Omar Nasiri (born 1960s) is the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

of Moroccan origin who infiltrated

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

, attending training camps in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and passing information to the UK and French external

intelligence service An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of informatio ...

s, the

DGSE The General Directorate for External Security (french: link=no, Direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure, DGSE) is France's foreign intelligence agency, equivalent to the British MI6 and the American CIA, established on 2 April 1982. ...

. He claims in an exclusive interview presented on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...

programme on 16 November 2006 that the UK intelligence services were warned in the mid-1990s about the threat posed by al-Qaeda, but failed to act quickly enough. He also claims that

Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi (; ALFB transliteration: ''Ḁbnʋ ălŞɑỉƈ alLibi''; born Ali Mohamed Abdul Aziz al-Fakheri; 1963 – May 10, 2009) was a Libyan national captured in Afghanistan in November 2001 after the fall of the Taliban; he was i ...

deliberately gave interrogators acting on behalf of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

false information in order to encourage the USA to overthrow

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

, thus allowing al-Qaeda to use

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

as a

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

base. In his book, he claims to be deaf in his left ear due to an accident when he was younger, when he was using a Q-tip to clean his ears when his brothers, who were roughhousing on a bed next to him, fell on him and drove the Q-tip deep into his left ear. While this is heavily considered to be true, because his book mentions how "minor details have been edited or fabricated for protection of the author", it is unclear if he is deaf in his left ear instead of his right, or if this ever really happened.

Introduction to Abdullah and Abdurahman Khadr

Nasiri's book '' Inside the Jihad: My Life with al Qaeda, a Spy's story'' contains Nasiri's account of meeting two boys he was to learn were sons of the

Khadr family The Khadr family ( ar, أسرة خضر) is an Egyptian-Canadian family noted for their ties to Osama bin Laden and connections to al-Qaeda.

Reid Morden Reid Morden, Order of Canada, CM (born June 17, 1941) was the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service from 1988-1992. From 1991-1994, Morden served as Deputy Minister (Canada), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Canada, Foreign Affair ...

Running with, and from, al-Qaeda
, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', 25 November 2006 Although he identified them as Abdurahman and

Omar Khadr Omar Ahmed Said Khadr ( ar, عمر أحمد سعيد خضر; born September 19, 1986) is a Canadian citizen who at the age of 15 was detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay for ten years, during which he pleaded guilty to the murder of U ...

, the family has disputed his identification, stating that it was

Abdullah Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...

and Abdurahman who were at the camp.Guantanamo's Child, 2008 Nasiri states that, when he was attending the

Khaldan training camp The Khalden training camp (also transliterated ''Khaldan'') was one of the oldest and best-known military training camps in Afghanistan. It was located in the mountains of eastern Paktia Province, near to Tora Bora. While some reporters repeat d ...

ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi (; ALFB transliteration: ''Ḁbnʋ ălŞɑỉƈ alLibi''; born Ali Mohamed Abdul Aziz al-Fakheri; 1963 – May 10, 2009) was a Libyan national captured in Afghanistan in November 2001 after the fall of the Taliban; he was i ...

, the camp's director, introduced the two boys as "Hamza" and "Osama".Infiltrating Al-Qaeda: At a terrorist camp, a French spy meets the battling Khadr brothers
''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

'', 27 November 2006 According to Nasiri the two boys constantly fought with one another. He said their fights were unlike those of normal brothers, and gave an account of an incident on the marksmanship range, where the two boys were yelling at one another, turned their guns on one another, and all the other people on the firing range thought they were going to open fire on one another. Nasiri's account of Osama, the younger of the two sons, was that he was "almost hyperactive", and was constantly talking, bragging. According to Nasiri, he bragged about how important his father was, and offered Nasiri his first hint of

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

's role in running the camp—telling him "the other Osama" paid for all the food consumed there. Nasiri described the older son as much quieter, but he did tell about an incident, when he had been present in a public square, during the siege of

Khowst Khōst ( ps, خوست) is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is the largest city in the southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia. To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram in ...

, in 1991. A mortar shell landed in the square, but didn't go off. Nasiri said that the older son told him the Afghans were so desperate for money that a crowd started to try to dismantle the mortar shell, in order to sell the parts to the fighters. Nasiri said that he told him that everyone trying to dismantle the shell was killed in the explosion when one of the salvagers tried to get it open by hitting it with a hammer.

References

Publications

He authored the following books: * "''Inside the Global Jihad: How I Infiltrated Al Qaeda and Was Abandoned by Western Intelligence''" * "'' Inside the Jihad: My Life with al Qaeda, a Spy's story''"

External links

UK 'ignored spy's al-Qaeda fear'
- from

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

16 November 2006
Spy lifts lid on al-Qaeda
- from

16 November 2006
The Newsnight special - online video
(only available in the UK. Link may possibly expire within a few days).
A shorter (4 minute) version
of the interview presented in the Newsnight special.

-

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

article 17 November 2006 *
After a Decade at War With West, Al-Qaeda Still Impervious to Spies
b
Craig Witlock
of the

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

20 March 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nasiri, Omar Al-Qaeda British spies Federal Intelligence Service informants Counterinsurgency theorists Counterterrorism theorists Historians of espionage Espionage writers French spies Muslim writers Moroccan writers Moroccan non-fiction writers Moroccan emigrants to the United Kingdom Living people Post–Cold War spies Psychological warfare theorists Terrorism theorists War on terror English people of Moroccan descent Year of birth missing (living people)

Introduction to Abdullah and Abdurahman Khadr

See also

References

Publications

External links