The Fourth Man Of The „Düsseldorf Cell“

by Florian Flade

Attiyatullah al-Libi – Al-Qaida´s contact to „Düsseldorf Cell“

“We as Muslims should seek the wealth of the disbelievers as a form of jihad in the path of Allah. That would necessitate that we spend the money on the cause of jihad and not on ourselves” – now killed US-Yemeni Anwar al-Awlaki wrote in a issue of the English-language „Inspire“ magazine released by Al-Qaida in Yemen in early 2011.

In Germany, a 27 year-old student obviously felt strongly moved by Awlaki´s sanctioning of crime in the name of Allah to support the Jihad against the disbelievers. Halil S. needed money, enough money to finish with a plot he and his comrades had been planning for months.

On December 8 a police commando of the German special police unit GSG-9 raided a student´s house in the West-German city of Bochum. Halil S. was arrested in his room while he was logging onto the Internet. He is – according to German prosecution – part of the „Düsseldorf Cell“, an Al-Qaida-linked terrorist cell that was busted by German intelligence in April. The „Düsseldorf Cell“ consisted of the three men Abdeladim El-K., Amid C. and Jamil S who were all arrested in several police raids. El-K. who is considered to be the head of the „Düsseldorf Cell“ was trained in an Al-Qaida camp in Waziristan in early 2010 and was in contact with Al-Qaida ideologue Attiyatullah al-Libi.

Halil S. aka „Abdullah“ was recruited by Abdeladim El-K. and was part of a Jihadi supporter network. On April 16 Halil S. visited El-K. in his apartment in Düsseldorf. He handed him a list of 45 names, credit card accounts and passwords – information that was useful for online crimes and the financing of a terrorist attack. German intelligence agents observed the meeting in El-K.´s apartment but were unable to identify Halil S..

When the „Düsseldorf Cell“ was arrested, Halil S. decided to move on with the plot that his „Emir“ Abdeladim El-K. had planned: building a bomb and carrying out a terrorist attack in Germany. Immediately after El-K.´s arrest S. ordered a wiretap detection device and contacted common criminals living in the North of Germany.

In the city of Kiel Halil S. found what he was searching for. Florian M. and five other people from Kiel started to work with Halil S. using fake names and passports for online shopping. The group sold items via Ebay including cameras and thereby was able to raise 5.200 EUROs. According to the prosecution Florian M. and his friends from Kiel did not know about Halil S. intention and his Jihadi terrorist background. They thought they were involved in crime not terrorism.

In May Halil S. contacted the Jihadi cleric Anwar al-Awlaki located in Yemen via e-mail. The German-born Islamist told Awlaki about his plans and his desire to obtain weapons. Awlaki responded. German security officials were not willing to confirm or deny the e-mail exchange between Halil S. and Awlaki. There is no information on what Awlaki´s answers or orders to Halil S. were – but there were answers.

After months of observation and unsuccessful attempts of online searches on Halil S.´computer German authorities decided to move in and arrest the 27 year-old student.

More than 150 police officers were involved in 18 raids that took place in Düsseldorf, Herne, Gelsenkirchen, Kiel and Hamburg. Only two people were arrested: Islamist Halil S. and criminal Florian M..

German IMU Connection – Terror Suspects Arrested

by Florian Flade

In a raid in Western Germay police arrested an alleged member of the „Islamic Movement Uzbekistan“ (IMU) who fought in Waziristan 2009-2010 and a alleged supporter of the terror group who sent thousands of EUROs to the Jihadi miltiants.

IMU Recruits – German Jihadi militants in Waziristan

Ömer C. was lying in his bed in Essen´s hospital, when police officers went into the room to arrest the 24 year-old German citizen yesterday. C., a resident of the West-German city of Gelsenkirchen, was taken into custody because of a worrying trip he had made in September 2009. He had traveled from Germany to Pakistan´s tribal region of Waziristan and joined the „Islamic Movement Uzbekistan“ (IMU), a militant group which has several German recruits in its ranks.

German investigators believe Ömer C. underwent training in one of IMU´s camps and was also engaged in combat with Pakistani troops along the Afghan-Pakistan border. A trained Jihadi militant he returned to Germany in September 2010. Immediately German authorities were keeping a close eye on the Islamist. C. was registered as one of Germany´s „Gefährder“, a potential terrorist threat to German security. The suspicion of his activities in Pakistan could not be verified, so C., now accused of being a member of IMU, was not arrested upon his return and could freely roam the streets of Gelsenkirchen.

Yesterday around 100 German policemen raided several apartments in Essen, Cologne and other cities in the federal states of Northrhine-Westphalia, and Hessen, confiscating computers, CDs and documents. While leaving his Cologne flat, Turgay C., a 28 year-old German citizen of Turkish descent, was arrested. Prosecution accuses Turgay C. of supporting IMU and sending 39,000 EUROs total split in two money transactions to the Waziristan-based Jihadis. Four other suspected terror suspects were not arrested though police said they were investigating their cases.

Police said in a press release, IMU was largely depending on foreign donators, most of them from Europe, sending money to Pakistan. Last year German authorities ordered raids on different locations in Hanover and other cities, also investigating a network of IMU supporters. Im May 2010, Rami M., a German-Syrien from Frankfurt, was arrested in Pakistan. He had attended terrorist training in an IMU camp together with Iranian Shahab D. from Hamburg, who died in a October 2010 US drone strike in Waziristan, and Hamburg resident Ahmed Wali S. who was arrested by US forces in the Afghan capital Kabul in July 2010.