Björn Stritzel Profile picture
Nov 15, 2019 28 tweets 17 min read Read on X
1. After the ISIS Jihadis he instructed had conducted deadly terror attacks in Paris and Brussels, Thomas-Marcel Christen was appointed as new ExOps commander for Europe.
He now plotted to conduct a similar attack in Germany. bild.de/bild-plus/poli…
2. Despite the fact that Hundreds of Germans had joined ISIS and propagandists like Denis Cuspert and Mohamed Mahmoud repeatedly called the "brothers" to act, there had been no major terror attack in Germany so far, which was rather embarrassing for the Almanis.
3. Thomas-Marcel Christen and OSEO then plotted to hit Germany with at least three hit teams. They were trained by TMC in his Katiba Furqan which was stationed in Raqqa.
The attackers were instructed to change their appearance to travel through Turkey into Europe.
4. Marcia Moews (pic 1) from Salzgitter – who's in YPG detention – was tasked to find "sisters" in Germany who would marry members of the hit teams for cover. She contacted Songül G. (pic 2) who was arrested and is now on trial, as well as an informant of German domestic intel.
5. TMC's first hit team consisted of Adnan Sutkovic (Bremen) and Zulhajrat Seadini (Hamburg). Sutkovic's face briefly appeared in the infamous 2015 "The tourism of this Ummah" video, where Mahmoud and Abou-Zand shot to captives in Palmyra. Seadini's face was also already known.
6. Sutkovic and Seadini were instructed to change their appearance: They smuggled into Turkey and underwent a hair transplantation. Counterterrorism officials recognized them nonetheless and they were arrested in late 2016.
7. For his plan TMC called another German ISIS member: Ömer D., who was well-known to German authorities.
His name came up in 2011 as he was in contact with Abdeladim el-K., head of the Düsseldorf cell, an AQ group that planned IED attacks in Germany, a plot foiled by the NSA.
8. Due to his veteran status, Ömer D. had some privilege within ISIS and worked in Idarat Mujahideen in Raqqa.
He had extensive networks in Turkey, Lebanon and Germany, which made him interesting as a logistician for TMC and OSEO's plan to attack in Germany.
9. In early 2017, German counter terrorism officials were alerted by reports that Ömer D. had secretly returned to Germany. He was put under surveillance, his case was extensively discussed in the Joint Counter-Terrorism Center GTAZ (kind of Germany's national fusion center).
10. At some point surveillance was lost and he went missing. Authorities knew that there was an attack plan against Germany – and it was only days until carnival season, with big events in Cologne and elsewhere.
Ömer D. was feared to act as the ringleader like Abaaoud in Paris.
11. It turned out that Ömer D. was still in Raqqa as he told me back then, authorities probably confused him with another man. I kept in contact with him for several months.
12. He was quite friendly and told me I would be a good "amni", which was funny but a bit awkward considering that I knew he was working with Amniyat's ExOps. He switched messengers and accounts while fleeing advancing SDF and coalition from Raqqa to Deir ez Zor to MERV region.
13. Our chats came to an end in autumn that year.
On 14/11/17, @CENTCOM and @CJTFOIR announced that they had killed Ömer D., whom they described as a "senior ISIS leader and "external operations coordinator" which was likely a bit exaggerated.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 14. Ömer D. was killed with his brother Yusuf when a rocket hit their car near the Iraqi-Syrian border area at al-Qaim.
I am rather convinced that in the end, Ömer D. wasn't involved in TMC's attack plot anymore but just wanted to leave ISIS and Syria.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 15. TMC however continued his plot against Germany:
The second hit team consisted of two recruits from his Katiba Furqan: Dominik W. from Hildesheim and Mohammed A. who had lived in Hamburg for some years. Unlike most German ISIS members both guys were tough fighters.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 16. But those two also didn't make it to Germany: While Dominik W. was killed fighting in Syria, Mohammed A. was severely injured and captured by YPG.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 17. While two of TMC's hit teams were identified and inoperable, authorities knew that he had recruited a third team.
This third hit team was never identified, its members and their current status are still unknown.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 18. What's also largely unknown were the potential targets in TMC's plot. Given the existence of three hit teams and the successful operations in Brussels and Paris, it is quite possible that he planned simultaneous attacks on different locations for maximum effect.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 19. Only one location was quite likely included in Abu Musab's terror plot: The "M’era Luna" in Hildesheim, an alternative music festival with 25,000 fans each year.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 20. The "M’era Luna" has some similarities to the Bataclan: Men and women having a good time together with loud music and alcohol – all of which is hated by Islamists.
In its Paris claim, ISIS called the victims at Bataclan "idolatrists" which had gathered for a "perverse feast".
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 21. The Bataclan had been attacked by Islamists long before 13/11. Hildesheim was one of the main hotspots of Germany's Jihadi scene due to the Abu Walaa network. It's more than likely that the Jihadis from Hildesheim knew and hated the "M’era Luna" in their small town.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 22. And finally: Like the Bataclan, the M’era Luna isn't quite a really famous symbol to attack. But someone who knows the area has an advantage in an attack – and security there might be not as high as in bigger or more famous locations.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 23. And TMC aka Abu Musab al-Almani, the ExOps commander for Europe who was probably the most senior German speaking Jihadi in ISIS?
While others involved in Paris were killed one by one, his paranoid OPSEC – no pics, no contact with his family since 2013 – let him survive.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 24. But in 2017, his mother received a call from Syria. Ahmed T., an ISIS member from Frankfurt, told her that her son was wounded and in urgent need of medical care. She should give some thousand Euro to an intermediary.
This was a scam – and the money likely meant for the plot.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 25. But later in 2017, TMC was indeed targeted by an airstrike, a German ISIS member told me: "He survived and was rushed to the hospital. He then send a courier and told me to visit him, but I was afraid that he suspected me to have a connection to the airstrike."
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 26. According to the German ISIS guy, who was a good friend of TMC, but not a member of his ExOps teams, a second airstrike hit close to the hospital. He had not heard from "Abu Musab" ever since, but only conflicting rumours.
Authorities are still investigating TMC.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 27. TMC is suffering from Haemophilia, which makes it even harder to survive in these conditions. On the other hand: He had personal ties to al-Adnani and was apparently respected in the leadership of the org, which might have lead ISIS to invest in his treatment and survival.
@CENTCOM @CJTFOIR 28. To be continued, inshallah.

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More from @bjoernstritzel

Apr 16, 2023
1. During the last months in Ukraine I found hundreds of documents left behind by Russian Forces in several places.
First batch comes from RU military unit 3723, the NG’s 121st operational regiment which took part in the Kharkiv offensive/siege until September. Few examples: Image
2. Most ironic one is this notebook from a NCO. According to his notes he got lectures on international terrorism including the 1998 Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court, war crimes, crimes against humanity. Then took his notebook to Ukraine during a war of aggression. Image
3. The 121. operational regiment took part in the offensive on Kharkiv city and got trashed by Ukrainian defenders.
As it’s a National Guard unit, the assumption was they were sent in just for crowd control.
The documents now reveal that’s not true: They were prepared to fight. Image
Read 13 tweets
Apr 7, 2023
There are some irregularities/anomalies in the alleged US-Ukraine docs which aren't compelling evidence of a forgery in itself, but I like to imagine Budanov giggling in his office about feeding RU false data ahead of the UKR offensive.
Lots of info in the docs is either already public or tactical updates for daily briefings from five weeks ago, which don’t have much value anymore of course. And then there‘s info about ammo consumption, troop strength and others worth faking ahead of an offensive, but who knows.
Just for clarification: I am not talking about the cheap fake in one of the documents swapping the number of RU/UKR KIA numbers, but the documents itself, some of which appear to have some irregularities/anomalies. ImageImage
Read 5 tweets
Feb 25, 2023
Hinter dem Ruf nach Frieden verschanzen sich die Mörder. Image
„Es ist die Moralität von Debilen.“ (E. Geisel). ImageImage
Das einigende Ressentiment dieser Friedensvolksgemeinschaft: Sie haben den USA die Niederlage 1945 immer noch nicht verziehen. ImageImageImageImage
Read 9 tweets
Dec 30, 2022
AFU field hospital for Bakhmut-Soledar.
Any politician who denies Ukraine much-needed weapons should spend a day here.
Soldiers arrived with broken bones, concussions, some are shellshocked after heavy artillery came down very close to them. Many of them had shrapnel wounds, but more and more were also suffering from gunshot wounds as the fighting increasingly turns into CQB.
Vasiliy is a trained neurologist, now he and his colleagues are saving the lives of their comrades 24/7. After they stabilized them here they’ll be brought to a hospital.
Read 10 tweets
Dec 10, 2022
While AFU has deployed some modern SPG around Bakhmut, a considerable part of their artillery force here consists of older pieces like this 122mm 2S1. Compared to Krabs or PzH2000 they not only lack in range, precision or shoot and scoot, but also in protection of its crew.
This crew just arrived at the Bakhmut theatre a few hours ago after taking part in the liberation of Kherson. Gunner said he probably shot more than 1,000 rounds already.
Another problem with the 2S1 is its ammo: Ukrainian 122mm stockpiles were depleted after less than two months. This crew feeds their Gvozdika mainly with ammo from Poland, Czech Republic and Bulgaria, but also captured RU shells.
Read 6 tweets
Nov 9, 2022
A FMTV M1083A1P2 brings new ammo for a M777 crew somewhere near Bakhmut. Image
This crew already fired more than 6,000 shells, mostly M795 and older M549A1 HERA. Canadian instructors recommend changing the barrels every 2,500 shots, but they changed their M777 already four times, as accuracy apparently deteriorates slightly earlier. Image
Even though the SINCGARS/DAGR/PIK were removed and they are using standard 155mm shells, this M777 is pretty accurate, soldiers told me.
Read 5 tweets

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