Terror expert doubts UN report

UN claim that Egyptian government trained terrorists in Somalia doesn't add up, Boaz Ganor says

Yaakov Lappin|Published: 02.18.07 , 20:27

A UN report claiming that Arab countries trained al-Qaeda recruits in Somalia - and sent some of them to Lebanon to fight alongside Hizbullah - is probably false, a leading Israeli terrorism expert told Ynetnews.

According to an article which appeared in the Sunday Times, a UN report said "hundreds of Islamist fighters were flown, with Eritrean assistance, from Somalia to Syria and Libya for military training. Others were taken to Lebanon to fight with Hizbullah, the report to the UN security council has revealed."

The Sunday Times added that "UN investigators also detailed military aid given to the Islamists by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Arab states friendly to the West."

But the UN's report is most likely false, Dr. Boaz Ganor, founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), told Ynetnews. "This does not correspond to the information I have," he said.

"In terms of governments, I don't think the Egyptian government would be willing to train al-Qaeda elements. I don't think even Libya, mentioned by the report, would do it. It doesn't add up," he added. Ganor also said he didn't see an indication that Somali-trained jihadists were being sent to Lebanon.

Wealthy individuals from Egypt or other Middle Eastern states may have provided support for the al-Qaeda training, "but the support wasn't institutionalized," Ganor said.

He added that the inaccurate information contained in the report could be the result of the investigation techniques used by UN committees, which "don't use their own intelligence."

"They either use open sources, or other sources," Ganor explained. "Good Investigators know how to distinguish between real and false intelligence. When you base your intelligence on open sources, you have to take into account that you will be exposed to false sources," he said, citing examples such as internet forums as examples of unsubstantiated information which should be viewed critically.

'Al-Qaeda in Lebanon needs monitoring'

Irrespective of the UN's report, news of al-Qaeda elements streaming into Lebanon needed to be closely monitored, Ganor said. He cited a Katyusha rocket attack on Israel in December 2005 as plausibly being the work of al-Qaeda.

"Just as you see Hizbullah members crossing the border into Syria to support the Iraqi insurgency, the same route is open in both directions," Ganor said.

"The multi-national force in Lebanon is a very attractive target for the global jihad movement," he said, adding: "Israel is always an attractive target for them, but the UN force is more immediate."

Ganor said Shiite Hizbullah would probably view the entry of Sunni al-Qaeda cells into Lebanon as an unwelcome development. "I don't think its in Hizbullah's interest to see the global jihad movement move into Lebanon," he said.