2010 European terror plot
Encyclopedia
The 2010 European terror plot was an alleged Pakistan
-based Al-Qaeda
plot to launch "commando-style" terror attacks on France, United Kingdom, and Germany. The existence of the plot was revealed in late September 2010 after it was disrupted by intelligence agencies. Thought to be ordered by Osama bin Laden
himself the plot led to an unprecedented increase in Drone attacks in Pakistan
and travel advisories from several countries to their citizens to be careful while traveling in Europe
.
on 28 September 2010. Intelligence officials stated that the plot was ordered by Osama bin Laden
himself. The plan was to launch attacks similar to the 2008 Mumbai attacks
. It was discovered and disrupted by the combined efforts of the security services of the United States
, Britain
, Germany
and France
. According to Der Spiegel
, the first information came from a 36-year-old German man from Hamburg identified as Ahmad Siddiqui, who was detained by authorities in July, 2010, while attempting to fly from Kabul
to Europe. He was a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
and had trained in Pakistan, where he was sheltered by the Haqqani network
. Currently he is in custody of NATO at the Bagram Airfield. The German Muslims linked to the plot were associated with the Al-Quds Mosque Hamburg
, the mosque frequented by the September 11 terrorists. German authorities have closed the mosque.
According to German intelligence officials, in early 2009, Sidiqi and 10 others left Hamburg
for the tribal areas of Pakistan
where 8 of them joined a joined the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
(IMU).
One member of the group was Rami Makanesi, 25, a German of Syria
n descent. Another was Shahab Dashti, a German citizen of Iran
ian descent. He appeared in an IMU video in late 2009. Wielding a knife and gun, he urged other Germans to join in jihad
against American forces in Afghanistan
. Several other Germans in the video were shown firing weapons in what appeared to be live-fire exercises. Several scenes featured what appeared to be the group's members using rockets and guns to practice storming enemy positions, learning the type of combat skills that Western counter-terrorism officials fear could be used in Western cities in an attack similar to 2008 Mumbai attacks
. One European counterterrorism official said Sidiqi told his interrogators that Naamen Meziche, a French citizen of Algeria
n descent had assumed a planning role in the terrorist plot which Osama Bin Laden
himself approved.
On 3 October 2010, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued a joint bulletin warning that terror attacks were being plotted against targets in Europe.
German officials said the Hamburg group members were recruited from the Taiba mosque in Hamburg. In the 1990s, that same mosque - then called Al Quds - was attended by Mohamed Atta
, who went on to become the lead hijacker in the 9/11 attacks. Hamburg authorities shut the mosque a few weeks after Sidiqi was arrested since they said the mosque had become a recruiting center for jihadists across Europe.
Om 4 October 2010 a US drone fired a missile at a building in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan
and killed 11 suspected militants believed to be members of Jihad al Islami. Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed on the next day that five German nationals were among them, as well as three other foreigners whose nationalities were not disclosed. The rest were Pakistanis.
A Pakistani intelligence official confirmed that 8 Germans and 2 British brothers were central players in the plot. They were hiding in North Waziristan and were being tracked by Pakistan, Germany and Britain. A Briton of Pakistani origin named Abdul Jabbar, originally from Jhelum District
, suspected of being involved in this plot was killed in a drone strike according Pakistani officials. He was allegedly being groomed to be the leader of Al-qaeda group in Britain charged with attacking targets in Europe. According to Pakistani intelligence dozens of Islamic militants with European citizenship, many of Pakistani origin, were hiding in the tribal areas
of Pakistan along the Afghan border and plotting attacks in Europe. British Government Communications Headquarters
estimates that that about 20 Britons are getting training in North Waziristan.
Siddiqui indicated that Younis al-Mauretani was his al-Qaeda contact. In early September 2011 in Quetta, al-Mauretani was arrested by the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence with Frontier Corps Balochistan and assistance from U.S. intelligence.
demanded full co operation by Pakistani authorities in neutralizing the plot.
responded with an increase of drone attacks
on the Waziristan
region of Pakistan. In September 2010, 22 drone strikes were carried out, most in a month since the attacks began. On October 4, 2010 a strike killed up to 8 German nationals suspected to be part of this plot. An American official explained that security agencies have had "to work backwards, with your starting point being individuals you believe are involved in plotting, even when you don't have the full outlines of the plot itself... That's why we have been striking - with precision - people and facilities that are part of these conspiracies."
urged its citizens to exercise caution when traveling in Europe. However, the Canadian government has not changed or upgraded its official travel advisories. In an unusual move Japan
also issued a travel alert warning its citizens of the risks of a terrorist attack in Europe. Swedish foreign ministry also called on its citizens traveling to rest of Europe to be on alert.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
-based Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
plot to launch "commando-style" terror attacks on France, United Kingdom, and Germany. The existence of the plot was revealed in late September 2010 after it was disrupted by intelligence agencies. Thought to be ordered by Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
himself the plot led to an unprecedented increase in Drone attacks in Pakistan
Drone attacks in Pakistan
The United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan since 2004 using drones . These attacks are part of the US' War on Terrorism campaign, seeking to defeat Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants...
and travel advisories from several countries to their citizens to be careful while traveling in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Plot
The existence of the plot was revealed by several media sources including Sky NewsSky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
on 28 September 2010. Intelligence officials stated that the plot was ordered by Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
himself. The plan was to launch attacks similar to the 2008 Mumbai attacks
2008 Mumbai attacks
The 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, by Islamist attackers who came from Pakistan...
. It was discovered and disrupted by the combined efforts of the security services of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. According to Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
, the first information came from a 36-year-old German man from Hamburg identified as Ahmad Siddiqui, who was detained by authorities in July, 2010, while attempting to fly from Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
to Europe. He was a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a militant Islamist group formed in 1991 by the Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev, and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani—both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley...
and had trained in Pakistan, where he was sheltered by the Haqqani network
Haqqani network
The Haqqani Network is an insurgent group fighting against US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. Originating from Afghanistan during the mid-1970s, it was nurtured by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence during the 1980s Soviet war in...
. Currently he is in custody of NATO at the Bagram Airfield. The German Muslims linked to the plot were associated with the Al-Quds Mosque Hamburg
Al-Quds Mosque Hamburg
Al-Quds Mosque Hamburg was a mosque in Hamburg, Germany that preached a radical form of Sunni Islam. Al-Quds is where some of the September 11 attackers including Mohamed Atta, attended and met one another, forming the Hamburg cell.-History:The mosque opened in 1993, and was run by the Taiba...
, the mosque frequented by the September 11 terrorists. German authorities have closed the mosque.
According to German intelligence officials, in early 2009, Sidiqi and 10 others left Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
for the tribal areas of Pakistan
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
where 8 of them joined a joined the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a militant Islamist group formed in 1991 by the Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev, and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani—both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley...
(IMU).
One member of the group was Rami Makanesi, 25, a German of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n descent. Another was Shahab Dashti, a German citizen of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian descent. He appeared in an IMU video in late 2009. Wielding a knife and gun, he urged other Germans to join in jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
against American forces in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. Several other Germans in the video were shown firing weapons in what appeared to be live-fire exercises. Several scenes featured what appeared to be the group's members using rockets and guns to practice storming enemy positions, learning the type of combat skills that Western counter-terrorism officials fear could be used in Western cities in an attack similar to 2008 Mumbai attacks
2008 Mumbai attacks
The 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, by Islamist attackers who came from Pakistan...
. One European counterterrorism official said Sidiqi told his interrogators that Naamen Meziche, a French citizen of Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n descent had assumed a planning role in the terrorist plot which Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
himself approved.
On 3 October 2010, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued a joint bulletin warning that terror attacks were being plotted against targets in Europe.
German officials said the Hamburg group members were recruited from the Taiba mosque in Hamburg. In the 1990s, that same mosque - then called Al Quds - was attended by Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta was one of the masterminds and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.Born in 1968...
, who went on to become the lead hijacker in the 9/11 attacks. Hamburg authorities shut the mosque a few weeks after Sidiqi was arrested since they said the mosque had become a recruiting center for jihadists across Europe.
Om 4 October 2010 a US drone fired a missile at a building in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan
North Waziristan
North Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
and killed 11 suspected militants believed to be members of Jihad al Islami. Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed on the next day that five German nationals were among them, as well as three other foreigners whose nationalities were not disclosed. The rest were Pakistanis.
A Pakistani intelligence official confirmed that 8 Germans and 2 British brothers were central players in the plot. They were hiding in North Waziristan and were being tracked by Pakistan, Germany and Britain. A Briton of Pakistani origin named Abdul Jabbar, originally from Jhelum District
Jhelum District
Jhelum District is in the Punjab province of Pakistan. According the 1998 census the district had a population of 936,957, of which 31.48% were urban. Jhelum is known for providing a large number of soldiers to the British and later to the Pakistan armed forces due to which it is also known as...
, suspected of being involved in this plot was killed in a drone strike according Pakistani officials. He was allegedly being groomed to be the leader of Al-qaeda group in Britain charged with attacking targets in Europe. According to Pakistani intelligence dozens of Islamic militants with European citizenship, many of Pakistani origin, were hiding in the tribal areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
of Pakistan along the Afghan border and plotting attacks in Europe. British Government Communications Headquarters
Government Communications Headquarters
The Government Communications Headquarters is a British intelligence agency responsible for providing signals intelligence and information assurance to the UK government and armed forces...
estimates that that about 20 Britons are getting training in North Waziristan.
Siddiqui indicated that Younis al-Mauretani was his al-Qaeda contact. In early September 2011 in Quetta, al-Mauretani was arrested by the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence with Frontier Corps Balochistan and assistance from U.S. intelligence.
Response
On a visit to Pakistan soon after the plot was uncovered CIA director Leon PanettaLeon Panetta
Leon Edward Panetta is the 23rd and current United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama since 2011. Prior to taking office, he served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency...
demanded full co operation by Pakistani authorities in neutralizing the plot.
Drone strikes
The United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
responded with an increase of drone attacks
Drone attacks in Pakistan
The United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan since 2004 using drones . These attacks are part of the US' War on Terrorism campaign, seeking to defeat Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants...
on the Waziristan
Waziristan
Waziristan is a mountainous region near the Northwest of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . The area is entirely populated by ethnic Pashtuns . The language spoken in the valley is Pashto/Pakhto...
region of Pakistan. In September 2010, 22 drone strikes were carried out, most in a month since the attacks began. On October 4, 2010 a strike killed up to 8 German nationals suspected to be part of this plot. An American official explained that security agencies have had "to work backwards, with your starting point being individuals you believe are involved in plotting, even when you don't have the full outlines of the plot itself... That's why we have been striking - with precision - people and facilities that are part of these conspiracies."
Travel advisories
The U.S. government issued an advisory asking that citizens "take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when traveling" to or within Europe in response to this plot. The British government raised the level of threat of terrorism from "general" to "high" for Britons in Germany and France. CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
urged its citizens to exercise caution when traveling in Europe. However, the Canadian government has not changed or upgraded its official travel advisories. In an unusual move Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
also issued a travel alert warning its citizens of the risks of a terrorist attack in Europe. Swedish foreign ministry also called on its citizens traveling to rest of Europe to be on alert.
See also
- 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt2010 Times Square car bombing attemptThe attempted car bombing of Times Square on May 1, 2010, was a planned terrorist attack that was foiled when two street vendors discovered the car bomb and alerted a NYPD Patrolman to the car bomb threat after they spotted smoke coming from a vehicle...
External links
- Video:Europe Terror Plot Foiled, Fox News ChannelFox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, 2010-09-29 - Video:Ottawa warns travellers, CBC NewsCBC NewsCBC News is the department within the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on CBC television, radio and online services...
, 2010-10-04