Female 'Al Qaeda Legend' Arrested

Belgian police Thursday arrested a woman they called an "al Qaeda living legend" as part of an operation to thwart a terror attack being planned to coincide with an EU summit in Brussels, a Belgian police source told CNN.
Malika El-Aroud is the widow of one of the men who killed Afghan anti-Taliban leader Ahmad Shah Massoud.

Malika El-Aroud is the widow of one of the men who killed Afghan anti-Taliban leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. Police seized 14 people, one of whom was planning to carry out a suicide attack in Belgium, the source said. They had contacts at the "highest levels of al Qaeda," the source said.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[cobraxus]

Luckily an alert citizen recognized Malika El-Aroud from her photograph(above).

[mredder4]

Exactly. I was going to ask what's the point of putting up photos of women in burkas. They are completely unrecognizable, so you're talking about an exercise in futility and wasted time.

[chaos4700]

I have a lot more faith in continental Europe's capacity to use surveillance, proper forensic work and actual justice to prevent terrorist acts like the ones it sounds she had her hand in. Not only that, but I trust they managed to do it without breaking any of their own laws or moral standards. Good work, Belgium, good work. You kept your citizens safe and it didn't even take warrantless search and seizure, air raids, extraordinary rendition or torture to do it!

[Horst]

Actually Europe has a much bigger problem with Islamists than the US. I guess you've never been to Belgium....their far right parties are way more extreme than anything we have here in the US. The UK's, France's anti-terror laws are much tougher than the Patriot Act, for example. In Holland you have to carry a national ID card or passport at all times. Of course you realize that most NATO countries cooperated in the renditions.

[MagisterLudi]

"In Holland you have to carry a national ID card or passport at all times."

And for a good reason. We all remember Theo Van Gogh and few others.

[JScott]

Viens Malika!

[redhead61]

Whats with the 'red eye' on the huffpost photos of late? I have also noticed the lack of using 'red eye reduction' fixes on photos on CNN as well. The other day it was a Nancy Pelosi photo that made her look like a demon...lol..come on!

[Ramirez]

This is all very nice but the important thing now is that the detainees are well treated and have adequate legal representation and access to media.

[Puzes]

I am glad the Belgim police were able to thwart this movement but, that alone will not stop zealots from attacking innocent people. They have been brainwashed from birth and no amount of reason and logic will change their opinions. How did these folks get their Belgique passports?

I worry that while our airport security in the US is searching my elderly mother because she has two metal hips or my daughter because she is traveling with a stroller, real terrorists are walking through the airport unhindered.

[bluguy8]

oh Sarah Palin --your so trendy ...how much was this frock

[TheyCalledMeSandN]

I'm not surprised this story attracts comments from all the trolls.. its too easy.

[Horst]

Be careful what you wish for...Islam is obviously a tremendous retrograde force, which may not be all that bad......look what happened when China opened up...all of a sudden Europe and the US can't compete. If you combine education with oil wealth you have a potent combination.

[sixx]

I know her. She's a number 99 assistant.

[vietveter]

Nice photo !

I saw her at the store last week. If you would have posted the picture earlier .......................

Whoa there........... she escaped and is at a Publix store in Atlanta buying dates.

[Lemmy]

Let the waterboarding begin!!!!

[ponderingmuch]

I remember songs, pop songs, from my childhood, that revered tragic teenage deaths: "Tell Laura I love Her," "Patches," "Teen Angel",..many others. This reminds me of that.

I think it is a good idea to try to understand the romance the suicide bombers and supporters attach to similar sentiments and how Elvis-like somebody like Bin Ladin is to them, in order to do anything to have a counter enticement to those sentiments.

I think this is the most serious thing I have ever said.

[BobsNotWorking]

I think you are absolutely right. The west simply does not comprehend the minds of these people [the suicide bombers].

[sib]

She is an insult to womanhood.

[brooklyncitizen]

what is George Bush? and insult to white manhood?

[mec57]

Like sib said, we're talking about a woman here, and this one is barely considered a member of her gender.

[functor]

WHY??...Just because she wears a veil that you don't like??

[sib]

Obviously by your so sexually oppressed comments you are a man, I really like to see you wear what she is wearing 24 hours a day to see how it feels.

[700rpm]

Her eyes gave her away.