The Mastermind of Al Qaeda in Europe?

More information has emerged on the alleged Al Qaeda terrorists who were arrested in Spain last week (and who had reportedly been planning to apply for political asylum).

According to the latest news from La Razón, one of the two “Russians” arrested is a Chechen whose real name is Eldar Magomedov, and who is said to be the “military commander” of Al Qaeda in Europe.

(By the way: I gloss the name “Magomedov” as a derivative of “Mohammed”, and the other Chechen is named Muhamed Adamov, giving this incident a Mohammed Coefficient of 66.7%)

Many thanks to our Spanish correspondent Hermes for the translation:

Eldar Magomedov, a.k.a. “Ahmad Avar”

The “military” commander of Al Qaeda in Europe has been caught in Spain

• The Chechen terrorist had been a member of Soviet special units.
  
• The secret serviced consider him to be one of the most dangerous jihadists.
  
• He was preparing a huge terror attack, probably in Spain or in France
  
• One of his targets could have been a shopping center in Algeciras

“Ahmad Avar”, whose real name is Eldar Magomedov, and who was one of the presumed Chechen jihadist terrorists the National Court judge Pablo Ruz sent yesterday to prison, was one of the top “military” commanders of Al Qaeda in Europe, investigative sources informed La Razón.

Magomedov, a Chechen-born Russian who also used the alias “Muslim Dost” and served in the ranks of the former Soviet Union’s special units, was trained in Al Qaeda’s training camps in Waziristan, a 11,600 square kilometre mountainous region in the northeast of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. Some terrorist cells that in the past attempted to attack Europe received training in this zone before going to various parts of Europe, among them Spain, and more specifically Barcelona.

Given his “mastery” in the lore of terrorist tactics, Magomedov became an instructor before fully joining the war in Afghanistan.

Western secret services considered him to be one of the most dangerous members of Al Qaeda: he has mastered perfectly car-bomb techniques; terrorist attacks with planes or in trains/subways; suicide actions with bomb-belts, and so on. For this reason they raised an international alert in order to catch him. His phone calls and his contacts were traced.

His presence in Spain, where he had established contact with one of the liaisons Al Qaeda has worldwide — in this case the Turkish national Cengiz Yalcin — gave grounds for suspicion that he was planning a huge terrorist attack in our country, in France or in other European countries. Muhamed Adamov, whose full name is Muhamed Ankara Adamov, and who always accompanied Magomedov everywhere, was another member of this operational cell, but he was less important in Al Qaeda than his boss.

The consulted sources pointed out that the shopping center which the Turkish Yalcin wanted to photograph from the air is located in Algeciras and not in Gibraltar, where he was working.

The south of Spain, “Al Ándalus”, is considered a top priority by Al Qaeda to be taken away from the “crusaders” — Christians. In their most recent communiqués they also included the Comunidad Valenciana in their demands. It has turned into an obsession for the jihadists, because these locations could also serve as a perfect base for future attacks against the western world.

Fake documents

When “Ahmad Avar” left the war in Afghanistan, he followed the commands of Al Qaeda’s leadership. According to all indications, he was sent to Europe as a “military leader” with a mission to commit terrorist attacks. He traveled through Turkey and Greece, and after that he traveled across Europe with fake documents.

He was undocumented when detained (his documents were being made by the Turk Yalcin, who already had photos of Avar and himself) and gave a false name to the officers. It cannot be ruled out that after noticing the presence of the police, they got rid of the papers they had been using for months.

Furthermore, the General Information Office of the Spanish Police, which has been congratulated by its colleagues from the USA, Russia and France due to the efficacy showed during the operation against this jihadist cell, is analyzing the computer material and the videos seized from the detainees.

In the same way, the staff from TEDAX (specialists in explosive ordnance disposal) still have to analyze the explosives found in Yalcin’s flat and also the prepared device which had a two-metre-long detonating cord.

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Translation of text in the header image

Biggest photo: Eldar Magomedov

1.		Trained in Waziristan (Pakistan). Eldar Magomedov fights in Afghanistan.
2.		He travels to Europe through Turkey and Greece with Muhamed Ankari Adamov.
3.		(March 2012) He travels to France to ask for political asylum (according to his statement).
4.		(May 2012) The two Chechens arrive at La Línea, Cádiz and are housed in the flat of the Turk.
5.		(Aug 2 2012) Both are arrested at a bus stop in Almuradiel, Ciudad Real.

Previous posts about the terror arrests in Spain:

2012		Aug		2		Terror in Ciudad Real
				3		More on the Ciudad Real Terrorists
				5		The Gibraltar Connection
				5		Al Qaeda’s Political Refugees in Spain