April-July 2002: Group Linked to 9/11 Plotters in Hamburg Allegedly Pledges to Become Martyrs

In April 2002, a group of men in Hamburg, Germany, is allegedly overheard pledging themselves to become martyrs for Islam. This is said to take place in an Islamic bookstore. Fearing the group could be planning a new attack, on July 3, 2002, German police detain eight men over the incident. The men are questioned and then are let go. One of the men is said to be Abdelghani Mzoudi, an alleged member of the al-Qaeda cell in Hamburg with three of the 9/11 hijackers. [Chicago Tribune, 10/11/2002] Another is Abderrasak Labied, who is Mzoudi’s long-time roommate and is said to have been close to the group that included the hijackers. A police official will later say, “We wanted to give these individuals a signal that they were under police control, that they had no chance to continue with their development, that we were going to restrict their liberty, and that we were going to keep them under very close observation in the future.” [Chicago Tribune, 10/11/2002] Mzoudi will be arrested in October 2002 for a role in the 9/11 plot (see October 10, 2002). He will be convicted but then later acquitted (see February 5, 2004-June 8, 2005). In early 2003, it will be claimed that the al-Qaeda cell may still exist in Hamburg (see January 30, 2003), and at least one member of the cell from before 9/11 will join a group of Hamburg men who go to the militant training camps in Afghanistan in 2009 (see March 5, 2009).