of Islam! Make it a new turning point for victory, glory, and power.” A religious “Book of Guidance” sees God’s judgment in the “continuous calamities and punishments that have befallen America, beginning...

Special Dispatch Series - No. 637 January 6, 2004 No.637 The Al-Battar Training Camp: The First Issue of Al-Qa'ida's Online Military Magazine Recently, Al-Qa'ida published the first issue of its online magazine 'Al-Battar Training Camp – A Magazine Published by the Military Committee of the Mujahideen in the Arabian Peninsula.' [1] "Al-Battar" is an alias of Sheikh Yousef Al-Ayyiri, formerly an Al-Qa'ida leader in Saudi Arabia and Osama bin Laden's personal bodyguard who was killed last year in a clash with Saudi security forces. The magazine focuses on military matters, and complements 'The Voice of Jihad, ' the other...

Thousands to Speak Out Against U.S. Terror Training at School of the Americas 11/18/03 10:18:00 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor Contact: SOA Watch, 706-507-1184, 202-903-7257, or 202-607-9352 (Spanish); http://www.soaw.org/newsroom News Advisory: -- Mass convergence and civil disobedience action at Fort Benning, Georgia, Nov. 22-23 Thousands will take direct action this weekend to close what they call a terrorist training camp on U.S. soil -- the School of the Americas, renamed Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/WHISC), a combat-training school for Latin American soldiers. On Nov. 22-23, thousands will gather at the gates of Ft. Benning, Ga.,...

On September 11th, 2002, suspected Sniper John Allen Muhammad walked into the Camden, New Jersey State Motor Vehicles office, to register the now-notorious "blue Caprice" he'd just purchased. Though the car had not yet converted been into a rolling sniper's nest, what happened in the next several minutes leaves little doubt that Muhammad had something sinister in mind. The registration transaction began at 8:52 am. At 8:58 am., while Muhammad was still standing at the counter, someone (now believed to be fellow suspect, Lee Malvo) phoned a bomb threat at the Motor Vehicles office on the 1st Anniversary of what...

A Junior al-Qaeda . . .: . . . right here at home There are a lot of Baptist churches along rural Virginia's Route 615, just south of Appomattox-"where America reunited," as the county welcome sign puts it-but there's only one Sheikh Gilani Lane. A gate and a guardhouse prevent the public from driving very far down it. What lies beyond, however, isn't a closed-off community of rich retirees. Instead, it's a trailer-park compound of black Muslims, or "The Muslims of America," according to a green billboard by the entrance, where an armed guard keeps a wary eye on the ...

 DefenseWatch  "The Voice of the Grunt"  Special Report: Protect Home Base First  ARTICLE 02 October 30, 2002Examine Gunman's Possible Ties to al FurqaBy Christian M. WeberIn the Middle East today, we see a young generation of Muslims being trained to hate Israel and the West while cherishing the thought of martyrdom. It is easy to see the brutal path that has been chosen for these children. However, for those not schooled in this path of destruction, the road to terrorism usually takes on one of two forms.The first form includes Islamic extremists, such as Osama Bin Laden, who rose...

Federal authorities are investigating whether accused snipers John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo had ties to a growing sect of militant American Muslims committed to waging holy war against the United States. Law-enforcement authorities yesterday said investigators want to know whether the suspects — now awaiting separate murder trials in Virginia — were involved with Jamaat al-Fuqra, a militant Muslim group with documented ties to international terrorism that has been linked to 13 slayings and 17 firebombings in the United States and Canada. The al-Fuqra network, through an offshoot group known as the Muslims of America, has established a...

Sniper suspect John Muhammad fits the profile of a disaffected outcast who becomes increasingly radicalized under the influence of Islamism, say terrorism analysts and investigators, who suspect he is connected with the radical Islamist group, al-Fuqra. According to Christian M. Weber, contributing editor for Soldiers for the Truth, an organization headed by Col. David Hackworth, Muhammad seems to follow the model of John Walker Lindh, Richard Reid and Jose Padilla, men exposed to Islamism who become disenchanted with the movement's pace and progress and who take the road to jihad. "As one traces John Muhammad's life from his conversion to...

Al-Fuqra Holy Warriors of Terrorism Introduction For over ten years, a secretive Black Muslim sect in the United States and Canada has sought to carry out a self-declared policy of "jihad," or holy war, by taking violent action against its perceived enemies, generally other minorities or other Muslims with whom they disagree. The sect, known as Al-Fuqra, has been linked by law enforcement officials to terrorist violence in Colorado, Arizona, Pennsylvania, the Pacific-northwest and Canada. Most recently, attention has been focused on the group in connection with a plot to bomb public sites in New York, including the United Nations,...

<p>THERE are a lot of Baptist churches along rural Virginia's Route 615, just south of Appomattox - "where America reunited," as the county welcome signs put it - but there's only one Sheikh Gilani Lane. A gate and a guardhouse prevent the public from driving down it. What lies beyond is a trailer-park compound of black Muslims.</p>

Al-Fuqra tied to Colorado crimes Leader owned land in Buena Vista; followers convicted in bombing of Krishna temple By Charlie Brennan, News Staff Writer The radical Islamic leader linked to the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl has been tied to a wide range of illegal activity throughout Colorado. Through a broad-based investigation launched in 1989, Colorado authorities convicted four members of the al-Fuqra movement on a series of felonies including racketeering, forgery, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and the 1984 firebombing of a Hare Krishna temple in Denver. Those who helped lead those investigations said the Pakistani-based ...

Whether Israel's raid on a terrorist training camp in Syria this week was a one-time warning or part of a larger campaign, Damascus is more likely to 'scream and escalate' than 'compromise and concede' Syria is at war with Israel and, more recently, with the United States as well. But it expects to pay no price for the terrorism it sponsors against both countries. Given the peculiar logic of the Middle East, things usually work out that way for Damascus. Last week, however, Israel launched a rare raid against a terrorist training camp on Syrian territory. The more usual practice...

October 10, 2003 Construction Was Spotted at Syrian Camp Hit by IsraelBy DOUGLAS JEHL WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 — The Syrian target that Israeli warplanes struck last weekend had been the site of recent construction, possibly to prepare it for use by the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, senior American officials briefed on intelligence reports said Thursday.Among the officials interviewed were some who said earlier in the week that they were skeptical of Israel's claims that the target was a terrorist camp. The officials agreed to discuss the issue after reviewing reports provided by the Central Intelligence Agency.The site, about 15...

US President George W. Bush on Tuesday again threw his conditional support behind Israel's strike on a Palestinian terrorist training camp in Syria describing the strike as "essential" to Israel's campaign to stamp out terror. Bush also, however, urged Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to "avoid escalating violence." "The prime minister must defend his country. It's essential," Bush told reporters after his cabinet meeting when asked if he thought Israel's strike on Syria carried out in retaliation for Saturday's bombing in Haifa that killed 19 was a problem. "This is a country which recently was attacked by a suicider that killed...

Vital questions arise from the Israeli warplane strike on a Palestinian Islamic Jihad-Hamas training camp, Ein Sahab, [also spelled: Ayn Tzahab] in Syria, ten miles northwest of Damascus. As the first news of the strike came over the wires, I had the uncomfortable thought that Israel had, as in the past since Oslo, hit empty buildings - a false show of hitting their known terrorist tormentors. I thought that Prime Minister Sharon had sought and received ‘permission’ from Bush, Powell and Rice to ‘stage a show’ for his electorate, while sending a message to Bashar al-Assad from the White House...

Syria Says Ready to Fight if Israel Attacks AgainWed October 08, 2003 08:14 AM ET By Dan Williams and Dan Trotta JERUSALEM/MADRID (Reuters) - Syria's ambassador to Spain said on Wednesday Damascus would respond militarily against Israel if the Jewish state carried out new attacks on Syrian territory. A senior Israeli security source swiftly dismissed the threat, saying Israel did not want to escalate tensions and believed Syria did not want to start a war. The source said the envoy's statement was mainly intended to impress the Arab world. But the comments increased tensions simmering since Israel carried out an...

Associated Press (Oct 07, 01:36 PM) Bolstered by U.S. support for Israel's strike against Syria, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday that his nation would not hesitate to attack its enemies wherever they are. Syria's president countered that the raid - targeting what Israel said was a Palestinian militant training camp - would only enhance his country's power in the Middle East. The Israeli attack, made in retaliation to a suicide bombing, raised concern in Israel and the Arab world that the Palestinian conflict could widen into a regional crisis if Israel begins pursuing militants in neighboring nations. With tensions...