We ask God to lead you to the good of this life. We ask God to lead you, and we hope it may not be sooner than was first ordained, to the good of the afterlife.
Peace be upon you and God’s mercy and blessings.
Tariq Anwar
From:
Essad
Date:
28 October
To:
Tariq Anwar
Folder:
Incoming mail from Yemen
Dear Brother,
Peace be upon you and the blessings of God be with you. We have searched for the goatherd. He is gone and so is his family. We think the sheikh has hidden them in the jebel. We have started our operation against the sheikh. And we have a man close to his household who loves us, and who loves and respects Abu Abdullah. He will find the goatherd for us, and he will help us to do what is necessary to the sheikh.
Ask Abu Abdullah to be patient. We must move without haste and yet without delay. We must make our move with great care. The sheikh is a dangerous foe, but not as dangerous, nor as powerful, nor as cunning,
We pray for your understanding and patience in this matter.
Essad
From:
Tariq Anwar
Date:
28 October
To:
Essad
Folder:
Outgoing mail to Yemen
Essad,
Describe your plan.
Tariq Anwar
From:
Essad
Date:
28 October
To:
Tariq Anwar
Folder:
Incoming mail from Yemen
I send you my respectful greetings.
One of the sheikh’s bodyguards was sent to Scotland to be taught how to fish for salmon. This he does not regard as suitable to his rank and family, having always believed that fishing was done by peasants who live in huts by the sea, and moreover he believes that fishing is not an occupation worthy of a family descended from the warriors who rode with Muhammad to Mecca nearly one and one half thousand years ago.
Furthermore he considers he has been deeply insulted by the Scottish bodyservant of the sheikh, the chief fishing teacher who is called Colin. Colin has told this man that we know of that he holds his fishing rod ‘like a big girl’. This is an insult which may or may not be a killing matter in Scotland but it is certainly a killing matter here. So this man will kill the sheikh for us. Now we are discussing with him the
Peace be upon you, and the blessings of God.
Essad
21
(
Mr Charles Capet (Rutland South) (Con):
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason he instructed that a six-man team, commanded by Captain R. Matthews of 41 Commando (RM), be sent into western Iran.
The Secretary of State (Mr John Davidson)
No elements of the battlegroup of which 41 Commando forms part are currently deployed anywhere except within the territorial boundaries of Iraq excluding those elements which have been rotated back to the UK for post-operational tour leave.
Mr Charles Capet:
To ask the Secretary of State to confirm the specific whereabouts of Captain R. Matthews of 41 Commando (RM) at this date, if he is not in Iran. To ask if Captain Matthews is, in fact, in Iran, as information laid before us clearly indicates, what plans exist for extracting him and his team?
The Secretary of State:
It has never been the policy of this government, or any other government, to comment on operational details of the deployment of units which might now, or in the future, compromise the security of those units. It is therefore the case that we cannot comment on the whereabouts now, or in the future, of the individual named. It is certainly the case that this government has a strict policy of non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states such as Iran, and therefore in no circumstances would a unit of 41 Commando (RM) have been deployed outside the territorial boundaries of Iraq where all armed forces units currently so deployed are operating with the sanction of appropriate UN resolutions. It follows, therefore, that the individual named could not be in Iran since there is no legal sanction for any units to be in Iran.
Mr Charles Capet:
To ask the Secretary of State if it is possible that Captain Robert Matthews and his unit may have unintentionally strayed into Iranian territory whilst on legitimate duties inside Iraq close to the border, and in the region of Lake Qal al’ Dizah? If this should be the case what procedures exist for ensuring the safe return of units in these circumstances?
The Secretary of State
We have not been advised of any accidental incursions but will continue to look into the matter as requested and will report to the House as and when any new information on this matter becomes available.
