Nine Lives: My time as the West's top spy inside al-Qaeda
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* After 9/11 Fezzani was captured, detained at the US detention facility at the Bagram air force base, and later transferred to Italian custody. His acquittal on terrorism charges in 2012 was one example of prosecutorial inadequacies in Europe. After he was deported to Tunisia he rejoined the jihadi cause.9
** It should be stressed, however, that there is no conception of a sudden apocalypse in Islam. The arrival of the Mahdi and the rule of Jesus Christ is foretold to lead to a victorious period for Islam preceding the final Day of Judgment. It is for this glorious ‘beginning of the end’ phase of history that al-Qaeda and ISIS strive to create the preconditions.12
* Muslims believe the Kaaba was the first site of worship of God on earth and was rebuilt by the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) but then fell into being used as a site for idol worship until the Prophet Mohammed founded Islam.
* In the decade after 1979 the United States channeled billions of dollars to Pakistan’s ISI, who in turn distributed funds to the mujahideen. They were the proxies in America’s efforts to bleed the Red Army in Afghanistan.
* One of the extremists captivated by the prophecy was Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev. He played a video entitled ‘The Emergence of Prophecy: The Black Flags of Khorasan’ on his YouTube account before the April 2013 attack.19
* He quoted Koran 2:30. ‘Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority.’
* ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani said in May 2016: ‘Do you think America that defeat is the loss of a city or land? Were we defeated when we lost the cities in Iraq and stayed in the desert without a city or land? And will we be defeated, and you victorious, if you took Mosul or Sirte or Raqqa or all the cities and we returned as we were in the beginning? No, defeat is losing the will and the desire to fight. [. . .] We don’t do jihad to protect a land or to liberate or control a land. We do not fight for finite power or position, or the ruins of a mortal world. If our aim was one of these things, then we would not have fought the world together and all peoples in all areas.’35
* Al-Qaeda focuses on how early Muslim communities resisted occupation to set the guidelines for how it should fight. Enslaving populations was not a feature of such defensive jihad. Under the concept of defensive jihad, Muslims do not need to receive instructions from a central authority to fight. Al-Qaeda has mirrored this by allowing affiliates a significant amount of flexibility. ISIS, by contrast, has focused on how early Islamic rulers fought ‘offensive’ jihad for guidelines for how to fight, arguing that because some early Islamic rulers carried out massacres and enslaved resisting enemy populations they can, too. Because all authority rests with the Caliph, ISIS does not have an affiliate system like al-Qaeda.
** According to a report compiled by Amnesty International, during al-Qaeda’s occupation of swathes of Yemen’s tribal areas between 2011 and 2012, the group inflicted ‘a raft of gross and deeply disturbing’ punishments including crucifixions, public executions, amputations and floggings.36
* ISIS’s English language Dabiq online magazine claimed that ‘one should remember that enslaving the families of the kuffār and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Sharī’ah.’ ISIS’s sex slavery has been enabled by women in the group. In another article later published by Dabiq, a female Islamic State member stated, ‘I and those with me at home prostrated to Allah in gratitude on the day the first slave-girl entered our home.’38
* In a 28 November 2017 audio statement, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri condemned the larger faction for their ‘violation of the covenant’ and for ‘cracking down . . . on those brothers who held to their pledge’.
* A file named ‘mubtakkar’ was recovered from alleged members of the al-Qaeda-aligned Ansar al-Shariah Brigades, a terrorist group accused of plotting to target security services and Christians. The file, as described in Egyptian courtroom proceedings against twenty-three alleged members of the cell, had striking similarities to the file posted by the Bahrain cell.46
* This helps explain why the percentage of the Muslim population that has been mobilized to fight as foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq is significantly higher in Belgium, the UK, France and Germany than in much of the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia.60
* There are tens of thousands of hadith in the various collections circulating today. A significant number, including those foretelling the emergence of a holy army of the Black Banners from Khurasan, were first written down during the Abbasid revolution against the Umayyad dynasty just over a century after the death of the Prophet Mohammed. The Abbasids created a new Caliphate ruled from Baghdad rather than Damascus. Perhaps not coincidentally, the revolutionary Abbasid armies emerged from Khurasan and fought under black standards. The third Abbasid ruler went so far as calling himself ‘Caliph Mahdi’. This makes it likely a significant number of hadith were simply invented by the Abbasid propagandists to provide their cause with
religious legitimacy. Furthermore, the notion that a single man could in the seventh century provide his followers with tens of thousands of sayings and have them all faithfully recorded seems inconceivable. In assessing the reliability of hadith, modern scholars will need to look at the credibility of the individuals involved in orally transmitting them all those centuries ago, their political agendas and the viability of their chain of narration. They should also nullify any hadith that are contradicted by the Koran, including those relating to punishments such as stoning. The renowned Islamic scholar Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani dedicated his life to overhauling how hadith are graded for reliability before his death in 1999, but his work is far from complete.
* They believe he is a direct descendant of the Prophet’s son-in-law Imam Ali and his son Imam Hussein, whose martyrdom in the Battle of Karbala in ad 680 created the schism between Sunni and Shia Islam and remains the root cause of the sectarian bloodshed in the Middle East.
Cast of characters
Family
Moheddin My eldest brother
Omar Another brother
Ibrahim Moheddin’s son. Sadly, he followed in my footsteps.
Abdur Rahman My cousin who also tragically followed in my footsteps
Khobar
Khalid al-Hajj Childhood friend; second leader of al-Qaeda’s Saudi wing
Yusuf al-Ayeri Islamic Awareness Circle instructor; first leader of al-Qaeda’s Saudi wing; aka ‘Swift Sword’
Sayyid Qutb Egyptian ideological godfather of global jihadi movement
Bosnia
Hazam Palestinian from Milan on my bus trip into Bosnia
Marwan The other Milanese Palestinian on the bus trip into Bosnia
Anwar Shaaban Egyptian leader of the Mujahideen Brigade in Bosnia
Abdin Bosnian jihadi whose female relatives were raped
Omar Abdel Rahman Egyptian ‘blind sheikh’ implicated in 1993 World Trade Center bombing
Abu Ayoub al-Shamrani Saudi cleric who instructed me in Bosnia
Abu Dujana Saudi jihadi who witnessed beheadings of Serbs in Bosnia
Badr al-Sudairi Saudi commander in Bosnia. Later in Londonistan; aka Abu Zubayr al-Hayali.
Abu Harf al-Libi Senior Libyan jihadi in Bosnia killed with Anwar Shaaban
Ahmed Friend from Bosnia jihad who helped me in Qatar
The Chechen Front
Ibn al-Khattab Saudi jihadi commander in Chechnya
Fathi Tunisian dentistry student I met at charity office in Baku
Mohammed Omar Local driver we used in Baku to smuggle supplies to Chechen jihadis
Shamil Basayev Chechen jihadi leader
Philippines
Farouk al-Kuwaiti Kuwaiti jihadi I spent time with in Bosnia, Afghanistan and the Philippines, who became al-Qaeda’s senior envoy to South East Asia. Also known as Omar al-Farouq
Abdul Nassir Nooh Jihadi fixer in Manila
Ahmed Doli Senior member of Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Mindanao
ABU KHABAB’S Darunta Facility
Abu Khabab al-M
asri Egyptian master bomb-maker and chemist; my jihadi mentor
Abu Bakr al-Masri Abu Khabab’s Egyptian deputy
Hassan Ghul Pakistani apprentice of Abu Khabab; later courier for al-Qaeda
Abu Nassim Real name: Moez Fezzani; Tunisian at Darunta later implicated in Bardo and Sousse attacks
Safwat Egyptian from London who trained with Abu Khabab
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Founder of al-Qaeda in Iraq, the group which morphed into ISIS
Al-Qaeda
Osama bin Laden Founder of al-Qaeda
Ayman al-Zawahiri Egyptian deputy to bin Laden; later al-Qaeda’s leader
Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri Top Egyptian aide to Osama bin Laden before death in 1996
Abu Hafs al-Masri Egyptian chief of operations for al-Qaeda before 9/11
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed 9/11 mastermind whom I first met in Bosnia
Abdullah al-Muhajir Real name: Abdulrahman al-Ali; senior al-Qaeda theologian; mentor to Zarqawi
Mustafa Abu Yazid Senior Egyptian al-Qaeda operative
Abu Khayr al-Masri Egyptian al-Qaeda operative who later became deputy leader
Abu Hamza al-Ghamdi Senior Saudi Qaeda operative who recruited me; chief of bin Laden bodyguard
Abu Abdullah al-Maki Saudi al-Qaeda suicide bomber in 1998 attack on US embassy in Nairobi. Also known as Abu Obeydah al-Maki.
Abdulaziz al-Juhani Saudi bodyguard to bin Laden
Abd al-Aziz al-Masri Egyptian al-Qaeda bomb-maker
Mariam bin Laden Sister of Osama bin Laden
Abu Yahya al-Libi Libyan al-Qaeda operative who would issue kill order against me
Khalil al-Deek American Jordanian al-Qaeda operative
Adam Gadahn American al-Qaeda operative and spokesman
Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi Iraqi al-Qaeda commander on the front lines in Afghanistan
Saif al-Adel Senior Egyptian al-Qaeda operative
Abdul Aziz al-Omari Saudi 9/11 ‘muscle’ hijacker I spent time with in Kabul
Abdul Rasheed al-Filistini Palestinian al-Qaeda operative; my partner in Kashmiri food business
Qasim al-Raymi Yemeni jihadi I met in Bosnia; later leader of al-Qaeda in Yemen
Other Jihadis in Af-Pak
Abu Zubaydah Peshawar-based Saudi gatekeeper for Arab jihadis in Afghanistan
Abu Said al-Kurdi Iraqi deputy to Abu Zubaydah; later quartermaster of Chechen jihad
Mohammed Hanif Afghan doctor who accompanied me on first trip into Afghanistan
Salahadin American Moroccan instructor at the Abu Rawdah camp in Darunta
Abu Musab al-Suri Syrian leading jihadi strategist; real name: Mustafa Setmariam Nasar
Ibn Sheikh al-Libi Libyan head of Khalden camp in Afghanistan
Abu Abdullah al-Scotlandi Scottish jihadi close to al-Qaeda; real name: James McLintock
Abdul Shukoor Mutmaen Taliban’s Sports Minister
Londonistan and the UK
‘Mohammed al-Madani’ Saudi Londonistan figure I met during Bosnian jihad
Babar Ahmad British jihadi webmaster I met in Bosnia; part of Tooting Circle
Said Arif Al-Qaeda’s intelligence chief in London; later senior figure with group in Syria
Abu Qatada Palestinian Jordanian cleric who was major figure in Londonistan
Abu Hamza al-Masri Hook-handed Egyptian radical cleric at Finsbury Park Mosque in London
Omar Bakri Mohammed ‘Tottenham Ayatollah’ who founded al-Muhajiroun
Saajid Badat Member of Tooting Circle recruited into al-Qaeda plane shoe-bomb plot
Abu al-Fidaa Stuttgart-based jihadi fundraiser
Abu Walid al-Filistini Palestinian Londonistan cleric who was sidekick to Abu Qatada
Zacarias Moussaoui So-called 9/11 ‘twentieth hijacker’
‘Abu Hudhaifa al-Britani’ British jihadi who quit the country shortly before 9/11 after being warned to leave
Anwar al-Awlaki American Yemeni jihadi cleric; later senior figure in al-Qaeda’s Yemen wing
Mohammad Sidique Khan 7/7 London bombings ringleader
Shehzad Tanweer 7/7 London suicide bomber
Germaine Lindsay 7/7 London suicide bomber
Abu Muslim Dudley ‘nicotine plotter’; later became ISIS bomb-maker. Real name: Hamayun Tariq
Javed Abu Muslim’s sullen sidekick
Ahmed Abu Muslim’s even surlier sidekick
The Arabian Gulf Post 9/11
Akhil Saudi chemistry teacher plotting poison gas plot on New York
Bassam Bokhowa Bahraini IT technician who digitized mubtakkar blueprints
Nasir bin Hamid al-Fahd Chief theologian of al-Qaeda’s Saudi wing who issued WMD fatwah
Abu Hafs al-Baluchi Courier/smuggler from Iran’s Baluchistan region; ex-fan of Bob Marley
Turki Binali Bahraini zealot who issued fatwah to kill me; later architect of ISIS sex slavery
Hamza al-Rabia Al-Qaeda’s Egyptian external operations chief before 7/7 bombings
Yasser Kamal Bahraini al-Qaeda member; ringleader of Fifth Fleet plot
Omar Kamal Brother of Yasser; arrested in connection with the Fifth Fleet plot
Hamad Kamal Another brother of Yasser
The Levant
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ISIS leader who declared himself to be Caliph in 2014
Abu Issa al-Sheikh Jihadi commander in Syria
Abu Mohammed al-Maqdisi Jordanian hardline Salafi cleric who mentored Zarqawi
Spies
Ali Mohanidi Captain in Qatari security services
Colonel al-Nuami Head of Qatari’s domestic security service
Tom Senior MI5 counter-terrorism official
Harry MI6 official who first debriefed me
Richard My first MI6 handler; doppelgänger of King Edward VII
Nick My first MI5 handler; Jurassic Park’s Sam Neill could play him
Alan My second MI5 handler; fan of Everton FC
Aziz British embassy driver in Pakistan
Freddie My second M16 handler, who took over after 9/11; Simpsons fan
Kevin My third MI5 handler, who took over after 9/11
George Kind MI5 shrink with resemblance to George Clooney
Nish Young MI6 analyst
Alastair My third and final MI5 handler; an Arabist
Dilay Ex-model who helped me report on Uighurs in Turkey
Oliver Former senior official at MI6
Rachel Senior MI6 supervisor
Others
Abdul Majeed Uighur jihadi in Istanbul
Seyit Tumturk Turkey-based deputy leader of World Uighur Congress
Orcan Smuggler who brought me into Syria from Turkey in 2013
Acknowledgements
AIMEN DEAN
The nature of the spy business limits the number of people I can acknowledge by name. I would like to thank the British intelligence officials who mentored me and guided me. You know who you are. During the eight years I worked for MI5 and MI6 I was never asked to take any unnecessary risks and I always felt my handlers had my back. The British intelligence services are deservedly lauded for their professionalism and integrity. Their mostly unheralded work continues to save many lives.
I would like to thank my co-authors Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister. Over the last three years we spent hundreds of hours working together as they documented and investigated my story. Their deep knowledge and painstaking research were essential to this book.
Both Paul and Tim have reported on al-Qaeda for many years and their expertise was vital in providing context to this story. Just months after 9/11 Tim was filing reports for CNN from Tora Bora as the United States bombed Osama bin Laden’s last redoubt in Afghanistan. More recently he has reported from the front lines in the war against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Paul is CNN’s Terrorism Analyst and the Editor-in-Chief of CTC Sentinel, the renowned flagship publication of the Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Paul and Tim’s previously co-authored book Agent Storm, the 2014 memoir of a Danish double agent w
ho spied on al-Qaeda in Yemen for the CIA, was named by the Guardian as one of the top ten spy books of all time. There could not be two better people to help me tell my story.
Many thanks to Alex Christofi our really excellent editor at Oneworld and their team on both sides of the Atlantic. I also greatly appreciate the efforts of our literary agents Richard Pine at Inkwell Management and Euan Thorneycroft at AM Heath and their teams.
I am so thankful to the millions of Muslims around the world standing up to the extremists who have sought to corrupt our religion. The battle is far from won, but we can prevail.
Lastly I’d like to thank my wife for all her support, intuition, guidance and wisdom. She has filled my life with hope and love.