Bin Laden members allegedly in hiding

MBABANE – Fears of terrorism are bound to infiltrate the country extensively than before during the new decade.

This follows news that a total of 10 male and female Asian nationals linked to terrorist group Al Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden, are allegedly residing and living undercover in various parts of the country.

This should undoubtedly trigger a cause for concern to the nation as the New Year unfolds, as such signs could signal an imminent attack that could most likely to first strike at our security lacking airport.

Some of the Asian suspects are believed to have arrived in the country in 2005 entering through the country’s various entry points. Their main entry point was one of the borders in the Eastern part of the country.
Swazi News is in possession of the names of the alleged Al Qaeda members and the passport numbers they provided when entering the country.
Last year, separate incidents of alleged terrorists attacks were nearly experienced in the country where bridges were bombed.
However, the suspects were not linked to the Al Qaeda group.  

Information gathered by the Swazi News is that the terrorists may have chose Swazi-land for its quietness and enabling environment to work on their targets without hinderence.
Last month, Al Qaeda group claimed being responsible for the recent attempt to detonate an explosive device on Detroit-bound Flight 253 on Christmas day by 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab. The attacker was subdued by a heroic passenger.

The foiled airline attack was the second to happen to a US bound airline following the infamous 11 September 2001 shocking attack at the World Trade Centre where dozens of Americans were killed thanks to Al Qaeda group members.  
Al Qaeda have also come out to state in the website that  more attacks are lined up in Africa, Asia, Europe, the former Soviet Republics, the Middle East, as well as North and South America.
Al Qaeda’s tactics include assassination, bombing, hijacking, kidnapping and suicide attacks. The word Al-Qaeda is Arabic for the word base.

United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Gordon Brown said to an online publication, “World leaders should work together in urgency in order to strengthen airport and airplane security.
“The failed attack reminds the world that terrorism is still a very concrete threat at a time when the world welcomes the new decade. This new decade begins just the way the old one did, with the creation of a new climate of fear on the part of Al Qaeda”, he said.

Police PRO Vusi Masuku said; “These allegations are to receive the serious investigation they deserve and cannot be taken lightly. Terrorism is a global enemy, threat to innocent human life and economy.
“We shall cast our net to the length and breath of this country with the aim of exploring all avenues of our investigation in order to probe and verify the existence of such allegations.  

“We appeal to people with information on the matter to volunteer such to the police through their channels of convenience”.
Masuku further said they will also engage their neighbouring counterparts in case such people move from one place to another.
“We will also be working hand-in-hand with relevant stakeholders and all our neighbouring counterparts. Police will not allow this country to be used by terrorists for whatever reason, which is why we will go all out to ensure that the matter is thoroughly investigated”, he said.
The suspects are also said to have illegally been issued with local passports by officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration.

Our sources alleged that some officers pocket up to E20 000 per head when facilitating to legiti-mise the stay of the terrorists in the country.
Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration Mgwagwa Gamedze said his ministry had worked hard to normalise the situation with regard to issuing of passports.
 “I have not heard of any incidents of malpractice in the issuing of the new bar-corded passports. There may have been elements of foul play when they obtained the old-version passports but I cannot say that now, they are not in possession of the newly introduced passports.

Before, passports were issued manually but now everything is done systematically and there is no way they could be in possession of the new passports. Our aim of introducing the new system was to eradicate the illegal issuing of passports within the ministry”, he said.
The United States of America (USA) has continuously emphasised its interest and desire in assisting other countries financially and otherwise towards rooting-out terrorists and also upholding any individuals linked with Al Qaeda.
The local US embassy could not be reached for comment.
 
About Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda is an international terrorist network led by Usama bin Laden [the ‘Osama’ spelling is deprecated, because there is no letter ‘O’ in Arabic).

Established around 1988 by bin Laden, al-Qaeda helped finance, recruit, transport and train thousands of fighters from dozens of countries to be part of an Afghan resistance to defeat the Soviet Union.
To continue the holy war beyond Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda’s current goal is to establish a pan-Islamic Caliphate throughout the world by working with allied Islamic extremist groups to overthrow regimes it deems non-Islamic and expelling Westerners and non-Muslims from Muslim countries.

In February 1998, Al-Qaeda issued a statement under banner of ‘The World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and Crusaders’ saying it was the duty of all Muslims to kill US citizens civilian or military—and their allies everywhere. Al-Qaeda would merge with Egyptian Islamic Jihad (Al-Jihad) of Ayman al-Zawahiri in June 2001.
When Al-Qaeda’s attacked the Americans in September 11, 2001, the United States launched a war in Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaeda’s bases there and overthrow the Taliban, the country’s Muslim fundamentalist rulers who harboured bin Laden and his followers.

In 1998, several al-Qaeda leaders issued a declaration calling on Muslims to kill Americans including civilians as well as those who are allied with them from among the helpers of Satan.

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