Highlights
-Two jailed French al-Qaeda suspects linked to Brussels based jihadist network
-Suspects targeted Charles de Gaulle airport and Britain while behind bars
-Migration of European al-Qaeda sympathizers to Afghanistan will increase in the medium-term
Last November, Italian police arrested two French nationals at the Port of Bari as they attempted to smuggle two Palestinians and three Syrians in to Europe – part of a larger human smuggling operation. During the raid, police uncovered an assortment of fundamentalist jihadist propaganda and an alleged martyrdom statement from a terror trained Brussels militant.
Italian police spent months listening in on conversations between the two while imprisoned. The clandestine eavesdropping revealed that Syrian-born cleric Bassam Ayachi, 63, and French convert to Islam Marcel Gendron, 34, were planing attacks on a number of European targets. Ayachi and Gendron are now being charged with heading a logistical support team for al-Qaeda.
Europe’s Terror Network Casts a Wide Net
The ensuing investigation into the two French nationals jihadist activities would uncover links to a jihadist recruitment network based in Brussels, Belgium. Counterterrorism officials allege the network of multinational jihadists ran a prominent French language jihadist Internet forum, which facilitates the spread of al-Qaeda ideology and urges European Muslims to travel to Afghanistan, undergo terrorist training, and fight alongside the Taliban.
The investigation into the jihadist network underlines the ongoing threat of terrorism evident across many European cities. As coalition forces increase the number of troops in Afghanistan in the coming months, we expect a simultaneous influx of anti-Western propaganda calling for attacks on European cities coupled with ongoing recruitment networks targeting segregated European Muslim communities in the near-term. We assess prominent European symbols of culture, capitalism, and tourism will face a sustained terror threat from Islamic extremist groups for the next several years.
Planning Attacks From Behind Bars
While in prison, Ayachi and Gendron spoke in both Arabic and French, used low voices, and frequently turned up the volume of the TV during the “crucial times” of a conversation. Italian media recently released a portion of a transcript from a team of translators deciphering the conversations. According to a December 14, 2008 conversation, Italian media reported that Gendron claimed, “I’ll hit de Gaulle,” with Ayachi replying, “We’ll hit it there…at night when there will be a lot of people.” (Source)
Later in a January 25, 2009 conversation, Ayachi stated, “We will do this, it is a plane” with Gendron responding, “A French plane.” Ayachi then proclaimed, “We will exterminate the others, I have to go exterminate them.” The two men also reportedly mentioned the “need to strike at the English”, possibly involving unspecified targets in Britain. (Source)
During another conversation between Gendron, Ayachi and a third unknown inmate, the three discuss purchasing grenades off contacts in the Middle East (Source).
Brussels Network
Authorities allege Ayachi and Gendron are part of a tight-knit group of 20-30 Islamic extremists in Brussels. Ayachi founded the Brussels based Centre Islamique Belge (CIB), an organization that promotes hard-lined Salafist and pro-al-Qaeda views. In April 1999 Ayachi officiated the wedding of Malika el Aroud and Abdessattar Dahmane, known for assassinating anti-Taliban Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud two days before 9/11 in Afghanistan. Following Dahmane’s suicide attack, el Aroud returned to Switzerland from Afghanistan, remarried Moez Garsallaoui and later founded a prominent French jihadist forum website in Brussels.
Arrests Trigger Security Concerns
Following Ayachi’s and Gendron’s December 2008 arrest in Italy, authorities allege the two were carrying an assortment of fundamentalist digital propaganda and a martyrdom testament from a Brussels trained terrorist, Hicham Beyayo. Fearing imminent attacks, Belgian police arrested fourteen suspected Islamic extremists last December. Six of the fourteen including el Aroud, Beyayo and four other network members are facing charges of belonging to a terrorist organization.
Beyayo claims el Aroud’s husband, Garsallaoui, physically recruited him to fight in Pakistan. Garsallaoui and two others who traveled to the tribal areas of Pakistan are still at large. Garsallaoui continues to post statements on the French jihadist website with battle updates from Afghanistan and further calls for support form Europeans and attacks in Europe.
Outlook
We assess international terror groups will increase efforts to recruit marginalized young Muslims in impoverished areas throughout Europe. European nations, including Italy, Belgium, Spain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom face a long-term threat from al-Qaeda inspired reprisal attacks targeting prominent symbols of European culture in the long-term.