Article

2004-01-12 Africa: North

Moroccan al-Qaeda sent back to Saudi Arabia

Gee, I feel so much more secure knowing theyâre in Prince Nayefâs hands ...
Three Saudis convicted in an alleged Al Qaeda plot to attack US and British warships were being sent home from Morocco to serve out their 10-year prison sentences, a security official said Saturday. Saudi authorities had requested that the militants be returned from Morocco, where they were arrested, convicted and sentenced. They were due into Riyadh later Saturday aboard a private plane. Zouhair Hilal Tabiti, 26; Hilal Jaber El Assiri, 31; and Abdellah Msafer El Ghamidi, 22; were convicted in February â nine months after they were arrested in the alleged plot. Moroccan officials said the three had planned to sail an explosives-laden dinghy from Morocco into the Strait of Gibraltar to attack American and British ships. The plot recalled the October 2000 suicide attack on the destroyer USS Cole that killed 17 sailors in a Yemeni port.

The three men were convicted of attempted murder, attempted sabotage with the use of explosives and belonging to a criminal organisation. They also were accused of plotting to blow up a cafe in Marrakech, a major tourist destination in Morocco, and planning to attack tourist buses in the Muslim North African kingdom. All three admitted under interrogation that they had been trained in the use of weapons and explosives at Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but their defence lawyers had argued Moroccan authorities used torture to extract the confessions. Moroccan police are believed to have thwarted the plot with the help of information provided by suspected Al Qaeda operatives held at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Posted by Dan Darling 2004-01-12 12:06:17 AM|| || Front Page|| [11131 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Do the swabbies still let a dinghy pull up close. Some swarthy, toothy, smiley face with the wind at his back? Don't think so.

Maybe these idiots were to smart to go for it. They got themselves caught and can now live, and fight, another day. At least in their own thick way.

Posted by Lucky 2004-1-12 12:37:00 AM|| 2004-1-12 12:37:00 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 I note that an al-Ghamdi is being repatriated...

Posted by Seafarious 2004-1-12 1:28:43 AM|| 2004-1-12 1:28:43 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Seafarious - Yep. Al Ghamdis in Saoodiland... thicker than flies on a dead jihadi... I guess it has become rather obvious that the Al G's are patrons of the Nayef faction of the Royal House.

Doncha love the euphemism "aboard a private plane"???

Posted by .com 2004-1-12 2:47:14 AM|| 2004-1-12 2:47:14 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Most ships travel at 15 knotts or greater through a very loose traffic pattern in the straights. I would be surprised if they would catch a USN ship napping. It is common to have miscellaneous boats pull up alongside in a port; an intercepting course on the high seas will be met with 50 cal machine gun fire at a minimum.

Posted by Super Hose 2004-1-12 1:26:44 PM|| 2004-1-12 1:26:44 PM|| Front Page Top

09:11 Mercutio
09:07 AlmostAnonymous5839
08:52 Matt
08:24 Matt
08:20 SteveS
07:43 Procopius2k
07:42 BrerRabbit
07:42 Procopius2k
07:39 Procopius2k
07:36 Procopius2k
07:35 Procopius2k
07:34 trailing wife
07:31 Procopius2k
07:30 NN2N1
07:22 NN2N1
07:18 trailing wife
07:14 Richard Aubrey
07:10 NN2N1
07:09 Besoeker
07:03 NN2N1
06:58 NN2N1
06:58 Besoeker
05:28 Whiskey Mike
05:23 Whiskey Mike