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Hadron Collider Physicist Admits He Was Al-Qaeda Mole

Standford University Ph.D. was about to mount attack: officials

By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 12, 2009 2:43 AM CDT

(Newser) – A top-level nuclear physicist working on the Hadron Collider has admitted being an Al-Qaeda spy, French officials are reporting. Adlène Hicheur, 32, is expected to be charged today after investigators discovered he suggested targets to the terror organization, reports the Independent. French officials believe the Stanford University Ph.D. was being groomed to become the "pivot" of a terror campaign starting in France but possibly spreading to other European nations.

Hicheur, born to Algerian parents in France, has worked in Britain and the US. Officials moved on him in recent days as they became convinced he was about to mount an attack. Investigators do not believe his work at the Hadron Collider on the Swiss-French border, the world's largest particle accelerator, was part of his terror planning.

A CERN scientist controls a computer screen showing traces on an experiment of the first protons injected in the Hadron Collider during its switch on operation last year.
A CERN scientist controls a computer screen showing traces on an experiment of the first protons injected in the Hadron Collider during its switch on operation last year.   (AP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini, Pool, File)
A model of the Large Hadron Collider tunnel is seen in the CERN visitors' center in Geneva-Meyrin, Switzerland.
A model of the Large Hadron Collider tunnel is seen in the CERN visitors' center in Geneva-Meyrin, Switzerland.   (Getty Images)
A workman checks out CERN's Hadron Collider, the world's largest and most powerful particle collider. A French physicist working there had admitted to officials he was an Al-Qaeda mole.
A workman checks out CERN's Hadron Collider, the world's largest and most powerful particle collider. A French physicist working there had admitted to officials he was an Al-Qaeda mole.   (Photo: Business Wire)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 12 comments
SilenceDogood
Oct 15, 2009 10:30 AM CDT
Say what?
SilenceDogood
Oct 14, 2009 11:15 AM CDT
Odowd80, your attempt at rationalizing Obama’s recent statement that the “war on terror is over”, in light of two recent terrorist incidences is laughable. Take a second shot of purple Kool-Aid and enjoy your day.
So_Cal_Larry
Oct 13, 2009 7:51 AM CDT
Many of these criminal acts during the 1990s were considered crimes, and handled within the legal system. Then came the Bush Administration, and war was declared on many things. Now we seem to be going back to intelligence gathering and smart police work, which seems much more successful than armies in dealing with these type of actions.

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