-----Original Message-----
From: Brian Lantz <"[EMAIL PROTECTED]"@wt.net>
To: Linda Minor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Wednesday, December 29, 1999 3:54 PM
Subject: Re: India hijacking - London's global "Operation Surety"
>Linda,
> Please circulate the attached, as you see fit.
>
> -Brian
>
excerpt:
In London, Abu Omar denied accusations that he was plotting
a Millennium bombing campaign with bin Laden. Abu Omar, also
known as Abu Qutada, said in an interview with The Observer
newspaper he was committed to a global jihad, or holy war, to
free Islamic countries from bad rulers, but had not been involved
in any of the terrorist activities attributed to him.
"I deny completely the Jordanian allegations. I don't head
any organisation. I don't follow bin Laden. I am not one of his
men. But I have no doubt that the Jordanian intelligence service
wants me in person," Abu Qutada was quoted in The Observer.
He said that he fled Jordan to Pakistan in 1989. Since
arriving in Britain, Abu Qutada said, he had been teaching
Islamic theology. "I've never been part of any organisation," he
said. "My role here is studying Islam. I don't have [a] button to
push to make terror happen."
Officials here have said that the suspected terrorists
were funded in particular by Abu Omar, believed to be bin Laden's
right hand man. One official said Abu Omar "is a Jordanian, who
entered Britain on a false passport and has since obtained
political asylum there."
"He was sentenced in Jordan in absentia in 1998 for
involvement in a series of explosions, including one in the car
park of a hotel" on April 30, 1998, the official said. The
official also named the leader of the group as Khader Abu
Ghoshar, who had also been jailed in Jordan in 1993 for
involvement in bombings, before he benefited from a Royal amnesty
earlier this year.
The official said Abu Ghoshar received training in
Afghanistan on the manufacture and handling of bombs. He set up a
group called Jaish Mohammed (the army of Mohammed), made of
veterans of the Afghan war, which was responsible for several
explosions in Jordan.
Bin Laden is accused of masterminding bombings at two
U.S. embassies in Africa last year."
For more information, please
contact Brian Lantz at (800) 580-6901
SPECIAL UPDATE:
DEC. 28, (EIRNS)--
EIR EXPOSED GROUP BEHIND ONGOING INDIA AIR
HIJACKING IN 1995 SERIES ON THE NEW INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM.
The Kashmir terrorist group responsible for the five-day ongoing
hijacking of an India Air jetliner, was profiled in detail in the
EIR four years ago. The expose of Harkat-ul-mujahideen,
previously known as Harkat-ul-ansar, was originally published in
"New Terror International Targets South Asia," in the Oct. 13,
1995 issue of {EIR} (see p.|56). We reprint the text of the
original introduction and dossier on the group from that EIR. It
will also be reprinted in next week's EIR, as part of our
coverage of the ongoing "Storm Over Asia" British-American-
Commonwealth (BAC) destabilization, which Lyndon LaRouche
detailed in the recently-released video by the same name.
>From the 1995 EIR Special Report:
The major terrorist organizations inside Pakistan and in the
northwestern areas of India, particularly in Punjab and Jammu and
Kashmir, are direct offspring of the afghansi operation, or have
been built, in part, in reaction to it, as in the case of the
Mohajir Quam Movement (MQM) in Pakistan. The primary target of
the afghansi in the region currently is the Indian-held sections
of Kashmir, where the British are hoping to instigate an all-out
war between India and Pakistan, or to create an independent
Kashmir, carved out of both India and Pakistan, which would give
British intelligence a direct foothold in this strategically
sensitive area that sits at the nexus of China, India,
Afghanistan, Russia, and Pakistan. The Sikh Khalistani movement,
which seeks to create an independent Sikh State out of India's
breadbasket state of Punjab, also operated under the protective
shield of the Anglo-American-backed afghansi. As the following
profiles show, these terror-organizations operate either as
direct subsidiaries of the "afghansi networks," or their support
networks are based out of Canada and Great Britain.
- Harkat-ul-Ansar -
Name of group: Harkat-ul-Ansar (HUA).
Headquarters: Mazaffarabad, in Azad Kashmir (Pakistani-held
Kashmir). Offices also exist in Karachi, Lahore, Azad Kashmir,
and Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Reportedly, it also has a Myanmar
(Burma) and Tajikistan branch, and has been seen in Bosnia.
Founded: Founded in 1980, in Karachi, to fight in
Afghanistan. At the time of its inception, it was called the
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. In October 1993, it merged with the
Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami to form the HUA. The unification
occurred reportedly through the efforts of patrons from Saudi
Arabia and Sudan.
Locations of operations, areas active: At the time it was
founded, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen had a few dozen members from most
Islamic countries. These members would fight in Afghanistan for
six months, and then return to their countries to recruit. Now,
this organization sends volunteers to the Indian part of Kashmir
to fight. The group is most active in the southern Kashmir Valley
and Doda district.
Major terrorist actions:
* In December 1992, the HUA paralyzed the Indian
administration of Jammu and Kashmir by attacking 25 police
stations.
The HUA captured Lt. Col. Bhupinder Singh in January 1995
and killed him.
* In May 1995, HUA militants conducted two attacks in Doda
district, in which they stopped buses, picked out individuals,
and shot them.
* In February 1995, seventeen people died in an explosion
set off by highly explosive RDX planted in a vehicle in Jammu.
Leaders' names and aliases: Maulana Saadatullah Khan,
Maulana Farooq Kashmiri.
Groups allied to nationally or internationally:
* Hizbul Mujahideen: A militant group in Kashmir with about
17,500 trained members. Hizbul, like Anjuman Sipa li-e-Sahaba, is
a militant wing of the Jammat-e-Islami.
* Al-Jehad, which later became the Janbaz Force.
* Ahle Hadith, a militant Sunni group based in the province
of Punjab in Pakistan.
* Anjuman-e-Sipah-i-Sahaba (ASS) (see below).
Religious/ideological/ethnic motivating ideology: The group
seeks Kashmir's accession to Pakistan.
Known controllers/mentors/theoreticians of: The group is
politically mentored by Jamaat-e-Islami, which, in turn, is
trained, transported, and guided by Pakistan's Inter-Service
Intelligence (ISI), parts of which function as a "rogue
operation" in Pakistan itself. Al-Faran, the shadowy militant
group that is holding four foreign tourists as hostages at the
time of this writing, has demanded release of three HUA militants
from Indian jail.
Current number of cadres: About 4,500, mostly from outside
of Kashmir.
Training: It was trained as a guerrilla organization. The
training is given by the ISI, and the members have been trained
with Indian-made heavy and light armaments and Russian-made
assault rifles, light machine guns, etc.
Rockets have also been used by the group. The presence of
mortars and heavy machine guns, and even small missiles, has also
been reported with the group. The group has a 40-day training
course.
Known funding: The HUA collects donations from Saudi Arabia
and other Gulf and Islamic States, to purchase relief supplies
which it reportedly distributes to Muslims in Tajikistan,
Kashmir, and Myanmar. The details of HUA's military funding have
been traced to Arab countries, and wealthy Pakistanis and
Kashmiris.
The HUA, which trains the Rohingya Muslims in the Arakan
hills in Myanmar, against the Myanmar regime, also collects funds
from there, and collects funds from the Tajik rebels, whom the
HUA reportedly trains.
Thumbnail historical profile: The HUA is yet another
offshoot of the afghansi operation in Afghanistan. The group uses
ruthless methods and retaliates viciously to any provocation. The
HUA also supports Muslims in Kashmir, with humanitarian and
military assistance. There are many Algerians, Lebanese, Syrians,
and Egyptians among the active militants, and the HUA has
district commanders from Kazakstan and Bosnia. [js_/rma]
[Source: Wan A Hulaimi, Bernama, 12/28/99, Kuala Lumpur]
MORE B-A-C DIRTY TRICKS TARGETING ASIAN COUNTRIES FOR
SMUGGLING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO ... BRITAIN, while covering up
Britain's role as the world's leading safe haven for terrorists.
Malaysia's wire service has picked up on a report in {The
Independent}, detailing "Operation Foursight," a joint operation,
led by Britain, with support from Canada, Australia, and the US
to monitor the flow of illegal "economic migrants," armed with
falsified British documents, at 9 airports in Asia. British
immigration officers, aka Airport Liaison Officers (ALOs), were
posted at the airports to work with airline staff in spotting
forged documents. Out of 272 individuals intercepted, more than
half were picked at Bangkok's international airport, with Kuala
Lumpur the runner-up. The ALOs claim nearly half of the migrants
were from Canton, China, followed by Indians, Pakistanis, and Sri
Lankans. {The Independent} story claimed that the syndicates
running this illegal human trafficking had succeeded in producing
"forgery-proof British visas." The report says groups of
migrants, accompanied by a courier, follow a route that passes
through Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and the Gulf States en route to
London. Illegal immigrants to Britain from Eastern Europe,
especially Romanians, are said to travel in railway freight
containers via the Channel Tunnel.
While there is, indeed, a large business in illegal human
trafficking, at best, this story is only a single puzzle piece,
especially given the current global terror environment. It covers
up Britain's role in running terrorism, while profiling airport
and national security, including of friendly nations, for further
opportunities for terrorism. [ggb]
[Source: Jordan Times, Amman, Saad G. Hattar, Dec. 21]
JORDAN SEEKING EXTRADITION OF LONDON-BASED LEADER OF
TERRORIST GROUP. {Jordan Times} the only English-language,
official daily in Jordan, published this report on its main page
on the Internet. It reflects a potential shift, and a reviving of
the effort previously made by other Arab countries, especially
Egypt, to nail the British as the main supporters of
international terrorism. It takes a special importance due to
Jordan's close relationship to the U.S. administration. The
report also reflects an implicit American involvement in the
operation to preempt the attacks which this London-based group
had planned.
Headline: Jordan seeking extradition from London of man
believed linked to "terrorist group" held in Amman.
Text: The government is holding talks with the British
embassy in Amman for the extradition of Omar Abu Omar who is
believed to be linked to a group of 14 suspected terrorists
arrested here recently.
British Ambassador to Jordan Christopher Battiscombe said
his country was ready to cooperate with Jordan over the issue.
"We are ready for all kinds of cooperation and we are ready to
provide facilities to the Jordanian authorities if they requested
so," Battiscombe said on Sunday. The ambassador said Britain and
Jordan have enjoyed a long record of combatting "international
terrorism."
Officials suspect that Abu Omar, 40, is funding the
group, 12 Jordanians, one Iraqi, and an Algerian.
The U.S. said the 14 are followers of Osama bin Laden,
believed by Washington to be behind attacks in the past two years
on American targets. According to initial investigation leaked to
the press, the group's targets included the settlement of John
the Baptist where Christians believe Jesus was baptised on the
Jordan River, Mount Nebo near Madaba, Jerash, and Petra. The U.S.
also suspects its sites in Jordan are also targeted. Jordan has
been chosen as the first leg of a landmark "pilgrimage" to the
Middle East by Pope John Paul II in March.
The government is determined to take all precautionary
measures to ensure safe Millennium festivities, officials said.
On Monday, the Greater Amman Municipality erected
barriers at the main entrance of the heavily-guarded Israeli
embassy and turned the road in front of the embassy into a
parking lot.
In London, Abu Omar denied accusations that he was plotting
a Millennium bombing campaign with bin Laden. Abu Omar, also
known as Abu Qutada, said in an interview with The Observer
newspaper he was committed to a global jihad, or holy war, to
free Islamic countries from bad rulers, but had not been involved
in any of the terrorist activities attributed to him.
"I deny completely the Jordanian allegations. I don't head
any organisation. I don't follow bin Laden. I am not one of his
men. But I have no doubt that the Jordanian intelligence service
wants me in person," Abu Qutada was quoted in The Observer.
He said that he fled Jordan to Pakistan in 1989. Since
arriving in Britain, Abu Qutada said, he had been teaching
Islamic theology. "I've never been part of any organisation," he
said. "My role here is studying Islam. I don't have [a] button to
push to make terror happen."
Officials here have said that the suspected terrorists
were funded in particular by Abu Omar, believed to be bin Laden's
right hand man. One official said Abu Omar "is a Jordanian, who
entered Britain on a false passport and has since obtained
political asylum there."
"He was sentenced in Jordan in absentia in 1998 for
involvement in a series of explosions, including one in the car
park of a hotel" on April 30, 1998, the official said. The
official also named the leader of the group as Khader Abu
Ghoshar, who had also been jailed in Jordan in 1993 for
involvement in bombings, before he benefited from a Royal amnesty
earlier this year.
The official said Abu Ghoshar received training in
Afghanistan on the manufacture and handling of bombs. He set up a
group called Jaish Mohammed (the army of Mohammed), made of
veterans of the Afghan war, which was responsible for several
explosions in Jordan.
Bin Laden is accused of masterminding bombings at two
U.S. embassies in Africa last year." [hus]
[Source: EIR discussion with senior Russian expert on Indian
Subcontinent]
WIESBADEN, Dec. 28 --"THE SITUATION IN THE INDIAN
SUBCONTINENT HAS OVERNIGHT BECOME VERY DANGEROUS, anything can
happen, first inside India and soon after that BETWEEN India and
Pakistan," one of Russia's leading experts on the Indian
Subcontinent told EIR today.
This source was informed by highest-level Indian diplomats
that "the mood inside India is awful," in reaction to the
hijacking of the Indian plane. These diplomats are "terribly
afraid." If hostages are killed, or even as news emerges publicly
of the disastrous physical condition that hostages are in inside
the plane, the reaction inside India could rapidly become "very
violent." The Russian expert said: "What I fear, is that Indians,
Hindus, inside India, could start killing Muslims, in
retaliation. There is a real chance of very much blood. THEN,
there is the danger of a conflict between India and Pakistan. As
of now, the Pakistanis are in too much disarray to do much of
anything. But if Muslims inside India are killed, the situation
will rapidly change for the worse between the two countries."
He added, that while the Pakistanis are not directly
involved with the "Kashmiris" who hijacked the plane, the
Pakistani leadership bears a great responsibility for what is now
happening, since it launched and/or supported the "Kargil war"
against India earlier this year.
The Russian expert was in India some weeks ago, and had
reported, on return to Russia then, that the situation inside
India was very good, that Prime Minister Vajpayee was in solid
shape and doing a good job, and so on. Now, things have changed.
He fears some kind of "political uprising" against the government
in India. "The position of Vajpayee is not strong. He oversees a
22-party coalition, and I see the situation he now faces, as
bleak."
Overall, the source concluded, the situation created by the
hijacking is "terrible." (mjb)
[Source: Combined wires, Indian press]
WIESBADEN Dec. 28 -- THE HIJACKERS OF THE INDIAN AIRLINES
PLANE HAVE NOW STATED THEIR FULL DEMANDS, INCLUDING RELEASE OF 35
MILITANTS, and $200 million in "ransom" money, Indian External
Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh announced after a cabinet meeting
in New Delhi late today. The hijackers had already asked for the
release of Pakistani Moslem cleric and Kashmiri activist,
Mohammed Azhar Masood, who was jailed by India in 1994. Masood is
the ideologue of the Afghan-based Harkat-ul-Ansar group, which
now calls itself Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, and operates in Indian
Kashmir.
In 1995, Harkat-ul-Ansar had demanded the release of Masood
in exchange for six Western tourists captured in the mountains in
Kashmir. India refused; one of the six was decapitated and the
others are believed dead.
The hijackers are also demanding the return of the body of
Sajjad Afghani, a former leader of Harkat ul-Ansar, who was
killed and buried in Kashmir in 1994 while attempting to break
out of jail.
This is the fifth day of the hijacking. No breakthroughs
have yet been made in the negotations. Reports from some of the
passengers who had been released in Dubai, say that up to five
hostages may have already been killed. One was confirmed stabbed
to death. The hijackers have suspended a Dec. 27 deadline for
their demands to be met but warned they would start executing
passengers if the talks broke down.
India has not given any indication it intends to release any
prisoners, as the hijackers are demanding. India began
negotiations yesterday, after a group of officials arrived in
Kandahar. The Indian negotiators flew to Afghanistan after the
hijackers had set a deadline for Dec. 27 afternoon for the
release of Maulana Masood Azhar. One of the hijackers did come
out of the plane and made contact with the negotiators today.
"The hijackers in Kandahar a short while back gave our
negotiating team the following three demands in addition to
Mohammed Masood Azhar's release: release of 35 others, return of
the coffin of terrorist Sajjad Afghani, payments by India of $200
million," Singh said.
"We will send an appropriate response through our
negotiating team in Kandahar. In the meanwhile, let the country
and the international community reflect on these demands," Singh
said.
The pilot of the plane described conditions for the
passengers and crew as "terrible." Sanitation, food, and heating
conditions are all extremely bad, according to reports. [mmc]
[Source: Times of India, Hindu]
WIESBADEN Dec. 28 -- RUSSIA HAS EXPRESSED "OUTRAGE" AT THE
HIJACKING, and is offering its help to resolve the crisis.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov condemned the hijacking and
told Indian External Affairs Minsiter Jaswant Singh by telephone
Dec. 26 that Russia would help resove the hijacking. The Ministry
released a statement that the two Ministers agreed to stay in
constant touch and search for ways to release the hostages.
Russian diplomatic sources told Interfax that the request for
help came from the Indianside.
The Russian side is taking steps "through both bilateral and
multilateral channels" to assist in an early end to the crisis,
the sources said.
Today, Russia assured "every possible" assistance to India
to secure the release of the hostages, Deputy Foreign Minister
Grigory Karasin told Indian ambassador to Moscow S.K. Lamba.
Interfax also reported that Russian Foreign Intelligence was
engaged in "bilateral and multilateral" efforts to solve the
crisis. [mmc]
