MI5 Fears Jihadis Will Use Mentally Ill As Suicide Bombers
The other day we had the story about the failed suicide bomber in a London restaurant that failed and was taken into custody alive. You’ll find out much more about him in the following story.
While it appears the Brits have a homegrown terrorist problem and threat they are being somewhat a bit Chamberlainesque about, I must wonder with all the illegal alien problems we have, and the liberal/leftist mind set in our own government in securing the borders and Homeland Security out of some political correctness crap … just how far off before we start seeing solo-type attacks on our busses, shopping malls, sporting events …
by David Leppard and Abul Taher - Times Of London:
Islamic terrorists may be targeting mentally disturbed or disabled people in Britain in a bid to form a new “brigade” of home-grown suicide bombers, security officials fear.
MI5 and police say the case of Nicky Reilly, who is being held over a nailbomb attack last week in Exeter, may indicate a new strategy of targeting vulnerable people with mental health problems to carry out attacks.
A counterterrorism official said MI5 was investigating the extent to which Reilly had been manipulated by a “charismatic” Al-Qaeda recruiter.
“It is a grotesque concept but they are using people who are clearly mentally subnormal,” the official said. “We know they have clever radicalisers who will take advantage of anyone they think they can manipulate, whether they have an IQ of 60 or 140,” he said.
Reilly, 22, is a Muslim convert who has spent time detained in a mental health hospital. He has been described as a shambling introvert with the mental age of a 10-year-old. He is believed to have Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, and may also suffer from schizophrenia.
Security officials say Al-Qaeda appears to have exported the tactic from Iraq, where disabled “foot soldiers” have been used to devastating effect.
They point to a case in February when a suicide bomber in a wheelchair killed an Iraqi general in Samarra, north of Baghdad. Earlier, two women, initially thought to have Down’s syndrome, acted as couriers for a bomb in Baghdad, killing almost 100 people.
Officials say people with mental disabilities are not only easier to manipulate but also less likely to arouse suspicion. If they are white Muslim converts, they are even less likely to be noticed.
The attack in the Giraffe restaurant in Exeter city centre on Thursday caught the authorities by surprise.
Police say Reilly – who is 18 stone, over 6ft tall and nicknamed the Big Friendly Giant – had three primitive but “viable” homemade bombs, which they believe he may have built using instructions on the internet.
One device exploded in the restaurant lavatory, leaving Reilly with severe cuts to his face. Yesterday police said he was in a stable condition in hospital.
Forensic analysis suggests his bombs were made from caustic soda, paraffin and nails in a tin box.
Police say that shortly before the explosion Reilly – who recently changed his name to Mohammed Rasheed – received a text message of encouragement. They are holding two men who were arrested at gunpoint outside an open-air cafe in Plymouth on Friday.
Security officials admitted that MI5 had been aware of Reilly but that he had not been under surveillance.
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Isn’t mental illness prerequisite #1 for being a suicide bomber?
May 24th, 2008 at 6:26 pmThere’s a “duh” article. Hell, I thought Islam WAS a mental illness. Since when are murderers not mentally ill anyways.
May 24th, 2008 at 8:01 pmIts only logical that the jihadi lunatics embrace their own.
Dan
May 24th, 2008 at 8:18 pmHow long do you think before the troops will come home?
Ive heard it will take at least 2 yrs if we started now.
Somebody is getting desperate. It isn’t us. I guess dogs strapped with bombs are next. Maybe pigeons for the harder to reach venues?
May 25th, 2008 at 12:48 am
Littlefox
May 25th, 2008 at 1:00 am“How long do you think before the troops will come home?
Ive heard it will take at least 2 yrs if we started now.”
They will come home in the same fashion as they did in Japan at the end of WW2. We’ll have a trading partner and an ally
for a long time. OH and if Obama gets in, Iraq will be the first campaign promise broken. Bet on it.
No shit MI5–really?
we’ll how about that, damn Brits are a heady lot.
May 25th, 2008 at 3:51 am@littlefox
This is no ordinary war. The war against jihadistan will go on as OBL said: “until we defeat Islam or Islam defeats us”. You’re looking at a 20 years war unless Iran drops a nuke on either Israel or us…In which case the timeframe will be shortened by our response.
If you’re refering to Iraq, if the Dhimoids get the WH, probably 18 months. But we’ll be back after the next 9-11.
Study Islam and you’ll understand why this war and particularly the war in Iraq is so important. Iraq is the spiritual capital of the Islamic caliphate. As long as we hold it AQ and the rest of the jihadis are defeated.
The minute we leave…without victory, a blood-bath will ensue rivaling the bloodbath in Indochina where 2million people were massacred by the communits in Laos, Cambodia and VN.
Only trouble is, whereas the NVA did not pursue us into our country, the jihadis will.
Their goals and their words to the west are the same as their evil prophet’s was during his Medina period: submit, convert or die. Accept Islam as supreme or else.
I’d rather fight for a 100 years than allow a 7th century camel-humper like OBL tell me what to do.
May 25th, 2008 at 4:28 amexactly as dan has said these people have probaly been planning this for years and embedding themselves and manipulating people and things as they go. not all of the bad guys are brain dead morons some are highly intelligent and cunning. i recently saw a young white muslim converts netlog profile and it said he wanted to study psychology and civil or structural engineering. and as i mentioned in another post yesterday about emos and scenekids etc the jihadis could very well have people starting these trends and then big business takes over and keeps them going because theres money to be made.this is going to be an extremely long and bloody conflict when it really kicks off and making part of an entire generation into weak pussies would be a very smart move on their part if the coalition countries required a draft to get enough troops to defeat them.
May 25th, 2008 at 6:32 am