Link Between Abu-Nidal, Jordanian Extremists
Language:  Arabic  Article Type:BFN   [Rafiq al-Zayn report from Beirut]  [Text] In less than one month, Lebanese security authorities in coordination with Jordanian authorities have succeeded in unraveling the mystery of the assassination of Jordanian diplomat Na'ib al- Ma'ayitah in Beirut on 29 January. It seems that the Abu-Nidal group is not the only party responsible for the operation. The file AL-WATAN AL-'ARABI has obtained on the investigation confirms close cooperation and coordination between Fatah-the Revolutionary Council [FRC] and Jordanian fundamentalist extremist groups sponsored by Iran. In this investigative report AL-WATAN AL-'ARABI reveals the details of this network, the secret meetings it held in Tehran, Amsterdam, and Beirut, the names of those who planned and carried out the assassination, the centers where they were trained, their affiliations, and how this leads to exposing dangerous secrets which made the Abu-Nidal group send threat letters to those in charge of the investigation. A few days ago, Palestinian Ahmad Mahmud 'Abd-al-Karim, a prominent FRC official, arrived in Lebanon from Finland on the special mission of following up the investigations the Lebanese authorities are conducting with the Palestinians from the Abu-Nidal group who are accused of the assassination of Jordanian First Secretary Na'ib al-Ma'ayitah in Beirut on 29 January. Reports confirm that shortly after arriving in Beirut, Ahmad 'Abd-al-Karim left for the FRC's al-Rawdah camps in Western al-Biqa' from where he followed the investigation through reports sent to him by people who secretly work for the FRC and who provided him with information in exchange for generous sums of money. Reports say that some officials in the Lebanese security organs have links with the Abu-Nidal group. At the same time, AL-WATAN AL-'ARABI has learned that the Abu- Nidal group recently sent threat letters to Lebanese officials who are currently investigating its members who are involved in the al- Ma'ayitah assassination. These are: Yusuf Sha'ban, Bassam Muhammad 'Attiyah, and Yusuf 'Udwani, codenamed Salim Mahyub. Lebanese investigator, Judge Sa'id Mirza ordered the arrest of the three Palestinians and listened to the deposition of three witnesses, including 'Afaf Yusuf [not further identified] who reiterated her previous deposition. Reports mention that the first steps in the investigation have revealed that the FRC planned and carried out the assassination in coordination with the Jordanian fundamentalist Islamic Mobilization Youth Organization [IMYO] which is financed by Iran. The IMYO was exposed in Jordan by Jordanian authorities on 17 August 1992 when the Jordanian security bodies confiscated weapons and ammunition the organization had been hiding in Jordan to be used to destablize the regime and security in the country. During the trials, this organization tried to claim that the weapons found by the authorities were temporarily hidden in Jordan but were to be smuggled into the occupied territories and given to the Palestinian strugglers there to enhance their ability to confront the Zionist forces and carry out military operations against them. The IMYO also claimed that the weapons that were found were not brought in from any neighboring country but were purchased on the local market. At the time, two members of Parliament were arrested; Ya'qub Qirrish anbd Layth Shubaylat on chrages of heading the organization. The security information the investigators have collected on the al-Ma'ayitah assassination shows that as soon as the IMYO was exposed, Jordanian fundamentalist elements belonging to various organizations such as Muhammad's Army, the Islamic Liberation Army, and the IMYO and others moved to neighboring Arab countries. Most of the factions left for Lebanon where they found the suitable atmosphere and the appropriate place to carry out their activities in cooperation with Hizballah. The information gathered also shows that some Jordanian fundamentalist elements moved to Iran where they received training courses in the Al-Quds camp and the Kermandi [name as transliterated] camp, and courses in intelligence work in the Darjah [name as transliterated] institute. Iran has sponsored these organizations to establish Islamic organizations and cells in the countries that have common borders with Israel so they can take power in these countries and turn them into Islamic regimes. Since that time, Iran exploited the elements from these fundamentalist organizations and established the Jordan office in the Liberation Movement's office. Ayatollah Shakhiry [name as transliterated], the official in charge of the Jordan section in the Iranian intelligence organ, took charge of this office. Confirmed information indicates that in early 1994, IMYO elements held an important meeting in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with officials from the FRC. The official in charge of the Jordanian elements was Shakir Abu-Jami', a Jordanian national wanted by authorities in his country and one of the most prominent members of the Jordanian fundamentalist Muhammad Army Organization. Abu-Jami' now lives in Sa'dah, Yemen, which is home to camps for Afghan and Arab fundamentalists. The information adds that the IMYO made several decisions to attack Jordanian interests and institutions and assassinate Jordanian diplomats in a move to pressure the Jordanian regime. The information says that the scheme was designed some two years ago and the Muslim Brotherhood Movement in Jordan refused to get involved in it because of the danger and because the Brotherhood Movement does not agree with the proposals of other fundamentalist organizations. Iran managed to recruit FRC members to work in the Jordanian fundamentalist extremist organizations by taking advantage of the hostility the Abu-Nidal group has harbored against Jordan and its regime and king ever since the group was expelled from the country. The information confirms that Abu-Nidal group's leadership agreed to execute the mission for the aforesaid reasons, because of its commitment to the policy of extremism and rejection that aims at torpedoing the [peace] process, and because of its ties to Iran within the framework of international terrorism. Detailing this cooperation that lead to al-Ma'ayitah's assassination, the security sources note that the al-Ramlah al- Bayda' area in Beirut contained a secret headquarters for Walid Khalid, the FRC official spokesman who was assassinated in the Lebanese capital on 30 July 1992. These meetings were conducted in the presence of an FRC official called Amjad 'Ata, a Lebanese member of Abu-Nidal group named Tha'ir, and a Jordanian IMYO official from the Idkaydik family. The plan to assassinate al-Ma'ayitah was drafted during these meetings. But why did the Abu-Nidal group and the IMYO choose to assassinate Na'ib al-Ma'ayitah and not any other Jordanian official in the Beirut embassy. To carry out the assassination, an intensive training course was conducted for the Palestinians Bassam 'Atiyah and Yusuf 'Adwani in a secret center run by Abu-Nidal group in Buq'atah in Lebanon's al- Shuf area under the supervision of a Palestinian expert in assassinations called A. al-'Umayri [not further identified]. Al- 'Umayri was implicated in the assassination of the FRC official Bahij Abu-al-Hana in July 1992 in Lebanon's al-Biqa' area, after he accused him of contacting the 'Arafat-led Fatah movement. Confirmed security information says a Jordanian fundamentalist took part in the assassination of al-Ma'ayitah. He was charged with observation and backup when the assassination was carried out.
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