Seattle Terror Suspect Wanted to Go to Yemen

By BRIAN ROSS (@brianross) and AVNI PATEL

June 25, 2011

One of the Muslim converts arrested for allegedly plotting a Fort Hood-style assault on a Seattle military installation appears to be a disciple of radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and sought to move to Yemen, where Awlaki is an al Qaeda leader.

Abu Khadir Abdul-Latif, 33, posted multiple comments on-line praising Awlaki, posted an Awlaki sermon on his YouTube video account, and made a YouTube video in which he blasts President Obama for authorizing the killing of Awlaki.

"Many Muslims ran to elect Barack Obama," says Abdul-Latif, dressed in camouflage. "But what has he done? He's done nothing and he made war against Islam. He's even put a hit on Anwar al Awlaki, our brother sheik, may Allah protect him."

In February, Abdul-Latif posted an ad on-line seeking a teaching job in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen: "I am looking for an opportunity to make hijrah to Yemen with the chance of having a job waiting for me to teach English to any and all ages." The word hijrah means migration or a flight to escape danger, and is used in Islam to refer to the Prophet Muhammad's flight from Mecca to Medina.

Abdul-Latif and Walli Mujahidh, 32, have been charged with plotting to attack the Military Entrance Processing Station in Seattle on July 5. According to the FBI, Abdul-Latif and Mujahidh sought to determine "how they could kill the most military personnel and escape or die as martyrs" and discussed using fragmentation grenades in the facility's cafeteria.

There's no indication Awlaki was in direct contact with the Seattle suspects, but his polished rhetoric has proven to be a powerful recruiting tool for al Qaeda and an inspiration to such terrorists as Faisal Shahzad, convicted of attempting to detonate a carbomb in Times Square. Palestinian-American Army Major Nidal Hasan, who had exchanged emails about jihad with Anwar al-Awlaki, is currently awaiting trial on multiple counts of murder and attempted murder for the November 2009 Fort Hood massacre, in which 13 people died.

There have been at least eight attacks or alleged plots against military installations since 2009. Just this week, Marine Reservist Yonathan Melaku was charged with shooting at military sites, including the Pentagon, after he was arrested in Arlington National Cemetery with a backpack full of inert ammonium nitrate.

The FBI says Abdul-Latif hoped the attack on the Seattle processing center would inspire other Muslims to carry out similar assaults on enlistment centers. According to the criminal complaint filed Thursday, Mujahidh told FBI agents that he wanted to die a martyr, and said the purpose of the attack was to kill U.S. military personnel so they could not be deployed to Islamic lands.

Abdul-Latif, a convicted felon once known as Joseph Davis, referred admiringly to the Fort Hood massacre, according to an FBI informant. He allegedly said that "if one person could kill so many people, three attackers could kill many more" and that if he was killed in his own attack, his son would be proud he had fought the "non-believers."

He has also posted a number of videos on-line attacking the U.S. military. In one, he criticizes the U.S. for alleged atrocities in Islamic countries. "There are even United States military soldiers who are over there raping women and killing Muslims and are not being held accountable for it." On a video of an Awlaki sermon, he posted a comment praising Awlaki and seeming to praise accused Ft. Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. "May Allah bless Anwar al-Awlaki," he wrote. "And hopefully there will be more soldiers who come out of the woodwork to serve Allah."

bdul-Latif Served in Navy

Officials say Abdul-Latif served briefly in the U.S. Navy in 1995. He has at least two felony convictions: robbery in the first degree in 2002 and assault a year later while serving time in Washington state for the robbery. Walli Mujahidh, who lives in Los Angeles but traveled to Seattle by bus this week, has no known felony convictions.

The FBI investigation revealed Abdul-Latif had converted to Islam while in prison for armed robbery. While allegedly making plans for his attack, he lived in an $800 per month Seattle apartment with his infant son and grateful wife.

"He goes to mosque, he works hard, I don't have to pay rent, he's clothing me, housing me." Binta Moussa-Davis told ABC affiliate KOMO-TV.

Just last month Abdul-Latif filed for bankruptcy, claiming to have only $1.08 in the bank.

Posting videos on YouTube, however, is free. The same month he filed for bankruptcy, he made a video in which he promoted jihad and dared viewers to turn him into the FBI.

"We must establish jihad," says Abdul-Latif as his son cries in the background. "I don't care what anyone says about that. You can turn me into the FBI, whatever."

Abdul-Latif and Mujahidh were arrested Wednesday night after allegedly buying automatic weapons from an informant.

Security Council concerned on deteriorating situation in Yemen

UNITED NATIONS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council expressed "grave concern" on the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Yemen, the Council's president Nelson Messone said here on Friday.

The Council urged all parties to show "maximum restraint" and to "engage in an inclusive political dialogue," Messone, the permanent representative of Gabon who holds the Council's monthly rotating presidency, said after the Council heard a briefing from the UN's Special Advisor on Yemen Jamal Benomar.

Messone said the Council welcomed the ongoing mediation efforts of the Gulf Cooperation Council to help the parties find an agreement on a way forward.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will go on a mission to Yemen from June 27 to July 6 to assess its human rights situation after hundreds of persons have died this year during clashes between government forces and protesters.

Yemen is one of many countries across North Africa and the Middle East where demonstrators have taken to the streets in large numbers this year to call for greater democracy and freedom.

Two Killed in Arhab Clashes with Republican Guards

Sana'a, June 25, 2011- Two people were killed in governmental raids against tribal militants in Arhab district, 40 km north of Sana'a. Republican guards have been clashing with militants for more than 24 hours, and are getting closer to occupying the military compound in the district.

Eyewitnesses said that the guards random;y raided villages in Arhab destroying tens of homes and forcing residents to join the tribal militants against government forces.

At least 15 residents have been injured in the attacks. Clashes have intensified and are ongoing.

Security officials in Sana'a are claiming that opposition forces are behind the continuous attacks on Republican Guards military compounds in an effort to weaken the ruling family and the Yemeni government.

Source: Yemen Post

Four injured in Taiz clashes

Sana'a, June 25, 2011- Two republican guards and two civilians were injured when clashes erupted between pro revolution militants and republican guards on Saturday.

Eyewitnesses said that the militants were occupying governmental buildings in Taiz city while republican guards tried to retake them. The buildings are still in the control of the militants.

The clashes continued for three hours.

The gunmen in the clashes belong to powerful tribal leader Hamood Mikhlafi, who vowed to control most governmental buildings in Taiz city to ensure that protesters are not attacked, especially after more than 60 protesters were killed by government forces in one night.

Source: Yemen Post

Kiwi journalist in Yemen prison

June 25, 2011

Source: ONE News

A Waikato couple are waiting for answers as their son is detained in Yemen.

Journalist Glen Johnson was picked after he apparently entered the troubled Middle Eastern country illegally.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Wellington has confirmed Johnson has been arrested, and that staff in Saudi Arabia are working with the British Embassy in Yemen to provide assistance.

However, he says due to the current security situation in Yemen, providing help is proving to be a challenge.

Stuff said Johnson has covered the Middle East for papers including The New York Times and France's Le Monde, since moving there just over two years ago.

He was also beaten by security forces while covering uprisings in Egypt in February, they reported.

The 28-year old is originally from the small town of Piopio in the Waitomo district, where his parents, Mike and Lin Johnson, are waiting for news from officials.

Mike Johnson says as far as he knew his son had been contracted to do a story in Africa, so the fact he is in Yemen is a surprise.

He says his son is not "gung ho" and is relatively careful, but is passionate about the Middle East.

The last time Mike saw his son was just over two years ago when he left New Zealand.

Mike and Lin say they understand that their son was not being mistreated,

They will not be going to Yemen to look for their son saying "we know it wouldn't be productive".

MFAT lists Yemen as an extreme risk for travel and recommends Kiwis avoid the country.

Yemen blacklists 43 opponents for pipeline blasts

SANAA, June 24 (Reuters) - Yemen's Interior Ministry published the names of 43 members of the opposition it accuses of blowing up oil pipelines and attacks on power pylons, its news agency said on Friday.
The Ministry of Interior said members of the Joint Meeting Party coalition were behind the pipeline attacks in Maarib province and the attacks on pylons, causing a fuel crisis and power cuts, the Saba news agency said, listing the names on its website.
It quoted a source at the ministry as saying "the ministry has registered the names of those elements in the black list and circulates their names".
Months of protests by hundreds of thousands of Yemenis demanding that President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down after 33 years in power have taken their toll on the country's infrastructure and public services.
In March, tribe members opposed to Saleh attacked electricity pylons in the central Maarib province triggering power outages in parts of the capital Sanaa.
The same month, a blast on Yemen's main oil pipeline had stopped the flow of light Marib crude to the Aden refinery, bringing it to a halt and leading to country-wide fuel shortages.
The government had blamed the pipeline blast on tribesmen supporting opposition groups demanding Saleh's ousting. A senior official said Yemen had lost nearly $1 billion in revenues since the blast.
Earlier this month, the 150,000 barrels-per-day refinery received a 600,000-barrel shipment of crude from top oil exporter Saudi Arabia as part of a promised 3 million barrels.
The source quoted by Saba said the ministry would engage all security agencies, including the national security and the security departments of the governorates, to arrest them.
The source also said the ministry allocated a reward of 3 million Yemeni rials ($13,500) for those reporting a wanted person or provide information leading to the arrests.
The fate of Saleh, who is recovering from a surgery in Saudi Arabia after an attack on his palace on June 3, is at the centre of a political crisis that has paralysed Yemen and threatened to tip it into civil war.