A regional terrorism task force is investigating a possible terror cell in Seattle composed of suspected Muslim radicals with links to an al Qaeda recruiter in London, the former Taliban leadership in Afghanistan and a “jihad training camp” in rural Oregon, according to interviews and an investigative document obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
One in the suspected cell is described as a U.S.-born Muslim convert who provided computers to the Taliban prior to Sept. 11. The American also helped recruit a British citizen, now in U.S. military custody, for an al Qaeda terror training camp, the investigative report said.
The confidential document, distributed to federal investigative and intelligence agencies, apparently was intended to alert authorities that suspected cell members may be trying to “identify targets for a terrorist attack.” Among items seized after a related arrest were instructions on poisoning water sources.
In June, according to the document, U.S. authorities were alerted to suspicions that the American Muslim, along with his brother, also a Muslim convert, could be traveling together and seeking to “locate possible sites for a terrorist operation.” The whereabouts of the brothers could not be determined.
The investigative document also details a suspected terrorist training camp held nearly three years ago at an isolated ranch in Oregon. “In November 1999, local American Muslim converts with coordination of foreign radical Islamic extremists planned and conducted a jihad training camp in Bly, Oregon,” the federal alert said. “This camp was conducted in concert with Sheik Abu Hamza Al-Masri (of London).”
Abu Hamza, a Muslim radical who has publicly supported the suicide attacks on America, is regarded as a leading al Qaeda recruiter in Europe.
The suspected camp was supposedly held at the ranch of Semi Osman, 32. Believed to be a Lebanese national, is a former imam, or prayer leader, at a now-defunct mosque in downtown Seattle that is being probed by the FBI. He was arrested in may and has been charged with immigration fraud and illegal possession of a semiautomatic .40-caliber handgun with its serial numbers removed. While no terrorism charges have been brought, he was arrested in May by the Puget Sound Joint Terrorist Task Force. Osman is an active-duty reservist in the U.S. Navy and a former Army enlistee. Navy investigators are assisting the inquiry.
At that time, items seized from Osman’s residence included additional firearms, military field manuals, papers by Abu Hamza, instructions on poisoning water supplies, a visa application to Yemen and various other items associated with Islamic radicalism.
FBI agents working on the case descended last month on secluded Bly - a speck on the map 30 miles north of the California border in south-central Oregon ranch country known for its trout fishing and scenic isolation. However, locals recalled nothing suspicious at the site. One source knowledgeable about the case said the Bly episode prompted suspicion in part because a top aide of Sheikh Hamza Al-Masri -- the militant London cleric -- is suspected of having met with Osman in Bly during the supposed training period.
Source: Los Angeles Times