Beware of Muslims with sudden personality change. Or: beware of Muslims, period.AMMAN, Jordan (UPI) -- Assem Hammoud is a 31-year-old, well-mannered Lebanese man educated in the West, multi-lingual and seems no different than other affluent, secular young Lebanese men who enjoy partying, girls and cars. Those who know him say he was the perfectly eligible bachelor: He grew up in an affluent home in Beirut, he is intelligent -- having obtained a PhD degree in economics from a university in Canada -- and his widowed mother is an artist.
But like a Jekyll and Hyde, Hammoud might have another side to his personality and life that makes him more of an eligible terror recruit. This refined-looking, clean-cut young man also goes by the name of Amir al-Andalousi, or 'prince of Andalusia,' a nom de guerre he was supposedly given by Osama bin Laden`s al-Qaida network when Hammoud was recruited, not in Lebanon, but in Canada.
'The prince' may have been awarded this codename because his family claims to have originally come from Andalusia in Spain some 800 years ago.
Hammoud was arrested by the Lebanese authorities on April 27 on suspicion of masterminding a plot for a massive terror attack targeting train tunnels under the Hudson River that carry thousands of commuters between New York and New Jersey every day.
Based on information from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lebanese authorities monitored him for one month and tracked his internet use before making the arrest. But his capture was not revealed until this week after it was leaked in the American press.
Lebanese officials said Hammoud confessed to the plot and 'pledged allegiance' to Osama bin Laden, believed to be hiding in the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. He reportedly admitted he was planning to go to Pakistan for four months to train for the operation, which was allegedly set for the end of 2006. They said the authorities also found important documents, maps and bombing plans on his personal computer and CDs.