Thread: GREECE SEIZES ISIS-LINKED WEAPONS SHIPMENT

GREECE SEIZES ISIS-LINKED WEAPONS SHIPMENT


Getty

by LIAM DEACON3 Sep 2015650

The Greek coastguard has seized a ship loaded with thousands of undeclared, carefully concealed weapons, and possibly explosives, en route from Turkey to Libya. Local media claims the ship is linked to Islamic State (IS) and to companies who have previously smuggled goods to Syria – the Turkish foreign minister denies this.

The ship had come from Alexandretta in Egypt on to the Turkish port of Iskenderun, and was bound for the Libyan port of Misrata – a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood-linked group “Libya Dawn.”

It was raided on Tuesday 20 nautical miles off Create and has now been escorted to the port of Heraklion where searches began on Wednesday. The ship flies under a Bolivian flag, but its seven-member crew are thought to be from Syria, Egypt and India.

Greek language website kathimerini.gr claims the firm who are registered as owning the ship were identified by American arms trafficking researchers Odessa Network as making nine shipments to Syria in 2012, possibly from Russian and Ukraine.
There is currently an arms embargo on Libya, which is embroiled in a complex, sectarian civil war with groups affiliated to IS controlling large areas. According to documents believed to be from IS and released by the The Quilliam Foundation, the terror group plans to use Libya as a gateway into Europe.

The local coastguard has confirmed the ship “was carrying arms without legal documentation,” but refused to say which weapons when questioned by Reuters. However, local Greek media described the ship as “carrying containers with weapons and explosives.”

Greek website news.in.gr has dozens of photos of the vessel. Its cargo appears to include containers stuffed full of guns, boxes of ammunition and miscellaneous bags. Heavily armed Greek Special Forces stand guard around the cargo.

The website says the seizures include “pallets with boxes containing a total of 491,950 bullets of 9mm, and about 5,000 weapons (shotguns police type) whose counting still continues.”

Adding: “The weapons and ammunition were carefully hidden behind simple load (drawers, cupboards and plastic gymnastic mats) deep into the container,” and were not mentioning on any of the documentation on board the ship.

A Turkish foreign ministry spokesman confirmed the cargo included weapons but said it was fully documented and was destined for the Sudanese police force. The vessel was also carrying building materials for Libya, he said.

“If investigations by the Greek authorities show that the consignment is going to receivers other than those stated in the documentation, and if that is shared with us, naturally measures could be taken,” foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said.

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015...pons-shipment/

ISIS Weapons In Europe? Greek Coast Guard Seizes Islamic State Ship Smuggling Ammunition

By Michael Kaplan @michaeld_kaplan m.kaplan@ibtimes.com
on September 01 2015 7:57 AM EDT

Some in Europe have speculated that jihadis could use migrant vessels to smuggle weapons and fighters into Europe. Pictured: Migrants stand onboard the Eleftherios Venizelos passenger ship at the port of Piraeus near Athens, Greece, on Aug. 26, 2015. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov



The Greek Coast Guard seized a vessel Tuesday carrying ammunition and weapons near the southern island of Crete, authorities said, according to the Associated Press. The shipment is believed to be linked to the Islamic State group in Libya, according to local media reports. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether it was connected to the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, and said more information would be released later in the day.

Libya has become a hotbed for ISIS fighters in recent months. The country has faced severe political turmoil since the 2011 uprising that toppled the government of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. Split between two battling factions, Libya has become easy prey for ISIS.

The news comes as Europe is debating a solution to a growing refugee crisis. More than 300,000 migrants, most of them fleeing war in Syria, have flooded the European Union's borders in recent months.

Pro-government forces have stepped up a campaign in recent weeks meant to oust the extremist militants from their country.
Earlier this week, jihadis and government forces battled in Benghazi, Libya, where five pro-government fighters were killed in two days of violence, media reports said. At least four soldiers died and 22 were wounded Sunday in clashes with ISIS in the southern district of Hawari.

ISIS fighters planned to use Libya as a gateway to Europe, according to documents believed to be from ISIS, which were released by the British Quilliam Foundation, an organization meant to combat extremism, the Gatestone Institute reported. By posing as migrants on vessels passing into Europe, fighters in Libya would be able to quietly slip into Europe.

"The Mediterranean is becoming the world's powder keg," Toto Martello, a spokesman for the fishermen of the Italian island of Lompedusa, told the Gatestone Institute earlier this year. "We are frightened of our boats being boarded by terrorists," Martello said.
http://www.ibtimes.com/isis-weapons-...nition-2076983

Above mentioned article from Gatestone Institute.Europe was told what would happen and chose to ignore the threat and wait for the UN to "save" them. UN - primarily financed by the US.

ISIS Sets Sights on the Mediterranean

by Peter Martino
March 2, 2015 at 4:00 am
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/53...ic-state-libya

• The failed state of Libya has become easy prey for ISIS. The terrorist organization has announced that it is planning to use Libya as a gateway to Europe.
• From Sabratha and Sirte, ISIS is able to launch attacks on Italy and Malta.
• There is also the threat of attacks on maritime targets, such as cruise liners on the Mediterranean.
• The Office of Migration in Rome confirms that there could be as many as half a million people in camps waiting to come to Italy.

Last week, Toto Martello, a spokesman for the fishermen of the Italian island of Lampedusa,sounded the alarm. "The Mediterranean is becoming the world's powder keg," he said. He demanded that the Italian government declare a state of emergency in Lampedusa and Linosa, two islands halfway between Italy and Libya. "We are frightened of our boats being boarded by terrorists," Martello said.
Last month, the Islamist terror organization ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) gained a foothold near Sirte, and shocked the world with video footage of the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians against the background of the Mediterranean Sea. The atrocity provoked Egyptian air strikes on Derna, another ISIS stronghold along the Libyan coast. This unilateral Egyptian action prompted the terror-supporting state of Qatar to recall its ambassador from Cairo.

ISIS terrorists prepare to murder 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya, February 2015.

As a failed state, Libya has become easy prey for ISIS, which so far only controlled territory in Syria and Iraq. Libyan military sources say that the terrorist organization also has a huge training camp of up to 4,000 jihadists near Sabratha, just 45 kilometers from the border with Tunisia, and less than 70 kilometers west of Tripoli, the Libyan capital. The fact that ISIS has managed to secure coastal territory in Sabratha in the west, in Sirte along Libya's central coast, and in Derna in the east, indicates that the whole of Libya is in danger of being overrun by ISIS.

According to ISIS documents published by the British Quilliam Foundation, the organization intends to send terrorists across the Mediterranean, posing as migrants on the vessels that traffic people. The terrorist organization has announced that it is planning to use Libya as a gateway to Europe. From Sabratha and Sirte, ISIS is able to launch attacks on Italy and Malta. Libya is just 300 miles way from Sicily, 250 miles from Malta and only 100 miles from Lampedusa. From Derna, ISIS can easily reach Greece. Crete is only 200 miles away, the Greek mainland 300 miles.

There is also the threat of attacks on maritime targets, such as cruise liners in the Mediterranean. "It's not a matter of if. It's just a matter of when," warns maritime expert Jim Walker.

ISIS has also threatened to inundate Europe with 500,000 migrants. Last year, more than 170,000 migrants arrived in Italy by boat across the Mediterranean. Libyan militias pocket millions of dollars from trafficking African and Arab migrants in refugee boats. The Office of Migration in Rome confirms that there could be as many as half a million people in camps waiting to come to Italy.

After the gruesome beheadings of the 21 Egyptian Christian hostages, one of the ISIS murderers boasted that Rome would be the next target. "We will conquer Rome, by Allah's permission, the promise of our prophet, peace be upon him," he said pointing a bloodstained finger northwards.

Former U.S. undersecretary of the Navy, Seth Cropsey, warned recently in The Wall Street Journal that ISIS is exposing Europe's southern littoral to attacks and kidnappings. He advocated greater American naval presence in the region. After the end of the Cold War, the U.S. naval presence in the Mediterranean was significantly reduced. However, the risk of military conflict in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean has never been higher than today.

The arrival of ISIS in Libya constitutes the biggest danger to Europe in decades. Analysts agree that never before has Italy been so exposed. The Italian intelligence services confirm that the situation could degenerate in a matter of weeks. Military sources say that at least 20,000 troops need to be deployed in Libya to counter the danger of an attack on Italy, but Italy is only able to mobilize 5,000.

While the Italians are clearly panicking about an Islamic State just across the sea, they are unable to combat it alone. Rome is, moreover, afraid to deploy forces in Libya. "It is not the time for a military intervention," Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said last week. "Our proposal is to wait for the U.N. Security Council. The strength of the U.N. is decidedly superior to that of the radical militias."

Egypt's military regime under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi also feels threatened by the presence of ISIS in Libya. In an interview with French radio station Europe 1, Sisi called for a UN-backed international intervention in Libya. Unlike the Italians and the other Europeans, the Egyptian military, however, has no qualms about acting on its own if the UN dithers too long. Cairo is currently preparing a commando and marine operation against Derna, to seize the town and destroy the ISIS stronghold there. Egypt is aware that time is running out.
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/53...ic-state-libya