Kafeel Ahmed

Kafeel Ahmed
Born Kafeel Ahmed
1 January 1979
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Died 2 August 2007 (aged 28)
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Other names Khaled Ahmad
Khalid Ahmed
Relatives Sabeel Ahmed (brother)

Kafeel Ahmed (1 January 1979 – 2 August 2007)[1] was one of two Islamic terrorists behind the 2007 London car bombs plot and the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack. He died of injuries sustained in the latter attack.

History

Ahmed was an Indian Muslim born in Bangalore, India and raised in Saudi Arabia during his doctor parents' tenure there.[2] He was an engineer who was studying for a PhD in computational fluid dynamics. He was often mistakenly referred to as a medical doctor in news reports.[3]

Mobile phone records have shown that, during his 2005-2007 stay in India, Ahmed had frequent communications with Malta, the UK, Finland, Saudi Arabia and Oman.[4] In May 2007, prior to departing to Britain from his native Bangalore, he entrusted his mother with a compact disk he said contained some important information on his "project." The disk has been handed over to police for analysis.[5] Although the analysis is not yet complete, it had been revealed that the disk contained speeches by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, propaganda against the United States and Britain,[6] some Jihad literature and the plight of the Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Chechnya. It transpired that Ahmed attentively followed campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, and frequented Islamist chat rooms on the internet. Digital material found included graphic depictions of real-life occurrences of torture in Chechnya, hundreds of bomb design from the internet.[7]

Kafeel was the brother of Dr. Sabeel Ahmed, also arrested in the aftermath of the attack.[2] A suicide note left behind indicates that the passenger of the vehicle, Bilal Abdullah, and himself, intended to die in the attack.[8]

According to police sources, he was an engineer pursuing a Ph.D. in computational fluid dynamics at Anglia Ruskin University, in the UK, on the topic of "Computational Approach to Ink-jet Printing of Tactile Maps." He would have earned a bachelor of mechanical engineering from India, and an M.Phil. degree in aeronautical engineering from Queen's University Belfast.[9] He might have been in the UK as early as September 2003. He is believed to have organised a Chechnya Day Meeting in his native city of Bangalore, back in February 2006.[10]

As an aeronautics engineer, Ahmed was able to secure employment, from December 2005, to August 2006, with Infotech, an Indian outsourcing company servicing clients such as Airbus and Boeing, before resigning abruptly.[11] It could be possible that he had access to sensitive design information about various aviation companies.[12]

He was a member of the Tablighi Jamaat missionary sect.[13]

2007 terrorist incidents

London car bombs plot

Main article: 2007 London car bombs

There are indications that Kafeel Ahmed and Bilal Abdullah were behind the 2007 London car bombs plot, and investigations are being carried out to unearth a possible involvement with the deadly 2005 Indian Institute of Science shooting, an attack with unknown suspects that are still at large.[14]

A Rediff news report reveals that Ahmed was planning on constructing a housing complex on the outskirts of Bangalore where Islamic Sharia law would be forcibly implemented on residents, despite India's secular constitution and separation of religion and state. In January this year, Kafeel had disrupted a meeting organised by a Bangalore-based organisation to discuss reform in Islam. Prior to his terrorist attack in Glasgow, he had visited numerous Islamist websites, including that of the Jamaat al Dawa, the parent organisation of Islamic terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba.[15]

Glasgow International Airport attack

He was arrested by Strathclyde Police (Scotland) in the aftermath of the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack. He was held hospitalised at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary in a critical condition, after he suffered severe burns in the attack. He had suffered burns to 90% of his body, and was not expected to survive—he had already been revived twice by 4 July.[16] The Sun reported Britain's National Health Service was paying over £5,000 a day to keep him alive, while security sources said this amount reaches £30,000 when security costs are included.

Death

On 2 August 2007, Strathclyde Police reported that Ahmed had died in the Glasgow Royal Infirmary.[3] His last rituals were held in the UK.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "...A rank holder & brilliant speaker". The Times of India. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pierce, Andrew (5 July 2007). "Ties that bind terror car bomb suspects". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 July 2007.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Glasgow Airport attack man dies". BBC News. 2 August 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  4. ↑ "Glasgow airport bomber communicated with Malta". Malta Media. 15 July 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
  5. ↑ "'Secret data' found on Kafeel's hard disk". The Times of India. 10 July 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
  6. ↑ "Bin Laden speeches found in Kafeel Ahmed’s house in Bangalore = Internationalreporter.com". 10 July 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
  7. ↑ "Glimpses into the mind of suicide-bomber". The Hindu. 14 July 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
  8. ↑ "Glasgow suspects left suicide note". The Australian. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
  9. ↑ "NI police aid MI5 on airport case". BBC News. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
  10. ↑ Pierce, Andrew (5 July 2007). "Police joining the dots: Kafeel held Chechnya meet in Bangalore, the Net has fingerprints". London: The Indian Express. Retrieved 5 July 2007.
  11. ↑ Oconnor, Ashling (10 July 2007). "Glasgow suspect worked for blue chip company". TimesOnline (London). Retrieved 10 July 2007.
  12. ↑ "New twist to Kafeel probe". TimeNOW.tv. 10 July 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
  13. ↑ "Sabeel, Kafeel had joined Tabligi Jamaat: Bangalore police". Hindustan Times. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
  14. ↑ Kafeel's dream was to build housing complex where Sharia would rule, Rediff
  15. ↑ Kent, Paul (4 July 2007). "Ringleader 'Al-Qaeda sleeper'". CourierMail.com.au. Retrieved 4 July 2007.

External links