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India-Pakistan

Drone strikes force Al Qaeda into the cities

2009-08-10

Al-Qaeda has been forced to regroup its core leadership with some of the key operatives moving out of the tribal regions into urban compounds in Pakistan to escape the American unmanned spy drones which have killed 20 terrorist commanders in the last 18 months. They have moved into urban areas, where aerial surveillance is far more complicated, and have been replaced by a younger generation of militants who now control operations on the ground. Although Osama bin Laden remains the figurehead leader, a 15-member "shura" or supreme council now runs the organisation's affairs, senior Pakistani intelligence sources say. The sources have disclosed that the council is headed by a Saudi national, Mustafa abul al-Yazidi. Other senior members include a Libyan, Abu Yahaya al-Libbi, along with militants from North Africa and Somalia. Al-Yazidi is in overall charge of al-Qaeda operations in the region, including Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Pakistani intelligence officials told The Times. So it might even be true. The Americans have been aiming their Predator strikes at the so-called "external operations unit", responsible for all operations abroad. The head of this unit used to be Abu Obeida al-Masri, an Egyptian, but he died from disease. He was replaced by Abu Jihad al-Masri Khakaina, who was killed by a Predator strike. He in turn was succeeded by Osama al-Kini, a Kenyan who was also killed by a Predator, along with Ahmed Salim Swedan, in a strike in January. The Pakistani intelligence sources said Mustafa abul al Yazidi, the Saudi, had succeded al-Kini. A senior Pakistani intelligence official said: "Some 60 to 70 per cent of the core al-Qaeda leadership has been eliminated, dealing a serious blow to the network's capacity to launch any major attack on the West." The new leadership comes from Somalia, Libya and other north African countries. They use the most modern means of communication for contact with their sleeper cells abroad. Over the past years there has also been a major influx of new operatives, largely from Somalia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and North Africa.

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Terror Networks

Ten reasons Al Qaeda fears drones.

2009-07-24

Usama bin Laden's son isn't the only Al Qaeda operative believed to have been killed in an attack by an unmanned U.S. drone in the past year. U.S. officials tell FOX News that Saad bin Laden, who is not considered a significant player in Al Qaeda leadership, was "collateral" damage in an airstrike in Pakistan and was not considered important enough to target on his own. Click here for photos of the terrorists. But other high-value operatives, some of them with key roles in Al Qaeda, also have been taken out by U.S. attacks. The following are 10 top operatives killed in the past year: Khalid Habib -- veteran combat leader and operations chief involved with plots to attack the West; deputy to Shaikh Said al-Masri, Al Qaeda's No. 3. Rashid Rauf -- mastermind of the 2006 transatlantic airliner plot. Abu Khabab al-Masri -- Al Qaeda's most seasoned explosives expert and trainer, and the man responsible for its chemical and biological weapons efforts. Abdallah Azzam -- senior aide to Sheikh Sa'id al-Masri. Abu al-Hassan al-Rimi -- led cross-border operations against Coalition forces in Afghanistan. Abu Sulaiman al-Jaziri -- senior external operations planner and facilitator. Abu Jihad al-Masri -- senior operational planner and propagandist. Usama al-Kini -- Marriott attack planner and listed on the FBI's terrorist most wanted list. Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan -- involved in the attacks on the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Abu Sulaiman al-Jaziri -- senior trainer and external operations plotter.

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India-Pakistan

South Wazoo: Suicide boomer kills eight soldiers

2008-11-03

A suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into a checkpoint in South Waziristan on Sunday, killing eight paramilitary troops. The deadly blast occurred near the main gate of the Zalai Fort as Frontier Corps troops gathered nearby, said Maj Gen Athar Abbas, the army's top spokesman. "We have confirmed reports of eight deaths," he said. Four people were wounded. The fort is 20 kilometres outside Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan Agency. The troops were washing their vehicles when the suicide attacker came, two intelligence officials said. They described the explosion as 'large' and said it destroyed the checkpoint and damaged the front wall of the fort. The intelligence officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to media. In a statement, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the suicide attack, saying he 'deplored the loss of innocent lives'. Zardari said in another statement he would 'continue the fight against extremists and terrorists and to make Pakistan a safe place'. The attack came after two missiles fired by a suspected US drone at a Taliban hideout near Wana killed 12 suspected Taliban on Friday. It was the second strike that evening. The first strike was made in the neighbouring North Waziristan, where two missiles hit a pick-up truck and a house west of the town of Mir Ali, killing 20 mainly Arab men, security officials said. Among the dead was an Egyptian Al Qaeda operative, Abu Jihad al-Masri, described by the United States as the terror network's propaganda chief. Washington had offered a one-million-dollar bounty for his death or capture. On Friday, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the house of a senior police official in Mardan. At least eight people were killed. The previous day, Pakistani troops had killed five Taliban and captured an explosives expert known to have links with Afghan Taliban.

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India-Pakistan

Senior al Qaeda leader thought killed in North Waziristan strike

2008-11-02

By Bill Roggio A good summary of what is known about Mohammad Khalil Hasan al Hakaymah, better known as Abu Jihad al Masri, who was reported to have been killed yesterday.

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India-Pakistan

Official says al-Masri killed in Pakistan strike

2008-11-01

A wanted Egyptian Al-Qaeda operative who has appeared in some of the terror network's videos was killed in a suspected US missile strike in Pakistan, a security official said Saturday. Abu Jihad al-Masri was among several rebels killed when two missiles fired by a spy drone hit a truck in the North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan on Friday night, the senior official said. The United States has offered a one million dollar reward for the death or capture of Al-Masri, according to the Rewards for Justice website run by the US State Department.

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Iraq

Egyptian Daily Reveals Details Of Al-Qaeda In Iraq Leader

2007-05-03

(AKI) - As US investigators seek to verify through DNA tests that the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq was killed recently in clashes north of Baghdad, Egyptian daily al-Ahram has revealed new biographical details about the man who stepped into the shoes of the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Behind the pseudonym al-Masri, the paper says, is Abdel Muniem Ezzedin Ali Ismayl, born 21 December 1969 in the eastern provinces of Egypt. He did not finish his university studies and is believed to have used various battle names during his Islamist militancy; Abu Jihad al-Masri, Abu Al-Darda, Yusuf Hadad, Yusuf Labib and Labib Hadad. Al-Masri was sentenced in absentia by an Egyptian court in 1999 to seven years in jail because he had left the country at the end of the 1980s for Pakistan, from where he then moved to Afghanistan. His move to Iraq was reportedly under the urgings of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri who wanted him to lead the local franchise after the death last June of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The paper's report said that they trusted him to manage the economic aspects of al-Qaeda in Iraq. According to an accord between al-Masri and bin Laden, some of the money of the Iraqi cells was to be transferred to the 'head office' in Afghanistan. Al-Masri is also considered an expert in explosives, the paper noted. The Egyptian newspaper said al-Masri's presence was also reported in Iran at a time of contacts between the regime in Tehran and al-Qaeda to allow his safe passage to Iraq. The version given by al-Ahram coincides with that provided by a renowned leader of Egyptian Islamist militants, Montaser al-Zeyat, in the Saudi newspaper al-Watan. Despite the announcement by the interior ministry that al-Masri had been killed im combat with tribal Sunni militants in al-Anbar, the US command has not yet confirmed the news of the death of al-Masri and is awaiting a DNA test on the corpses of five dead insurgents. The Islamic State in Iraq, the group into which al-Qaeda has merged, has denied the reports of his death.

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