Jordanian 'linked to bin Laden and al-Qaida'

A Jordanian accused of helping plot terror attacks in Germany formed a “close, trusting relationship” in Afghanistan with a man linked by the US to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden, prosecutors said today.

Shadi Abdellah, 26, who has said he served briefly as bin Laden’s bodyguard at an Afghan camp, was among nine alleged extremists detained across Germany in April 2002 on suspicion of plotting imminent attacks.

He is charged with belonging to a terrorist organisation, which carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years, and forging passports.

Presenting the charges in a Dusseldorf state court, prosecutors said Abdellah took orders from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant whom US Secretary of State Colin Powell has described as an “associate and collaborator of Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida lieutenants”.

The German cell, part of the Al Tawhid group, is accused of planning to shoot people in a public square in one German city and detonate a hand grenade near a Jewish or Israeli target in another city. Prosecutors have not identified the targets.

“It was (Abdellah’s) task to identify potential targets in Germany and above all to procure the necessary weapons,” prosecutor Dirk Fernholz said.

The defendant, a tall man with unkempt hair and glasses, appeared nervous, fingering his beard and looking around the court as the charges were read.

He listened through headphones to a translation of proceedings, speaking only to confirm his identity and indicate to presiding judge Ottmar Breidling that he was willing to answer questions about his alleged contact with al-Zarqawi and al-Qaida.

Abdellah attended a training camp in Afghanistan from December 1999 until May 2001, the prosecutor said. The defendant met al-Zarqawi in May 2000 in Kabul and the two ”developed a close, trusting relationship,” he said.

Al-Zarqawi allegedly told Abdellah in May 2001 to return to Germany to help the alleged leader of the cell, identified only as Mohamed Abu D.

He also asked Abdellah to procure blank French, Spanish and Portuguese passports as well as a forged Moroccan passport for al-Zarqawi himself, Fernholz said.

Al-Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmed al-Khalayleh, has been identified as a suspect at large in a plot to carry out terror attacks on US and Israeli targets in Jordan, culminating in last year’s murder of US diplomat Laurence Foley.

Al Tawhid supports the worldwide “holy war” against non-believers, in particular the efforts of bin Laden and al-Qaida, prosecutors said.