HAMBURG: The militant whose disclosures under US interrogation in Afghanistan triggered Europe’s terror alert is an old friend of a man convicted in the 9/11 attacks and, as the strikes were being planned, frequented the same mosque where the Hamburg-based plotters often met, officials say.
Hamburg security officials in August shuttered the Taiba mosque, known until two years ago as al-Quds, because of fears it was becoming a magnet for homegrown extremists who, unlike foreigners, could not be expelled from the country.
Ahmad Wali Siddiqui, a 36-year-old German of Afghan descent arrested by the US military in July in Afghanistan has emerged as the latest link between Germany and al-Qaida's worldwide terror campaign. Siddiqui is believed to have been part of the Hamburg militant scene that also included key 9/11 plotters.
Intelligence officials say he was a friend of Mounir el Motassadeq, who was convicted by a German court in 2006 of being an accessory to the murder of the 246 passengers and crew on the four jetliners used in the 2001 terrorist attacks, and also frequented the al-Quds mosque.
Motassadeq was found to have aided suicide hijackers Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah by helping them keep up the appearance of being regular university students paying their tuition and rent though it was never established whether he knew of the planned timing, dimension or targets of the attacks.
“Siddiqui is a long-term member who has been a friend of Motassadeq since 1997,” said a senior intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
US officials say Siddiqui provided details on the alleged al-Qaida-linked plots against European capitals that prompted Washington to issue a travel alert for Europe over the weekend, followed by other countries such as Japan that issued similar warnings.
The suspected plot is believed to have involved plans for coordinated Mumbai-style attacks in European capitals _ and prompted authorities to heighten surveillance at iconic sites such as London's Buckingham Palace or Paris' Eiffel Tower.
However, German officials including Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere warned against being ''alarmist'' and stressed there currently are no concrete indications of an imminent attack.
Siddiqui left Hamburg in March 2009 together with a group of 10 other jihadis known to German intelligence officials as the ''The Tourist Group'' to seek paramilitary training at a terror camp in Pakistan's lawless border region with Afghanistan, German authorities.
The group, which included two women, met in the al-Quds mosque before they decided to leave for Pakistan and Afghanistan. The prayer house had served as gathering point for some of the Sept. 11 attackers before they moved to the United States to attend flight schools in 2000, authorities say. Atta, al-Shehhi and Jarrah attended the mosque when they lived and studied in Hamburg.
Following the Sept. 11 attacks, the mosque became a magnet for so-called jihad tourists _ Muslims from out of town who bragged about having worshipped at the same mosque were once the suicide hijackers had gathered for prayer.
''Young people came because they wanted to pray on the same carpet that Mohammed Atta had already used for his prayers,'' the intelligence official said.
Other members of Hamburg's 130,000-strong Muslim community largely rejected the extremist beliefs preached at al-Quds.
''They had the strong expectation to find the true Islam and campfire romance in North Waziristan, but then discovered that they were in the midst of a dirty war,'' Norbert Mueller, who represents the Schura Association of Islamic Communities in Hamburg, told The Associated Press.
That sentiment was echoed by the vast majority of Hamburg's Muslims, who strongly deplore the fact their city's name is once again linked to Islamic extremism.
''Those extremists ... perverted our religion. That has nothing to do with Islam,'' said Ahmet Yazici, the deputy head of the Alliance of Islamic Communities in Northern Germany.
Authorities insist they have the city's estimated 200 extremist Muslims _ including 45 al-Qaida followers _ under surveillance and have sought to downplay Hamburg's role in the international terror scene.
''Hamburg is a big city and you have a few radicals, but it is not the worldwide center of jihad,'' said the intelligence official.
While the al-Quds mosque was open, it was a convenient place for authorities to monitor the extremist scene. Several of those who frequented it were expelled. But as an increasing number of radicals held German citizenship, authorities moved to gather enough evidence to ban the extremist group behind the mosque, forcing its closure.
''We couldn't hinder the mosque attracting young people. That's why we finally decided to close down that black hole,'' the official said. – AP
