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| The Alliance |
| Jihadi nabbed on his way to work in Frankfurt |
| 2001-10-28 |
A Turkish citizen about to board a plane to Iran was arrested after authorities found instructions for an Islamic holy war, a protective suit against biological and chemical warfare and material for detonators in his luggage. The 29 year-old "university student" named Harun Aydin, was arrested at the Frankfurt airport by the Bundesgrenzschutz (federal border police) after an inspection of his luggage had aroused suspicion. Presumably the authorities were not much surprised to find the "CD-ROM of a training program for Islamic holy warriors" -- no Islamic fundie would leave home without one these days. But explaining the HazMat suit, the camouflage uniform and the Ninja face mask -- the latter two items de rigueur for casual wear at Osama's Afghan resorts -- must have been just a tad awkward. As for the detonator material, that was explained by the state's attorney's office. The investigators noticed a small bottle, previously used to hold a sample of perfume, which contained a "mercury-like" liquid that could be used to set off a bomb by closing the detonator circuit. The federal prosecutor referred to it as "material for the manufacture of an explosives detonator." The CD-ROM and several video cassettes contained "a training program for so-called holy-warriors (Gotteskrieger), with detailed instructions for waging holy war," according to the German daily, Die Welt. Mr. Aydin's lawyer represented his client as the victim of "a chain of unfortunate circumstances." According to the attorney, it seems that he had somehow picked up the wrong suitcase. According to the AP, however, "Prosecutors in Germany said Aydin was a leading member of a Cologne-based militant group headed by Turkish-born Muhammed Metin Kaplan, known as the 'Caliph of Cologne.'" Regular readers of this column may recall that the "Caliph" is presently doing four years in a German prison for "incitement connected to the killing of a rival." But the following information from the AP report was not mentioned in the German press until quite recently: "Turkish authorities suspect Kaplan was behind an uncovered plot to crash a plane, laden with bombs, into the mausoleum of Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, during the country's 75th anniversary celebrations on Oct. 29, 1998." |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |