al-Qaeda News

[The 801]

Raw reports, no more or less accurate then anything else here:

Afghanistan war logs reveal hand of Osama bin Laden

Many threat reports between 2004 and 2009 link elusive al-Qaida chief to full range of insurgent activities


The shadow of Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, hangs heavily over the US-led coalition's campaign in Afghanistan. Again and again, the secret watchers of American military intelligence, whose furtive and often confused attempts at information gathering are collated in the 2004-2009 war logs, glimpse the hidden hand of the al-Qaida chief or catch a tantalising whiff of his whereabouts, only for the trail to turn cold and peter out.

Speaking last month, Leon Panetta, director of the CIA, said the last time US officials were in possession of precise information about Bin Laden's location was in the "early 2000s". Since then, there had been no firm leads. "He is, as is obvious, in very deep hiding," Panetta said. "He's in an area of the tribal areas of Pakistan that is very difficult … All I can tell you is it's in the tribal areas. We know that he's located in that vicinity."

Yet despite the CIA's self-confessed cluelessness, raw intelligence reports contained in the leaked war logs show that, every now and then, US forces believe they can see the mist surrounding Bin Laden briefly lift. One such moment came in August 2006, when a "threat report" generated by International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) regional command (north) zeroed in on suicide bombers recruited by al-Qaida.

"Reportedly a high-level meeting was held in Quetta, Pakistan, where six suicide bombers were given orders for an operation in northern Afghanistan. Two persons have been given targets in Kunduz, two in Mazar-e-Sharif and the last two are said to come to Faryab," the report claimed.

It went on: "These meetings take place once every month, and there are usually about 20 people present. The place for the meeting alternates between Quetta and villages (NFDG) [no further details given] on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"The top four people in these meetings are Mullah Omar [the Taliban leader], Osama bin Laden, Mullah Dadullah and Mullah [Baradar]. "The six foreigners who have been given the assignment have each been given $50,000 [£32,000] to conduct the attacks, and they have been promised that their families will be taken care of."

The report went on to detail the insurgents' discussions about where and how the suicide attacks would be carried out, and whether vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) or suicide vests would be used.

Pakistan-based Ahmad Murghabi, described as a close associate of Baradar and a former provincial military commander in Ghor province, is alleged to be the lead instructor in a self-governing al-Qaida/Taliban academy for murder. "Murghabi is the one who is responsible for the teaching of suicide bombers and also IEDs and guerrilla warfare. He has 12 students now."

This intelligence report may have had significant practical impact down the line. Dadullah, a former mujahideen leader and close associate of Omar, was cornered and killed the following May in a raid by US and British special operations forces. Baradar was captured by Pakistani security forces in Karachi earlier this year.

The war logs make clear that suicide bombing, normally carried out by non-Afghan, foreign fighters, is a growth business in this period – and claim that they are being carefully nurtured by Bin Laden.

A threat report generated as early as September 2004 stated that "three well-trained terrorists (NFI) [no further information] have been assigned by Osama bin Laden to conduct a suicidal attack against [Hamid] Karzai [the pro-western Afghan president].

"According to the source [unidentified], the three terrorists will pass Afghanistan border in 10 days with counterfeit journalist passports obtained from an Arab country, potentially Pakistan [sic]. They are planning to conduct the attack during a press conference or a meeting held by Karzai."

Another report, in September 2008, speaks of highly co-ordinated, multinational al-Qaida attack planning: "Seven Arabs and four Iranians have been seen in Siahvashan village, Gozareh district, Herat province five days ago. They have joined Gholam Yahya Akbary (GYA) group. The seven Arabs are tied with [US-born Abu] Mansour, one of the Osama bin Laden deputies.

"The Arabs are only charge[d] to carry out suicide attacks against US and Italian troops or, secondarily, whatever foreigners personnel [sic]. The four Iranians belong to 'intelligence' unit of Sepah-e-Pasdaran [Iranian Revolutionary Guards] and they are supporting GYA in the anti-Isaf/Afghan government actions through intelligence and as well co-ordinating the GYA group activities."

More suicide bombings, if the intelligence set out in the logs is accurate, are planned with al-Qaida's Afghan allies, such as the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) militia led by the notorious warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

Some raw intelligence pertaining to Bin Laden is downright sensational – and largely impossible to verify. In December 2005, under the banal title Threat to Aircraft in Helmand Province, Isaf headquarters in Kabul generated the following startling report based on information received from regional command (south):

"On 19 November 2005, Hezb-e-Islami party leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Dr Amin (NLN) [no last name], Osama bin Laden's financial adviser, both flew to North Korea, departing from an [sic] Iran. They returned to Helmand on approximately 3 December 2005. While in North Korea, the two confirmed a deal with the North Korean government for remote controlled rockets for use against American and coalition aircraft.

"The deal was closed for an undetermined amount of money. The shipment of said weapons is expected shortly after the new year. Upon return from North Korea, Dr Amin stayed in Helmand and Hekmatyar went to Konar, Nuristan province."

Direct co-operation including weapons sales between al-Qaida, North Korea's regime, and the Afghan insurgents, apparently with a helping hand from Iran, could amount to Washington's worst security nightmare. But whether it happened, or is still happening, is a matter of speculation. The report of the North Korea visit was not followed up, at least not at the war-logs level of military intelligence, and no further information was forthcoming.

But while Hekmatyar is still very much at large, "Dr Amin" – his full name is Amin al-Haq or ul-Haq – was reportedly picked up by Pakistani security forces in Lahore in 2008.

According to the Long War Journal, Amin has a long pedigree as a Taliban, al-Qaida and HIG operative. Most often described as the security co-ordinator of Bin Laden's Black Guard (bodyguards), he was with the al-Qaida chief at the battle of Tora Bora in 2001. Said to be "under interrogation at an undisclosed location" after his arrest in January 2008, Amin has since disappeared from view.

Numerous threat reports link Bin Laden and al-Qaida to the full range of conventional insurgent activities, including rocket smuggling in Kandahar province. But in another, particularly alarming report, al-Qaida is also claimed to be mixed up in a plan to manufacture chemical weapons payloads for rocket-propelled grenades that are "intended to spread a poisonous gas on impact".

Dr Mohammad Hamzah Ahmadzai, identified in the logs as the scientist behind the plan, is said by the source to be interested in acquiring uranium for unspecified explosive purposes. Uranium was available from an unidentified factory in Lahore at a cost of approximately $538 for 10g, but Hamzah found the price too high, the source claimed. "Hamzah was thus seeking alternative means of creating a large explosion."

The overall impression gained from the war logs through 2009 is that Bin Laden's influence is pervasive and possibly growing.

Intelligence circulated in May 2008, for example, claimed a plot was afoot to poison coalition forces. A Taliban commander called Nasim in Nuristan province had, it was alleged, developed a powder that was to be added to food and drink consumed by coalition soldiers as their patrols passed through villages. According to the source, "the poison is called Osama Kapa in honour of Osama".

And a report in July 2007 suggests Bin Laden is willing and able to exercise the patronage of a great chief. Thus, in Kunduz province, it is reported that an insurgent called Abdullah won distinction and favour for his skill in making remote-controlled IEDs. His reward: an Arab wife presented to him by Bin Laden.

Despite his invisibility, Osama's message representing resistance, jihad and the inevitable triumph of the faithful seems ubiquitous. One intelligence report, filed in April 2004 and headlined Propaganda, describes how coalition forces found two lone white flags flying on a hillside along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

"On the flags was written, 'Long Live Taliban' … 'Long Live Omar', and 'Sheikh Osma' [Osama]," it said. And under the flags were five handwritten letters. In a chilling promise that echoes hauntingly across Afghanistan six years later, the letters said: "We are looking for coalition forces. If God is willing, we will get rid of them … Kill them wherever you find them."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/26/afghanistan-war-logs-osama-bin-laden

[The 801]

Today Class, The 313 Brigade. Learn it, Live it, Loath it.......

Paper no. 3506 16-Nov-2009

The 313 Brigade - International Terrorism Monitor - Paper No. 579

By B. Raman

There are two jihadi terrorist organisations by the name the 313 Brigade. The first is Kashmir-centric and is associated with the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) of Qari Saifullah Akhtar. It has been in existence since at least 1999 and is a member of the United Jihad Council, based in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, which is headed by Syed Salahuddin of the Hizbul Mujahideen. It looks upon India as its main enemy and is not against the Government of Pakistan, its Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

2. On December 15,1999, a Rashtriya Rifles unit in Jammu & Kashmir had killed one Sher Khan, who was described as the chief commander of a newly formed 313 Brigade and a HUJI commander called Nadeem Khan during an encounter in the Marot forest area of Surankote. The "Excelsior", a daily newspaper published from Jammu, had quoted Indian defence sources as saying that the 313 Brigade had been formed by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) a few days earlier. They claimed to have killed its leader within a few days of its formation and infiltration into J&K.

3. Thereafter, from to time, there were references to the activities of the 313 Brigade in the Surankote area of J & K. In October 2004, a Rashtriya Rifles unit captured one Sabzar Ahmed, a resident of the Surankote area, who was described as a member of the 313 Brigade.

4. On March 17, 2006, "The Nation", the Pakistani daily, had carried a report on a letter jointly written to Pervez Musharraf by the members of the United Jihad Council of Kashmir protesting against his Government succumbing to pressure from the George Bush administration to discontinue support to the Kashmir-related jihadi organisations. Among those who had signed the letter was one Munir Ahmed of the 313 Brigade.

5. In April 2006, the US State Department issued the 2006 "Country Reports on Terrorism," which listed a number of designated "foreign terrorist organizations" and also listed "other selected terrorist groups also deemed to be of relevance to the global war on terrorism." The HUJI was listed in the latter category. The report noted the group's "links to al Qaeda," and that the "HUJI's operations in Kashmir were led by Commander Ilyas Kashmiri, a former commander in the Afghan jihad, .... who was arrested in October2005 on charges of attacks against President Musharraf in 2003."

6. Reports in the Pakistani media indicated that Ilyas Kashmiri, who headed the 313 Brigade of the HUJI in J&K, was released by the Pakistani authorities on the intervention of Syed Salahuddin and had shifted from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), where he was previously based, to the Waziristan area of the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

7. A second organisation also known as the 313 Brigade is Pakistan-centric and is the fighting arm of the International Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Crusaders and the Jewish People formed by Osama bin Laden in 1998 in association with a number of terrorist organisations of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and other countries. It came into existence after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. It looks upon the US and Israel as its main enemies. It is strongly against the Pakistan Govt, its Army and the ISI because of their alleged co-operation with the US in Afghanistan.

8. While the Kashmir-centric 313 Brigade claims responsibility for its actions in Jammu & Kashmir, the Pakistan-centric 313 Brigade does not admit its operations in Pakistan. Till 2007, the responsibility for the attacks on Pakistani army and ISI officers was claimed by organisations with names such as the Islambouli Brigade, the Jundullah etc. After the raid by the Special Services Group (SSG) of the Pakistan Army into the Lal Masjid of Islamabad in July, 2007, the responsibility for many of the attacks on military establishments and personnel has been claimed by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

9. Among the terrorist attacks in Pakistani territory in which the Pakistan-centric 313 Brigade was suspected were:

(a). The two attempts to kill Pervez Musharraf in Rawalpindi in December, 2003.

(b). The attempts to kill the Corps Commander of Karachi and Shaukat Aziz, the then Finance Minister who had been nominated by Musharraf to take over as the Prime Minister, at Fateh Jang in the Attock constituency of Punjab in 2004. Shaukat Aziz escaped an assassination attempt while he was canvassing a bye-election campsign.

(c). The murder of two officers of the Intelligence Bureau at Kohat in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) in 2004.

(d). The attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in September 2008.The Danish diplomatic staff were functioning from there.

(e). The November 19, 2008, assassination of Maj-Gen Amir Faisal Alvi, who headed the SSG in 2003-2005 before he was removed by Musharraf for unworthy conduct.

10. Immediately after the attempt on Shaukat Aziz, an Islamic web site had quoted a group calling itself the Islambouli Brigade as claiming that it had targeted one of the men of the "American infidel group in Pakistan". Lt Khaled Islambouli was the leader of the group of soldiers, who assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat during a military parade in Cairo in 1981. Though the statement did not mention Aziz by name, it was apparent the reference was to him. It said: "One of our blessed battalions tried to hunt a head of one of America’s infidels in Pakistan while he was returning from Fateh Jang, but God wanted him to survive. With this blow, we are delivering a message to the Pakistani Government and its head Pervez Musharraf, who is still extraditing the Mujahideen to America to appease it. " It accused the person targetted at Fateh Jang of being "a follower of the wicked Bush and his cronies."

11. "Yesterday’s attack will be followed by more painful blows if you do not stop blindly obeying the orders of that Bush. If you don’t stop, the Mujahideen will wage a bloody war in Pakistan," it added. It said it was giving the Musharraf Government a "period of truce" to stop handing over arrested persons to the US, failing which the brigade "will behave in a different way." The statement did not say how long the truce would last, but it warned that its message was "the last warning. "Within the coming few days, our brigade will speak with the language of blood which is the only language you understand," it further warned.

12. In an interview to the "News", the prestigious Pakistani daily, apparently given after the attempt to kill Aziz, the 45-year-old Haji Mohammad Omar, who had succeeded Nek Mohammad as the leader of the pro-Taliban elements in South Waziristan, warned: "The rulers would not be safe if the Pakistan Government with US assistance targets our leaders. We are convinced that commander Nek Muhammad was killed by the US military with the connivance of our own government. The rocket attacks on Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps camps and assets in South Waziristan and the resistance being put up by the militants there are largely fuelled by the US military involvement in the so-called campaign against al-Qaeda and Taliban in Pakistan. The militants target only those places where US military personnel and spies are stationed. Our men take maximum care not to harm Pakistani soldiers and militiamen. "He alleged that hundreds of US troops and intelligence agents had been secretly deployed in South Waziristan and that US military planes and helicopter gunships were operating in Pakistani territory and air space.

13. The attack came at a time when there were reports that the so-called 313 Brigade of the International Islamic Front (IIF), as distinguished from the 313 Brigade of the HUJI in J&K, had stepped up its campaign against the Pervez Musharraf Government in Pakistan and the Islam Karimov Government in Uzbekistan for co-operating with the USA in its war against terrorism.

14. The attack also come at a time when the Iraqi resistance and foreign jihadi terrorist groups in Iraq had stepped up their campaign against Saudi Arabia and Pakistan for allegedly letting themselves be used by the Bush administration for suppressing the Iraqi people. They were virulently criticising Jehangir Ashraf Qazi, the Pakistani diplomat, for agreeing to work as the UN Representative in Iraq and warning Pakistan against sending its troops to Iraq to protect the UN office.

15. Two Kashmiris from the POK, who had gone to Iraq to work for a US contractor, were captured by unidentified elements and beheaded as a warning to people in Pakistan not to volunteer to work for US contractors in Iraq. The responsibility for the beheading was claimed in the name of an organisation called the Jaish-e-Islam (Army of Islam).

16. These attacks followed after a statement issued by Osama bin Laden in 2003 calling Pakistan an apostate State for co-operating with the US and a virulent statement by his No.2 Ayman al-Zawahiri calling for action against Musharraf. In the meanwhile, the investigation into the two attempts to kill Musharrafr reportedly brought out the involvement of some junior officers of the Army and the Air Force in the conspiracy along with members of the HUJI, the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) and the anti-Shia Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ).

17. The various reports received during this period indicated that at the instance of Al Qaeda, the IIF had revamped its 313 Brigade by including in it select volunteers from not only the Pakistani jihadi organisations, but also sympathetic military personnel for carrying out reprisal attacks to protest against the Pakistani , co-operation with the US.

18. After the attacks on Musharraf, Qari Saifullah Akhtar, the Amir of the HUJI, ran away from Pakistan. He was arrested by the Dubai Police on August 6, 2004, and handed over to the Pakistani authorities. Surprisingly, the Pakistani authorities did not prosecute him just as they did not prosecute Ilyas Kashmiri. They released him after keeping him under informal detention for some months. After the failed attempt to kill her at Karachi on October 17, 2007, Benazir Bhutto had named the Qari as the principal suspect. He was again arrested, but released after some weeks without being prosecuted.

19. The 313 Brigade of the IIF, which has been focussing on attacking Pakistani targets as distinguished from the 313 Brigade in J&K which attacks Indian targets, is a shadowy organisation. Media reports project Ilyas Kashmiri as the head of the 313 Brigade of the IIF. In a press interview, Ilyas himself has sought to give the impression that he heads it. He has been saying that unless the US and its collaborators in Pakistan are defeated, the so-called struggle against India in J&K will not progress. He thus now gives primacy to the jihadi campaign against the US and its alleged collaborators in Pakistan.

20. Ilyas sees himself as another Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and wants to carry out a spectacular terrorist strike in a Western country. The purpose of his trying to use David Coleman Headley, of Chicago arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at Chicago on October 3, 2009, was for an attack on the Danish journal, which carried caricatures of the Prophet in 2005. A perusal of the FBI's affidavit against Headley shows that while Ilyas wanted a Mumbai--26/11 style attack in Copenhagen, Headley felt that a more feasible option would be to assassinate the cartoonist and his Editor.

21. Where do the statements of the TTP claiming responsibility for attacks on Pakistani military personnel fit in? What is the relationship between the TTP, Ilyas and his 313 Brigade? What happened to the 313 Brigade of J&K? Does it continue its separate existence? Answers to these questions are not available.

22. The jihadi picture in Pakistan is getting murkier and murkier. Nobody----neither Pakistan's political and military leaders nor the US intelligence agencies and military leadership nor the mushrooming community of terrorism analysts all over the world---- seems to understand what the hell is going on in Pakistan, which is inexorably becoming a country beyond understanding and beyond redemption.

(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com)


http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers36%5Cpaper3506.html

[NYer]

Somalia: Target Rich Environment. (http://weaselzippers.us/2010/08/02/somalia-foreign-al-qaeda-operatives-assume-top-leadership-roles-in-al-shabaab/)

Foreign al Qaeda commanders have taken on top leadership roles in al Shabaab, the terror group that controls much of southern Somalia and recently carried out a double suicide attack in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

[Chuckles]

http://www.longwarjournal.org/images/AQBrigade313-banner.jpg

http://www.aqbrigade313.com/

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/08/al_qaeda_brigade_313_website_goes_online.php

[NYer]

Meet AQ's New COO. (http://hotair.com/archives/2010/08/06/video-meet-adnan-shukrijumah-aqs-new-coo/)

The US has become much more forthcoming about a long-sought al-Qaeda associate, Adnan Shukrijumah, who had at one time held an American green card. Both CNN and the AP feature stories today about the one-time “dishwasher” of AQ, who the FBI now considers the chief operations officer of the terrorist network. The DoJ indicted Shukrijumah as part of the conspiracy that plotted attacks on the New York subway system, and now it looks as though the government wants to make the threat from Shukrijumah very public.

Video at link.

[SmokedYourDSM]

curiouser and curiouser....

[The 801]

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/08/07/alg_al_qaeda_guy%20.jpg

His mom told the Daily News last month he didn't hate the U.S. or Americans but said she hadn't heard from him in years.

"He hates the way the world is corrupting human nature," Zuhrah Ahmed, 49, said at her home in Miramar, Fla. "Maybe he was chosen by God to make people realize that Islam is a better way of life?"

Slight, asthmatic and one of five kids, the Saudi-born 35-year-old Shukrijumah lived in the U.S. for 15 years. He studied chemistry and computer science at a local community college before leaving - just before the Sept. 11 attacks - for an Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.

There, Shukrijumah met another American-raised terrorist, Jose Padilla.

Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft called Shukrijumah a "clear and present danger" to the country in 2004.

Shukrijumah's anger over attacks against Muslims in Chechnya and Bosnia prompted to chose a life of "jihad" in the 1990's, the FBI says.

He is also a suspect in terror plots against Norway and the United Kingdom and is believed to have hatched a plan to bomb the Panama Canal.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/08/06/2010-08-06_adnan_shukrijumah_believed_to_be_the_new_head_o f_global_operations_for_al_qaeda_.html#ixzz0vv3iPW NS


#3 job in AQ now comes with a new perk, it's own predator drone.

[Chuckles]

Al-Qaeda Instructs Sympathizers in Saudi Armed Forces to Assassinate King 'Abdallah and Western Citizens (http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4517.htm)

former Guantanamo detainee #372 currently deputy commander of AQAP released an audio Titled: Together to oust al-Saud.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6VavUkRKvE

http://www.ansar1.info/showthread.php?p=89758#post89758

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=com%2Ffile.jsp%3Fid%3Dom59omheln+&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=f725573706315b03

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=http%3A%2F%2Fsharebee.com%2F53d8d872&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=f725573706315b03

[The 801]

From above. Please paste article. Links on terror topics break like eggs it seems.....

Al-Qaeda Instructs Sympathizers in Saudi Armed Forces to Assassinate King 'Abdallah and Western Citizens, and Asks Pilots to "Seek Martyrdom in the Skies of Palestine"


On August 10, 2010, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a 15-minute audio recording from Sa'id Al-Shihri, aka Abu Sufyan Al-Azdi, the Saudi deputy commander of AQAP, who is also a former Guantanamo detainee. In the recording, Al-Shihri says that the organization has received communications from supporters of Al-Qaeda in the Saudi armed forces, who asked whether they should remain in their positions, or whether they should leave to join up with AQAP in Yemen. Al-Shihri tells them that they should remain in the Saudi armed forces and take advantage of their positions to further infiltrate the armed forces, carry out assassinations against the government, the royal family, and Westerners living in the country, and to provide logistical assistance to the mujahideen.

Al-Shihri told the Saudi servicemen that a great responsibility was on their shoulders, since they had the obligation to depose the apostate rule of the Saud family in the heartland of Islam. He also placed his instructions in the context of regional developments, saying that a war was expected between the U.S., Israel, and their apostate Arab allies on the one hand, and Iran on the other, with the goal of the former being the building of the Temple in Jerusalem and the establishment of Greater Israel, and the goal of the latter being to take over the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Shihri said that the mujahideen's stance on this coming war was clear, and that they would absolutely not be the lackeys of the apostate rulers in the face of the external threat. [This is in contrast with the First Gulf War, in which Bin Laden offered to establish an international Islamist force to defend Saudi Arabia from Saddam Hussein.]

He then says that following the receipt of the communications from Saudi servicemen, the Shura Council of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula met to discuss the issue, and formulated 11 directives. Following is a summary of the principal ones:

(At this point, Memri uses the lost leader approach, or, as they say in the television business, Drop the dead donkey. You have to subscribe to find out the juicy details. Ugh)

[Casey]

US target sanctions on bin Laden's son-in-law
(AFP) – 42 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — The US Treasury on Tuesday imposed sanctions on the son-in-law of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, saying he was a potential chief financial officer of the terror network.

The US Treasury said it had blacklisted Muhammad Abdallah Hasan Abu-al-Khayr, now a key leader of Al-Qaeda's finance section, and froze any of his US assets and prohibited those in the United States from engaging in any transactions with him.

The United Nations also took similar action Tuesday against Al-Khayr, the Treasury said in a statement.

Al-Khayr, who has also acted as bodyguard to bin Laden, could succeed the terror mastermind's one-time treasurer Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, who was recently killed in Pakistan apparently in a US drone strike, the Treasury said in a statement.

"After the death in May of Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, who essentially served as al-Qaeda's chief financial officer, we will continue to work with our allies to target those like al-Khayr who could step into al-Yazid's shoes," said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey.

"Today's designation of al-Khayr by the United States and the United Nations will help to ensure that Al-Qaeda remains in severe financial straits," he said.

Al-Khayr appeared on a 2009 list of 85 persons wanted by Saudi Arabia, in part because of his role as an Al-Qaeda financial facilitator, the Treasury statement said.

He has allegedly transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars "for a specific terrorist attack against US interests."

Al-Khayr also acted for Al-Qaeda in a leadership role on its media committee, and has on at least one occasion recruited a member for Al-Qaeda, the statement said.

His relationship with Al-Qaeda allegedly began with military training the terrorist group provided him in the mid-1990s.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iyA8dn_37vKkbILjQ2PgxRFyebSQ

[The 801]

Ouch, that's a good one Casey. You know, I always thought that if they made public the names of the most important AQ personal, it would lead to them becoming ineffective eventually.

You never seem to learn of the top guys until they get "droned"*



801

* Droned - I am hoping to create a new "slang" adjective for our culture,

So I get to define this term:

Droned - To have a Predator aircraft applied directly to your lifestyle.

Please try to use this term frequently.

[Casey]

Major al-Qaeda bombing plot unearthed in Canada; two arrested
Published: Thursday, Aug 26, 2010, 14:12 IST
Place: Toronto | Agency: PTI

Canadian police today claimed to have foiled a major al-Qaeda bombing plot by arresting two Ottawa residents, including one Misbahuddin Ahmed, alleged to have close ties to top leaders of the terror outfit.

The arrests were enforced by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) after carrying out searches of two residences on the Ottawa's west side and officers said they were executing more searches and would carry out more arrests.

The arrest of Misbahuddin and Ehsan Ahmed came after police had kept them under surveillance for over two years in a project codenamed 'Operation Samosa'.

Though the RCMP released no names or identities of the suspects, but sources confirmed their names as Misbahuddin and Ehsan.

They said Misbahuddin Ahmed, who was categorised as ringleader, is believed to have been trained in Pakistan and Afghanistan and investigations involved a "bomb plot".

"These guys were doing more than just talking about terrorism. They were planning it," a police source was quoted as saying by the Vancouver Sun newspaper.

The Canadian police had to break the surveillance operation as one of the suspects was preparing to travel abroad, the paper said.

Misbahuddin, the sources said, had worked for two years as a general radiography technologist at Ottawa's Hospital Civic Campus.

This is the second major terror plot to be unearthed in Canada since 9/11. In June 2006, a group of young Muslim men dubbed as 'Toronto 18' were rounded up and prosecuted for planning to attack downtown targets and a military base.

"A vehicle, several computers, hard drives and scanners were seized from one of the residences," police said.

The police has scheduled a press conference later in the day to give more details about the plot as security experts warned that the plotters could have been planning to blow up hydroelectric plants and transmission lines to hit the US.

"There are ways of attacking US through Canada. The whole energy for New York comes from Quebec," they said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_major-al-qaeda-bombing-plot-unearthed-in-canada-two-arrested_1428992

[Casey]

Al-Qaida vows to kill 55 named Yemeni security officers

English.news.cn 2010-09-11

SANAA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Yemen-based al-Qaida regional wing distributed alleged circulars to threaten to assassinate 55 named top security officers in Yemen's Abyan province, where al- Qaida militants were very active, a provincial police official said on Friday.

The alleged circulars were stuck on the walls of the main mosques, streets and public markets in Zinjibar, the provincial capital of the southern troubled province of Abyan, the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"These 55 named security officers have become legitimate targets for us since September 10, 2010, and God willing we are going to kill them one by one if they do not repent of their criminal acts against Muslims and quit from their jobs with the traitorous government," the alleged circulars said, according to the official.

The official said the list included 31 security intelligence officers, officers of criminal investigation unit and nine officers of the military intelligence service.

"They aimed to intimidate us, but we have become bound and determined to eradicate such worthless people and we are chasing them around the clock," the official responded to the circulars.

On Tuesday, the terrorist group claimed responsibility for killing more than 50 security soldiers in battles with security forces in Lodar city of Abyan late last month, according to statements issued on jihadist forums.

Abyan has apparently become a stronghold of al-Qaida forces in the Arabian Peninsula, which has witnessed a series of deadly battles between al-Qaida fighters and the security forces.

On Aug. 20, deadly battles erupted in Lodar city and lasted for more than a week after al-Qaida fighters killed 11 soldiers in an ambush in the city.

Yemeni Interior Ministry said Sunday that the security authority had arrested at least 14 al-Qaida members in Lodar city after the terrorists were totally defeated by the security forces in the week-long fighting.

The impoverished country, which is the ancestral homeland of global al-Qaida-founder Osama bin Laden, has beefed up crackdown on terrorist groups with an intelligence help by the United States since the Yemen-based affiliate claimed credit for a botched attempt to blow up a U.S. passenger plane bound for Detroit last December.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-09/11/c_13489847.htm

[Casey]

Qaeda linked group kills 40 Tajik troops in an ambush
Press Trust Of India
Moscow, September 20, 2010First Published: 15:00 IST(20/9/2010)

Al-Qaeda linked Islamic militants armed with automatic weapons ambushed a military convoy killing at least 40 Tajik government troops including five officers in the mountainous Rasht area, close to the Afghan border. The convoy was ambushed in the Kamarob Gorge in Rasht district, some 250 kilometres east of capital Dushanbe yesterday at 12:30 pm local time, Tajik Defence Ministry said in a statement.

It, however, put the toll at 23 and said several others were wounded. Quoting official sources independent 'Azia Plyus' (Asia Plus) agency reported that at least 40 servicemen of the Ministry of Defence, including five officers, were killed and more than ten others wounded in the attack.

The attackers were suspected to be led by Mullo Abdullo and militants from the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) which is based in Pakistan's tribal areas. The Tajik authorities say Abdullo may have entered the country from Afghanistan recently.

President Emomali Rahmon, who is currently in New York to attend the 65th session of the UN General Assembly, has ordered the Ministry of Interior, the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) and the Ministry of Defence to track down and punish the masterminds and executors of the crime, Tajik Presidential Press Service said.

The soldiers of the ambushed convoy were going to replace troops deployed on road-blocks in the remote valley, who are manning a high vigil to nab al-Qaeda linked terrorists.

The attack on the convoy comes weeks after 25 hardcore militants escaped in a daring jailbreak from a high-security prison in Dushanbe. The militants are suspected to have made their way to the Rasht mountains where the militant groups have set up safe havens.

A defence ministry spokesman said that in addition to Tajik nationals, the ambushers also contained militants and mercenaries from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Chechnya.

Most Islamic fighters in Tajikistan gave up arms after the end of civil war in the former Soviet republic in June 1997, but the former opposition commander Mullo Abdullo did not lay down arms and was convicted for killing of six UN military monitors in eastern Tajikistan in 1998.

Mullo Abdullo had gone to neighbouring Afghanistan to join the Taliban in 2000 but was believed to have been captured and jailed. He has reportedly returned to remote Tavildara district in eastern Tajikistan with about 100 fighters in May 2009.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Qaeda-linked-group-kills-40-Tajik-troops-in-an-ambush/Article1-602465.aspx

[Casey]

Al-Qaeda vows to kill 55 Yemeni security officers

Written By: Mohammed al-kibsi
Article Date: Sep 18, 2010 - 7:05:35 PM

The Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula threatened to assassinate 55 top security officers in Yemen. Al-Qaeda affiliates distributed pamphlets in Abyan province, where al- Qaeda militants are very active, threatening to assassinate security 55 security officers, a security source said on Friday.

The alleged posters were stuck on the walls of the main mosques, streets and public markets in Zinjubar, town the capital of Abyan province an official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

“These 55 named security officers have become legitimate targets for us since September 10, 2010, and God willing we are going to kill them one by one if they do not repent of their criminal acts against Muslims and quit from their jobs with the traitorous government,” the alleged circulars said, according to the official.

The official said the list included 31 security intelligence officers, officers of criminal investigation unit and nine officers of the military intelligence service.

“They aimed to intimidate us, but we have become bound and determined to eradicate such worthless people and we are chasing them around the clock,” the official responded to the circulars.

On Tuesday, the terrorist group claimed responsibility for killing more than 50 security soldiers in battles with security forces in Lodar city of Abyan late last month, according to statements issued on jihadist forums.

Abyan has apparently become a stronghold of al-Qaida forces in the Arabian Peninsula, which has witnessed a series of deadly battles between al-Qaida fighters and the security forces.

On Aug. 20, deadly battles erupted in Lawdar city and lasted for more than a week after al-Qaida fighters killed 11 soldiers in an ambush in the city.

Yemeni Interior Ministry said Sunday that the security authority had arrested at least 14 al-Qaida members in Lawdar city after the terrorists were totally defeated by the security forces in the week-long fighting.
http://www.yobserver.com/local-news/10019669.html

[NYer]

Hammer Time! (http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/204120.php)

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/M.C._hammer.gif

[Casey]

Al-Qaeda plans for wave of deadly European attacks uncovered

Police stand guard on a bridge across from the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Photo: ReutersBy RFI
Western security agencies have uncovered significant intelligence that points to an Al-Qaeda plot to carry out a wave of deadly Mumbai-style terrorist attacks on cities in Britain, France and Germany, reports said Wednesday.
It is thought that a teams of jihadists based in Pakistan were planning simultaneous strikes in London and major cities in France and Germany, seizing Western hostages and murdering them.

The United States was also a possible target and agencies on both sides of the Atlantic are investigating one of the most serious al-Qaeda attack plans in recent years.

Planning for the attacks is reported to have been well under way although they were not imminent and recent drone strikes in Pakistan is thought to have killed several key leaders of the plot.

The national threat level in Britain, France and Germany is currently at “severe”.

The report of the foiled plot came after the Eiffel Tower in Paris was evacuated Tuesday following the second hoax bomb threat at the landmark in a month.

France has been on a heightened state of alert amid warnings of an imminent terrorist attack but an official said Tuesday these warnings were not linked to the reported Al-Qaeda plans.
http://www.english.rfi.fr/europe/20100929-al-qaeda-plans-wave-deadly-european-attacks-uncovered

[NYer]

AQ Takes A Big Hit (http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/204300.php)

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/McHammer.gif

Big News!

[NYer]

Move Over, Adam Pearlman. (http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/204362.php)

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/samir_khan_inshallahshaheed_house.jpg

How'd they let this guy out of the country? To Yemen, yet?

[Casey]

Yemen's al-Qaida to set up 12,000-fighter army

09:04, October 12, 2010

The Yemen-based al-Qaida wing was about to lay down the foundation stone of an army of 12,000 fighters dubbed "Aden-Abyan Army" in south Yemen, the group's military commander Kasim al-Raimy Monday said in an audiotape posted on jihadist forums.

The Aden-Abyan Army "would be the front line for defending the Islamic nations and its religion, and liberating them from crusaders and their apostate agents," al-Raimy said.

In the 14 minutes speech, al-Raimy asked Islamic nations, especially the Yemeni people, to provide the army with financial support and equipment.

On July 29, Xinhua had obtained an audio recording from the jihadist websites, in which Yemen's al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) declared it was preparing to build an army of 12, 000 fighters in the country's south in order to fight the Yemeni security and intelligence agents.

Mohamed Saied al-Omda, field commander of the AQAP, said in the recording that "we have a good news for the Islamic nation, that an army of 12,000 fighters was being prepared in Aden and Abyan."

"By this army, we will establish an Islamic Caliphate," said Saied al-Omda, also known as Gharib al-Taizy, referring to the restive southern province of Abyan and the port city of Aden.

He added "this is a message to the Yemeni government security and the national security service that our swords are ready and we are resolved to cleanse the land."

Yemen, the ancestral homeland of al-Qaida network leader Osama bin Laden, has intensified its fight against terrorist groups after the Yemen-based al-Qaida wing claimed responsibility for a failed Christmas Day attempt to blow up a U.S. passenger plane bound for Detroit last year.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7163135.html

[NYer]

Yemen has become Al Qaeda central.

[NYer]

They're HERE! (http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/204426.php)

Via Patrick Poole @ BigPeace

Today I reported at Pajamas Media that an Al-Qaeda cleric, Anwar Hajjaj, had led Friday prayers for the Congressional Muslim Staff Association on Capitol Hill back in 2006 based on information included in a recent article in the New York Post. This news is a follow-up to my report last month that video taken after 9/11 showed Al-Qaeda cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki, currently subject to a kill-or-capture order signed by President Obama, had also led prayers for Capitol Hill Muslim staffers.
But now I can exclusively report here at Big Peace that a video essay by Roll Call shows Hajjaj leading prayers on Capitol Hill as recently as April 2010.

Anwar Hajjaj is the former head of the Taibah International Aid Association, which was designated at terrorist organization by the U.S. government in May 2004.

Good Grief!

[Casey]

Wanted Saudi terror suspect surrenders
Jabir Al-Faifi
By ARAB NEWS
Published: Oct 15, 2010 20:22 Updated: Oct 15, 2010 23:03

RIYADH: A wanted Saudi terror suspect has been brought back to the Kingdom with the help of Yemeni authorities after he expressed his desire to return to the Kingdom and surrender.

"Officials at the Prince Muhammad bin Naif Center for Counseling and Care received a call from the wanted man, Jabir bin Jobran bin Ali Al-Faifi, who was enrolled in the rehabilitation program after his return from Guantanamo Bay but later joined a foreign-based deviant group," said an Interior Ministry spokesman in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency.

Al-Faifi figures in the list of 85 wanted terror suspects issued in February 2009.

In his call to Saudi officials before his surrender, the man spoke about Saudi citizens who were misled by those who support deviant ideologies, the spokesman said.

"They found themselves to be tools in the hands of the enemies of the homeland which is following the right path derived from the Book of Allah, and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his exemplary Companions. They are being used as tools to fuel sedition.

"They are not given any control over their deeds and put in situations that only serve the schemes of the enemies of the nation who seek to spread chaos and unrest legitimizing murders, rapes and stealing the money of civilians in neighborhoods they reside. The advocates of deviant thought has made them a means of propaganda and money-making," the statement said.

The statement added that Al-Faifi expressed remorse at his behavior. "Al-Faifi has shown a strong desire to return to the Kingdom and surrender to security agencies as the return to the right path is better than persisting in falsehood," the statement said.

The man was also allowed to meet with his family on arrival.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article161688.ece

[Casey]

Al Qaeda 'shopping for arms' in Africa
Indo-Asian News Service
Algiers, November 02, 2010

Al Qaeda militants are now shopping for arms in Chad in Africa, Algerian intelligence agents have said. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is using an estimated $100 million earned between 2003 and 2010 from ransom and drug trafficking to purchase weapons for use in terror operations in Algeria and Mali, Algiers-based newspaper Ennahar reported.

The outfit is also investing in real estate, the report said. They have bought large tracts of land and villas in Niger, Mali and Mauritania, the report said.

AQIM in September claimed responsibility for the abduction of seven foreigners, including five French citizens in Niger.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Al-Qaeda-shopping-for-arms-in-Africa/Article1-621378.aspx

[Casey]

Osama Bin Laden appoints new commander to direct Al Qaeda operations against the West
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:03 PM on 12th November 2010

Osama Bin Laden has appointed Saif al-Adel, a little-known figure, as a commander to direct attacks against the West

Osama Bin Laden has appointed a new lieutenant to lead a flurry of Al Qaeda operations against the West.

Known to intelligence as Saif al-Adel - or 'Sword of the Just' - the new chief of international operations is believed to be behind the recent terror alerts across Europe and the mid-air parcel-bomb plot.
U.S. and Pakistani sources said that al-Adel was running several operations aimed at convincing the West that the war against terror was unwinnable.

Any dwindling of support for action against terrorism could pave the way for Al Qaeda to seize power in fragile states including Somalia and Yemen.

Syed Saleem Shahzad, a Pakistani expert on Al Qaeda, told the Daily Telegraph: 'His strategy is to stage multiple small terror operations, using the resources of affiliates and allies wherever possible.'
Five years ago al-Adel wrote a planning document which said Islamist movements failed because their 'actions were mostly random'.
In it, he called for a 'greater objective, which is the establishment of a state'.

The new attrition strategy marks the triumph of a minority faction within Al Qaeda who had opposed the 9/11 attacks, arguing that the inevitable U.S. retaliation against Afghanistan would cost the movement its only secure base.

In 2002, extremist websites carried a letter allegedly from al-Adel criticising Bin Laden's leadership.

Al-Adel was captured by Iranian forces and held along its Caspian coast with his wife Wafa and five children for several years.
But in April he was released from custody as part of a prisoner swap along with Saad bin Laden, Osama's son, and top Al Qaeda operatives Suleiman al-Gaith and Mahfouz al-Walid.

Little is known about him, although he also uses the names Muhammad al-Makkawi and Ibrahim al-Madani and was born in Egypt, where he is said to have served as a colonel in the special forces.
In 1987, he was arrested in Egypt and prosecutors claimed he had planned to crash an aircraft into the parliament building or detonate a bomb-laden truck nearby.

U.S. intelligence documents also claimed he had worked as an instructor at Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and Somalia and took part in several attacks.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1329059/Osama-bin-Laden-appoints-commander-direct-al-Qaeda-operations-West.html

[NYer]

Is al-Adel still holed up in Iran?

[Casey]

Is al-Adel still holed up in Iran?

I don't think so.

[Casey]

Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010

Al-Qaida affiliate hit tanker: DOT
WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. Department of Transportation has concluded that a militant group linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network was responsible for an explosion on a Japanese tanker in the Strait of Hormuz in July and warned of further attacks.

In an advisory issued Friday, the department said, "Government and industry sources can confirm that the claim by the Abdullah Azzam Brigade that the group had attacked the tanker M. Star (http://worldanalysis.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1426) is valid."

On July 28, an explosion on the M. Star, owned and operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., injured one of its crew members. The Abdullah Azzam group claimed responsibility for the blast and said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

The U.S. advisory said, "The group remains active and can conduct further attacks on vessels in areas in the Strait of Hormuz, southern Arabian Gulf, and western Gulf of Oman."

It recommended that "all ships transiting the subject waters exercise increased vigilance and caution."


http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20101124a6.html

[NYer]

Merry Christmas! (http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/205161.php)

A 19-year-old has been arrested in connection with a plot to detonate a vehicle bomb at an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon, on Friday evening, the Justice Department announced.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. He is a resident of Corvallis, Oregon, and is a student at Oregon State University, according to the FBI.

Mohamud was arrested by the FBI and Portland Police Bureau after he attempted to detonate what he believed to be an explosives-laden van that was parked near the tree-lighting ceremony in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Justice

Department said in a written statement, but the device was actually inert.

"The threat was very real. Our investigation shows that Mohamud was absolutely committed to carrying out an attack on a very grand scale," said Arthur Balizan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon. "At the same time, I want to reassure the people of this community that, at every turn, we denied him the ability to actually carry out the attack."

The arrest was the culmination of a long-term undercover operation during which Mohamud had been monitored closely for months as his alleged bomb plot developed, the Justice Department said. Officials said the public was never in danger from the device.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit written by an FBI special agent, in August 2009, Mohamud was in e-mail communication with a person believed to be involved in terrorist activities. In December, that person was "located in the northwest frontier province of Pakistan," the affidavit states.

[Hound]

"This is an investigation I have been familiar with throughout its course and I am confident there is no entrapment here and no entrapment claim will prove to be successful."

- Attorney General Eric Holder

[Casey]

Exclusive photos of Al Qaeda leader in Iraq

Thursday, December 02, 2010 10:47 GMT

Alsumaria obtained special photos of Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Baker Al Baghdadi and the group’s War Minister Nasserddin Sulaiman who were uncovered after the arrest of Baghdad Wali.

The arrest of Al Qaeda Security Minister and Baghdad Wali led to uncover the real identity of Al Qaeda group leader Abu Baker Al Baghdadi and the group’s War Minister after almost seven months of naming them.The real name of Al Qaeda leader is Dr. Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Al Samerraie known as Abou Duaa’. The War Minister is believed to be Niaman Mansour Al Zaidi who was the former governor of Anbar.

http://worldanalysis.net/uploads/adaca8ca-9613-b220.jpg

السومرية نيوز تنفرد بنشر صور زعيمي تنظيم القاعدة في العراقالمحرر: NK الخميس 02 ك1 2010 07:35 GMT14320 http://www.alsumarianews.com/ NewsDetails زعيم تنظيم القاعدة أبو بكر البغدادي إلى يمين الصورة ووزير حربه الناصر لدين الله سليمان إلى شمالها

زعيم تنظيم القاعدة أبو بكر البغدادي إلى يمين الصورة ووزير حربه الناصر لدين الله سليمان إلى شمالها السومرية نيوز/ بغداد

تنفرد السومرية نيوز بنشر صورتين نادرتين لزعيمي تنظيم القاعدة الجديدين في العراق أبو بكر البغدادي والناصر لدين الله سليمان.

وكان مصدر وهو ضابط في جهاز مكافحة الإرهاب والجريمة المنظمة التابع لوزارة الداخلية قد كشف في حديث لـ"السومرية نيوز"، أمس الأربعاء أن "وزير الأمن في دولة العراق الإسلامية المدعو حازم عبد الرزاق الزاوي الذي القي القبض عليه في الرمادي قبل عشرة أيام كشف أثناء التحقيق معه عن الهوية الحقيقية لزعيم تنظيم القاعدة في العراق أبو بكر البغدادي ووزير حربه الناصر لدين الله سليمان".



وأوضح المصدر أن "ما اعترف به الزاوي وما تم التأكد منه هو أن أبو بكر البغدادي هو شخص يدعى الدكتور إبراهيم عواد إبراهيم السامرائي ويلقب بـ(ابو دعاء)، إما وزير الحرب الملقب بالناصر لدين الله سليمان فكان يشغل منصب والي الأنبار سابقا في التنظيم تحت اسم أبو إبراهيم واسمه الحقيقي نعمان سلمان منصور الزيدي".



وكان أبو بكر البغدادي قد نصب في 16 من أيار الماضي خلفا لأبي عمر البغدادي الذي قتل مع وزير حربه أبو أيوب المصري في ضربت جوية بمنطقة الثرثار في صلاح الدين أعلنت عنها الحكومة في التاسع عشر من نيسان الماضي، ذكر بيان صادر عن تنظيم القاعدة آنذاك أنه بعد مقتل زعيم دولة العراق الإسلاميّة أبو عمر البغداديّ ووزيره الأول أبو حمزة المُهاجر، "أنعقد مجلس شورى الدّولة الإسلاميّة مباشرة لحسم مسألة إمارةِ الدّولة واتفق على تولية أبي بكر البغداديّ الحُسينيّ القرشيّ زعيما للتنظيم، وتولية الناصر لدين الله سليمان وهو أبو عبد الله الحَسنيّ

[The 801]

Broadside fired at al-Qaeda leaders
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

ISLAMABAD - A number of senior al-Qaeda members who had earlier opposed the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and some of whom were recently released from detention in Iran, have produced an electronic book critical of al-Qaeda's leadership vision and strategy.

The book, the first of its kind to publicly show collective dissent within al-Qaeda, was released last month. It urges the self-acclaimed global Muslim resistance against Western hegemony to open itself to the Muslim intelligentsia for advice and to harmonize its strategy with mainstream Islamic movements.

Analysts who spoke to Asia Times Online said that on face value the book did not indicate a spilt, rather an academic and "polite" review of al-Qaeda's policies. However, at a later stage, such



discussion could lead to a division within al-Qaeda's ranks in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region where the top leadership is stationed.
Twenty questions
Three of the top al-Qaeda decision-makers who opposed the 9/11 attacks plotted by Khalid Sheikh Mohammad were Egyptian Saiful Adil (Saif al-Adel), an important military planner; Abu Hafs al-Mauritani, once the chief of al-Qaeda's religious committee that reviews all decisions; Suleman Abu al-Gaith, who was al-Qaeda's chief spokesperson.

All three moved to Iran where they lived under limited restrictions until being released along with more than a dozen others earlier this year. (See How Iran and al-Qaeda made a deal Asia Times Online, April 30, 2010.) They then settled in the rugged Pakistani tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan that is home to the Pakistani Taliban, al-Qaeda and related militant groups.

On November 15, some members of this group released Twenty Guidelines for Jihad on the Internet site www.mafa.asia. The author is cited as Suleman, saying he was "al-Qaeda's official spokesperson in 2001," indicating a distancing from al-Qaeda's organizational structure.

The preface of the Arabic-language book was written by Mehfuz bin Waleed (as Abu Hafs al-Mauritani is also known). He was the chief of al-Qaeda's religious committee before 9/11, after which he was sent to Iran as al-Qaeda's envoy in that country. He struck a deal with the government to allow the free movement of Arab families from Afghanistan to the Arab world via the province of Zahedan.

He was later joined by other al-Qaeda members, in addition to some family members of Osama bin Laden. They were all kept in guest houses in a designated colony, but were not allowed to leave Iran.

The website on which the book was released is owned and operated by Abu Waleed al-Misri, also known as Mustafa Hamid. He was a close aide of Bin Laden but fled to Iran before 9/11. He has written 11 books on Arab-Afghans. His latest book, Cross in the Skies of Kandahar, criticizes the al-Qaeda leader in particular and al-Qaeda in general, holding them responsible for the collapse of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan (Taliban regime), which fell in late 2001 following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in retaliation for 9/11.

Hamid's main criticism of Bin Laden is that he is authoritarian and refuses to take advice. He alleges that Bin Laden has placed himself as a superior to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, whom all Arab-Afghans recognize as their ameer or chief. Hamid narrates that while Bin Laden has pledged his allegiance to Mullah Omar, he does not follow his instructions and therefore deserves punishment.

Al-Qaeda at a crossroad
Gaith's electronic book is ostensibly for tarbait (guidance) and is not written to directly malign al-Qaeda's leaders - indeed, it does not name any of them. It is critical though, for example Gaith takes to task leaders who do not take advice. "They took decisions in haste that resulted in a big defeat."

"They think that they are right all the time and they are encircled by a bunch of advisers who do not qualify to give advice. Ironically, this situation stands in the way of jihad, which belongs to the ummah [Muslim world] and their decisions affect the whole Muslim world. This is such a delicate matter as strategy is supposed to be consulted with all Muslim groups, scholars and the Muslim intelligentsia in general."

This could be taken as an explicit criticism of al-Qaeda deputy Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri, who has condemned Islamic movements like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas in Palestine and severed all ties with them.

"It means isolation of yourself and the mujahideen from the mainstream Islamic movements and from the Muslim world. It makes the task easier for the enemy to isolate you and target you," Gaith writes.

He stresses that the feelings of the ummah should be taken into account before any grand operation is carried out. "Your arsenal is supposed to be used against combatants only, not against innocent people. You mishandled operations and oppressed common men, while our role is supposed to be that of liberators against zulm [oppression]."

This is the first book by a member of al-Qaeda that cites early modern Islamic movement ideologues like Hasan al-Banna (founder of the Muslim Brotherhood), Muhammad al-Ghazali (Muslim Brotherhood Egypt), Syed Abul Ala Maududi (founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami in South Asia), and Gaith urges al-Qaeda leaders to follow the advice of these ideologues.

Gaith does not endorse the adherence to democratic systems adopted by some contemporary Islamic movements, and also condemns their relations with Muslim ruling regimes, but he stresses in the book that they still have a lot of merits and those merits should be appreciated.

"Definitely, we will fail if our leadership does not follow and practice the characters of good leaders and ideologues and if our leaders continue to believe that they are right all the time."

Without naming Mullah Omar, Gaith underlined a necessity to obey his directives as a single central command. "All jihadi groups should be under one leadership, which must consult with experts and scholars from the whole ummah. They [leaders] are silent against some declared enemies of Islam while they openly mock and criticize Islamic groups."

Potential split?
During the 1990s, at least 17 Arab groups operated in Afghanistan and while they were influenced by al-Qaeda, they operated separately. By the time of 9/11, the majority had merged into al-Qaeda, with exceptions such as al-Gama Islamiya al-Muqatilal (GIM), Jamaatul Toheed Wal Jihad (led by Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi who joined al-Qaeda very late after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003), beside hundreds of Arabs who independently joined the cause of jihad with the powerful Jalaluddin Haqqani.

After 9/11, even these independent operators had little choice but to operate with al-Qaeda as in the "war on terror", all Arab-Afghans were seen as al-Qaeda. Many were arrested in Pakistan and abroad simply because they lived in Afghanistan. In a quest for a safe haven, they went to the Pakistani tribal areas and stayed in al-Qaeda's camps because it was the only potent Arab organization left in the region that could provide them shelter. Many Arab-Afghans were opposed to al-Qaeda's strategies, but they had no room to question them.

Now, with top al-Qaeda operators openly expressing criticism, such views could gain momentum. This could lead to reform of the most violent self-acclaimed global Muslim resistance movement against Western hegemony, or it might allow dissenters to side with mainstream Afghan-Taliban leaders and break with al-Qaeda.
Renowned Arab journalist Jamal Ismail, author of Bin Laden, al-Jazeera and Me who has met Bin Laden and interviewed Zawahiri, commented to Asia Times Online, "It is not a spilt [at this point], but a review. However, at a later stage, it might lead to a spilt if the advice [in the book] is not listened to, as well as other opinions from inside and outside of al-Qaeda."

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/LL10Df04.html

[Casey]

Al-Qaeda distributes thumb drives to teach bomb making
By Javed Mahmood
For CentralAsiaOnline.com
2010-12-20

Karachi police display explosive materials and weapons December 13. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are using USB memory sticks to spread bomb-making expertise. [Javed Mahmood]

KARACHI -- Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are disseminating guidelines for making bombs and thwarting explosive detection equipment to supporters and potential recruits, sources have told Central Asia Online.

Instead of relying on email, websites or brochures, terrorists are now using Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory sticks to share information with youngsters at risk of joining the militancy, a student of Dawood Engineering College said, requesting anonymity.

“Recently, the Taliban activists have distributed several USBs of al-Qaeda in Karachi to train the youngsters to make explosive devices,” he said. In the USBs, one of which Central Asia Online received, al-Qaeda included the November 2010 edition of its magazine that promotes extremism; techniques for turning common electronic devices into bombs; and ways to smuggle such items past airport security.

Al-Qaeda has vowed to share its technical expertise with followers abroad so they could make bombs in their own countries.

“Al-Qaeda and the Taliban’s move to penetrate our young generation seemed a new strategy of the enemies of Pakistan, Islam and humanity,” Sindh Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Chief Choudhry Aslam told Central Asia Online. “We are not aware of this new move of the terrorists.”

Police will investigate the matter and take action against terrorists who are influencing young Pakistanis into defaming Pakistan as militants, he added.

The CID has been on the forefront of work to destroy the network of al-Qaeda and Taliban in Karachi in recent months, he said. The police will continue to act firmly against terrorists, he vowed.

http://centralasiaonline.com/cocoon/caii/xhtml/en_GB/features/caii/features/pakistan/2010/12/20/feature-02

[Casey]

Iran freeing Al-Qaeda men to fight in Af-Pak, says report

Date : 24 December 2010 0915 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1100961/1/.html

LONDON: Iran has released a string of top Al-Qaeda militants from detention so they can rebuild the extremist organisation on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, The Times reported Friday.

Citing Pakistani and Middle Eastern officials speaking anonymously, the Times said Iranian authorities were giving covert support to the Islamist militants as they fight against NATO troops.

"In many cases they are being facilitated by Iranian Revolutionary Guards," The Times quoted a senior Pakistani intelligence official as saying.

The Times said those released include Saif al-Adel, a high-ranking Egyptian Al-Qaeda member on the FBI's most wanted list for alleged involvement in the deadly 1998 bombings of US embassiess in East Africa.

They also include Suleiman Abu Ghaith, a Kuwaiti accused of being Al-Qaeda's official spokesman at the time of the Septmeber 11, 2001 attacks, and Abu Khayr al-Masri, a key aide to Al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

Three members of the family of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden were also among those freed, the officials were quoted by the Times as saying.

Several top Al-Qaeda leaders fled to Iran when the US invaded Afghanistan after 9/11 and Iran is suspected of keeping them under house arrest as a strategic asset against the United States.

Al-Qaeda's top leadership including Bin Laden and Zawahiri are believed to be in Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but a blitz of CIA drone strikes has taken a major toll on the group.

The Times quoted Pakistani officials as saying that Al-Adel had been named Al-Qaeda's chief of operations for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In July, Bin Laden's son Omar said that 20 members of the Al-Qaeda chief's family were stranded in Iran as Tehran was refusing to discuss their fate with Saudi Arabia.

However a Kuwaiti newspaper reported in November that a number of leading Al-Qaeda members, including Abu Ghaith, had moved from Iran to Yemen.

[Casey]

Al Qaeda sends Palestinian terrorists from Lebanon to strikes in Europe
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report December 27, 2010, 9:41 PM (GMT+02:00)

The 12 Al Qaeda terrorists, whose movements have put European security authorities on high New Year alert, set out from Ain Hilweh, Lebanon, and belong to three al Qaeda-linked Palestinian groups, the Syrian Jund al-Sham, the Lebanese Army of Islam (which also operates in the Gaza Strip) and Fatah al-Islam, debkafile's counter-terror sources disclose. All its members are richly experienced in urban terror in various Middle East arenas.

Al Qaeda has taken of late to using Iraq, Lebanon and Somalia as starting points for its terrorist plots to baffle the Western agencies keeping an eye on terrorist bases in Pakistan, North Africa and Yemen.

The last bombing attempt in Europe, which took place in Stockholm on December 11, was the work of an Iraqi Arab dispatched and later claimed by Iraqi Al Qaeda. Two other groups came from Somalia: the nine men charged at Westminster Court, London, Monday, Dec. 26, with conspiracy to carry out bombing attacks on the US embassy, the London Stock Exchange and political and religious figures (12 were rounded up at four locations on Dec. 20 and three released.) and the twelve men picked up in Rotterdam for plotting Christmas attacks in Holland.

It is now the turn of Lebanon. There, an elaborate smoke and mirrors exercise was staged to conceal the next Al Qaeda assault, as disclosed here by debkafile.
On Dec. 25, Christmas day, Ghandi Sahmarani, the leader of the Syrian Palestinian Jund Al Sham's Lebanese branch, was reported found dead in a back alley of the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain Hilweh in South Lebanon with the bullet wound in the back of his neck and his hands tied with barbed wire.

The dead man had never lived in this camp which is the fiefdom of the Fatah strongman, Mounir Al-Maqda. It was therefore assumed he had been dragged to Ain Hilweh by abductors and then put to death. Later that day, journalists were invited to the Sidon hospital morgue to view his body.

However, according to debkafile's intelligence and counter-terror sources, Sahmarani is still alive. The body exhibited was that of a man who resembled him. The real Sahmarani eluded his watchers last week on the very day that 12 Palestinian terrorists went missing from Ain Hilweh. It is now believed that he was put in command of the terrorist operations scheduled to take place in Europe and the Middle East on or around the New Year and that he and the group's members are already on their way to their targets.
European sources have traced the group travelling from Lebanon to Syria and thence to Turkey, where they have split up into small sub-groups of two to three men each. Part is heading for the Balkans to infiltrate Western Europe; part is still in Turkey and may stay there or make for another Middle East destination for a multi-casualty attack.
The three Palestinian groups involved often overlap operationally and are expert at laying false trails to conceal the movements of their leaders and operatives.

In 2007, during the four-month battle Fatah Al Islam and the Army of Islam waged against the Lebanese army for control of Nahr- Al-Bared, the big Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli in northern Lebanon, stories were put out about the death of their leader Shaker al-Abssi. Then, too, reporters were shown his remains. However Abssi has proved to have more than one life; although he was reported dead more than once, he is still alive and fully active from a base in Iraq.

After of the charade at the Sidon morgue on Saturday, the Ain Hilweh chief Mounir Al Maqda confirmed that a "group of fighters" belonging to Jund a-Sham, the Army of Islam and Fatah al Islam, were no longer in the camp. Certain Middle East intelligence watchers, aware of Al-Maqda's close ties with the three Palestinian organizations and al Qaeda cells in Lebanon, don't exactly believe him. They suspect he was part of the conspiracy to conceal Sahmarani's departure on a mission of terror by faking his death.

http://www.debka.com/article/20499/

[Casey]

Al Qaeda defector details failed assassination plot

12/01/2011
By Turki Al-Saheil



Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat – Former member of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Jabir al-Fayfi, revealed new and important information about the failed assassination attempt against Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs Prince Mohammed Bin Naif in August 2009.

Jabir al-Fayfi, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who only joined the Al Qaeda organization after he was repatriated to Saudi Arabia in 2006, recently surrendered himself to Saudi authorities. He played, what has been described, as a key role in uncovering the 2010 Cargo Plane Bombs plot which saw explosive devices being discovered on Cargo planes bound from Yemen to the US.

In his latest televised interview, al-Fayfi talked about the attempted assassination of Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs Prince Mohammed Bin Naif, who is the senior counter-terrorist figure in the kingdom. This suicide operation was carried out by Abdullah al-Asiri, an Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula member who was meeting with the prince under the pretext of renouncing Al Qaeda ideology and surrendering himself to the Saudi authorities. Al-Asiri blew himself up in the vicinity of the prince, however nobody else was killed in this attack and Prince Mohammed Bin Naif escaped with only light injuries.

Al-Fayfi disclosed that 4 main figures were responsible for this operation; Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula military commander Qassim al-Raimi, Said al-Shihri, whose name is included on the Saudi Interior Ministry's list of 85 most wanted terrorists, Abdullah al-Asiri who actually carried out the suicide attack, and his brother Ibrahim al-Asiri, who manufactured the explosives used in the attack.

In a televised interview Jabir al-Fayfi revealed that despite the failure of the operation, Al Qaeda considers that simply gaining access to the official responsible for combating terrorism in Saudi Arabia "was in itself a success."

Al-Fayfi revealed that this operation was planned in the Yemeni city of Marib, and that it was originally supposed to be carried out by a Yemeni Al Qaeda member who would gain access to Prince Mohammed Bin Naif under the pretext that he was coordinating the surrender of a group of Saudi nationals who are members of Al Qaeda.

However the terrorist group thought it would be better to give the task of assassinating Prince Mohammed Bin Naif to one of the Saudi nationals whose name was included on the Interior Ministry's list of 85 most wanted. Al-Fayfi said that Said al-Shihri chose Abdullah al-Asiri for this operation for a number of reasons, not least al-Asiri's relative youth.

Al-Fayfi also revealed that it was Abdullah al-Asiri's own brother, Ibrahim [al-Asiri], who prepared the explosives that he used to detonate himself in the attempted assassination of Prince Mohammed Bin Naif.

Jabir al-Fayfi, who was residing in the Yemeni region of Abyan whilst Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was preparing for this attack in Marib, said that approximately 800 grams of explosive were used in the failed suicide operation targeting Prince Mohammed Bin Naif. He also stressed that Abdullah al-Asiri received instructions from the Al Qaeda leadership to blow himself up as soon as he felt that he had been discovered, even if the prince was not in the vicinity, adding that he believed that al-Asiri was solely responsible for the timing of the detonation, and that this was not carried out by a third party.

Among the other important information revealed by al-Fayfi is that the Al Qaeda organization, and particularly Qassim al-Raimi, wanted to mix the explosives with toxic substances to maximize the damage caused by the explosion, but that they forgot to do so. Al-Fayfi claimed that this toxic or poisonous substance would have been able to kill anybody it came into contact with within 4 seconds.

Relaying the story behind this attack from the beginning, al-Fayfi told Saudi television that "as for the failed assassination of Prince Mohammed Bin Naif, I was residing in Abyan, an area that is far away from the region where they planned this operation, which was Marib."

However he added that "of course they (Al Qaeda) informed me of details after the military commander of the group, Qassim al-Raimi, came to the region, and I began to ask him about this operations and how it happened."

Al-Fayfi said that he was not aware of all the details of the operation, such as precisely what explosives were used and other details.

He said "of course, they informed me about some things, and this reveals the truth about others…such as who produced the explosives and the suicide belt for al-Asiri, and that was his brother, and his brother continues to be part of Al Qaeda, and is present in Yemen."

He also clarified that Abdullah al-Asiri was not the one who was initially tasked with carrying out a suicide attack against Prince Mohammed Bin Naif was. Al-Fayfi revealed that a division occurred within the Al Qaeda organization following the emergence of Al Qaeda members who wanted to surrender themselves to the Saudi authorities. He said that this resulted in the Al Qaeda organization seeking a way to prevent those members from surrendering themselves to the Saudi authorities.

Al-Fayfi revealed that "initially, the Al Qaeda organization did not expect to reach Prince Mohammed Bin Naif; their original goal was to block the path of those wanting to leave the organization and surrender themselves. This would be done by carrying out an operation that would result in trust being lost in any Al Qaeda member who announced that they repent and want to surrender themselves."

Al-Fayfi, who defected from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, last year, said that this is something that is revealed by the instructions given to al-Asiri, who was told to blow himself up as soon as he felt that his plot had been uncovered, regardless of whether or not Prince Mohammed Bin Naif was in the vicinity of the explosion. This was because the primary objective of this operation was to prevent the Saudi authorities from trusting any Al Qaeda member who – like al-Asiri – claims to want to surrender himself.

Al-Fayfi recalls the days that preceded the planning of this attempted assassination, saying that the group's military leader Qassim al-Raimi showed them an explosive belt filled with powerful explosive, and told them "pray for the one who will wear this explosive belt, and for the success of his operation."

Al-Fayfi also explained how Al Qaeda arranged the plan to assassinate Prince Mohammed Bin Naif, saying that "originally a Yemeni figure was chosen [to carry out this operation]. He would identify himself as coordinating the surrender of a group of Saudi Arabians [belonging to Al Qaeda]. He traveled to Saudi Arabia to view the procedures of how somebody meeting Prince Mohammed Bin Naif would be searched, and met with him….on the basis of discovering the best way [to circumvent his security]. However the situation changed after this, and Said al-Shihri chose Abdullah al-Asiri to carry out the operation, exploiting his youth and his long stay in Yemen, saying that all of this made him psychologically ready to undertake a suicide operation."

Al-Fayfi also revealed that prior to the operation; Al Qaeda tested 200 grams of this explosive material, and that the explosives passed this test and caused significant damage. He said that Al Qaeda used a significantly larger amount of explosives in their attempted assassination of Prince Mohammed Bin Naif in order to guarantee the success of the operation, but that the prince had been saved by the grace of God.

He also said that Al Qaeda's primary goal was "to put a stop to the issue of Al Qaeda members surrendering themselves" and that the organization considers even reaching Prince Mohammed Bin Naif to be a success.

Al-Fayfi also addressed the conflicting accounts about the source of the explosion, and rumors that this was remotely detonated by telephone, stressing that Abdullah al-Asiri carried out this operation himself, and that whilst he did utilize a telephone during this operation, this was merely to keep in contact with the Al Qaeda leadership, and inform them of the progress of his operation.

He said "Abdullah al-Asiri was in contact wit them (Al Qaeda), and this was from when he left Marib, and he informed Al Qaeda [over the phone] all the details from when he passed through the borders, to reaching the hotel, to changing his clothes, and finally boarding the plane…and when he arrived he told them, I am sitting with Mohammed Bin Naif…and this was something revealed in the media."


Al-Fayfi repeatedly confirmed that Abdullah al-Asiri was responsible for the timing of this detonation, and that the primary goal of this operation was to stop Al Qaeda members from surrendering to Saudi authorities. Al-Fayfi revealed that the surrender of Mohamed al-Awfi [Mohamed Atiq Awayad al-Harbi] to Saudi authorities in February 2009 had harmed and embarrassed the Al Qaeda organization, as well as caused a state of mistrust between the Al Qaeda leadership and its members in the field.

http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=3&id=23755

[The 801]

Was this not the suppository weapon? There is no mention of it, or if he had been searched. Thanks for the interesting posting.

[NYer]

ISI rushed Mullah Omar to Karachi hospital. (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2011/01/mullah_omar_treated_for_heart.html?hpid=news-col-blog)

“The ISI rushed him to a hospital in Karachi, where he was given heparin [an anticoagulant] and operated on,” the Eclipse report said. “After 3-4 days of post-operative care in the hospital, he was released to the ISI and ordered to take absolute bed rest when at home for at least several days.”

[The 801]

Tue Jan 25 08:09:56 2011 Pacific Time
Al-Qaeda Communications Provide Insights Into What Terrorists Want

DURHAM, N.C., Jan. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- Without any formal direct contact with terrorist organizations, it is difficult for Western nations to answer two fundamental but important questions: What do terrorists want, and how do they plan to achieve it?

New research examining communications among Al-Qaeda members provides some insights into the core values and beliefs of the world's most dangerous terrorist organization, and could help in designing strategies and policies aimed at preventing future terror attacks.

Gregory Keeney, a student in the Master of Management Studies program at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, and Detlof von Winterfeldt, former director of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, analyzed the writings and verbal statements of Al-Qaeda's members and spiritual leaders, primarily from 1998 to 2008.

Their findings are included in "Identifying and Structuring the Objectives of Terrorists," published in the December 2010 issue of Risk Analysis, a journal from the Society for Risk Analysis. Their research was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE).

Keeney and von Winterfeldt distinguish between several different types of objectives: means objectives (guiding short-term, day-to-day actions); fundamental objectives (guiding medium- to long-term actions); and strategic objectives (guiding all decisions leading to end goals).

"We found only a few strategic objectives, several fundamental objectives and a large number of means objectives," Keeney said. "For example, one of Al-Qaeda's strategic objectives is to inspire and incite Muslims to attack the enemies of Islam. But this likely won't be achieved without first maintaining support from the Muslim masses. Therefore, maintaining the support of Muslims is a fundamental objective because it contributes to the strategic objective of attacking Islam's enemies."

Analysis of Al-Qaeda verbal statements and writings -- including speeches and audio transcripts of Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri -- reveals five major strategic objectives: 1) Inspire and incite Islamic movements and the Muslim masses of the world to attack the enemies of Islam; 2) Expel Western powers from the Middle East; 3) Destroy Israel; 4) Establish Islamic religious authority in the Middle East; and 5) Extend Islamic authority and religion into new areas of the world.

Among the fundamental objectives identified by Keeney and von Winterfeldt are Al-Qaeda's desire to maintain its status as the dominant Islamic terrorist organization, creating homegrown terrorist cells in the U.S. and Europe, attacking U.S. targets, recruiting new followers, and causing economic losses in the U.S.

Many of the means objectives emerging from Al-Qaeda communications relate to effectively utilizing media to recruit new insurgents, providing instruction on terrorist tactics, and portraying Western nations in a negative light.

"Al-Qaeda leaders understand that winning the battle of the media requires using the media to achieve your own objectives better than your enemies use the media to achieve their objectives," Keeney said. "Al-Qaeda produces and distributes its own communications via the Internet, but also tries to influence American media's reporting on the war on terror."

The researchers also believe Al-Qaeda will continue its attempts to develop homegrown terror cells in the West and specifically in America, in keeping with the group's stated intentions to expand fundamental Islam worldwide.

"Al-Zawahiri -- al-Qaeda's top strategist -- has said, 'The day will come when we rule the United States -- we will rule the whole world," Keeney said. "Clearly, al-Qaeda sees its battles extending far beyond the Middle East."

Based on their research, Keeney and von Winterfeldt advise government and security officials to develop further intelligence on homegrown terror cells in the U.S., to engage more fully in the effort to win Muslim "hearts and minds," and to create a coordinated media strategy to combat terrorist misinformation and propaganda.

The complete research report is available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01472.x/abstract

http://newswire.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20110125.071007&time=08%2009%20PST&year=2011&public=0

[The 801]

Tue Jan 25 08:09:56 2011 Pacific Time
Al-Qaeda Communications Provide Insights Into What Terrorists Want

DURHAM, N.C., Jan. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- Without any formal direct contact with terrorist organizations, it is difficult for Western nations to answer two fundamental but important questions: What do terrorists want, and how do they plan to achieve it?

New research examining communications among Al-Qaeda members provides some insights into the core values and beliefs of the world's most dangerous terrorist organization, and could help in designing strategies and policies aimed at preventing future terror attacks.

Gregory Keeney, a student in the Master of Management Studies program at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, and Detlof von Winterfeldt, former director of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, analyzed the writings and verbal statements of Al-Qaeda's members and spiritual leaders, primarily from 1998 to 2008.

Their findings are included in "Identifying and Structuring the Objectives of Terrorists," published in the December 2010 issue of Risk Analysis, a journal from the Society for Risk Analysis. Their research was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE).

Keeney and von Winterfeldt distinguish between several different types of objectives: means objectives (guiding short-term, day-to-day actions); fundamental objectives (guiding medium- to long-term actions); and strategic objectives (guiding all decisions leading to end goals).

"We found only a few strategic objectives, several fundamental objectives and a large number of means objectives," Keeney said. "For example, one of Al-Qaeda's strategic objectives is to inspire and incite Muslims to attack the enemies of Islam. But this likely won't be achieved without first maintaining support from the Muslim masses. Therefore, maintaining the support of Muslims is a fundamental objective because it contributes to the strategic objective of attacking Islam's enemies."

Analysis of Al-Qaeda verbal statements and writings -- including speeches and audio transcripts of Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri -- reveals five major strategic objectives: 1) Inspire and incite Islamic movements and the Muslim masses of the world to attack the enemies of Islam; 2) Expel Western powers from the Middle East; 3) Destroy Israel; 4) Establish Islamic religious authority in the Middle East; and 5) Extend Islamic authority and religion into new areas of the world.

Among the fundamental objectives identified by Keeney and von Winterfeldt are Al-Qaeda's desire to maintain its status as the dominant Islamic terrorist organization, creating homegrown terrorist cells in the U.S. and Europe, attacking U.S. targets, recruiting new followers, and causing economic losses in the U.S.

Many of the means objectives emerging from Al-Qaeda communications relate to effectively utilizing media to recruit new insurgents, providing instruction on terrorist tactics, and portraying Western nations in a negative light.

"Al-Qaeda leaders understand that winning the battle of the media requires using the media to achieve your own objectives better than your enemies use the media to achieve their objectives," Keeney said. "Al-Qaeda produces and distributes its own communications via the Internet, but also tries to influence American media's reporting on the war on terror."

The researchers also believe Al-Qaeda will continue its attempts to develop homegrown terror cells in the West and specifically in America, in keeping with the group's stated intentions to expand fundamental Islam worldwide.

"Al-Zawahiri -- al-Qaeda's top strategist -- has said, 'The day will come when we rule the United States -- we will rule the whole world," Keeney said. "Clearly, al-Qaeda sees its battles extending far beyond the Middle East."

Based on their research, Keeney and von Winterfeldt advise government and security officials to develop further intelligence on homegrown terror cells in the U.S., to engage more fully in the effort to win Muslim "hearts and minds," and to create a coordinated media strategy to combat terrorist misinformation and propaganda.

The complete research report is available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01472.x/abstract

http://newswire.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20110125.071007&time=08%2009%20PST&year=2011&public=0

[Hound]

Here is a better link to the full article referenced above (http://wincoast.com/forum/%5Chttp://create.usc.edu/publications/KeeneyReport.pdf)

[The 801]

Army poised over peace broker's fate
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

ISLAMABAD - News of the killing of Sultan Ameer Tarar, alias Colonel Imam, a legendary Inter-Services-Intelligence (ISI) official, has stunned decision-makers in Pakistan and raised questions about the circumstances of his death.

Imam, 67, was apparently killed on Saturday by his kidnappers in the North Waziristan tribal area where he had been held since being seized in March last year while on a backchannel mission to get militants to agree to a ceasefire with security forces.

Imam spent 10 years in the ISI's Afghan cell during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s and after retirement he



worked for the ISI in various capacities for handling the Taliban.

Pakistani television channels flashed the news of Imam being shot dead on Saturday evening. Some sources then maintained he had not been killed but had died of a heart attack. Others pointed to the fact that the body had not been seen, and that no group had claimed responsibility; militants have a tradition of leaving the body of a "spy" on a road and claiming responsibility.

Whatever the circumstances of Imam's killing - assuming he is dead - they could be a major turning point and even lead to Pakistan finally bowing to the demands of the United States to launch an all-out military offensive in North Waziristan against militants.

On Sunday morning, Imam's family was still claiming that reports of Imam's death were nothing but rumors - and there might be some justification for this belief.

Late last week, Imam spoke to family members on the phone. Militants, too, spoke to the family and were very respectful. "Colonel Imam is a respected elder to us. We have put certain demands to the government. It is our compulsion that as long as our demands are not fulfilled, we cannot release him. Try to understand our position. Otherwise, he is at home. He is getting all medicine and care," the militants said. Imam also sounded as if he was comfortable and in a friendly environment.

He was abducted by a group of Punjabi militants in March 2010 along with a British journalist, Asad Qureshi, and another former ISI official, Khalid Khawaja, who was subsequently killed.

Most militant groups denounced the abduction. Taliban leader Mullah Omar sent a message to the militants calling for their release. However, the ringleader, Ali Imran alias Usman Punjabi, would not listen and killed Khawaja. Qureshi was released, allegedly after paying a huge ransom. On what to do with Imam, the militants were divided in two groups. Those led by Sabir Mehsud killed Usman Punjabi along with five of his accomplices. The issue was then brought to the leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP - Pakistan Taliban) Hakimullah Mehsud, who took Imam into his custody and executed Sabir Mehsud for killing Usman Punjabi.

Since then, the Pakistani security forces have tried to establish a channel of communication with Mehsud for the release of Imam. The mediator has been Maulana Fazlur Rahman Khalil, a chief of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen. Khalil took guarantees on behalf of the militants that Imam would not be killed.

Imam was an officer in the army and a former member of the Special Service Group and he also served as consul general in the western Afghan city of Herat during the mujahideen government in the early 1990s until the end of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001.

Imam trained senior commanders of the Afghan national resistance against the Soviet invasion, including Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Mullah Omar. After the emergence of the Taliban movement in Kandahar, he enthusiastically reported on its merits to Islamabad as a pro-Pakistan movement that could eliminate warlordism.

Later, with the consent of the Pakistani military establishment, he helped the student militia in its mobilization from Kandahar all the way to Jalalabad and Kabul - where it took power in 1996. This left no option for mujahideen leaders like Hekmatyar and Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani and others to escape.

Controversies with militants
Western media often portrayed Imam as the father of the Taliban or somebody who shared ultra-radical Taliban thinking and supported their strategies.

Even among militants, especially Pakistanis who fought in Kashmir against Indian forces and later joined forces with the Taliban and al-Qaeda, said the same of Imam.

However, that was not the case. He was recognized by former chief of army staff and president General Zia ul-Haq and former joint chief of staff committee (then chief of the ISI) General Akhtar Abdul Rahman as qualified enough to handle the Afghan mujahideen. Militants placed much hope in officers like General Hamid Gul - another former head of the ISI - and Imam, and when they didn't come up to expectations, especially after September 11, 2001, and the "war on terror", militants were angered.

After Haq's death in a plane crash in 1988, Gul, then director general of the ISI, continued with Haq's mission of an Afghan jihad. Gul was an ambitious officer and the brains behind his army chief, General Aslam Beg. Because of American pressure, Gul could not be elevated as army chief, yet he remained an inspiration for officers. General Pervez Musharraf - president from 2001 to 2008 - cited Gul as a role model.

Imam was part of Gul's team and they played an important role after 9/11 to convince top militant leaders to trust Musharraf and that he would never sell out the interests of Pakistan and Islam. Later, that was actually the biggest complaint of the militants with Gul and Imam - that they took the wrong decision in supporting Musharraf after 9/11 and in misleading militants that Musharraf would successfully deceive the Americans and get them buried in Afghanistan.

Gul and Musharraf eventually fell out, and immediately after the imposition on November 3, 2007, of a state of emergency, Gul, who had successfully split the military oligarchy by gathering many hundreds of retired army officers of all ranks against Musharraf, was among the first to be rounded up and put behind bars.

Imam, who had continued to work as a front man for the ISI in communicating with senior Taliban commanders in Afghanistan. also fell out with Musharraf in late 2007 and was completely disowned.

Senior militant leaders like Commander Ilyas Kashmiri and other al-Qaeda leaders complained that Gul's and Imam's initial support for Musharraf and then the fallout caused so much damage to jihadi efforts in Afghanistan that they could not be repaired.

When Imam went to North Waziristan in March 2010, after getting support from Gul and Beg, it was believed in establishment circles that the Taliban and al-Qaeda would give him a serious hearing. But in fact, for pro-al-Qaeda militants, Imam didn't deserve any respect. Although Mullah Omar called for his release, and Pakistani commanders like Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Sirajuddin Haqqani did pass on the message to Imam's abductors - they never intervened for his release because they feared hostilities with the TTP, which they were not prepared to risk for someone like Imam.

The circumstances leading to Imam's death could help the army decide on the course of its relations and the trustworthiness of the TTP.

Pakistan saw relative calm in 2010 as militant attacks were vastly reduced due to ceasefire agreements. However, as the US increased pressure on Pakistan to launch an operation in North Waziristan, pro-al-Qaeda militant Qari Ziaur Rahman emerged from the Afghan province of Kunar and carried out a devastating attack in Pakistan's Mohmand area.

Dozens of soldiers were killed and several were abducted. That was a clear show of power by the militants that in the event of any military operation, the militants were capable of opening up fronts across Pakistan. So Pakistan stalled the Americans.

In the meantime, Pakistan opened communication with the militants and assured them that no military operation would be launched on North Waziristan. Khalil, who is inactive as a militant but maintains connections with high-profile militants - played the role of guarantor. One of the issues on which Khalil appeared as guarantor was Imam's safety.

Economically and politically vulnerable Pakistan cannot afford a Taliban-led insurgency to reach the levels of 2007 and 2008. Therefore, ceasefire agreements are essential, provided that the Taliban show commitment to their pledges.

At the same time, Pakistan does not want to give militants too much breathing space to make themselves more dangerous to national security.

The precise circumstances of Imam’s death could indicate whether the Taliban are sincere about making peace with Pakistan, or whether they are just buying time, which in turn will decide whether or not the army goes in North Waziristan.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MA25Df03.html

[The 801]

Its that time again. How many times have we heard this over the years.......

Source: Bin Laden Seriously Ill; Al-Qaeda Admits Defeat in Iraq

The Iraqi government daily al-Sabah quotes "a reliable source" as saying that Osama bin Laden has been seriously ill for months and that he has been moving between Afghanistan, Pakistan and eastern Iran adjacent to Afghanistan.

The same source said that bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is the de facto leader of Al-Qaeda, and that he receives occasional guidance from bin Laden through written and coded messages.

Al-Qaeda has now concluded that it was defeated in Iraq and has urged its fighters to operate in 10 countries: Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Somalia and Jordan.

Iraq has recently killed two successive leaders of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq: Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayub al-Masri.

Source: Al-Sabah, Iraq, January 27, 2011

801- Defeat not mentioned.

http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/33866.htm

[NYer]

Wall Street Targeted? (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/01/report-bank-execs-warned-al-qaeda-plot/)

U.S. intelligence officials reportedly have warned executives at major Wall Street banks that they may be targeted in a terror plot by Al Qaeda militants based in Yemen.

[Hound]

BBC


10 March 2011 Last updated at 10:46 ET

A US congressman has warned al-Qaeda is actively recruiting US Muslims for violent attacks within the country.

Representative Peter King, a Republican, spoke at a House homeland security committee hearing into the "radicalisation" of US Muslims.

He said "homegrown radicalisation" was "part of al-Qaeda's strategy to continue attacking the US".

Critics say the hearing will feed anti-Islamic sentiment and have criticised Mr King for singling Muslims out.

A senior Democratic congressman warned the committee not to "blot the good name" of American Muslims.

Mr King, a New York Democrat, has accused US mosques of being a breeding ground for radical attitudes.

'Rage and hysteria'
In his opening statement on Thursday, Mr King said that US anti-terror efforts since the 11 September 2001 attacks had prevented al-Qaeda from launching major strikes on the US from outside the country, but said the Islamist group had turned to actively recruiting Americans for attacks.

"Al-Qaeda is actively targeting the American Muslim community for recruitment. Today's hearing will address this dangerous trend," he said, adding that the inquiry did not warrant the "rage and hysteria" it has prompted.

Bennie Thompson, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said the US should also investigate anti-government hate groups as well.

He believes the hearings could be used to inspire terrorist propaganda.

Congressman John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who represents a large Muslim community, warned Mr King and the committee not to "blot the good name or the loyalty or raise questions about the decency about Arabs or Muslims or other Americans en mass".

"There will be plenty of rascals that we can point at and say these are the real danger to the nation that we love and that we serve," he said."

Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim elected to Congress, said Mr King's hearing contravened "the best of American values" and threatened US security.

He called for "increased understanding and engagement with the Muslim community".

Also on Thursday, two men who say their sons were turned to violent, radical Islam testified.

The White House has said US domestic security efforts should look at all extremists, not just focus on Muslims.

"We don't want to stigmatize, we don't want to alienate entire communities," US Attorney General Eric Holder said.

'Al-Qaeda radicalising Muslims'
Mr King has said some leaders of American Muslim communities have done too little to co-operate with law enforcement - an assertion Mr Holder has rejected.

Mr King ordered extra security for the event, which has caused controversy in the US.

On Thursday Melvin Bledsoe, whose son Carlos shot US soldiers at a military recruiting centre in Little Rock, Arkansas testified about what he described as his son's manipulation and radicalisation by Muslim leaders.

"Carlos was captured by people best described as hunters. He was manipulated and lied to," Mr Bledsoe said. "I have other family members who are Muslims, and they are modern, peaceful, law-abiding people."

Also testifying was Minnesota man whose young Somali-American son was recruited to join the al-Shabab militant group, which the US considers a terrorist organisation, and who was killed in Somali.

[Casey]

Global terror networks: ‘First Indian al Qaeda member is an engineer'

By Aditi Phadnis
Published: May 24, 2011

Mohammad Niaz was arrested in France for links with al Qaeda’s Algerian arm.

NEW DEHLI:

The first Indian Muslim to be associated with global terror network al Qaeda, who was arrested in France two weeks ago, is a mechanical engineer from south India, Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram announced on Monday.

Mohammad Niaz, who hails from Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, had been “radicalised” very early in life and had been in touch with the proscribed Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi), Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi. “He joined Simi based in Tamil Nadu at the age of 21 and had been on the scanner of Indian intelligence agencies before he was arrested (in France),” he said. Simi is also allegedly allied with the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which the Indian government believes is responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Niaz was arrested at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on May 10 upon arrival from Algeria, where he had developed links with an al Qaeda franchise. “It is reported that Niaz has been arrested for links with the terror group that is recruiting people for jihad in the Pakistan and Afghanistan region,” Chidambaram said. “The inputs that the government has on him indicate that he is a trained activist with a militant bent of mind,” he said.

Niaz is among seven suspected terrorists held by French authorities earlier this month. But the French government has not linked them to any specific plan to carry out attacks in that country. French Interior Minister Claude Gueant described Niaz as a man with a high level of technical training.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24th, 2011

http://tribune.com.pk/story/174755/global-terror-networks-first-indian-al-qaeda-member-is-an-engineer/?print=true

[Casey]

Treasury Targets Key Al-Qa’ida Funding and Support Network Using Iran as a Critical Transit Point

7/28/2011

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced the designation of six members of an al-Qa’ida network headed by Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, a prominent Iran-based al-Qa’ida facilitator, operating under an agreement between al-Qa’ida and the Iranian government. Today’s action, taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, demonstrates that Iran is a critical transit point for funding to support al-Qa’ida’s activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This network serves as the core pipeline through which al-Qa’ida moves money, facilitators and operatives from across the Middle East to South Asia, including to Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, a key al-Qa’ida leader based in Pakistan, also designated today.

“Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world today. By exposing Iran’s secret deal with al-Qa’ida allowing it to funnel funds and operatives through its territory, we are illuminating yet another aspect of Iran’s unmatched support for terrorism,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. “Today’s action also seeks to disrupt this key network and deny al-Qa’ida’s senior leadership much-needed support.”
As a result of today’s action, U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in commercial or financial transactions with the designees, and any assets they may hold under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen. Treasury designated the following individuals today:
Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil Khalil (a.k.a. Yasin al-Suri) is an Iran-based senior al-Qa’ida facilitator currently living and operating in Iran under an agreement between al-Qa’ida and the Iranian government. Iranian authorities maintain a relationship with Khalil and have permitted him to operate within Iran’s borders since 2005. Khalil moves money and recruits from across the Middle East into Iran, then on to Pakistan for the benefit of al-Qa’ida senior leaders, including Atiyah Abd al-Rahman. Khalil has collected funding from various donors and fundraisers throughout the Gulf and is responsible for moving significant amounts of money via Iran for onward passage to al-Qa’ida’s leadership in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has also facilitated the travel of extremist recruits for al-Qa’ida from the Gulf to Pakistan and Afghanistan via Iran. Khalil requires each operative to deliver $10,000 to al-Qa’ida in Pakistan.

As al-Qa’ida’s representative in Iran, Khalil works with the Iranian government to arrange releases of al-Qa’ida personnel from Iranian prisons. When al-Qa’ida operatives are released, the Iranian government transfers them to Khalil, who then facilitates their travel to Pakistan.

Atiyah Abd al-Rahman
Al-Rahman is al-Qa’ida’s overall commander in Pakistan’s tribal areas and as of late 2010, the leader of al-Qa’ida in North and South Waziristan, Pakistan. Rahman was previously appointed by Usama bin Laden to serve as al-Qa’ida’s emissary in Iran, a position which allowed him to travel in and out of Iran with the permission of Iranian officials.

Umid Muhammadi
Muhammadi is an al-Qa’ida facilitator and key supporter of al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI). Muhammadi has petitioned Iranian officials on al-Qa’ida’s behalf to release operatives detained in Iran. Muhammadi has been involved in planning multiple attacks in Iraq and has trained extremists in the use of explosives. He has also received training in Afghanistan on the use of rockets and chemicals.
Salim Hasan Khalifa Rashid al-Kuwari
Al-Kuwari provides financial and logistical support to al-Qa’ida, primarily through al*-Qa’ida facilitators in Iran. Based in Qatar, Kuwari has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial support to al-Qa’ida and has provided funding for al-Qa’ida operations, as well as to secure the release of al-Qa’ida detainees in Iran and elsewhere. He has also facilitated travel for extremist recruits on behalf of senior al-Qa’ida facilitators based in Iran.

Abdallah Ghanim Mafuz Muslim al-Khawar
Al-Khawar has worked with Kuwari to deliver money, messages and other material support to al-Qa’ida elements in Iran. Like Kuwari, Khawar is based in Qatar and has helped to facilitate travel for extremists interested in traveling to Afghanistan for jihad.

‘Ali Hasan ‘Ali al-’Ajmi
Al-’Ajmi is a Kuwait-based associate of Khalil who provides financial and facilitation support to al-Qa’ida, AQI and the Taliban. ‘Ajmi has collected money from individuals in Gulf countries and provided these funds to AQI facilitators as well as to the Taliban. He has also supported al-Qa’ida by facilitating travel for individuals associated with the group so that they could take part in fighting in Afghanistan.
Identifying Information:

Individual: Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil
AKA: Izz al-Din Abd al-Farid Khalil
AKA: Yasin al-Suri
AKA: Yaseen al-Suri
AKA: Zayn al-Abadin
DOB: 1982
POB: al-Qamishli, Syria

Individual: Umid Muhammadi
AKA: Omid Muhammadi
AKA: ‘Umid ‘Abd al-Majid Muhammad ‘Aziz Muhammadi
AKA: Umid al-Kurdi
AKA: ‘Amid al-Kurdi
AKA: Abu Sulayman al-Kurdi
AKA: Arkan Mohammed Hussein DarweshAKA: Hamza al-Kurdi
AKA: Shahin Rawansari
DOB: Circa 1967

Individual: Atiyah Abd al-Rahman
AKA: ‘Atiyah ‘Abd al-Rahman al-LibiAKA: Jamal Ibrahim Muhammad al-ShitaywiAKA: Jamal al-Shtiwi
AKA: Jamal al-Shitiwi
AKA: Jamal al-Shatiwi
AKA: Shaykh Mahmud al-Libi
DOB: 1969
Alt. DOB: 1965 – 1967
Alt. DOB: 1957 – 1960
POB: Misrata, Libya

Individual: Salim Hasan Khalifah Rashid al-Kuwari
AKA: Salim Hassan Khalifa Rashid Al Kuwari
AKA: Salim Hasan Khalifa Al Kawari
AKA: Salim Al-Kowari
AKA: Salem Al-Kuwari
DOB: Circa 1977
Alt. DOB: Circa 1978

Individual: Abdallah Ghanim Mahfuz Muslim Khawar
AKA: Abdullah Ghalib Mahfuz Muslim al-Khawar
AKA: Abdullah Khowar
AKA: Abdullah Al-Khowar
AKA: Abdullah Ghanem Mahfouz Muslim Khawar
DOB: August 17, 1981
Passport: 28163402296

Individual: Ali Hasan ‘Ali al-Ajmi
AKA: ‘Ali Abu Hasan al-Yami
AKA: ‘Ali bin Hasan
AKA: ‘Ali Hasan al-’AjamiAKA: ‘Ali Hassan ‘Ali al `Ajmi
AKA: Abu al-Hassan
AKA: Abu al-Hassan al-Ajmi
AKA: Hassan al-Yami
AKA: Husayn al-Yami
DOB: January 14, 1979
Passport: 002981367 (Kuwait)