August 10,
2005
Arrested Al-Qaeda
Operative May Shed Light on Intentions for Europe
CBN News has learned that an important al-Qaeda operative
was detained during a raid in the northeastern Pakistani
city of Faisalabad on August 7. His name is Osama bin
Yousaf, and his arrest may reveal some new clues about
al-Qaeda's intentions for Europe. Pakistani authorities
seized bin-Yousaf's computer hard drive, which they say
included maps and details of German and Italian cities.
So far, the Pakistanis aren’t saying which cities.
Perhaps even more disturbing, Bin Yousaf's cell phone
records reportedly show that he made a call to Britain
on August 4, one to Italy on August 5, and two long calls
to Germany on August 6. Authorities began tracking bin
Yousaf after they learned that he had been in contact
with top al-Qaeda leader Abu Farai al-Libi, who was also
arrested in Pakistan, back in May.
The obvious questions: Why did a top-ranking al-Qaeda
operative have maps of German and Italian cities on his
hard drive? Call me crazy, but I'll wager that he wasn't
trying to locate the best bratwurst and cannoli joints.
And exactly who did he call in Britain, Italy, and Germany?
Remember, bin Yousaf has told Pakistani intelligence that
he served as a logistical planner for al-Qaeda, which
means that he helped plot attacks for the group (while
others carried them out). We know, for instance, that
three of the July 7 London bombers spent time in Pakistan
prior to the bombings, likely meeting with al-Qaeda planners
like good ol' bin Yousaf. As for bin Yousaf's recent cell
phone calls: Was he talking to al-Qaeda sleeper agents
in Europe? Was he activating them for an impending attack
there? Right now, we don't know.
What we do know is that Britain, Germany, and Italy--the
three countries that bin Yousaf made calls to--are on
high alert right now due to the threat of terrorist attacks.
A recent report out of Britain claimed that British authorities
are concerned that the July 7 and July 21bombings weren't
just isolated incidents--and that they may be part of
a full-blown Islamist insurgency. Thousands of Britain’s
Muslim immigrants come from war-torn countries in Africa,
and many others have attended terrorist training camps
in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This means there are likely
thousands of Muslims walking Britain's streets right now
that have experience in handling weapons and perhaps explosives.
If they were to unite their resources for an all-out jihad
on British soil, the chaos would be unthinkable.
Elsewhere, German intelligence has said they are currently
monitoring 300 suspected jihadists on German soil. And
a leading al-Qaeda member in Saudi Arabia, Lewis Atiyallah,
warned on July 8 that the group has a score to settle
with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi over his
support for the Iraq War. So could Germany or Italy be
next? The Italians acted quickly in the wake of the London
bombings, arresting July 21 bomber Osman Hussein in Rome
and making several more arrests in Milan. Let's not forget
that the city of Rome is still looked at by many in the
Muslim world as a historic symbol of "Western imperialism."
And the Vatican is obviously one of the epicenters of
Christianity, making it an attractive target for Islamofacists.
Hopefully, bin Yousaf's arrest will yield some information
on al-Qaeda's European activities and lead to more arrests--and
in the process, prevent future attacks.
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