2002 Strait of Gibraltar terror plot

Terrorist incident in Morocco Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present) May–June 2002 Strait of Gibraltar al-Qaeda (GICM) April 2022 In May and June 2002, Moroccan authorities arrested several people in connection with an Al-Qaeda plot to attack American and British naval ships and shipping in the Strait of Gibraltar.Morocco 'uncovers al-Qaeda plot' https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2037391.stm BBC News 11 June 2002 Three Saudi Arabians were arrested for the plot, followed by several Moroccan Islamists, many members of Salafia Jihadia.Douglas Frantz U.S. Enlists Morocco's Help To Counter Terrorist Plots https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/24/world/us-enlists-morocco-s-help-to-counter-terrorist-plots.html?_r=0 The New York Times 24 June 2002Anneli Botha Terrorism in the Maghreb: The Transnationalisation of Domestic Terrorism: Chapter 3: Terrorism in Morocco https://www.issafrica.org/chapter-3-terrorism-in-morocco Institute for Security Studies June 2008Carlos Echeverría Jesús The Current State of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-current-state-of-the-moroccan-islamic-combatant-group Combating Terrorism Center 15 March 2009 20 August 2016 29 April 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170429224532/https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-current-state-of-the-moroccan-islamic-combatant-group dead Plot and arrests The three Saudi nationals arrested were Zuher al-Tbaiti, the suspected ringleader, and Abdullah al-Ghamdi and Hilal al-Assiri. The three eventually confessed to the plot, having escaped Afghanistan in 2001 during the Battle of Tora Bora. The men had reportedly been instructed to the plot by a senior aide to Osama bin Laden based in Pakistan, named "Abu Bilal", suspected by authorities to be Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri who later reportedly confessed to having been behind the plot.Michael Richardson 2004 A Time Bomb for Global Trade: Maritime-related Terrorism in an Age of Weapons of Mass Destruction https://archive.org/details/timebombforgloba00rich registration Institute of Southeast Asian Studies 19-20 9789812302465 The plot involved using speedboats packed with explosives in suicide bombings against American and British vessels, and possibly suicide bombings in Gibraltar.Norton-Taylor Richard Tremlett Giles Borger Julian 12 June 2002 MI6 hunts terror plot network https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/jun/12/september11.world The Guardian The Saudis were married to Moroccan women through the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM). The wives of two of the men were arrested, suspected of having been used as money couriers for al-Qaeda and to have been aware of the plots; one of the two women attempted to hide explosives in her apartment when she was arrested by security forces.Wives arrested in Moroccan terror plot http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/06/11/morocco.terror.wives/ CNN 12 June 2002 According to one official, the plot had been planned "well before" the September 11 attacks. Attacks were reportedly also planned in Morocco, notably in the tourist centre of Marrakesh. The three Saudi Arabians were sentenced to ten years imprisonment in February 2003. The plot was widely compared to the USS Cole bombing of 2000. The bombing of USS Cole, as well as the later bombing of the French-registered oil tanker Limburg in October 2002, have also been linked to al-Nashiri. In 2003, NATO began escorting civilian ships through the Strait of Gibraltar amid fears of terrorist attacks.Morris Chris 17 March 2003 Terror fears spark ship escorts https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2855769.stm BBC News The Strait was mentioned as a target by Al-Qaeda in 2014, when through its magazine Resurgence it urged its followers of attacks against central transport hubs to destabilise the world economy.Jesús Rodríguez Safeguarding the Strait of Gibraltar http://elpais.com/elpais/2015/03/11/inenglish/1426084296_703572.html El País 20 March 2015 Zuher al-Tbaiti Zuher al-Tbaiti (ar زهير التبايتي) is a Saudi Arabian who was arrested in Morocco in May 2002 as the suspected ringleader of the plot. He was sentenced to ten years in prison along with two other Saudis, Abdullah al-Ghamdi and Hilal al-Assiri. Al-Tbaiti served as a military commander in Afghanistan before joining the Bosnian mujahideen as an artillery expert during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. Along with al-Ghamdi and al-Assiri, he escaped Afghanistan in 2001 during the Battle of Tora Bora, and arrived in Morocco. See also Operation Active Endeavour 2003 Casablanca bombings References 30em External links Inside an al-Qaeda Bust THE REACH OF WAR; U.S. Said to Overstate Value Of Guantánamo Detainees Morocco Category:2002 in Gibraltar Category:2002 in Morocco Category:Al-Qaeda activities in Europe Category:Islamic terrorism in the United Kingdom Category:Failed terrorist attempts in Europe Category:History of Gibraltar Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2002 Category:Islamism in Morocco Category:Islamic terrorism in Morocco Category:Strait of Gibraltar Category:Terrorist incidents in Africa in 2002 Category:Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 2002 Category:2002 crimes in Morocco Category:2000s disasters in Morocco Category:2002 disasters in Africa Category:Terrorist incidents in Morocco