14 February, 2007

Suspected British al Qaeda links in Somalia.

The strange tale of the suspected four British jihadis in Somalia is beginning to unravel.

As recounted in yesterday's Times, four Britons, suspected of fighting in Somalia for the al-Qaeda linked Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), were amongst 10 foreigners deported from Kenya, to whence they had fled after the UIC got a hammering from Somali government forces. The Kenyan authorities sent the quartet sent back to Somalia and, from there, they have been deported to the UK. The four were: Shahajan Janjua, Reza Afsharzadagen, Mohammed Ezzoueck and Hamza Chentouf.

Once back in the UK, the four suspected jihadis were arrested by police under the Terrorism Act, 2000 but, the BBC reports, they have now been released without charge. Not surprisingly, reveals the Daily Telegraph, the terrorist suspects' families have been declaring the men's innocence with, by now, familiar refrains: "My son is innocent. He is not an extremist", said Ezzouecks's mother; and, "'He is not a terrorist. He went there for a friend's wedding", said Janjua's brother.

When attending his friends wedding, Janjua obviously fell into bad company, including two American al Qadea sympathisers, one of whom has been charged with terrorist-related offences by the US authorities. Details from Little Green Footballs.

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