[New entries regarding this issue here, and here.]
The concern at the moment is that Taimour did not act alone when he attacked Stockholm two nights ago. If so, archives of his Facebook profile may contain evidence identifying his associates. As a result I'm not posting an HTML archive of his Facebook page just yet.
One thing I ask when someone like Taimour turns up is "what is his connection, if any, to Samir Khan?" I ask this not so much because of Samir's significance in his own right, but because he is very well connected to the global community of jihadis, and frankly because I spent a ridiculous amount of time mapping out his social network using both open and not-so-open sources, and would like to get some return on that investment.
Samir is three degrees of separation from Taimour. It looks like this:
In social network literature people speak of influence in a situation like this, and we are told that someone like Samir can have a significant influence on Taimour despite the lack of a direct connection between the two. I think it might be better to look at this as signifying a commonality of interest. Perhaps more significant is the fact that - to the best of my knowledge - TF1[1] and a number of the TF-SF[2] personas are located in Britain, where it seems Taimour was a fully fledged self-identifying jihadi. I would just as soon allow Scotland Yard and MI5 the time to inquire as to the nature of any relationship these folks may have to Taimour before outing them in a public forum such as this.
Many of the videos Taimour shared[3] on his Facebook Wall from February 2008 - February 2010 cannot be located because of the nature of Facebook's programming. However the following may still be available via YouTube and may provide some insight to Taimour's state of mind.
[Reverse order, most recent videos first, from 08 December 2010 to February 2008.]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWCn95exPcc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1B1SftugcA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbI01W_U4dk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRPD5KYDbYc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjj1kgkGnT0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hrPcj_k9rc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7USVPyEaMY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACryJiMrA4E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eWPcT3sxIY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjHDRqTPa2o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsZuYAdtOvo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kZCm25jZbU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dTa4Lhcg6s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAKc3do2WGw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlm3zPPcm3M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5TXU4NZzug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pidUsvlSdv8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiHkPJoEhqI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-0qG-vvHxI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuOXaav7qZU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOQAj-HAd0Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa2MfWnx2UM
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=745_1270408854
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xe2j11_abu-dujana-ra-the-death-of-a-shahee_news
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c91_1270607971
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3C6zm3bljk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNNjfV3_384
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V9u1MrcL38
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOIrMrWm6wk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVgLG3hT7V8
[Self-documented trip to Jordan, photos dated March 2010, uploaded to Facebook 02 April 2010.]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-YkzgfgN2k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQzi5cG6cgU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdhlPHEIkss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm1ASAzlX2s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvyCe4b8eW4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77OXe9HBWBo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krm2iMQ86uo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6va1i--Whak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diOYeojxJ64
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik-gUOYuGUk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUc7I6b9W3E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLLY5ugr25E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ZbkgNpCyE
[Contact observed [REDACTED] on 9 March 2010]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uJndPD-fR0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttkAQGQ8egY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtLq8vFVBE8
[Taimour says he's bored w/FB 5 Feb. 2010. He got less bored after March 2010. Coincidence perhaps. Videos prior to this point buried by Facebook code (probably deleted as a consequence of Taimour's account being 'retired').]
When examining the videos (above) pay particular attention to the extent that they expose the viewer to explicit violence. Such exposure is linked to an individual's willingness to support or even engage in a martyrdom operation, as seen in both academic research and also in those al-Qaida in Iraq foreign volunteers who chose the martyr career track over the fighter career track. Of course willingness and ability are by no means synonymous.
Motivation: Can spring from many sources - personal, ideological, social - and can be assumed to exist.
Opportunity: This is everywhere - targets and potential weapons.
Association: The key variable - who they know, and who/what their associates know will determine the fate of an aspiring terrorist to a very large degree. Genuine lone wolves are extremely rare.
---
[1] TF means Taimour Friend
[2] TF-SF means a friend shared by a Taimour Friend and Samir Khan (i.e. Samir Friend = SF)
[3] He shared these videos via Facebook. That does not mean he was the person who uploaded the videos to YouTube (or LiveLeak).
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