headland

In yesterday's post, based on a Global Information System report published in Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily, I examined Kvadrat (Quadrant), a secret Wahabbi terrorist organization based in Bosnia. Financed by a notorious Saudi charity, Al-Haramain Foundation, Kvadrat has formed cadres of terrorists from the children orphaned during the Bosnia-Herzegovina civil war. These young recruits were trained by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security VEVAK in terrorism and guerilla warfare and sent, via the narco-trafficking safe-haven line, from Bosnia and through Turkey and Georgia, to Chechnya, where they joined al-Qaida-supported Chechen terrorist groups. It was also revealed that the operational leader of Kvadrat in Bosnia-Herzogovina is Pezo Adnan, but that he "takes orders" from a leader in Vienna.

The man in Vienna supplying the main control and direction of Kvadrat is businessman Mohammed Porca, a Bosnian Muslim. Porca is also linked to other Islamist organizations in Austria and Germany. The financing sources for Kvadrat in the international Muslim community has come in part from Al-Haramain, but also through donors cultivated by Mr. Porca.

The location of Kvadrat's offices, in Bosnia but now also in the southern Serbian region of Raska, adjacent to Bosnia's Gorazde Corridor, suggests that Kvadrat may now be getting some of its funding through narco-trafficking. The logistical line of narcotics from Afghanistan is through Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey, into Albania, and then through Kosovo and Raska areas of Serbia, into Bosnia and finally into Western Europe.

GIS sources identify the main activist radicals of Kvadrat to be: Softic Samir, susa Samir, Kolsic Nisvet, and Dzafic Emir.

Members of the Steering Committee of Kvadrat since 1999 include: Mezit Nermin ("Nerko"), (Sarajevo), Seknic Sendad (Mostar), Sinanovic Kermal, (Sarajevo), Tahic Berin (Sarajevo), Tahic Berin (Sarajevo), Alic Galib (Sarajevo), Motoruga Elvir (Sarajevo), Hodzic Emir (Sarajevo), Zukic Sabahudin (Sarajevo), Cengic Faruk (Sarajevo), Hasanovic Aliya (Sarajevo), Ahmetovic Amir (Kaknja), Nuhanovic Sanel (Bihac), Ortas Emire (Sarajevo). In 2004, the Steering Committee was enlarged. Known to have joined the group are: Cardakovic Seco, Dedovic Edin, Gusic Elmedin ("Melo"), and Skrijelj Admir.

Northern Cyprus, occupied by Turkey, is being used by Kvadrat as a safe haven for its fighters. Kvadrat is also said to be building a base in Northern Cyprus, to proselytize the Muslim community in the Cypriot society.

The Office of the High Representative, the internationally appointed governor of Bosnia-Herzegovina, has continued to deny that terrorist organizations are operating in Bosnia. Instead, Paddy Ashdown, the OHR and a former MI6 (British Intelligence) official, has only pursued alleged war criminals from the Serbian side of the civil war.

Al-Haramain foundation (AHF), the Saudi charity that supported Kvadrat had two U.S. branches through 2004: in Ashland, Oregon and Springfield Missouri. The organization's U.S. attorney was Al-Buthe and documents that provided him with broad legal authority were signed by Aqeel Abdul Aziz Al-Aqil, the former director of AFH. Since March 2002, the United States and Saudi Arabia have designated eleven branches of AHF as providing logistical support to the al-Qaida network. These branches were: Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Somalia, and Tanzania. These branches, as well as the former director of AHF, Aqeel Abdul Aziz Al-Aqil, are named by the UN's 1267 Committee's consolidated list of terrorists associated with al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden.

The US website FrontPage Magazine (September 16, 2003) details the AHF connection to al-Qaida:

"In September 2002, Indonesian al-Qaida informant Omar al-Faruq told the CIA that Al-Haramain was used to remit funds to him from bin Laden. Al-Haramain's website used to have a direct link to qoqaz.net, which is a website that is part of the al-Qaida propaganda network. The website is owned by Azzam Publications, bin Laden's propaganda vehicle, and operated from Houston Texas. Al-Haramain is also involved with the Al Baraka banking empire, which was also named in the 9/11 lawsuit. AL-Baraka finances the activities of bin Laden and al-Qaida. In his Senate testimony in July 2003, terrorism expert Steve Emerson said that although initially Saudi Arabia denied allegations that Al-Haramain were involved in terrorist activities, in June (2003) they stated that al-Haramain was not acting according to its charter and announced that all foreign offices were to be closed. Emerson did remark that the Ashland office was still in operation. Al-Haramain has another location in the United States. According to the 9/11 complaint, Al-Haramain owns a building in Springfield, Missouri that is home of the Islamic Center of Springfield, which is a mosque."

The Saudis announced in June, 2004, that they would dissolve AHF and fold all charities operating abroad into a new entity, the Saudi National Commission for Relief and Charity Work Abroad.

Yet, Al-Haramain Foundation has yet to be dissolved. According to the BBC Monitoring Report, ("Saudi Arabia Announces 'Dissolution' of Controversial Charity", October 6, 2004), Dr. Tawfiq al-Sudayri, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in Saudi Arabia, was reported by the London-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat to say by telephone on October 5: "A decision was issued today [October 5, 2004] to dissolve the Al-Haramayn Charity Foundation and all its branches." The Associated Press report of October 5 points out that AHF has until October 15 to dissolve all of its operations, so this Saudi "charity," the one that bankrolled the training of Bosnian orphans to become terrorists in Chechnya, is not yet dead.

Labels: al Qaeda, Al-Haramain Foundation, Al-Qa'idah, Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaida, Bosnia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Chechnya, Cyprus, Defense and Foreign Affairs Daily, Iran, Kvadrat, Osama bin Laden, VEVAK, Wahabbi

Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily published October 1 a Global Information System (GIS) report from Sarajevo that the Saudi and Iranian governments are working through Bosnian terrorist groups to support Chechen Islamist terrorist and guerilla operations against the Russian government.

A secret Wahabbi terrorist organization, Kvadrat (Quadrant), whose membership practice "Islam from the roots," was founded in Sarajevo in 1995. Kvadrat has expanded dramatically during 2004 in operations and funding by opening a new string of offices and facilities in Bosnia and in the Raska (Sandzak) Muslim area of southern Serbia. A new base for future operations is being built in Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus.

"The young Kvadrat members have been brainwashed for a decade; since they were little children in most cases. They have been taught to believe that only their zealous approach to Islam is correct; they are fanatical."

The report claims that individuals who were orphaned as children during the Bosnia-Herzegovina civil war are being indoctrinated and trained in the Wahabbist ideology and in the tactics of terrorism and guerilla warfare. These trained personnel are sent through the "green transversal," a narco-trafficking safe-haven line, that runs from Bosnia, through Turkey and Georgia, to Chechnya, where they join the al-Qaida-supported Chechen Islamist terrorist operations.

The Iranian VEVAK [Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS)] has assisted in the training of the youth of Kvadrat, with the Saudi Government providing financial assistance. The Iranian government has denied publicly that it supports Chechen Islamist separatists, in order to protect the continuation of arms and technology trade with Russia.

Bosnian sources have told GIS "The young Kvadrat members have been brainwashed for a decade; since they were little children in most cases. They have been taught to believe that only their zealous approach to Islam is correct; they are fanatical."

Kvadrat operates in the triangle area between Zenica, Tuzla and Sarejavo in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The operational leader of the group is Pezo Adnan, though he "takes his orders" from a leader in Vienna, Austria. Adnan lives in Zenica, and has a known muhahedin, "Acit", as his bodyguard and driver. Acit came to Bosnia through Zagreb in 1993, and was a member of the el-Mujahid terrorist unit in Bosnia from October 20, 1993. El-Mujahid operated within the Bosnian Muslim Army in 1995, and participated in beheadings and mass murders of prisoners in Ozren and Vozuca.

The national origin of Acit is not known at this time. He is known, from surveillance, to be in contact with Abu el-Mali, an "emir" (leader") of the el-Mujahid.

Training of the orphan boys has occurred since 2001 on Jablanickom Lake in Podi, Bosnia. A main trainer for indoctrination is Cengic Faruku from Sarajejo, though VEVAK officers are in charge of training in terrorism and guerilla warfare. Known members of Kvadrat include Zulum Almir, killed in Chechnya, and Bijedic Kenan, arrested in Turkey in 2001.

The Saudi funding of Kvadrat is funneled through the High Saudi Committee for Children Without Parental Care (VSK), based in King Fahd Cultural Center, in Sarajevo Bosnia. This organization is led by Sheikh Nasser al-Saeed, and its deputy is Abdul-Rahman al-Rashed. Another individual linked to the organization as a supporter is Khalid al-Aqueli, said to have a Bosnian passport. The VSK's office have been raided by NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) because of suspected links to terrorists.

Kvadrat has been supported by Al-Haramain charity (AHF) -- the Al-Haramain and Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Charity Foundation -- based in Riyadh. [Note: days after the publication of this report, Arabia announced the dissolution of Al-Haramain Foundation, according to an October 6 report of Al-Sharq al-Awsat, a London-based newspaper (BBC Monitoring International Reports, "Saudi Arabia Announces 'Dissolution' of Controversial Charity Foundation," October 6, 2004.)] The United States has publicly linked Al-Haramain to support of terrorists in Chechnya, as well as to the al-Qaida bombings of two U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar e-Salaam in 1998.

The U.S. branch of AHF is headquartered in Oregon and was established in 1997. A federal search warrant was executed on February 18, 2004, against all property owned by the AHF in the United States. The investigation included agents from the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A statement was issued by the U.S. Treasury department on September 9, 2004 designating the AHF a terrorist-linked organization.

The U.S. investigation of AHF revealed criminal violations of tax laws and money laundering. Individuals associated with the U.S. branch concealed the movement of funds to Chechnya by omitting them from tax returns or mischaracterizing their use as being intended for a prayer house in Springfield, Missouri. Funds identified as supporting Chechen refugees were diverted to support the al-Qaida network of Chechen leaders and mujahedin.

AHF has operations through the Union of the Comors, which was identified as a staging area and exfiltration route for the perpetrators of the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Labels: al Qaeda, Al-Haramain Foundation, Al-Qa'idah, Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaida, Bosnia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Chechnya, Cyprus, Iran, Kvadrat, VEVAK, Wahabbi