U.S. strikes al-Shabab in Somalia and captures bombing suspect in Libya

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MI6 'halted bid to arrest bin Laden'

Startling revelations by French intelligence experts back David Shayler's alleged 'fantasy'about Gadaffi plot

• Martin Bright, home affairs editor
  
  
• The Observer, Sunday 10 November 2002 12.48 AEST
  

British intelligence paid large sums of money to an al-Qaeda cell in Libya in a doomed attempt to assassinate Colonel Gadaffi in 1996 and thwarted early attempts to bring Osama bin Laden to justice.The latest claims of MI6 involvement with Libya's fearsome Islamic Fighting Group, which is connected to one of bin Laden's trusted lieutenants, will be embarrassing to the Government, which described similar claims by renegade MI5 officer David Shayler as 'pure fantasy'.
The allegations have emerged in the book Forbidden Truth , published in America by two French intelligence experts who reveal that the first Interpol arrest warrant for bin Laden was issued by Libya in March 1998.
According to journalist Guillaume Dasquié and Jean-Charles Brisard, an adviser to French President Jacques Chirac, British and US intelligence agencies buried the fact that the arrest warrant had come from Libya and played down the threat. Five months after the warrant was issued, al-Qaeda killed more than 200 people in the truck bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The arrest warrant was issued in connection with the murder in March 1994 of two German anti-terrorism agents, Silvan and Vera Becker, who were in charge of missions in Africa. According to the book, the resistance of Western intelligence agencies to the Libyan concerns can be explained by MI6's involvement with the al-Qaeda coup plot.
The Libyan al-Qaeda cell included Anas al-Liby, who remains on the US government's most wanted list with a reward of $25 million for his capture. He is wanted for his involvement in the African embassy bombings. Al-Liby was with bin Laden in Sudan before the al-Qaeda leader returned to Afghanistan in 1996.
Astonishingly, despite suspicions that he was a high-level al-Qaeda operative, al-Liby was given political asylum in Britain and lived in Manchester until May of 2000 when he eluded a police raid on his house and fled abroad. The raid discovered a 180-page al-Qaeda 'manual for jihad' containing instructions for terrorist attacks.
The Observer has been restrained from printing details of the allegations during the course of the trial of David Shayler, who was last week sentenced to six months in prison for disclosing documents obtained during his time as an MI5 officer. He was not allowed to argue that he made the revelations in the public interest.
During his closing speech last week, Shayler repeated claims that he was gagged from talking about 'a crime so heinous' that he had no choice but to go to the press with his story. The 'crime' was the alleged MI6 involvement in the plot to assassinate Gadaffi, hatched in late 1995.
Shayler claims he was first briefed about the plot during formal meetings with colleagues from the foreign intelligence service MI6 when he was working on MI5's Libya desk in the mid-Nineties.
The Observer can today reveal that the MI6 officers involved in the alleged plot were Richard Bartlett, who has previously only been known under the codename PT16 and had overall responsibility for the operation; and David Watson, codename PT16B. As Shayler's opposite number in MI6, Watson was responsible for running a Libyan agent, 'Tunworth', who was was providing information from within the cell. According to Shayler, MI6 passed £100,000 to the al-Qaeda plotters.
The assassination attempt on Gadaffi was planned for early 1996 in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte. It is thought that an operation by the Islamic Fighting Group in the city was foiled in March 1996 and in the gun battle that followed several militants were killed. In 1998, the Libyans released TV footage of a 1996 grenade attack on Gadaffi that they claimed had been carried out by a British agent.
Shayler, who conducted his own defence in the trial, intended to call Bartlett and Watson as witnesses, but was prevented from doing so by the narrow focus of the court case.
During the Shayler trial, Home Secretary David Blunkett and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw signed Public Interest Immunity certificates to protect national security. Reporters were not able to report allegations about the Gadaffi plot during the course of the trial.
These restrictions have led to a row between the Attorney General and the so-called D-Notice Committee, which advises the press on national security issues.
The committee, officially known as the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee, has objected to demands by the prosecution to apply the Official Secrets Act retrospectively to cover information already pub lished or broadcast as a result of Shayler's disclosures. Members of the committee, who include senior national newspaper executives, are said to be horrified at the unprecedented attempt to censor the media during the trial.
Shayler claims Watson later boasted that there had been MI6 involvement in the Libyan operation. Shayler was also planning to call a witness to the conversation in which the MI6 man claimed British intelligence had been involved in the coup attempt.
According to Shayler, the woman, an Arabic translator at MI5, was also shocked by Watson's admission that money had been paid to the plotters.
Despite the James Bond myth, MI6 does not have a licence to kill and must gain direct authorisation from the Foreign Secretary for highly sensitive operations. Malcolm Rifkind, the Conservative Foreign Secretary at the time, has repeatedly said he gave no such authorisation.
It is believed Watson and Bartlett have been relocated and given new identities as a result of Shayler's revelations. MI6 is now said to be resigned to their names being made public and it is believed to have put further measures in place to ensure their safety.
A top-secret MI6 document leaked on the internet two years ago confirmed British intelligence knew of a plot in 1995, which involved five colonels, Libyan students and 'Libya veterans who served in Afghanistan'.

Magda Hassan Wrote:

Ashur Shamis, a Libyan expert on radical Islam said: 'There was a rise in the activities of the Islamic Fighting Group from 1995, but many in Libya would be shocked if MI6 was involved.'

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Was Kenya mall massacre 'mastermind' backed by CIA cash? Disturbing claims by 'double agent who worked with terror suspect for years'

• Morten Storm was an informant for intelligence agencies for five years
  
• Met Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir, or Ikirma, in Nairobi in 2008
  
• At the time, the Somali terrorist was only a messenger in Al-Shabab
  
• Storm believes CIA gave him the resources to become a mastermind
  
  
• Ikrima is also believed to have lived in London for six to 12 months
  
  

By WILLS ROBINSON
PUBLISHED: 19:50, 4 November 2013 | UPDATED: 11:18, 5 November 2013
The CIA inadvertently gave a terrorist leader the finances and credibility he needed to mastermind a major attack, claims a former spy.

Intelligence officer Morten Storm from Denmark was asked by the CIA to build a relationship with the head of militant group Al-Shabab, the group behind September's attack, and handed over money and equipment on behalf of Western intelligence agencies to cultivate the group's trust.
In 2008 he started to forge close contacts with the leader Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir, also known as Ikirma, in a bid to uncover information on potential targets and planned attacks.

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Extremist: A former spy believes Western intelligence agencies turned Abdikadir Mohammed, also known as Ikirma, from a middle-class Kenyan into a terrorist leader






Agent: Morten Storm (left) converted to Islam after spending time in prison in Denmark. He then became involved in militant activities in Yemen and forged links with fundamentalist leaders including Anwar al-Awlaki



When Storm first met Ikrema he was a messenger for Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, an al Shabaab leader, according to a report by CNN.

Their first encounter was at a Somali restaurant on the first floor of the Jamia shopping mall next door to the main mosque in Nairobi. Two other jihadists were there with Ikrema.
Storm was meeting with Ikrema in order to get messages and equipment to Warsame. Storm was known to Warsame and to Ikrema as a fellow jihadist.

But the relationship broke down in 2012 when Storm left the CIA due to a disagreement over a mission' and he now claims the plan to provide Ikirma with money and equipment may have backfired spectacularly.

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He also believes that had his relationship with the CIA not faltered he could have helped capture or kill the man believed to have gone on to plan the September attack on Westgate Mall.
Storm converted into to Islam after spending time in prison and developed extreme jihadist views and moved to Yemen in 2001.
He became trusted by fundamentalists and became involved in militant activities, including recruiting soldiers to fight in the Taliban.

However he was recruited by the CIA, MI5 and the Danish intelligence service, PET, as a double agent to information on operations in Yemen and Somalia and prevent attacks in Europe.

When Storm first met Ikirma, he was only a messenger for the jihadists and was sent to pick up an electronic device from the Danish agent by one of the groups then leaders.

Undercover: The former spy from Denmark was working for numerous agencies including the CIA and Denmark's PET while he was trying to infiltrate militant groups in Yemen

Storm became trusted by fundamentalists and became involved in militant activities, including recruiting soldiers to fight in the Taliban


As the relationship developed, Storm claims that the CIA, using him as a middle man, gave him resources, equipment and the authority he needed to mastermind a major terrorist attack, similar to the one in Nairobi which killed 67 people.
Storm, who has since retired from duty, told CNN that in March 2012 PET had offered him one million Danish krone (£125,000) to lead them to Ikrima on behalf of the CIA.
He was offered the job after he was paid £156,000 ($250,000) to meet with Anwar al-Awlaki, an Islamic militant who was killed in a drone strike in 2011.

Storm said Ikrima was at the centre of a global network connecting a number of terrorist operatives in Somalia, Kenya, Yemen, and the West and had emerged as the chief handler of foreign fighters because of his language skills and level of education.

Even though Storm is not aware of the exact role Ikrima played in the attack in Nairobi, he knows his track record and believes he had the capability to be one of the masterminds.

The former agent also insisted he might have been given an insight into the plans had he still been working for Western intelligence, but his relationship with PET and the CIA ended in mid-2012 after a disagreement following a mission in Yemen.



First appearance: Four suspects (left to right) Liban Abdullah Omar, Mohamed Abdi Ahmed, Hussein Hassan and Adan Mohamed Ibrahim stood in the dock today for a hearing at a courtroom in Nairobi accused of playing a part in the Westgate Mall bombing

Capable: Storm was not aware of the direct role Ikrima played in the Westgate Mall massacre, but believes he had the potential to mastermind such an attack
Inner workings: CNN reporter Nic Robertson's interview with Storm provides a rare insight into how an intelligence agency, like the CIA, builds relationships with terrorists

He said: 'I get really frustrated to know that Ikrima had been maybe involved in the Westgate terrorist attack. It frustrates me a lot because it could have been stopped and I'm sad I can't be involved in this.'
'He was one of the smartest ones I met in east Africa.'
One of Ikrima's former associates also told CNN in Nairobi that he was the 'main link' between Somalia and the Kenyan-based militant group Al Hijra.
Now Western counter-terorrism officials fear his reputation in Jihadist circles worldwide will be bolstered by his escape during the U.S.Navy SEAL operation in Somalia last week, and he is now in a position to plan more deadly attacks in Europe and Africa.

CNN reporter Nic Robertson, who interviewed Storm, told MailOnline: 'He is frustrated because he gave equipment and material to Ikrima which allowed him to build up his credibility in Al-Shabab.

'When he first met him 2008, Ikrima was just a messenger in a group and now he is head of the organisation.

'Storm's viewing is that had the CIA paid closer attention to Ikirima and had the plans that were being put in place for Storm to keep closer tabs on him followed through, then there would be more information on their operations and potential targets.

'It would have allowed Storm to develop closer contacts with Ikirma, and would have enabled him to find out what they were thinking and what they were planning.

'His accounts of where he was and what he was doing has all checked out. Encrypted emails he has sent and received show he was in central position in the relationship.

Helpless: Kenya Defence Forces soldiers take their position at the Westgate shopping centre. Storm says he is frustrated knowing he could have prevented the attack



Storm started his jihadist career in Yemen and, after he made contacts contacted the CIA, as well as Danish security agency and MI5.

Mr Robertson added: 'Storm provides a rare opportunity to see inside agencies. It provides a rare insight into the way that they work.

'To get closer into an organisation you need to build relationships. It can be a double-edged sword and in this case it was.

'It put a smart guy in a position of power for a very negative effect.


Tragedy: A man whose relative was killed during the massacre is carried out by hospital staff

'Storm believes the attacks could have been thwarted. He is not involved in this anymore so he doesn't know if Ikrima actually had a direct role.

'But he knows Ikirma's track record. Storm was seen as an important connection who could move between their worlds in Yemen and Somalia and the rest of the world.'

Ikrima is believed to be able to speak five languages - Norwegian, Swahili, Arabic, Somali, and English - which puts him in a position of authority in Al-Shabab.

Now said to be in his late twenties he was born into a middle class Somalian family in Mombassa, Kenya.
His family then moved to Nairobi where the young Ikrima excelled at school in the languages, including French.
After a successful education, he traveled to Norway in 2004, because of the potential economic opportunities in Europe, and took advantage of his Somali ethnicity which allowed him to apply for refugee status.
Despite being given documents to stay in the country, he did not fit in and started to become radicalised.

Just four years later, he left Europe and returned to East Africa.

It is also believed Ikrima spent some time in Britain and lived in London for between six and 12 months.
The CIA would not comment on the story and PET said they could neither confirm or deny they knew Storm.

Quote:Kenya: Two Brits 'arrested over hand grenades'



HEATHER SAUL

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Two Britons have been arrested by anti-terror police in Kenya, according to reports.

The pair are thought to have been detained in the beach resort of Diani, on the south coast of the country.
Sources suggested to Sky News they were carrying hand grenades at the time of their arrest.
A Foreign Office spokesman, who said he could not give further details of the incident, said: "We are looking into reports of two British nationals detained in Kenya.
"We stand ready to offer consular assistance."
Two months ago 67 people died in a siege at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi.
Four men appeared in a Nairobi court earlier this month charged with "supporting a terrorist group" in connection with the attack.