Al-Jazeera Interviews Western Al-Qaida Hostages In Mali

Quelle: Youtube Al-Jazeera

On November 25 2011 three Europeans were captured by masked gunmen in the Malian city of Timbuktu. Steven Malcolm, a dual South African and British national as well as Nils Joan Viktor Gustafson, a Swedish national, and Jacobus Nicolo Ruke, a Dutch national, were taken hostage by “Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb” (AQIM) and have since then been held by the Islamists.

In April of this year AQIM offered to release all three men if the UK would stop the deportation of imprisoned Jihadist cleric Abu Qatada to the United States. The deal was not made.

Qatari TV-Channel Al-Jazeera was able to contact AQIM for a rare meeting the Malian desert. The journalists were allowed to interview the European hostages. Footage of this visit to the Al-Qaida fighters can be seen here

Al-Jazeera Meets Western Hostages In Mali

IMU frees Top-Terrorist Adnan Rasheed

by Florian Flade

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On April 14 2012 a group of about 150 Islamists fighters attacked the Bannu prison in the Southern District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In total 384 prisoners were able to escape during this operation. One of them is Adnan Rasheed. The high-profile terrorist was imprisoned for eight years because of his involvement in an assassination attempt targeting former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Rasheed was a former member (joined in 1997 as a junior technician) of Pakistan´s Air Force and had joined Islamist militancy while still serving in the military. In December 2003 several terrorists including Adnan Rasheed planted explosive devices under a bridge Musharraf´s convoy was passing regularly. The plot was foiled. Rasheed was arrested in Balochistan Province for his involvement in the terror plot.

After eight years in prison Adnan Rasheed is now a free man roaming the tribal region of Waziristan. Fighters of the Tehrik e-Taliban (TTP) and the “Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan” (IMU) attacked the Bannu prison in a suprise assault operation and freed him. Eight months prior to the raid Adnan Rasheed had been moved from Kohat to Bannu.

A new German-language propaganda video released by the IMU´s media wing “Jundullah Studio” lengthly features Adnan Rasheed speaking in English about his time in prison and the night he was freed by fellow Jihadists.

“I saw my release in a dream about 20 days ago before the operation”, Rasheed says in the video, “I saw in the dream that some Uzbek mujaheddin will come and will take me out of the prison.”

The terrorist also says: “My only sin was nothing but Jihad. Jihad against the Murtadin regime of Pakistan.”

When Rasheed escaped Bannu prison Pakistan´s Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik suspected the attackers had inside knowledge of the prison. He said it was likely the whole operation was conducted with the aim of freeing Adnan Rasheed.

“We will find out about who had kept Adnan Rashid in Bannu jail”, Malik said.

According to the German IMU member Yassin Chouka aka “Abu Ibrahim al-Almani” the imprisoned top-terrorist Rasheed had sent a letter to the mujahidin in which he wrote about his situation and the Jihad in Pakistan.

 

Bin Ladens Briefe und der Deutsche Bekkay Harrach

von Florian Flade

Ein Jahr nach der Tötung von Al-Qaida-Gründer Osama Bin Laden wurden 17 Dokumente veröffentlicht, die in Bin Ladens Versteck in Abbottabad gefunden wurden. Die Briefe, teilweise von Bin Laden selbst verfasst, sind nur ein Bruchteil der Kommunikation zwischen dem Terrorchef und seinen Kommandeuren. Kurios: ein Brief erwähnt den deutschen Terroristen Bekkay Harrach aus Bonn – war der Dschihadist vor seinem Tod noch Al-Qaida oder nicht?

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