Feral Jundi

A senior Saudi Arabian al Qaeda operative has called on Somali jihadists to step up their attacks on “crusader” forces at sea in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, and on land in neighboring Djibouti, which hosts France’s largest military base in Africa. 

“To our steadfast brethren in Somalia, take caution and prepare yourselves,” Sa’id Ali Jabir Al Khathim Al Shihri (aka Abu Sufian al-Azdi) says in a new audiotape acquired by CBS News. “Increase your strikes against the crusaders at sea and in Djibouti.”  

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    That’s right, make money and fight holy war!  Now that is the kind of Jihad that sells itself. lol

    You know, it doesn’t take a counter-terror expert or an economist to realize that eventually the enemy will figure out that piracy is an excellent business model.  Think of it.  They could disrupt world economies, control large multi-ton vessels that can easily be used as weapons of mass destruction (oil and chemical tankers, etc.), terrorize western ‘non-believer’ crews and even kill them, and on top of that, they can make money in the process off of selling the loot or ransom. Not to mention that Al Qaeda and company have no laws to follow, and no borders to respect. The only rules they abide by, are the ones that will increase their odds of winning their war against the Infidels.

     Matter of fact, I can see an entire Jihadist industry developing out of this piracy deal. It happened in the early beginnings of U.S. history, why wouldn’t these guys do it?  So here come the Jihadist Privateers I guess, because if this activity is sanctioned by the enemy, then in their eyes it is not piracy, but privateering.

     These donors that keep giving money to Islamic extremists to wage holy war will eventually realize that they could turn into investors of the Jihadist Privateers, and make some money.  Much like our early privateers in the US, or the pirates off the coast of Somalia, these guys could actually start making money off the Jihad.  The business model is there, and it is a proven method that has made the Somalis millions.  Why wouldn’t the booger eaters take advantage of that?

     Same thing with the drug trade?  I could easily see Al Qaeda looking at the drug business as acceptable for their jihad against the west.  They could say they are only selling drugs to westerners, and only a truly devout muslim would not use those drugs. So that would make it ok, in the crude logic of the jihadist.

   Counterfeiting?  Why not.  How else would they be able to finance the boats or weapons for their privateers, or purchase the aircraft for transporting the drugs? I am telling you, the next level of Jihad, is killing infidels and making money in the process.  They could still martyr themselves by crashing a boat into some country’s port city, but hey, if they could make some money off of Jihad to send back home before being martyred, now that is something.

   And what is really scary, is the concept of open source piracy.  That means other supporters of Jihad, will look at this act as not piracy, but as a business venture in the name of Allah, and terrorize western shipping throughout the world’s oceans. If you have a boat and an AK 47, you are in business. You don’t have to go to Afghanistan to train to be a pirate.  All a fellow has to do, is read and watch what the Somalis are doing, and copy it. Think Ft. Hood, but on the high seas. Something to think about and watch over the coming months and years.  The war is evolving. –Matt

*Be sure to read all of the stories posted below.  There is stuff on AQ involved piracy, drug trade, and counterfeit operations. The final story is about Somali pirates luring in investors for future operations.

Also check out Dr. Walid Phares article on Jihad Corsairs or Qursaans (arabic for corsair) here.

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Al Qaeda Urges Somalis To Attack Ships

April 16, 2009

Posted by Khaled Wassef

A senior Saudi Arabian al Qaeda operative has called on Somali jihadists to step up their attacks on “crusader” forces at sea in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, and on land in neighboring Djibouti, which hosts France’s largest military base in Africa.

“To our steadfast brethren in Somalia, take caution and prepare yourselves,” Sa’id Ali Jabir Al Khathim Al Shihri (aka Abu Sufian al-Azdi) says in a new audiotape acquired by CBS News. “Increase your strikes against the crusaders at sea and in Djibouti.”

Shihri warns Somali militants against a conspiracy led by “the crusaders, the Jews and traitor Arab rulers,” to put an end to the Muslim extremists’ progress in Somalia.

“The crusaders, the Jews and the traitorous rulers did not come to the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden except to wage war against you in Somalia and abolish your newly established emirate, and by Allah, they shall be defeated. They shall bring a curse upon their people,” Shihri said.

“We shall not leave them this time until we get to their own countries with the help of Allah.”

It was the first clear sign since the U.S. and French navies thwarted recent pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden that al Qaeda is trying to take advantage of anti-Western sentiment, and a ready supply of well-armed young men with access to boats and maritime skills, in the restive country.

Al Qaeda does have links to Islamic extremist groups operating in Somalia but, thus far, piracy and al Qaeda’s brand of terrorism have remained largely separate. The pirates in the Gulf of Aden have always sought ransom payments or loot — they have not been motivated by Islamic fundamentalism.

A maritime intelligence source tells CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar that interaction between pirate groups and Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked groups was first noticed about nine months ago, and has been on the rise.

The source said it was now “inconceivable” to Western intelligence agencies that al Qaeda would not be getting some financial reward from the successful hijackings. The question, says the intelligence source, is whether that cut will remain sufficient to keep the Islamic extremist group satisfied as piracy gains public attention, and bigger ransoms.

Following the rescue of the Maersk Alabama by the U.S. Navy, during which three pirates were killed and another captured, there were threats made by pirates in Somalia against any American crew members found in future hijackings.

Shihri is a Saudi Arabian who was captured near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan in December of 2001. He was one of the first U.S. detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba, arriving on January 21, 2002.

After being held at Guantanamo without charge for almost six years, he was released to Saudi authorities and enrolled in a repatriation and rehabilitation program there.

Following his release, he traveled to Yemen and was subsequently described as a deputy leader in a press release from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Shihri opened his message by addressing the Jihadi leader trio: Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar, Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman Zawahiri. He assured them that the militants in the Arabian Peninsula were not letting them down, and pledged to open a new front in the region.

“We say to you, we are not just sitting there watching you as the crusader countries prepare themselves to eradicate you and wipe out your group. By Allah we shall open against them a major front in the Arabian Peninsula which would, Allah willing, be the key to victory that would purge the crusader campaign and put an end to the ambitions of the crusaders and the Jews in the region.”

It was a vow to try and take the heat off al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where NATO and domestic forces are putting increasing pressure on militants.

Story here.

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Drug seizures in west Africa prompt fears of terrorist links

Al-Qaida is thought to have gained control of the cocaine trade flourishing in Guinea and Mali

Sunday 29 November 2009

There was little for the investigators to go on. The remains of the plane’s skeleton, smouldering on a remote airstrip in the Sahara desert, revealed few clues.

Even now, more than two weeks after the Boeing 727 was found in Mali, west Africa, the cause of the plane’s demise has yet to be revealed, triggering questions about whether it really crashed or was torched to destroy evidence. The one thing on which investigators agree is that the cargo plane had been used to transport cocaine into Africa from Latin America, probably Venezuela, that was bound for the streets of Europe.

The find is being seen as significant by US and European intelligence agencies, which believe the traffickers are using a corridor running through several central-north African states controlled by terrorist networks to channel drugs to western Europe.

From west African coastal states such as Guinea-Bissau the drugs pass through Mauritania, Mali and Niger before ending up in Libya or Egypt. From there, law enforcement officials suspect the drugs are hidden in containers on board cargo ships, which are less likely to be searched than those from Latin America.

An increasing concern is that the west African coastal states are now becoming more than simply import hubs. In the past few months several laboratories used to produce cocaine hydrochloride, the finished product, from cocaine paste have been discovered in Guinea-Bissau’s neighbour, Guinea, along with machines that can be used to make ecstasy pills.

“The fear is no longer just about trafficking,” said Alan Campbell, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Home Office, who has just returned from a fact-finding mission to west Africa. “The Latin American drugs gangs may be looking at the possibility of producing cocaine in west Africa. There is even the suggestion they are trying to grow coca plants there because it is on the same line of latitude.”

Until the discovery of the plane, it had been assumed that most of the cocaine transported from west Africa was in small planes or boats. But, as Alexandre Schmidt from the UN drugs agency acknowledged, the size of the destroyed plane was “a complete surprise”. Sources suggest the Boeing was likely to have been carrying between two and three tonnes of cocaine – a huge amount given that the UN estimates that 250 tonnes of cocaine enters western Europe annually.

Intelligence agencies are studying claims that the airstrip in Mali is under the control of one of al-Qaida’s most powerful franchises, raising concerns that Africa’s burgeoning role in the cocaine trade is now funding terrorism.

Professor Stephen Ellis of Amsterdam’s Free University, an expert on west Africa’s drugs trade, said that several reports suggested that the airstrip was in a region controlled by the group known as “al-Qaida in the land of the Islamic Maghreb”. Previously known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, it was responsible for a spate of car bombings in Algeria in 2007 that left dozens dead, including at least 11 UN staff.

“Until now, there is no evidence they have had a direct interest in the drug trade,” said Ellis. “But if the airstrip was controlled by al-Qaida, it suggests there is direct contact between them and Latin American drug interests.”

The Home Office estimates that 50% of the cocaine that enters the UK comes from west Africa. Two years ago the government put the figure at under 30%.

Like manufacturers taking advantage of cheaper labour by moving their plants abroad, the major Colombian drugs gangs have exploited west Africa’s political instability, poorly funded law enforcement agencies, endemic corruption and porous borders. But a link with terrorist networks would add a new dimension.

It is not only al-Qaida that may be involved. A briefing prepared for the US Congress speculated that west Africa’s substantial Lebanese trading community – strong supporters of Hezbollah – have been buying the drug from the paramilitary group Farc, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

“When we talked to the UN, it became clear that part of the problem [of the cocaine trade] was not just its impact on coastal states like Guinea-Bissau, but the fact that those involved now had the confidence to fly to inland areas,” Campbell said. “They are getting perilously close to that area [of Africa] where you’ve got concerns about how it could play into the hands of terrorist organisations. Are we getting to the point where we can see links between terrorist groups and drugs gangs?”

The UK government has recently launched several initiatives such as Operation Westbridge, which involves Border Agency officials working in west African countries like Ghana and Nigeria to weed out drug smugglers. Officials from the Serious Organised Crime Agency also operate in the region.

But the drugs gangs controlling the cocaine washing up on Britain’s shores are now established and entrenched in west Africa. As Campbell put it: “There is growing recognition that our frontline is there, not Portugal or Spain.”

Story here.

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Somali piracy and counterfeiting funding Al Qaeda

November 30, 2009

Jim Kouri

Somali marauders operating  in the increasingly dangerous waters off East Africa seized a crude oil tanker making a delivery from Saudi Arabia to the United States

The Maran Centaurus was hijacked several hundreds miles off the coast of Somalia on Sunday. The ship originated in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia destine for an oil delivery in the United States.

The ship’s 28 member crew were taken captive by the Somali pirates according to the US Defense Department.

The shipping company’s contracted intelligence firm —  Lloyd’s List — noted in a statement that the Maran Centaurus is a “very large crude carrier, with a capacity of over 300,000 tons.”

Pirates have increased attacks on vessels off East Africa for the millions of dollars in ransom money. While pirates have successfully hijacked dozens of vessels over the last several years, this attack is believed to be only the second ever on an oil tanker.

Several security experts believe the pirates are helping to fund Al-Qaeda operations in that war-torn region.

Meanwhile, on Friday agents with Somalia’s customs bureau seized more than $1-million worth of fake US notes in Mogadishu’s Adan Adde International airport, authorities told local reporters on Saturday.

During a press conference held at the airport, Somalia’s Treasury Minister, Abdulrahman Omar Osman said the fake money was to be smuggled into Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa, where it was to be used to carry out terrorism attacks.

Somalia’s police spokesman, Dhexe Abdullahi Hassan is quoted as saying that Al Qaeda was the prime suspect and decided to smuggle counterfeit notes after international financial institutions starved the terrorist group of all money supplies.

According to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police’s Terrorism Committee, Somali authorities plan to destroy the contraband money.

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he’s a columnist for The Examiner (examiner.com) and New Media Alliance (thenma.org).  In addition, he’s a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.  

He’s former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed “Crack City” by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations.  He’s also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country.   Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He’s a news writer and columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he’s syndicated by AXcessNews.Com.   Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.  

To subscribe to Kouri’s newsletter write to COPmagazine@aol.com and write “Subscription” on the subject line.

Story here.

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Somali sea gangs lure investors at pirate lair

Tue Dec 1, 2009

By Mohamed Ahmed

HARADHEERE, Somalia (Reuters) – In Somalia’s main pirate lair of Haradheere, the sea gangs have set up a cooperative to fund their hijackings offshore, a sort of stock exchange meets criminal syndicate.

Heavily armed pirates from the lawless Horn of Africa nation have terrorized shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean and strategic Gulf of Aden, which links Europe to Asia through the Red Sea.

The gangs have made tens of millions of dollars from ransoms and a deployment by foreign navies in the area has only appeared to drive the attackers to hunt further from shore.

It is a lucrative business that has drawn financiers from the Somali diaspora and other nations — and now the gangs in Haradheere have set up an exchange to manage their investments.

One wealthy former pirate named Mohammed took Reuters around the small facility and said it had proved to be an important way for the pirates to win support from the local community for their operations, despite the dangers involved.

“Four months ago, during the monsoon rains, we decided to set up this stock exchange. We started with 15 ‘maritime companies’ and now we are hosting 72. Ten of them have so far been successful at hijacking,” Mohammed said.

“The shares are open to all and everybody can take part, whether personally at sea or on land by providing cash, weapons or useful materials … we’ve made piracy a community activity.”

Haradheere, 400 km (250 miles) northeast of Mogadishu, used to be a small fishing village. Now it is a bustling town where luxury 4×4 cars owned by the pirates and those who bankroll them create honking traffic jams along its pot-holed, dusty streets.

Somalia’s Western-backed government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed is pinned down battling hard-line Islamist rebels, and controls little more than a few streets of the capital.

The administration has no influence in Haradheere — where a senior local official said piracy paid for almost everything.

“Piracy-related business has become the main profitable economic activity in our area and as locals we depend on their output,” said Mohamed Adam, the town’s deputy security officer.

“The district gets a percentage of every ransom from ships that have been released, and that goes on public infrastructure, including our hospital and our public schools.”

RISK VS REWARDS

In a drought-ravaged country that provides almost no employment opportunities for fit young men, many are been drawn to the allure of the riches they see being earned at sea.

Abdirahman Ali was a secondary school student in Mogadishu until three months ago when his family fled the fighting there.

Given the choice of moving with his parents to Lego, their ancestral home in Middle Shabelle where strict Islamist rebels have banned most entertainment including watching sport, or joining the pirates, he opted to head for Haradheere.

Now he guards a Thai fishing boat held just offshore.

“First I decided to leave the country and migrate, but then I remembered my late colleagues who died at sea while trying to migrate to Italy,” he told Reuters. “So I chose this option, instead of dying in the desert or from mortars in Mogadishu.”

Haradheere’s “stock exchange” is open 24 hours a day and serves as a bustling focal point for the town. As well as investors, sobbing wives and mothers often turn up there seeking news of male relatives missing in action.

Every week, Mohammed said, gang members and equipment were lost to the sea. But he said the pirates were not deterred.

“Ransoms have even increased in recent months from between $2-3 million to $4 million because of the increased number of shareholders and the risks,” he said.

“Let the anti-piracy navies continue their search for us. We have no worries because our motto for the job is ‘do or die’.”

Piracy investor Sahra Ibrahim, a 22-year-old divorcee, was lined up with others waiting for her cut of a ransom pay-out after one of the gangs freed a Spanish tuna fishing vessel.

“I am waiting for my share after I contributed a rocket-propelled grenade for the operation,” she said, adding that she got the weapon from her ex-husband in alimony.

“I am really happy and lucky. I have made $75,000 in only 38 days since I joined the ‘company’.”

(Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Story here.