Lors Doukaev, the one-legged Belgian bomber-boxer who was caught in Copenhagen after trying to mail letter bombs to Jyllands Posten, had very close links to big names among the Islamist terror-supporters in Germany. Several of them were recently arrested and charged with recruiting for al-Qaeda.
A couple of weeks ago sources in the German Verfassungsschutz (intelligence service) told Ekstra Bladet that Doukaev visited the North German city of Bremen several times. A spokesperson for the authorities in Bremen told Ekstra Bladet that Doukaev was in Bremen at least once in 2009. He slept over in one of the city's mosques.
According to German sources close to the Verfassungsschutz, the German authorities are sure that Lors Doukaev had contact to the Muslim hate preacher Renee Marc Sepac, since the mosque Doukaev visited was the Mesjid Ul Furqan, in the Gröpelingen district. Sepac is the preacher in the mosque.
Four weeks ago, eight German citizens - seven men and a woman - were arrested for providing support for al-Qaeda and another Islamist group, as well as for forming their own criminal cell. The converts Renee Marc Sepac and his 23 year old sister, Vivian, were among those arrested. The sister was also charged for recruiting for al-Qaeda in Germany, while Renee Marc was charged for trying to get into an al-Qaeda training camp, an attempt which apparently failed.
The German authorities think that Sepac and the seven other suspects were part of a network called the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF), which the Verfassungsschutz links directly to Al Qaeda.
In June last year the German authorities raided the mosque in Gröpelingen when a large group was visiting the former kindergarten. The Verfassungsschutz said that it was an international meeting of Islamists. According to Die Welt, the 100 people in the mosque included Dutch, French, Austrian and Danish citizens. The Verfassungsschutz refused to comment whether Doukaev was spotted in Bremen then.
According to several German experts on the topic, the Islamist community in Bremen plays a central role in on both the German and European level, and many say that the mosque in Gröpelingen is in the eye of the storm.
The Danish intelligence service PET and the Copenhagen police did not want to comment on this story.
Source: EkstraBladet (Danish)
