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IRA's top bombers teach Muslim extremists how to kill our boys
(The Express On Sunday Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) ITIS the axis of evil most feared by the security services - veteran, cool-headed Irish terrorists teaming up with Islamic extremists.
Now, in the wake of the failed bid to blow up 10 transatlantic aircraft, the Sunday Express has pieced together the links between the two groups that signal a new era of terror.
There is also a further potent mix to the pot - former special forces' soldiers-turned-mercenaries from Britain and the US who are willing to sell their deadly expertise to the highest bidder.
The Sunday Express has learned:
Continuity IRA terrorists have visited Iran and Syria to sell bomb-making secrets to Hezbollah and Al Qaeda.
Roadside bombs used to kill British troops in Iraq are thought to have been created with the help of Irish bombers.
British students are being recruited for Iran-backed terror camps in South Africa.
Renegade former British special forces' soldiers are being lured by Islamic terror groups to pass on their secrets at terror training camps.
Terror groups are establishing camps in Britain, similar to the ones used by the IRA in the Irish Republic.
A former special forces soldier, now a mercenary, told the Sunday Express: "The Islamic terrorists are well financed and expanding their operations but they lack the professionalism and skills of groups like the IRA.
"They are beginning to realise that and so they are willing to pay for the expertise. That is why they are turning towards experienced and battle-hardened Irish terrorists, who have been made redundant by the peace process.
"There are an awful lot of Irish bombmakers looking for work, cash in hand and no questions asked.
"The roadside bombs turning up in Iraq have mercury-tilt mechanisms and laser triggers - the methods used by Irish terrorists in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles. The next logical step is that they will work with Islamic extremist terror cells here.
"There is also a growing pool of exspecial forces soldiers who have been doing mercenary work in Iraq and Afghanistan who will work for the highest bidder. At the end of the day these men are guns for hire. Most are loyal to their country but some are bad lads who can be bought for the right price."
The former special services soldier, who has worked in mercenary operations for the US government in northern Iraq, said Irish terrorists had once employed a renegade sniper from the US military. He added: "The IRA was desperate for a brilliant sniper so they sought one in the States and we were convinced he was ex-US Special Forces because he was so good.
"He used a Barrett rifle, which had a range of two miles or so. He went for the metal plate protecting soldiers' hearts.
The round was so powerful it pushed the metal plate through the body.
"He was devastatingly successful, killing seven or so soldiers. There was a massive operation to find him, but we never got close. He was just too good."
The security services are convinced there are training camps in Britain.
Detainees at Guantanamo Bay have also claimed that hate preacher Abu Hamza organised a training course in the Brecon Beacons in the late 1990s at which two alleged ex-Special Forces soldiers gave information on counter surveillance training and how to use firearms. There have also been claims of training camps operating in Kent and in national parks in the north.
MI5 believes young British muslims who are white and well educated have been "indoctrinated and trained" at terror camps in South Africa, which are supported by Iran. The recruits include graduates and gap-year students. They learn strict military discipline, how to fire weapons and explosives training.
In South Africa the terror group PAGAD, formed in 1995, is aiming to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state - and is busy recruiting terrorists. Between 1996 and 2000, hundreds of bombs were set off in Cape Town, targeting synagogues and gay nightclubs, before leaders were arrested, forcing it to go further underground.
PAGAD has been associated with South Africa's Qibla movement, which mushroomed there in the 1980s, inspired by Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini.
Qibla is a South African organisation but is manipulated by the Iranian intelligence services, which use it not only to propagate the world view of the Islamic Republic, but also as a cover to conduct espionage.
Intelligence expert Al Venter said: "Since the bombings in London last year PAGAD and Qibla have become even more radical."
An MI5 source said: "Using fake documents Qibla members have travelled to Britain to seek recruits. Its close ties with Tehran make members welcome in radical mosques."
Ex-CIA man David Dastych said: "The situation in South Africa is an increasing threat, with a large immigrant population from the Middle East sheltering terrorists."
Copyright 2006 The Express on Sunday. Source: Financial Times Information Limited - Europe Intelligence Wire.
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