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Terror Networks

Osama wanted to change Al Qaeda name

2011-06-25

[Emirates 24/7] As the late Osama bin Laden ... he's rotten though not quite forgotten... watched his organization get picked apart, he lamented in his final writings that Al Qaeda was suffering from a marketing problem. His group was killing too many Mohammedans and that was bad. The West was winning the public relations fight. All his old comrades were dead and he barely knew their replacements. Faced with these challenges, Bin Laden, who hated the United States and decried capitalism, considered a most American of business strategies. Like Blackwater, ValuJet and Philip Morris, perhaps what Al Qaeda really needed was a fresh start under a new name. The problem with the name Al Qaeda, bin Laden wrote in a letter recovered from his compound in Pakistain, was that it lacked a religious element, something to convince Mohammedans worldwide that they are in a holy war with America. Maybe something like Taifat Al Tawhed Wal-Jihad, meaning Monotheism and Jihad Group, he wrote. Or Jama'at I'Adat Al Khilafat Al Rashida, meaning Restoration of the Caliphate Group. As bin Laden saw it, the problem was that the group's full name, Al Qaeda Al Jihad, for The Base of Holy War, had become short-handed as simply Al Qaeda. Lopping off the word "jihad," bin Laden wrote, allowed the West to "claim deceptively that they are not at war with Islam." Maybe it was time for Al Qaeda to bring back its original name. The letter, which was undated, was discovered among bin Laden's recent writings. Navy SEALs stormed his compound and killed him before any name change could be made. The letter was described by senior administration, national security and other US officials only on condition of anonymity because the materials are sensitive. The documents portray bin Laden as a terrorist chief executive, struggling to sell holy war for a company in crisis. At the White House, the documents were taken as positive reinforcement for President Barack B.O. Obama's effort to eliminate religiously charged words from the government's language of terrorism. Words like "jihad," which also has a peaceful religious meaning, are out. "The information that we recovered from bin Laden's compound shows Al Qaeda under enormous strain," Obama said on Wednesday in his speech to the nation on withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. "Bin Laden expressed concern that Al Qaeda had been unable to effectively replace senior forces of Evil that had been killed and that Al Qaeda has failed in its effort to portray America as a nation at war with Islam, thereby draining more widespread support." Bin Laden wrote his musings about renaming Al Qaeda as a letter but, as with many of his writings, the recipient was not identified. Intelligence officials have determined that bin Laden only communicated with his most senior commanders, including his deputy, Ayman Al Zawahri, and his No. 3, Mustafa Abu Al Yazid, according to one US official. Because of the courier system bin Laden used, it's unclear to US intelligence whether the letter ever was sent. Al Yazid was killed in a US Arclight airstrike last year. Zawahri has replaced bin Laden as head of Al Qaeda. In one letter sent to Zawahri within the past year or so, bin Laden said Al Qaeda's image was suffering because of attacks that have killed Mohammedans, particularly in Iraq, officials said. In other journal entries and letters, they said, bin Laden wrote that he was frustrated that many of his trusted longtime comrades, whom he'd fought alongside in Afghanistan, had been killed or captured. Using his courier system, bin Laden could still exercise some operational control over Al Qaeda. But increasingly the men he was directing were younger and inexperienced. Frequently, the generals who had vouched for these young fighters were dead or in prison. And bin Laden, unable to leave his walled compound and with no phone or Internet access, was annoyed that he did not know so many people in his own organization. The US has essentially completed the review of documents taken from bin Laden's compound, officials said, though intelligence analysts will continue to mine the data for a long time.

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India-Pakistan

Al Qaida El Numero Tres Bites the Big One

2010-06-01

Link updated and more info added There are rumors afoot that Abu Al Yazid, the No. 3 man in the Al Qaida heirarchy was killed in a drone zap in Pakastain in the last two weeks. He was rumored to have been killed in 2008. This time however, some of the radical websites are putting forth info to indicate that maybe this time we got the little goat lover. He was put in charge of the Al Qaida Afghan operations due to his fluency in Pashtu and his excellent manners, seems the arabic Al Qaida operatives rubbed the Taliban locals the wrong was being seen as arrogant and abrasive. With his, hopefully permanent, demise, the drones have nabbed another Al Qaida big turban. From MSNBC Al-Qaida's number three -- a co-founder of the terror network -- has been killed in Pakistan's border area with Afghanistan, according to a statement attributed to the group that was posted on Islamist websites Monday. The statement did not say how Egyptian-born Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, who was also known as Sheik Sa'id al-Masri, was killed nor did it identify a successor. Al-Yazid was al-Qaida's financial director and ran its operations in Afghanistan. It was al-Yazid who shortly before the September 11 attacks transferred several thousand dollars to Mohammed Atta, the leader of the 9/11 hijackers. His death has been mistakenly reported before, but this is the first time it has been acknowledged by al-Qaida, whose statement added that his wife, three of his daughters, his granddaughter and other men, women and children were killed. One senior U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity told NBC News that al-Yazid was killed in an attack by a missile-carrying Predator drone aircraft. Other sources told NBC's Jim Miklaszewski that the attack took place more than a week ago. The U.S. did not want to publicize the death until al-Qaida had confirmed it, which it did Monday. Another official called it "a big victory" in terms of counterterrorism, describing al-Yazid as "the group's chief operating officer, with a hand in everything from finances to operational planning. He was also the organization's prime conduit to Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. He was key to al-Qaida's command and control." "In some respects, Sheikh Sa'id's death is more important for al-Qaida operations than if bin Laden or Zawahiri was killed," said Roger Cressey, former deputy chief for counterterrorism at the National Security Council and now an NBC News consultant. "Any al-Qaida operation of any consequence would run through him." Evan Kohlmann, who tracks al-Qaida for NBC News, added that al-Yazid "was one of the original founders of al-Qaida in 1988, and has served on the group's Shura Council since then. His death is a significant loss for al-Qaida."

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India-Pakistan

American Qaeda operative claims Western economy on brink of failure

2009-04-15

Al Qaeda member Adam Gadahn called on Muslims to support jihad with "men and money", claiming militants had brought the West to the verge of collapse. Gadahn, who is a US national, stated this during a one-and-a-half hour video produced by Al Qaeda's media wing, As Sahab, and released on the Internet on Monday. "The enemy under the leadership of the unbelieving West has begun to stagger and falter, and the results of its unabated bleeding has began to show on its economy, which is on the brink of failure," said Gadahn, in a report by CBS News. Contradictions: Dismissing efforts by US President Barack Obama to improve relations with the Muslim world, he said former US president had all made similar claims but all have maintained the same policies and the same approach towards Muslims. "Obama's own statements contradict his claims," he said, referring to the US president's assurances to Israel that Jerusalem will remain its undivided capital, and his pledge to increase US forces in Afghanistan. Gadahn also claimed that big US corporations and financial institutions dictated America's domestic and foreign policies, specifically mentioning the case of Bernard Madoff and books written by American author John Perkins. The video also included a documentary-style historical introduction at the beginning, which Gadahn described as examples of crimes perpetrated by US forces in the wars it fought during the 20th century. He referred to the killing of Germans during World War II, the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam. "Agent orange contains Dioxin, one of the most poisonous substances on earth," he noted, adding "just three ounces of it in the water supplies of New York, is enough to poison its entire population". The video also contained excerpts from statements released previously by other Al Qaeda leaders, such as Osama Bin Laden, Ayman Al Zawahri, Mustafa Abu Al Yazid and Abu Yahya Al Libi. The statements all stressed on jihad as the only way to rid Muslim countries from corrupt rulers and Western occupation. It also included footage of operations carried out by Arab and Afghan fighters against NATO and Afghan forces in Afghanistan, including a succession of rocket attacks, IED attacks and suicide bombings. Gadahn pointed to a US army handbook, 'Route Clearance', that he said was seized during an attack on US forces. A copy of the handbook has been distributed along with the video. The book explains the various tools and techniques used by the US army to minimise the damage caused by IED attacks. Gadahn said the procedures explained in the handbook were not being followed, suggesting the US preferred to save money on minesweepers rather than the lives of its own soldiers. New technique: The video also revealed a new technique used by Al Qaeda for suicide operations, consisting of placing rocket launchers on top of vehicles, and firing those rockets before the suicide bomber detonates the car bomb.

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India-Pakistan

U.S.: Al Qaeda commander believed killed in Pakistan

2008-10-24

A senior al Qaeda operational commander is believed to have been killed recently in Pakistan's South Waziristan region, several U.S. officials told CNN Wednesday. The officials identified the man as Khalid Habib, who is considered to have been an operations coordinator for al Qaeda in the tribal region along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border where al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, are believed to be hiding. One official described him as the "chief of external operations" for al Qaeda. Officially, the U.S. intelligence assessment is that Habib was "probably" killed last Thursday, because there is no final DNA match, but there is every reason to believe he was killed, the officials said. Local groups in Pakistan also reported his death over the weekend. The U.S. officials would not confirm Habib's apparent death was the result of a missile strike by a U.S. Predator unmanned drone. But a Pakistani intelligence official and eyewitnesses reported October 16 that unmanned planes fired missiles over the village of Saam, in Wana -- the capital of South Waziristan -- killing at least four civilians and wounding seven others. The United States, which has a presence in Afghanistan, is the only country operating in the region known to have the capability to launch missiles from drones, which are controlled remotely. Did they check with the Ruritanians ... At the time, U.S. Forces Afghanistan in Kabul had no comment on such strikes, as part of its standing policy. One U.S. official described Habib Wednesday as "one of the top figures" in al Qaeda, who is believed to have had direct contact with bin Laden in the past. He's also believed to be a key deputy to Mustafa Abu Al Yazid, also known as "Sheikh Said," who is the commander of the al Qaeda in Afghanistan. A source in Pakistan told CNN it is believed Habib replaced the previous operational chief, Abu-Laith al-Libi, who was killed several months ago.

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Terror Networks

Sheikh Said: Al Qaeda's financier

2008-08-29

Mustafa Abu Al Yazid, or Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed Osman Abu Al Yazid, also known as “Sheikh Said”, commander of the Al Qaeda terrorist organization in Afghanistan, was a familiar face in Egypt in the 1980s. He fled to Afghanistan after security operations against the Egyptian Islamic Jihad movement, to which he belonged, intensified. He may still be remembered in Egypt but not nearly as well as he is known today in Afghanistan and Pakistan. There have been recent reports claiming that Al Yazid had been killed during raids against fundamentalist strongholds along the Pakistani-Afghan frontier. But who is Al Yazid? And what role has he played within the Al Qaeda organization? Al Yazid could be described as ‘Al Qaeda’s financier’. He was chosen for this role due to his intellect and his theological knowledge of Islam but he lacked knowledge and interest in the military aspects of the Al Qaeda organization. Like many other members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, al Yazid made a fresh start in Afghanistan. They destroyed their old passports and forged new ones and changed their names so that they could not be traced even by the countries they were born in. Yasser Al Sirri, Director of the Islamic Observation Centre in London told Asharq Al-Awsat that he was certain that “Mustafa Abu Al Yazid otherwise known as Sheikh Said, Al Qaeda’s third man, survived the rocket attacks on the Pakistani-Afghan border last month.” He added, “Since Al Qaeda has not made a statement or announced his death, it is obvious that Al Yazid is still alive.” There are strong indications that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had knowledge of al Yazid’s whereabouts. Sheikh Said is Al Qaeda’s current Commander of Operations in Afghanistan; he is an Egyptian national who was imprisoned for a while with Ayman al Zawahiri, Al Qaeda’s second man, following the assassination of the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Sheikh Said is currently referred to as the third most important member of Al Qaeda, after Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, since the five men who have held this position since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 have been killed or detained. Yasser Al Sirri revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that al Yazid and Sheikh Said were in fact the same person; the man who was responsible for the finances of one of Osama Bin Laden’s Khartoum-based companies and who is now Al Qaeda’s Commander of Operations in Afghanistan. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, al Yazid was mentioned as part of the US investigation of Osama Bin Laden but the Americans have only recently come to know the importance of this man. Initially, the US government believed that al Yazid was of Saudi nationality but he is from the Egyptian region of Ash Sharqiyah. An accountant by training, he fled Egypt for Afghanistan in 1988. At present, Sheikh Said is not wanted in Egypt on any charges but he is sought by the USA on charges of sponsoring terrorism. He ranks fifteenth on the most wanted list signed by the US President George W. Bush in 2002. Al Sirri told Asharq Al Awsat that upon his arrival to Afghanistan, Sheikh Said joined Al Qaeda in 1988 and became a member of its Shura Council along with Abu Hafs al Masri and Abu Obeida. Sheikh Said is said to be popular within the Council and able to reconcile conflicting trends of Islamic fundamentalist thought. He is fluent in Pashto and has strong ties with the Afghans, not to mention with other members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad group who also fled Egypt for Afghanistan. The news that Sheikh Said is a pseudonym for Mustafa Abu Al Yazid is important because Sheikh Said is reportedly responsible for financing the 9/11 attacks in the United States. His pseudonym is included in the US congress investigation into the attack as the man responsible for funding the operation via accounts based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Sheikh Said travelled to Qatar then to the UAE as part of his role in financing the 9/11 attacks. Mohamed Atta, who led the 9/11 hijackers, returned a surplus amount of US $26,000 to Sheikh Said two days before the attacks took place. It is interesting that Sheikh Said agreed to help finance the 9/11 attacks since he and a number of other high ranking Al Qaeda members, including Mullah Omar, opposed the attacks. Despite his objection the Sheikh acceded to the wishes of Osama Bin Laden, and transferred the funds. Sheikh Said was named Commander of Operations for Al Qaeda in Afghanistan in June 2007, taking over the role of Abdel Hadi al Iraqi who was arrested in Turkey and handed over to the US forces in Iraq. He was then transferred to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. But what of Sheikh Said? Islamists in Britain claim that he is a spiritual figure, rather than a military commander. Sayyed Imam al Sharif, known as Dr Fadl, the founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad movement to which Sheikh Said belonged, objected to his appointment as a military commander. Dr Fadl, who is currently imprisoned in Tora Prison in Egypt and who recently recanted the theological basis for Jihad and renounced violence, says Sheikh Said’s appointment as Commander of Operations for Al Qaeda in Afghanistan signals an end to Al Qaeda’s cadres due to imprisonment or death. Sources close to Dr Fadl in Europe attribute his opposition to Sheikh Said’s new position to the latter’s lack of experience in military command. Muntassir al Zayat, an Islamist lawyer, told Asharq Al-Awsat that he personally met Sheikh Said on more than one occasion in Egypt and knew him personally as a member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad movement. He described him as a ‘popular figure, a spiritual leader and a theologian, but he does not have military expertise or command. Therefore we can understand Dr Fadl’s objection to him being given the position of a military commander in Al Qaeda.’ In his last public appearance Sheikh Said appeared in a rare television interview with journalist Najeeb Ahmed from a secret location in Afghanistan that was broadcast on the Pakistani Geo TV channel in July 2008. Sheikh Said revealed in this interview that he was angered by the publication of the Danish cartoons that depicted Prophet Mohammed in 2005. He confessed that the 9/11 attacks were indeed carried out by Al Qaeda, and criticized former Pakistani President Musharraf’s pledge to stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States. He also expressed his confidence that Al Qaeda would triumph in Afghanistan. This interview preceded the broadcast of a video by Al Qaeda’s production house, As Sahab, and only a few days before Sheikh Said appeared in a video in which he elegized the Al Qaeda commander Abu Hussein Al Saidi and commended him for his courage. Abu Hussein Al Saidi was also a member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad movement and fled to Afghanistan to join Al Qaeda. In the video, Sheikh Said also spoke about the merits of suicide bombing operations as a military tactic. The US Congressional 9/11 Report revealed that Bin Laden’s main objective was to attack the USA, but others within the Al Qaeda organization held different viewpoints. The Taliban command was focusing military attacks on the Northern Alliance. The Taliban believed that any attack on America would result in a negative reaction and would drag the Americans into war just when the Taliban was within reach of a decisive victory over Ahmed Shah Massoud’s forces. There is evidence that Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, objected to any Al Qaeda operations against the USA in 2001. There were disputes between the leaders of Al Qaeda who wanted the attack on the USA to go ahead and others who supported Mullah Omar’s position opposing an attack on the USA at that time. Mullah Omar attributed his objection to ideological reasons, rather than due to fear of America’s response; he wanted Al Qaeda to attack “Jews”. Mullah Omar was also facing increasing amounts of pressure from the Pakistani government to prevent Al Qaeda from carrying out operations on foreign land. Despite helping to finance the operation, Al Qaeda’s banker, Sheikh Said also adopted the same opinion as Mullah Omar due to his apprehension of America’s response to any attack. Abu Hafs al Mauritani, one of the more prominent members of Al Qaeda also opposed the attacks, which he outlined in a letter to Osama Bin Laden. Even after the Al Qaeda Shura Council had convened to discuss the matter, and the majority of its members objected to any planned attacks, Bin Laden remained insistent that the 9/11 attacks would go ahead as planned. The full story about the disputes within the Al Qaeda organization regarding the 9/11 attacks is unknown and perhaps will never be fully discovered as the sources from which information can be derived are far from reliable. Yet there is no doubt that Sheikh Said played a part in preparation for the attacks.

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Arabia

Riyadh denies Danish embassy bomber was Saudi

2008-07-24

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Pakistan denied an Al Qaeda claim that a suicide attacker who bombed the Danish embassy in Islamabad last month was a Saudi, in comments published on Wednesday. "No Saudi was involved in the terrorist attack against the Danish embassy in Pakistan," Ali Awadh Assiri said, quoted by the Saudi-owned pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat. "The attacker was not even Arab. According to documented official information, the features of the attacker were not close to Arab features," he said. A senior Al Qaeda leader, Mustafa Abu Al Yazid, said in a television interview aired on Monday that the suicide attacker came from Saudi Arabia. The June 2 embassy bombing killed six Pakistanis, one of them with dual Danish nationality.

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