Agence France-Presse files
Al-Qaeda members participate in military training in Afghanistan.
The threat from radicalized Westerners who travel to terrorist training camps around the world is “growing in size and prominence” and stopping them is of the “highest priority,” according to a joint American-European study released Friday.
While some so-called Western “foreign fighters” may take up arms and fight battles in foreign conflict zones, such as the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, Somalia and Yemen, others may be turned back home following their training, said the study by George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute and the Swedish National Defence College’s Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies.
“Foreign fighters returning to their Western host nations armed with operational expertise, jihadist ‘street cred’ based upon their bona fides as mujahedeen (those who strive and fight in God’s path), and the capacity and intent to orchestrate domestic attacks represents a current and likely growing threat,” the study said.
The warning comes as Canadian and U.S. counterterrorism officials are reportedly trying to hunt down three Muslim university students from Manitoba who have been missing since they travelled to Pakistan in 2007.
A report in a Canadian paper Friday said that University of Manitoba students Ferid Imam, Muhannad al-Farekh and Miawand Yar have not been in contact with their families in Winnipeg and are the subject of an investigation involving the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the FBI.
The trio were spotted in a lawless tribal area near the Afghanistan border believed to harbour senior al-Qaida members and traced to the mountainous region of Waziristan, a magnet for insurgents, the newspaper reported.
Shahina Siddiqui, executive director of the Islamic Social Services Association in Winnipeg, urged the public Friday not to jump to conclusions.
Siddiqui, who knows the family of one of the missing men, said she is now worried they could become targets of anti-Muslim sentiment.
“Now they have to worry about their own safety and the impact, the backlash, the fallout,” she said. “That’s always the concern.”
Ms. Siddiqui, who described herself as an elder in the local Muslim community, said she has counselled about half a dozen students who have been interviewed by authorities about the missing trio.
She said some students have been approached more than once and that the encounters have caused them a lot of stress.
Idris Elbakri, president of the Manitoba Islamic Association, said in an email Friday that he feels badly for the families of the missing young men.
“Although I do not know the families involved, as a parent, I feel sorry for them not knowing the whereabouts of their sons. I am sure others, whether Muslim or not, feel the same,” he wrote.
A missing persons report for Yar was filed in 2007, but removed a short time later because he was located, Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen confirmed Friday. He declined to elaborate.
A CSIS spokeswoman said Friday she could not comment on details about any investigation.
The RCMP said they could neither confirm nor deny an investigation involving the three men. However, the agency’s headquarters did release a statement saying that it is “concerned about Canadians going abroad to participate in terrorism-related criminal activities and maintains strong linkages with law enforcement agencies around the world to monitor situations such as these.”
According to the study released Friday, there are advantages for foreign recruits to travel to a training camp with companions.
“Bringing a companion and friend to the foreign training camps may serve multiple operational purposes,” the study said. “Being together with a friend reinforces the focus of the mission and reduces the chances an individual will turn back. Furthermore it helps support group cohesion.”
The study said that typical overseas training is sometimes limited to one month in a camp and involves training in basic bomb making. Foreign fighters gain the most experience from participating in actual fighting in conflict areas and achieve almost “rock star” status — which can play an indispensable role in attracting future recruits.
“Due to their image and their ability to operate with a degree of competence upon returning to their Western host nation, veteran foreign fighters are thus the primary concern to host nations as opposed to trained foreign fighters with no applied experience,” the study said.
One mechanism authorities have to prevent terrorist travel is the no-fly list, but getting on that list is reliant on the strength of the intelligence, said Martin Rudner, a terrorism expert and professor emeritus at Carleton University.
If an individual is able to get on a plane and make it to a foreign training camp, the challenge for Canada then becomes how to gather evidence.
The absence of a Canadian foreign intelligence capability — the ability to send agents overseas who can infiltrate a terrorist camp and gather evidence of actual terrorist behaviour — could be a constraint, Mr. Rudner said.National Post
While some so-called Western “foreign fighters” may take up arms and fight battles in foreign conflict zones, such as the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, Somalia and Yemen, others may be turned back home following their training, said the study by George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute and the Swedish National Defence College’s Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies.
“Foreign fighters returning to their Western host nations armed with operational expertise, jihadist ‘street cred’ based upon their bona fides as mujahedeen (those who strive and fight in God’s path), and the capacity and intent to orchestrate domestic attacks represents a current and likely growing threat,” the study said.
The warning comes as Canadian and U.S. counterterrorism officials are reportedly trying to hunt down three Muslim university students from Manitoba who have been missing since they travelled to Pakistan in 2007.
A report in a Canadian paper Friday said that University of Manitoba students Ferid Imam, Muhannad al-Farekh and Miawand Yar have not been in contact with their families in Winnipeg and are the subject of an investigation involving the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the FBI.
The trio were spotted in a lawless tribal area near the Afghanistan border believed to harbour senior al-Qaida members and traced to the mountainous region of Waziristan, a magnet for insurgents, the newspaper reported.
Shahina Siddiqui, executive director of the Islamic Social Services Association in Winnipeg, urged the public Friday not to jump to conclusions.
Siddiqui, who knows the family of one of the missing men, said she is now worried they could become targets of anti-Muslim sentiment.
“Now they have to worry about their own safety and the impact, the backlash, the fallout,” she said. “That’s always the concern.”
Ms. Siddiqui, who described herself as an elder in the local Muslim community, said she has counselled about half a dozen students who have been interviewed by authorities about the missing trio.
She said some students have been approached more than once and that the encounters have caused them a lot of stress.
Idris Elbakri, president of the Manitoba Islamic Association, said in an email Friday that he feels badly for the families of the missing young men.
“Although I do not know the families involved, as a parent, I feel sorry for them not knowing the whereabouts of their sons. I am sure others, whether Muslim or not, feel the same,” he wrote.
A missing persons report for Yar was filed in 2007, but removed a short time later because he was located, Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen confirmed Friday. He declined to elaborate.
A CSIS spokeswoman said Friday she could not comment on details about any investigation.
The RCMP said they could neither confirm nor deny an investigation involving the three men. However, the agency’s headquarters did release a statement saying that it is “concerned about Canadians going abroad to participate in terrorism-related criminal activities and maintains strong linkages with law enforcement agencies around the world to monitor situations such as these.”
According to the study released Friday, there are advantages for foreign recruits to travel to a training camp with companions.
“Bringing a companion and friend to the foreign training camps may serve multiple operational purposes,” the study said. “Being together with a friend reinforces the focus of the mission and reduces the chances an individual will turn back. Furthermore it helps support group cohesion.”
The study said that typical overseas training is sometimes limited to one month in a camp and involves training in basic bomb making. Foreign fighters gain the most experience from participating in actual fighting in conflict areas and achieve almost “rock star” status — which can play an indispensable role in attracting future recruits.
“Due to their image and their ability to operate with a degree of competence upon returning to their Western host nation, veteran foreign fighters are thus the primary concern to host nations as opposed to trained foreign fighters with no applied experience,” the study said.
One mechanism authorities have to prevent terrorist travel is the no-fly list, but getting on that list is reliant on the strength of the intelligence, said Martin Rudner, a terrorism expert and professor emeritus at Carleton University.
If an individual is able to get on a plane and make it to a foreign training camp, the challenge for Canada then becomes how to gather evidence.
The absence of a Canadian foreign intelligence capability — the ability to send agents overseas who can infiltrate a terrorist camp and gather evidence of actual terrorist behaviour — could be a constraint, Mr. Rudner said.National Post
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