Newsday.com: French Judge: ATMs Help Finance Militants:
"In recent years, the powerful magistrate has rounded up hundreds of suspected militants in France and earned a global reputation as having a key role in the fight against al-Qaida.
He said the focus now ought to be on the Caucasus region including Chechnya, as well as Iraq and southeast Asia.
'The Caucasus is a training zone that has partially replaced Afghanistan,' he said, adding that the situation was true even before the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
With the Afghan territory out of Islamists' control following the U.S.-led ousting of the Taliban in late 2001, Bruguiere said, Chechnya -- which he called 'a jihad land' -- as well as other parts of the Caucasus region -- including Ossetia and Ingushetia -- 'have taken on an enormous importance.'
'Today, the Caucasian problem ... is not unique to Russia. It is a true international problem because the majority of the Chechen cause has been hijacked by al-Qaida. It is not a political matter, it is a reality that must be controlled,' he said.
Tracking militants and their networks is difficult because they do not usually have a centralized command system and they are 'scattered over the world in many, many small cells and networks, not connected really with each other,' he said.
Bruguiere estimated there are 40 Islamic militant suspects in French jails, with 30 -- some of whom are not yet charged -- arrested this year alone. "
"In recent years, the powerful magistrate has rounded up hundreds of suspected militants in France and earned a global reputation as having a key role in the fight against al-Qaida.
He said the focus now ought to be on the Caucasus region including Chechnya, as well as Iraq and southeast Asia.
'The Caucasus is a training zone that has partially replaced Afghanistan,' he said, adding that the situation was true even before the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
With the Afghan territory out of Islamists' control following the U.S.-led ousting of the Taliban in late 2001, Bruguiere said, Chechnya -- which he called 'a jihad land' -- as well as other parts of the Caucasus region -- including Ossetia and Ingushetia -- 'have taken on an enormous importance.'
'Today, the Caucasian problem ... is not unique to Russia. It is a true international problem because the majority of the Chechen cause has been hijacked by al-Qaida. It is not a political matter, it is a reality that must be controlled,' he said.
Tracking militants and their networks is difficult because they do not usually have a centralized command system and they are 'scattered over the world in many, many small cells and networks, not connected really with each other,' he said.
Bruguiere estimated there are 40 Islamic militant suspects in French jails, with 30 -- some of whom are not yet charged -- arrested this year alone. "
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