Scaninavia's liberal refugee laws have led to the place crawling with terrorists. With the cooperation of Sweden and Morocco, it looks like at least one of them has been captured. Via Aaron at Internet Haganah this news. Since it's a Swedish publication, you won't be surprised that the emphasis of the story is not on the fact that a bona fide al Qaeda commander had been living in Sweden, or the fact that he had apparently set up a cell there based in a mosque, but on the heresay of the terrorist's daughter who claims he had been abused in a Moroccon jail. They even bring out the torture card:

Ahmed Essafri, the Swedish citizen of Moroccan descent arrested in Morocco on December 25th, is reported to have spent ten days in a prison cell with his hands and feet bound and his eyes blindfolded. Moroccan security services have been questioning him about a mosque in the Brandbergen suburb of Stockholm, Dagens Nyheter reports.....

"The questions were all just about Sweden, about a mosque in Brandbergen, about who went there, what they did and what they talked about," said Essafri's daughter.

He was also quizzed about another Swede of Moroccan origin, who had his assets frozen by the US Finance Department in early December 2006...

The family previously told Dagens Nyheter that they received information from a Moroccan police officer that Essafri was arrested following a request from the USA....

"But this is psychological torture. He has now developed severe anxiety and an old stomach ulcer has resurfaced," she said...

On Friday he appeared in a Moroccan anti-terror court accused of participating in a recruitment network for foreign jihadis in Iraq.

Mohamed Moumou's extremist activities date back to the mid-1990's, when he traveled to Afghanistan to participate in the al Qaida-run Khalden terrorist training camp. A Moroccan national with Swedish citizenship, Moumou was the uncontested leader of an extremist group centered around the Brandbergen Mosque in Stockholm, Sweden. Moumou's leadership derives from connections to senior al Qaida leaders, some of whom he had met in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the late-1990s. Moumou reportedly served, at some time in the past, as Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi's representative in Europe for issues related to chemical and biological weapons. Moreover, Moumou reportedly maintains ties to al-Zarqawi's inner circle in Iraq.

However, Moumou could have been questioned about Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad, a Kurdish refugee in Norway who is a founder of the Army of Ansar al Sunna group. Long time readers know that there is a special place in hell for members of Jaish Ansar al Sunnah. And we've documented a long trail which connects Ansar al-Sunna to Sweden.

Perhaps Essafri "Moumu" is a critical link between radical Arab and Kurdish Salafis in Scandinavia? Since Essafri "Moumou" is being charged with recruiting jihadis to Iraq, and The Army of Ansar al-Sunna has worked with al Qaeda in Iraq in the past--both in an operational capacity, with members of al Qaeda (Tawhid wal Jihad) and more recently with Ansar's joining of the Islamic State of Iraq--this seems plausible. Moreover, Essafri is said to have been a part of the predecessor organization, Ansar al-Islam. Who else belonged to that organization? Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, now deceased.

Here is Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad's (aka Mullah Krekar) rap sheet, courtesy the U.S. Treasure Department. As of this writing, Krekar continues to fight extradition from Norway to Kurdish Iraq where a short trial leading to a death sentence is assured:

Krekar Provides Support to Ansar al-Sunnah
Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad, a.k.a. Mullah Krekar (Krekar), founded in December 2001 the Kurdish terrorist group Ansar al-Islam (AI), now known as Ansar al-Sunnah (AS), and served as AI's first leader.

As of spring 2005, a non-governmental organization founded by Krekar sent money to terrorist organizations and actively recruited European citizens into terrorist organizations. Branches of the NGO were, as of spring 2005, overtly and covertly gathering money and recruiting personnel for AS. Krekar has visited Germany several times and during these trips conducted fundraising for AS and performed logistical activities. Information shows that in January 2006, Krekar may have routed funds through associates in Bulgaria and Iraq to support AS in Iraq.

As of fall 2005, AS reportedly had established at least two sniper teams in Iraq; the founder of these teams claimed to be Krekar's representative in Iraq. Krekar also traveled regularly from Norway to the Iraqi Kurdish area. During one of his longer stays in northern Iraq, Krekar appears to have recruited and trained combatants.

Other Information
Apart from the instances of direct facilitation of terrorist groups which form the basis for his designation, Krekar has exhorted others to violence and supplied religious justifications for murder. In a 2004 interview, Krekar supported holy war in Iraq and identified legitimate targets, stating "Not just the officers, but also the civilians who help the Americans. If anyone so much as fetches them a glass of water, he can be killed. ... Everyone is a target. If an aid organization gives the Americans as much as a glass of water, they will become a target."

Posted by: Rusty at 02:10 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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