Anders Cameroon Østensvig Dale

Anders Cameroon Østensvig Dale (born 19 October 1978),[1] also known as Muslim Abu Abdurrahman and Abu Abdurrahman the Norwegian,[2] is a Norwegian Yemen-based terrorist associated with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). After being wanted internationally since 2012, Dale was in 2014 listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States Department of State,[3] and blacklisted by the United Nations Security Council.

Early life

Born to Norwegian parents, Dale grew up in Nesodden.[4] He was a member of the Green Party, and appeared as a low-level candidate on the party's election lists in Oslo for the 2007 municipal elections.[5] He was reportedly a member of the left-wing radical Blitz movement in his youth,[6][7] and described himself as an anarchist and marxist.[8]

Dale converted to Islam in 2008,[7] and began attending the Rabita Mosque.[9] The same year, he was interviewed in an NRK radio program as a Norwegian Muslim convert who criticised "media propaganda" portraying Muslims as being violent.[10] His family contacted the police after he took part in the 2008–09 Oslo riots.[6][7]

Designated terrorist

Dale first travelled to Yemen to join Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in 2008, and returned to Norway several times until December 2011.[2] During his time in Yemen he is thought to have received bomb-making training by Ibrahim al-Asiri,[11] specifically to make bomb-belts, improvised explosives and explosives used in car bombs.[2] He broke off contacts with his pregnant wife, a Moroccan he married in 2010[7] following the last trip, and was reported missing by his family in April 2012.[4]

Dale became wanted by the intelligence services of several countries in 2012, suspected of having planned a terrorist attack against the London 2012 Summer Olympics.[7]

In July 2014 Dale was listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States Department of State.[2][12] He was also charged under Norway's anti-terror laws by the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), after having been under investigation for several years.[4] It was reported later the same month that Dale was the reason for increased security measures being introduced on direct flights to the United States.[1][11] In September 2014 he was blacklisted by the United Nations Security Council as one of eleven wanted terrorists requested to be blacklisted by the United States.[13][14][15]

One of the perpetrators of the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting, Saïd Kouachi, is considered likely to have met Dale as he trained with AQAP in Yemen in 2011.[16] According to Norwegian and American intelligence services there are clear indications that Dale is alive as of 2015.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "Terrorsiktet nordmann grunn til økt sikkerhet på fly". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). 22 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "U.S. designates suspected Norwegian al Qaeda member a 'terrorist'". Reuters. 16 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "Terrorist Designation of Anders Cameroon Ostensvig Dale". U.S. Department of State. 15 July 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "PST terrorsikter og etterlyser nordmann internasjonalt". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 16 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "PST etterlyser terrorsiktet nesodding". Østlandets Blad (in Norwegian). 16 July 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Familien tipset politiet om Al Qaida-nordmann" (in Norwegian). NRK. 5 July 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dette er den terrorsiktede nordmannen Anders Dale (35)" (in Norwegian). TV 2. 16 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "En dag ville ikke Anders spise svinekjøtt og drikke øl. Nå er han siktet for terror". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). 18 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "Her er nordmannen som skal ha blitt trent av al-Qaida". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). 5 July 2012.
  10. ↑ "– Vold har ingenting med islam å gjøre" (in Norwegian). NRK. 16 July 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Norwegian citizen linked to increased airport security screening, congressional sources say". Fox News. 22 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "US Hunts for Al Qaeda-Trained Norwegian Bomb-Maker". ABC News. 15 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "Exclusive: U.S., France propose U.N. sanctions on foreign Islamist fighters". Yahoo News. 22 September 2014.
  14. ↑ "U.N. Security Council blacklists foreign fighters, recruiters". Reuters. 24 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "Terrorsiktede Anders Dale svartelistet av FN" (in Norwegian). NRK. 24 September 2014.
  16. 1 2 "- Sannsynlig at Paris-terrorist har møtt terrorsiktede Anders Dale fra Nesodden". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). 9 January 2015.
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