Thaindian News

London, Apr. 26 (ANI): At least 35 terrorists incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay were indoctrinated by extremist preachers in Britain to fight against the West, secret files obtained by The Daily Telegraph can disclose. Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza, the two preachers who lived off state benefits after claiming asylum, are identified by the American authorities as the key recruiters responsible for sending dozens of extremists throughout the world to Pakistan and Afghanistan via London mosques.

Senior US military commanders at Guantánamo Bay wrote the documents leaked by the whistle blowing web site WikiLeaks. They illustrate how, for two decades, Britain effectively became a crucible of terrorism, with dozens of extremists, homegrown and from abroad, radicalised here.

Finsbury Park mosque, in north London, is described as a “haven” for extremists.

United States intelligence officials concluded the mosque served as “an attack planning and propaganda production base”.

The files will raise questions over why the Government and security services failed to take action sooner to tackle the capital’s reputation as a staging post for terrorism, which became so established that the city was termed “Londonistan”. Of the 35 radicalised, 18 were originally from abroad. The other 17 were British nationals or citizens granted residency here after claiming asylum.

The British Government paid millions of pounds in compensation and benefits to people regarded as highly dangerous by the Americans.

Qatada, who was paid compensation under human rights laws for being “unfairly detained”, is described as “the most successful recruiter in Europe” and a “focal point for extremist fundraising [and] recruitment”. Hamza is accused of encouraging “his followers to murder non-Muslims”. (ANI)