Channel 4 tonight: Somalia's terror recruits return to UK

[Ibtisam]

Dozens of Islamic extremists have returned to Britain from terror training camps in Somalia, the British security services believe.

 

Security officials and intelligence analysts are worried that, once back in Britain, militants will attack targets here or use the kudos from having trained and fought in Somalia to attract new recruits. In his first interview last month Jonathan Evans, the head of MI5, raised the issue of British Muslims visiting Somali terror training camps, while the outgoing head of the CIA, Michael Hayden, has said that Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in late 2006 had "catalysed" expatriate Somalis around the world.

 

An investigation for Channel 4 News, to be broadcast tonight, also reveals that a suicide bomber who grew up in Ealing is thought to have blown himself up in an attack in Somalia that killed more than 20 soldiers.

 

The incident is the first reported case involving a Somali based in Britain and will add to pressure on Scotland Yard and the home office to tackle the problem within the Somali community, which, at about 250,000 people, is the biggest in Europe.

 

"Pakistan rightly gets the most attention in terms of external threats," a senior counter-terrorism source said. "But we believe we should focus more on the Horn of Africa and Somalia in particular."

 

Two years ago Ethiopian forces occupied parts of Somalia after ousting the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) from the capital, Mogadishu - the latest chapter in a long history of conflict between the two countries.

 

The Ethiopians withdrew last month as part of a peace deal agreed between the government and moderate Islamists, leaving African Union peacekeepers and Somali soldiers - although many believe that they will not be able to keep advancing extremists at bay.

 

From business student to suicide-bomber

The British Somali who became a suicide bomber had abandoned a business studies course at Oxford Brookes University.

 

The 21-year-old from Ealing, West London, reportedly blew himself up at a checkpoint in the southern Somali town of Baidoa in October 2007 after crossing into Somalia by foot from Kenya.

 

News reports at the time said that the Somali Prime Minister was staying at a nearby hotel but escaped. Somali jihadist websites claimed that more than 20 Ethiopian soldiers were killed.

 

The bomber was a member of al-Shabaab - The Youth - militia, which is fighting to impose Islamic law. Its brutal tactics include decapitating alleged spies with knives. Six aid workers were reportedly killed by the group last December.

 

 

It is not clear whether Britain's security services are aware of the Ealing student's case. His family, who still live in London, want his name withheld to avoid reprisals.

 

The man had recorded a martyrdom video in which he urged Somalia's refugee diaspora to join him in his jihad.

 

"Oh my people, know that I am doing this martyrdom operation for the sake of Allah," he said. "I advise you to migrate to Somalia and wage war against your enemies. Death in honour is better than life in humiliation."

 

Sheikh Ahmed Aabi, a moderate Somali religious leader in Kentish Town, northwest London, said that he knew of the Ealing case and had heard from other families of sons travelling to Somalia to join warring Islamist groups.

 

"I'm hearing it from parents," he said. "They say they [their children] are joining the jihad. I am hearing there are a lot of people. This is a big problem facing our community."

 

The hardline Islamist militia al-Shabaab, which is labelled as a terrorist organisation by the US, has taken advantage of Ethiopia's pull-out to boost its control of the south. More than 16,000 people have been reported killed in the past two years of fighting and one UNHCR official has called it "the most pressing humanitarian emergency in the world".

 

Peter Neumann, a terrorism expert who runs the Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College London, told Channel 4 News: "The numbers I hear going from the UK to Somalia are 50, 60 or 70, but in reality we don't know. You don't need big numbers for terrorism.

 

Somalia will never become another Pakistan, but that does not mean it is not a threat."

 

Most Somalis in Britain entered the country as asylum-seekers within the past 20 years. They include Yasin Omar and Ramzi Mohammed, two of the four men convicted of the botched bombing of the London Underground on 21 July 2005.

 

An audio message from Osama bin Laden last month urged Muslims to send money or go to fight themselves in Somalia.

 

"Such references are usually a good indicator," Dr Neumann said. "The place is seen as an opportunity, from a jihadist point of view."

 

The home office said in a statement that it was working with groups "including the Somali community, to tackle a growing concern that our young people are being radicalised into violent extremism".

 

However, some Somali leaders say their community - already associated with gang and knife crime - is being unfairly targeted.

 

But outside a West London mosque last week, several Somalis were adamant that they were entitled to fight for their homeland.

 

"If American troops can go from Arizona to Iraq then someone can leave this area and go to Somalia," one said.

 

A senior counterterrorist source said that while Ethiopia's withdrawal could lessen the immediate appeal of going to fight, it could also "create more space for terrorism training camps".

 

Another described the country as an "ungoverned space" that resembled Afghanistan under the Taliban.

 

Jonathan Rugman's film is on Channel 4 News at 7pm tonight

[N.O.R.F]

Doing a bit of shopping on the way home I spotted the headlines on The Times. Something along the lines of 'UK's New Terror Threat, Somalis Returning'

[cynical lady]

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/int ernational_politics/somalias+terror+recruits+retur n+to+uk/2954747

[Ms DD]

Sheikh Ahmed Aabi, a moderate Somali religious leader in Kentish Town, northwest London, said that he knew of the Ealing case and had heard from other families of sons travelling to Somalia to join warring Islamist groups.

 

"I'm hearing it from parents," he said. "They say they [their children] are joining the jihad. I am hearing there are a lot of people. This is a big problem facing our community."

 

No..the big problem our community is facing is drugs pushing and doing time in prison. I have to find this guy if he is from Kentish Town. He wants in la uruuriyo one by one!

[Fabregas]

You guys should read what their writing on the times comments page. we should all go home.

 

 

ps. raga tagey Somalia, they are unlikely to ever come to the West.

[cynical lady]

Were the busy bodies who normally congregate @ the politics sections?

 

Have your say@ The Times.

 

The Ethiopian invasion was funded by America, the islamic courts were bringing order to a troubled state but were undermined by a paranoid state which would rather see innocents blood shed than allow an islamic government.

 

Joseph Rogers, Warwick, UK

 

250,000 is just an estimate by the tabloids, I would say 150,000- 200,000 is a more realistic number.

 

Tareq, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

 

Its surely not suprising. You have people coming from a country where they have been fighting wars for years, children are used as soldiers and theres no sense of security. They then arrive in Britain with the i-pod generation and there meant to just fit right on in. Of course they wont!

 

T Miles, Sheffield, England

 

A Abdi, Normandy colonised England in 1066 and imposed their form of government on the country. The English resisted sure enough but we adapted and moved forward. We didn't foment a retreat into a backward looking terrorist non-state governed by warlords. No progress, no internet. Learn from history

 

Peter, London,

 

Ahmed Abdi , London.

I suggest that You read the History.The country has been at war for centuries with inter-tribal squabbles and conflicts over it's borders for land, livestock etc this is the real cause. Indeed Britain did colonise the place, but it's troubles go back well beyond.

 

Norman Pitkin, London, UK

 

Ahmed Abdi, suggest that you look up the meaning of the word "colonised" - Britain had very few "colonies" in the real sense of the word. The territory ceded to Ethiopia was as part of a peace treaty back in the late 1800's

 

Bill, Stavanger, Norway

 

They're laughing at us, and quite rightly. I'm truly sorry for what is going on in Somalia, but it's not down to the UK, so why should it be our problem?

 

Giving people asylum is a great idea in theory, but not at the expense of the safety of our own citizens.

 

Alex, London,

 

Who is honestly surprised by this? Our immigration policies are a bad joke. And for the past eleven years any criticism has been met with howls of 'racism!' from a government that is more interested in covering up its own ineptitude than serving the country which it has a duty to protect.

 

James David, London, UK

 

Well, we let them in in droves and as far as I know there still coming!

 

Oh dear. Liberal Labour have a lot to answer for.

 

John, London,

 

If the refugees misbehave, simply withdraw the papers for all their family members and let them return home. Be humane, give them enough money for a year. This open door policy to refugees has gone on too long against the wishes of the people. We must reverse the flow.

 

Peter , Lausanne, Switzerland

 

I am fascinated by all this. Our "security Services" track these people, know what they are getting up to etc etc. Yest, they can't take action against them.

 

Surely, this is the time to be proactive. Anyone suspected of terrorism links should not be granted entry into the country.

 

Hamad Lone, London, England

 

We need to be cruel to be kind and stop granting asylum to everyone. This wil stop extremists entering Britain, but more importantly it will force people to remain in their country and do something about the problem there. At the moment asylum robs countries of the very people needed to reform them.

 

HC, London,

 

Read the history. Britain colonised Somalia over a century and divided its territory into five. It gave part of Somalia to Ethiopia another part to kenya, hence the real cause of continuous wars in the horn. It is that destruction and mayhem that brought them to this Island.

 

Ahmed Abdi, London, U.K

 

Let's not condemn a whole nation for the action of one individual; the numbers quoted are but a few, although this warrants an investigation of sort but does not require a heavy handed repatriation action. This is no solution. Miko: GB has long historical links with Somalia, i.e. ex-colonial state.

 

Frank, London,

 

This is insane. Obviously political correctness and a weak and ineffectual government prevents the applicaiton of a robust risk assessment process. Is anybody, anybody at all, even slightly bothered about the risks to the inhabitants of the UK???? Obviously not...

 

Will, Melbourne,

 

250,000 Somalis in Britain? That's the equivalent of a substantial sized town! Can I simply ask, how in heaven's name did a quarter of a million Somalis end up in Britain? What links does the UK have with Somalia? Is no one policing our borders? Is it just a free for all now?

 

miko, Singapore,

 

...and this is precisely why I'm against multiculturalism. Surely there must be some kind of clause in the asylum process were we can repatriate asylum seekers and their families for committing serious criminal offences, like sedition.

 

James, Osaka,

 

If more would have stood beside the U.S. in fighting terrorism instead of against us, I argue that less terrorists would be available to kill. 16,000 people killed ruthlessly. Those on the left must feel very proud of their accomplishments.

 

FredN, Houston, U.S.

[Paragon]

Hmmm.

[Meiji]

The British Somali who became a suicide bomber had abandoned a business studies course at Oxford Brookes University.

I truelly believe that this young Somali could have done more harm to our enemy (Ethiopia) and could have done more good for his people and nation if he had preseverance and patience in order to finish his study and use his acquired knowledge and capabilities for his people and nation.

 

We are all dying from within to witness our nation and people been opressed by foreign invaders and their puppets, but it is at these times that our true preseverance and patience is tested.

 

We can use all bright young men in building a modern and strong Somalia. As such, let us finish our studies and have patience. Our time will come.

[NASSIR]

Lots of the comments forwarded by Cynical-lady elicit Eurocentric attitude.

Man, I never knew the ordinary British were so ignorant and arrogant like Americans on TV. At least, the Americans are said to be very much decent and generous.

But you would be surprised that David Pollock from Washington Institute would sound much preposterious, stubborn and uninformed on this debate, Inside Iraq--US spies on Iraqi neighbors. He is humiliated and shredded in this debate, Feb 13.

[Resistance]

the average Joe/Jane in Britian probally has no idea where Somalia is o the map so perharps they should have no say in the what is happening there at at all, is like asking a Somali in a small Village about their thaughts on the Northern Ireland/IRA issue.

 

This is scare monegring reporting that sadly is very common in the west especially when they want a broad support for a new policy towards a region/people

[cynical lady]

and ure missing the point.

[me]

wats the point?

[NASSIR]

Let me quote a paragraph by Micheal Hamilton Morgan in his book Lost History

 

European attraction to Muslim technology and intellect, and fear of Muslim power and religion, would mark the relationship between Europeans and Muslims all the way into the Renaissance and beyond. It would not change until Europe became the global imperial power in the 16th century, and the Muslim golden ages wound to a close. Then a Eurocentric rewriting of history would expunge the greatness of the Muslim golden ages and exclusively credit Europeans for creating modern mathematics, astronomy, medicine, science, technology, statecraft, and a humane pluralistic society"