23.09.2014
Over the last 24 hours, much has been mentioned about the Khorasan “group”, following the United States‘ decision to put a reward of seven million USD on the head of Mushin al Fadhli. At this point and time, it remains to be determined whether Khorasan is a new Syrian based group or whether it has just been given or taken a new name. In fact, the name Khorasan is very appropriate, as the Greater Khorasan area is vast and runs from Iran through Syria to Turkey and further. However, it’s unlikely that the name represents the group’s territorial ambitions, as they currently are (and have been since 2005) far more interested in the facilitation and organization of Al Qaeda’s supply lines and logistics in the region. As is widely known, AQ and Iran have had long links since Osama Bin Laden met with Hasan Al Turabi in Sudan in the early 1990s, and Iran still honors the agreements they reached then. Thus, the question is why the US are choosing this moment, to flag up individuals who are part of a network that has been on the US radar for at least two years.
In 2005, Yasin Al Surri was the leader of AQ in Iran. He was fundamentally a financier and logistics manager, extremely well connected throughout the region, and soon created a highly effective supply pipeline for people, money and more from Pakistan and Afghanistan through Iran to Turkey and onward. The US finally realized his involvement in 2011 and approached (or rather pressured) Iran to have him arrested. The Iranians did detain him the same year, but soon after, he was released and it is suspected that he remained in Iran. At the same time, Mushin al Fadhli was also detained and later released. However, on his release he was promoted to take over from Al Surri, and there is some debate as to whether Al Surri or Fadhli is now in control. Not only was Fadhli very capable of running the supply pipeline and recruiting others to assist in the logistical management in the region, but he also had combat experience in Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden trusted him enough to be one of the few commanders he shared the details of the planned 9/11 attack with.
Al Fadhli is a longtime AQ operative. He has been an AQ leader in the Gulf and was a facilitator for Abu Musab al Zarqawi in Iraq. Prior to the Iraq insurgency, he was involved in several terrorist attacks, including the attack on the French Ship MV Limburg in 2002, and the attack on US Marines on Faylaka Island in Kuwait. With AQ in Iran, he also provided support and guidance to two AQ terrorists, who were arrested by Canadian Mounties in April 2013 trying to derail a US to Canada train. Eventually he started to control the supply route – taking over where Surri left off – supervising the funding for activities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria through Turkey and the fighter movement across the region, all of which also moves through Iran. In addition, he has acted as a cell commander for several operational attacks, and he is very successfully leveraging his extensive network of Kuwaiti Jihadist donors to send money to Syria via Turkey. Mushin Al Fadhli has a deputy named Adel Radi al Wahabi al Harabi, who is a Saudi national, residing in Iran with Fadhli. Although al Wahabi has less operational experience, he fully assists in the management of the supply route through Iran.
Now for the question of threat to the US/EU: Yes there is a very obvious threat from Fadhli and his network and supply chain, but this is nothing new. They have been organizing the movement of money, weapons and fighters for years. There are some suggestions, that he/his group is/are after foreign fighters‘ passports in Syria. However, their network has a long history and international connections, so it would be surprising, if they only had the ability to secure passports in this manner. Should Fadhli reside in Syria (possibly based on his desire to “have a little scrap” once in a while), it is unlikely that he has a military wing to his network (as ISIS now has), but is rather recruiting for his cells. So back to the original point: Why are the US flagging this up now? Could it be another attempt to show how Iran supports terrorism? Are they highlighting the need for military operations in Syria, because there really is a threat of terrorists to the US? Has Fadhli fallen out with Al Surri and created another group, the “Khorasan” and is now running in tandem? This new focus on Khorasan raises many questions of geopolitical strategies and may be an enabler for US strikes in Syria.