Al Qaeda suspect breaches Olympic area ban five times

By IANS,

London: A 24-year-old Somali-origin man, a “potential suicide bomber” and suspected member of the Al Qaeda, defied a court order to travel near the Olympic Park area five times in a day, a media report said Sunday.


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With just a few days left for the Olympics to start, the man, who is under a control order not to enter the area in Stratford, east London, has been arrested over concerns that he could have been carrying out a reconnaissance mission for an attack, the Daily Mail reported.

The man, identified only as “CF”, travelled across London on a train that passes close to the Olympics area, a court heard. The Olympics begin July 27.

A suspected risk to national security, the man has been put under the “Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures” order that restricts movements, computer use and who he can meet.

He was discovered using the London overground route in the banned area through the electronic tag he has been ordered to wear.

Suspected to be fighting for Al Qaeda affiliated group al-Shabaab, the man attempted to travel to Afghanistan to fight as a jihadist for the Taliban and take part in suicide operations in 2008 against British troops there, the daily said.

The Home Office said he attended a terrorist camp along with six British nationals and received training from Al Qaeda leader Saleh Nabhan, who was later killed in a raid by US Navy Seals in 2009.

It told the court the man wanted to re-engage in terrorism-related activities, either in Britain or Somalia, and was “determined to continue to adhere to his Islamist extremist agenda”.

The disclosure about the alleged breaches that took place in April and May comes just after 14 terror-related arrests were made in Britain a few days ago.

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