British Muslim youth being trained to fight in Kashmir

By Thomas Abraham

LONDON, JUNE 28. Barely a week after the Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani's visit to Britain to discuss ways to clamp down on international terrorism, there are fresh reports of British Muslim youth being trained to fight in places like Kashmir and Afghanistan.

In an interview to the BBC, a 25-year old British Muslim who calls himself Abu Yahya has said he had spent four months in a training camp in Kashmir, and was going to recruit others to do the same. He said he had been trained ``in all kinds of warfare'' adding ``I learned everything with respect to fighting-making bombs, using artillery, using a Kalashnikov, how to ambush,''.

The recruitment of British Muslims to fight in Kashmir is an issue which worries both the British and Indian Governments. After meeting his British counterpart, Mr. Jack Straw, Mr. Advani said he was satisfied that the British Government ``shared the concern that no country should be used as a platform for organising terrorism.''

However, it was not clear whether recruiting people to fight abroad, and going abroad for training, was in violation of British law. The British Government is fighting a test case in the courts to try and deport a Pakistani-born Muslim cleric involved in recruitment for the Lashkar-e-Taiba group.

Abu Yahya said his aim now was to recruit other ``Muslims and request them either to give financial support or personally go there and fight.'' He added that Muslims were undergoing training in Britain as well. ``In Britain we will do whatever we need, to defend ourselves in case there was any fighting taking place in this country.'' Abu Yahya described himself as a ``soldier of Islam'' and said it was his duty to protect his fellow Muslims.

The BBC described Abu Yahya as being trained by an organisation known as Sakina Security, which offers a two-week military training course in the U.S. described as ``the Ultimate Jihad Challenge.'' When contacted over the telephone by this correspondent, the head of Sakina Security, who calls himself Suleiman Bilal, denied he was involved in training or recruiting people to fight in Kashmir.

He said his courses, meant to train body guards and those in the security industry, were no different from those offered by similar training organisations. He admitted he had been interviewed by the British security services, but said he had been allowed to continue with his training business. ``They wouldn't have done that if there was anything wrong,'' he added.

Mr. Bilal, who according to other British newspapers also goes by the name of Mohammad Jameel, said he had ``never been to Kashmir in his life'' and described press reports that he was recruiting for jihad as ``made up.'' He however acknowledged that a group of young British Muslims, arrested in Yemen last year on charge of trying to overthrow the Government, had been trained by him. He however said he was not responsible for the actions of all those he trained.

Sakina Services describes itself as an ``Islamic Threat Assessment Unit'' and offers courses such as an ``Islamic bodyguard course'' as well as self-defence courses. Its ``Ultimate Jihad Challenge'' is a two-week course on a ``1,000- acre state-of-the-art shooting range in the United States'' where recruits were taught skills such as ``live fire tactical team formation'' and ``live fire shooting from multiple positions'' for a price of œ 4,000. Mr. Bilal said ``a few people'' had signed up for the course that started in April.

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