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The 2008 Belgium Cell and FATA's Terrorist Pipeline

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The 2008 Belgium Cell and FATA's Terrorist Pipeline APRIL 2009 . VOL 2 . ISSUE 4 The 2008 Belgium Cell and A Europe-Wide Problem of choice for aspiring jihadists from Until recently, the FATA safe haven Belgium and other countries on the FATA’s Terrorist Pipeline troubled British counterterrorism European continent. According to officials significantly more than Grignard, “Not since the year before By Paul Cruickshank their counterparts in other European 9/11 have we seen as many people travel countries. This was a result of the United towards the Afghanistan-Pakistan on december 11, 2008, 14 individuals were Kingdom’s large Pakistani diaspora conflict region.”12 This view is echoed arrested in Belgium and two in France community.6 The British intelligence by U.S. intelligence agencies who have 1 in a major counterterrorism operation. agency MI5 recently estimated that 75% observed an “an influx of new Western The arrests, just hours before an EU of terrorist plots they investigate have recruits into the tribal areas since mid- Summit meeting in Brussels, made ties to Pakistan.7 Those plots included 2006.”13 In February 2009, Director headlines around the world because one a 2006 failed operation to blow up at of National Intelligence Dennis Blair of the six charged by Belgian authorities least seven transatlantic airliners.8 warned that “the primary threat from was “al-Qa`ida living legend” Malika Europe-based extremists stems from al- el-Aroud, the widow of the al-Qa`ida Governments in continental Europe Qa`ida and Sunni affiliates who return operative who assassinated Afghan were more concerned about citizens from training in Pakistan to conduct Northern Alliance Commander Ahmad gaining terrorist knowledge in Iraq and attacks in Europe or the United States.”14 Shah Massoud two days before the North Africa, a function of continental September 11 attacks on the United Europe’s large Arab diaspora. In the Unlike the Iraqi insurgency, fighting 2 States. last year, however, that view has been Americans in Afghanistan does not changing. While travel flows to North seem to have lost its luster for European Belgian authorities accuse her of having Africa still cause serious concern, there militants. It appears that aspiring worked together with her new husband, has been a significant reduction in the recruits have wised up to the notion Moez Garsallaoui, a Tunisian militant, number of European militants traveling that joining AQI means leaping aboard to recruit individuals for training in the to Iraq, a function of al-Qa`ida in Iraq’s a rapidly moving conveyor belt for Federally Administered Tribal Areas (AQI) waning fortunes, the extreme suicide bombing.15 3 (FATA) of Pakistan. Police launched barbarism that has tarnished its brand, the arrest operation after three young and a crackdown on cross-border Recruitment Belgian Moroccans allegedly recruited infiltration networks.9 Few plots in The recent Belgian case provides a by el-Aroud and Garsallaoui returned Europe have been tied to returnees from window into how young European 4 from FATA to Belgium. According Iraq.10 Conversely, a growing number of militants are lured to Pakistan’s tribal to Glen Audenaert, the director of the terrorist plots, such as a plot to target areas. Belgian police claim that el-Aroud Belgian Federal Police, “We established the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany and her husband, Moez Garsallaoui, there were contacts between members in September 2007 and a plot to target acted in tandem to encourage individuals of the terrorist organization in Belgium the Barcelona metro in January 2008, to leave Belgium to fight in Afghanistan. and the highest levels of Al Qaeda... have seen operatives train in FATA.11 El-Aroud, they argue, inspired radical- people in direct contact with Mr. Bin leaning youngsters to sign up for 5 Laden.” Alain Grignard, who heads jihad through inflammatory postings counterterrorist operations for the on a website she ran called “Minbar Based on information drawn from Belgian Federal Police, said that the SOS.” Garsallaoui, for his part, toured interviews with senior U.S. and Belgian mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan Brussels’ immigrant neighborhoods to counterterrorism officials, lawyers have replaced Iraq as the destination physically recruit people.16 involved in the case, and some of the suspects themselves, this article sheds 6 It is estimated that there are more than one million During an interview for CNN three new light on the “terror pipeline” people in the United Kingdom of Pakistani ancestry. years ago, el-Aroud explained how she connecting Europe and FATA in the 7 Duncan Gardham, “MI5 Chief Warns of Threat from administered Minbar SOS, her French context of the alleged Belgian cell. Global Recession,” Daily Telegraph, January 8, 2009. language website. The website included 8 Senior U.S. officials stated that several of the airline postings of attacks on U.S. troops in plotters trained in FATA. See Richard Greenberg, Paul Cruickshank, and Chris Hansen, “Inside the Terror Plot 12 Robertson and Cruickshank. 1 Nic Robertson and Paul Cruickshank, “Belgian ‘Al Qae- that Rivaled 9/11,” NBC, September 15, 2008. 13 J. Michael McConnell, “Annual Threat Assessment of da Cell’ Linked to 2006 Airline plot,” CNN, February 13, 9 Elaine Sciolino, “Fears of Iraq Becoming a Terror- the Director of National Intelligence for the Senate Select 2009; “Terrorisme: un Franco-Tunisien mis en examen ist Incubator Seem Overblown French Say,” New York Committee on Intelligence,” U.S. Senate Select Commit- pour ses liens présumés avec une filière afghane,” Agence Times, April 8, 2008; Karen DeYoung, “Fewer Foreign- tee on Intelligence, February 5, 2008. France-Presse, December 15, 2008. ers Crossing Into Iraq from Syria to Fight,” Washington 14 Dennis C. Blair, “Annual Threat Assessment of the 2 The six individuals were charged with “participation Post, September 16, 2007. Intelligence Community for the Senate Select Committee in a terrorist group.” For an in-depth profile of Malika el- 10 Ibid. on Intelligence,” U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intel- Aroud, see Paul Cruickshank, “Love in the Time of Ter- 11 Souad Mekhennet and Michael Moss, “Europeans Get ligence, February 12, 2009. ror,” Marie Claire, March 2009. Terror Training Inside Pakistan,” New York Times, Sep- 15 Personal interview, Alain Grignard, head of counter- 3 Robertson and Cruickshank. tember 10, 2007; Elaine Sciolino, “Terror Threat from terrorist operations for the Belgian Federal Police, Au- 4 Ibid. Pakistan said to Expand,” New York Times, February 10, gust 2008. 5 Ibid. 2008. 16 Robertson and Cruickshank. APRIL 2009 . VOL 2 . ISSUE 4 Iraq, along with a section dedicated to Garsallaoui’s recruiting was not North Waziristan.29 Beyayo later told the speeches of top al-Qa`ida leaders.17 restricted to Belgium. He also recruited his lawyer that he was amazed at the By the end of 2008, the site had more two French subscribers to Minbar lack of controls and how easy it was to than 1,400 subscribers.18 Authorities SOS who for legal reasons can only be enter the area.30 in Belgium, however, could do little to identified by their initials H.A. and prevent el-Aroud from administering W.O.24 W.O. claimed he was arrested by Beyayo’s and W.O.’s accounts of their the site due to strong freedom of speech Turkish police in the summer of 2008 time in FATA, where they stayed for protections under Belgian law.19 after he tried to return to Europe from much of 2008, provide a rare glimpse into FATA. When he was later interrogated the terrorist safe haven. Their accounts According to Grignard, websites such by French authorities, he provided suggest that jihadist networks in FATA as Minbar SOS function as recruiting an extremely detailed account of his have relatively loose organizational grounds for terrorist operatives who journey to the tribal areas of Pakistan. structures, a view shared by American use them to identify individuals willing During the interrogation, W.O. stated and Belgian counterterrorism officials.31 to fight jihad. “It’s a good way to get that “calls to jihad” on Minbar SOS were In the 1980s and 1990s, several jihadist people together and then establish a “incessant” and the video propaganda groups, including al-Qa`ida, had more secret dialogue with people that he viewed on the site made him want to organizational structures in place, are interesting to the organization,” he volunteer. mainly centered around Peshawar, to explained.20 Belgian counterterrorism process arriving volunteers. Yet when officials said that monitoring her Travel to FATA the Belgian and French recruits crossed website helped identify the presence of In December 2007, Garsallaoui’s into the tribal areas in early 2008, they a recruiting network for Afghanistan.21 recruits gathered in Istanbul, Turkey. received no such greeting. Nobody There were six in total. Two from France knew who they were.32 Although their El-Aroud’s iconic status appears to have and four from Belgium,25 including smuggler introduced them to individuals attracted Hicham Beyayo, 23, one of Beyayo and two friends who lived linked to the “Arab camp” in FATA, they the young Belgian Moroccans arrested on his square in Anderlecht, Ali el- were initially met with open suspicion.33 in the case, who became a Minbar SOS Ghanouti and Y. Harrizi.26 Garsallaoui’s Eventually, however, they were able to site administrator before traveling plan was to bribe smugglers to take persuade their interlocutors of their to Pakistan.22 Beyayo claims that them illegally across the Iranian and jihadist bona fides. The fact that they Garsallaoui recruited him to fight jihad Pakistani borders to FATA. Garsallaoui were reunited with Garsallaoui, their in Afghanistan. Christophe Marchand, instructed each of the recruits to bring recruiter, on January 13, presumably Beyayo’s lawyer, said that his client 2,000 euros for this purpose; he himself helped in this regard.
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