APPREHENDED
- Full name: Ali Tabich
- Pseudonym: N/a
- Alternatives: N/a
- Location: Belgium
- Affiliation: Ali Tabich Module [FAT], Bassam Ayachi Network [BAN], fmr Base Organization for Jihad in Mesopotamia [AQI]
Ali Tabich (°ca 1974) is a Brussels-based jihadi from Belgium. He is a longtime associate of the Bassam Ayachi Network [BAN] and its former front organization, the Belgian Islamic Center [CIB; Centre Islamique Belge].
Tabich traveled to Iraq via Syria in 2005. In Iraq, he reportedly fought in the ranks of the Base Organization for Jihad in Mesopotamia [AQI; Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi-Bilad al-Rafidain].1 Little information on his activities in Iraq is available. Tabich returned to Belgium in May 2006.2
Upon his return, Tabich became an influential figure within the BAN.3 He set up a cell aimed at recruiting jihadis to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq.4 Tabich and his associates also planned to carry out attacks in Belgium.5
Following the November 2008 arrest of the network’s leader in Italy, Tabich and Abdelrahman Ayachi became the de facto leaders of the BAN. He also played a more senior role in the CIB.6 At the same time, Tabich was involved in criminal activities and was notably linked to several armed robberies.7
The Belgian authorities arrested Tabich and several other members of his cell during a series of operations across Brussel in November 2010.8 He was given an eleven years prison sentence during his trial in June 2012.9 His sentence was more than halved by appeals court in February 2013.10
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