US and PST think Norwegians in al-Qaida is alive

Police Attorney Signe Aalling (PST).Photo Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB scanpix

More than five years after he joined al-Qaeda in Yemen, the Norwegian Anders Dale is still alive, according to PST and the State Department.

Dale converted to Islam in 2008 and visited Yemen several times before he left his pregnant wife and settled in the country on the Arabian Peninsula towards the end of 2011, VG writes.

Since then, over 700 members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have been killed in US drone attacks, but the Americans thinks that Dale is still alive.

– Yes, our assessment is that he is alive. We assume that Dale very probably still in Yemen. We can not comment on his movements in Yemen, a spokeswoman for the US State Department said.

She does not want to be named. The Ministry believes Dale has “received terrorist training and is trained in making bomb belts, improvised explosives and larger explosives for use in car bombs.”

The Police Security Service (PST) charged Dale under the terrorist act in 2014. They are also assuming that he is alive and poses a danger.

– Dale believed to pose a threat to Westerners and Western interests. Through his long-term stay with AQAP it is believed that he has acquired both the intention and capacity to commit acts of terrorism, Police Attorney Signe Aalling said.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today