Bombs for the birds
Forty-three suspected members of the underground Jihad group were arrested for allegedly plotting anti-Western attacks which would use "smart" carrier pigeons. Jailan Halawi investigates
The militant Jihad group re-emerged onto the political scene this week, with the announcement that 43 suspected members of the banned group had been arrested for allegedly plotting anti- American and anti-Israeli attacks in coordination with their expatriate leaders.
The clandestine group had maintained a low profile ever since it halted its attacks in Egypt in the mid-1990s. The news report about the arrests -- published in Sunday's Al-Ahram -- did not provide specific dates regarding when the suspected Jihad members had been arrested, but did include information about the charges being filed against the suspects, which included allegedly plotting attacks against Western interests in the country as well as public figures and vital installations. The group has reportedly revived its activities in five of Egypt's governorates: Beheira; Gharbiya; Cairo; Al-Mahala; and Qalyoubiya.
Though Jihad is led by Ayman El- Zawahri, Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man, initial investigations revealed that the suspects have no links with Bin Laden's Al- Qa'eda network, which is blamed for the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States. The group, however, is believed to have been inspired by Al- Qa'eda's ideas.
In mid-February 1998, El-Zawahri signed -- not in Jihad's name but independently of the rest of group's leadership -- a communiqué declaring the establishment of an International Islamic Front to Combat Jews and Crusaders. This front is an umbrella organisation comprising Bin Laden's Al-Qa'eda and three other Islamist groups from Pakistan and Bangladesh. El-Zawahri did not consult the rest of Jihad's leadership about the organisation's participation in the front's August 1998 bombing of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar Es- Salaam. But because of the part it played in that operation, Jihad became the focus of a worldwide US-led police chase that succeeded in capturing many of its leaders. Most were turned over to Egypt for trial, while the remainder were detained in US and British prisons.
El-Zawahri was blamed for the group's setback, and a dispute was triggered with most other local Jihad leaders.
The 43 suspects reportedly belong to an offshoot of Jihad and work under the local leadership which is opposed to El- Zawahri's alliance with Bin Laden, although they see El-Zawahri's ideas as an "ideological reference".
Sources close to the investigations said that the suspects were motivated by Israeli aggression against the Palestinians and America's support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. These factors inspired them to plot revenge attacks against the two countries' interests inside Egypt.
The group's alleged ring leader was identified as Ehab Ismail, and investigations revealed that he was in contact with the group's expatriate leaders via the Internet. The suspects allegedly used a rented space as a workshop to manufacture their explosives, and reportedly planned to carry out bombings using what were described as "smart carrier pigeons".
The suspects rented several apartments and ran workshops in Qelg and Nubariya, north of Cairo, where they allegedly prepared enormous quantities of TNT to be used in the planned. In tandem with the arrests, police claim they seized weapons, munitions and large sums of money. The report said that police discovered enough explosives to destroy an entire neighbourhood, and that the suspects planned to attach explosive material to hundreds of "smart" carrier pigeons, which would then be used to attack vital installations. No further details were given on how they might have set off the explosives.
