How did the Egyptian security foil Al-Qaeda’s plan to acquire nuclear weapons?

In 1995, the Egyptian security services in Tanta arrested the American “Jose Padilla”, who was nicknamed “Abdullah al-Muhajer” after his marriage an Egyptian woman. His wife was specialized in making chemical bombs and dirty bomb in Afghanistan that used against the remaining Russian forces.

The Egyptian security arrested him after his arrival from Afghanistan, and his meeting with Medhat Morsi al-Sayyid Omar, one of the most important leaders of al-Qaeda, known as “Abu Khabab al-Masri,” who specialized in making the dirty and chemical bomb, died in Afghanistan after a US raid on al-Qaeda strongholds in 2008.

 Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, al-Qaeda has not stopped its efforts to produce and use the dirty bomb, and has actively sought to develop its military capabilities and acquire nuclear bombs.

A senior source revealed to THE REFERENCE that Egyptian security forces thwarted al-Qaeda’s efforts to obtain a nuclear bomb bag from the Soviet Union after its dissolution to launch attacks on the USA.

 According to the source, the Egyptian security services in 1995 to monitor suspicious movements of one of the Egyptians who have Canadian passport, while his communication with one of the Kazakhs to buy nuclear bombs. This monitoring revealed a cell led by Ahmed Salama Mabrouk, known as “Abu Faraj al-Masri”, includes four other Egyptians, members of al Qaeda, and scientist from Nigeria.

The cell was able to communicate with the Kazakhs to buy the nuclear bomb bag, commissioned by the former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, through “the Egyptian Canadian”. The security services monitored the moves, including multiple meetings between members of al-Qaeda cell and the mediator in front of the Iranian embassy in Kyrgyzstan one of the independent state of the Soviet Union in 1991, the security also reveal the date of the meeting, which was scheduled in one of the border areas inside Iran.

Egyptian security forces arrested Ahmed Salama Mabrouk, the rest of the cell, the broker and the Kazakh seller, inside Iranian territory, along with a bag of nuclear bombs ready for detonation, in addition to a bag containing thousands of tourist checks issued to the bearer, along with the Egyptian side. The price of nuclear bag estimated at millions of dollars, as a down payment of the price of nuclear bombs.

The Egyptian security services were able to arrest the suspects, with bombs and tourist checks, and were able to smuggle them outside Iran without the knowledge of the Iranian authorities and deport them to Egypt, especially the members of the cell were part of the Egyptian Jihad organization and wanted in many cases. The forces also handed over the Kazakh seller to his country; to be tried there, as well as the Nigerian handed over to his country.

“Al Qaeda” confesses

 Al Qaeda cell then acknowledged its desire to obtain nuclear bombs, commissioned by Osama bin Laden personally, to launch nuclear attacks inside USA.

It is noteworthy that “Osama bin Laden” founded al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, in the beginning of 1988, and included several leaders of the Egyptian Jihad and the Islamic Group, in addition to the Arabian Mujahedeen who were called at the time of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, “Arabian Afghans” to launch terrorist attacks On the Western interests of the world. Bin Laden declared the establishment of the “World Front for Jihad against Jews and Crusaders” in 1998; to fight the Americans and their allies anywhere in the world.

Jose Padilla, known as Abdullah al-Muhajer, was involved in the preparation of the dirty bomb with Medhat Morsi al-Sayyid Omar, known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, a chemical weapons expert in al-Qaeda who graduated from Alexandria University and specialized in chemistry. Abu Khabab joined the Jihad organization before traveling from Egypt to Afghanistan, while Jose Padilla transferred to Islam in 1988, after meeting a number of followers of Dr. Omar Abdul Rahman in America.

Ahmed Salama Mabrouk, known as Abu al-Faraj al-Masri, was the Emir of the cell which bin Laden assigned it to acquire nuclear bombs. He was born in Al-Matania in Al-Ayyat, Giza, on December 8, 1956 and graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University in 1979, joined the organization of Jihad.

Abu al-Faraj al-Masri was arrested after the assassination of Sadat and spent seven years in prison. He left in 1988 to Afghanistan and met Ayman al-Zawahri, the current al-Qaeda leader who presented him to bin Laden. He was arrested again and faced trials on various charges, mostly involved in armed operations and planning.

He was released after the January 25 revolution and left for Syria after the June 30 revolution. He joined to Al-Nusra Front to serve as deputy of Abu Muhammad al-Julani, the leader of Al-Nusra Front, which declared itself a branch of al-Qaeda in Levant. He also announced the disengagement with al-Qaeda on June 28, 2016.

Mabrouk appeared next to al-Julani, and announced the cancellation of the name of Al-Nusra Front to become the front of “Fatah al-Sham”, and then changed again on January 28, 2017 to “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” (Organization for the Liberation of the Levant), with the merger with four other Islamic factions, includes Nur ad-Din Zanki movement. Mabrouk was killed in ” Jisr al-Shughour” area in  the countryside of “Idlib”, in an attack by the International Coalition forces on October 3, 2016.