Gouram, Moumen and Tarik Module (Jihadi Entity, Belgium)

• Local Name: N/a
• Transliteration: N/a
• Alternatives: N/a
• Status: 2002 – 2003 (Defeated)
• Conflicts: Islamist Militancy in Belgium

The Gouram, Moumen and Tarik Module [GMTM] was an informal jihadi outfit based in the Laken suburb of Brussels in the early 2000s. It formed around Abdelhakim Gouram. Other senior members of the cell were Youssef el-Moumen and Karim Tarik.¹ The group had up to a dozen members, including two brothers of Moumen.² Its members were reportedly deeply involved in the drugs trade.³ The GMTM was in contact with senior Belgian-based al-Qa’ida operatives, including Tarek Maâroufi, Mohammed Saber and Driss el-Attaleh.⁴

GMTM members acquired explosives and weapons. They allegedly planned to attack a high-rise office building in Brussels.⁵ As the Belgian authorities cracked down on al-Qa’ida operations in the country following the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks, several GMTM cadres came under investigation.⁶ In February 2003, police raided houses and businesses affiliated with the cell. Security forces arrested several members of the GMTM and seized firearms, grenades and drugs.⁷ Traces of explosives were also detected at one of the premises.⁸ On Mar. 22, 2003, weapons were again discovered during a raid on the home of another GMTM associate.⁹ In the weeks after the operations, most of those arrested were released.¹⁰

In October 2004, a court sentenced six GMTM operatives to prison and acquitted another one.¹¹ Moumen and Tarik were both given a five-year prison term. Judges only found the defendants guilty of weapons infractions.¹² In May 2005, Moumen and Tarik had their sentences reduced to 54 months.¹³