A former Guantanamo detainee named Sufyan Ben Qumu is training Derna’s rebels. Declassified memos prepared at Gitmo note that Qumu was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group’s military committee, trained at Osama bin Laden’s camps, worked for al Qaeda front companies, and was a known “extremist” with “no qualms about committing terrorist acts.”
In the latest edition of Inspire, Ibrahim Rubaish, a former Guantanamo detainee who is AQAP’s mufti, criticizes the Saudi government for taking in Tunisia’s former president.
A three-judge DC Circuit Court panel overturned a lower court’s ruling that would have granted freedom to Guantanamo detainee Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman.
But Abdul Hakim al Hasadi has a jihadist pedigree.
The Afghan High Peace Council, set up by President Hamid Karzai in 2010, reportedly wants to speak with four top Taliban commanders held at Guantanamo. All four allegedly had significant ties to al Qaeda prior to their detention.
On Monday, a British Airways employee named Rajib Karim was convicted of plotting to blow up a US-bound airliner. While planning the attack, Rajib emailed back and forth with al Qaeda cleric Anwar al Awlaki. The emails reveal that Awlaki played a direct, operational role in Rajib’s plotting.
In an opinion released on Feb. 18, a DC district judge denied the habeas corpus petition of Guantanamo detainee Mashour Abdullah Muqbel al Sabri; the decision contradicts earlier district court rulings in important ways. Al Sabri’s career demonstrates that there was extensive overlap between Taliban and al Qaeda operations prior to Sept. 11, 2001.
An al Qaeda trainer agreed to a plea deal at Gitmo on Tuesday. The terms of the deal remain undisclosed. The trainer, Noor Uthman Mohammed, was captured alongside top al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah in March 2002 and was allegedly involved in Zubaydah’s plot against Israel.
A former Gitmo detainee convicted of terrorism-related charges was freed from an Italian jail on Monday. Adel Ben Mabrouk, a Tunisian who lived in Italy for much of the 1990s, was a member of a known al Qaeda network in Italy prior to his detention at Guantanamo. Mabrouk was captured after fleeing the Tora Bora Mountains in late 2001.
The Afghan High Peace Council has requested the release of Khairullah Khairkhwa, a top Taliban official, from Guantanamo. Khairkhwa, who was detained in early 2002, was the governor of Herat province during the Taliban’s reign. He was also allegedly involved in drug trafficking, had ties to senior al Qaeda leaders, and admittedly set up security for meetings between the Taliban and Iran.
In a piece last week, I noted that a former Taliban commander, Awal Gul, died of an apparent heart attack at Guantanamo on Tuesday, Feb. 1. The Taliban have now released a statement online concerning Gul’s death, calling him “the prominent Jihadi commander of Nangarhar province” and lamenting the “martyrdom of the eminent commander.” Much […]
Thirwat Salah Shehata, a top al Qaeda operative who has long served Ayman al Zawahiri, has released a statement in support of the Egyptian protesters. According to a Saudi publication, Shehata issued the statement from Iran.
Awal Gul, a former Taliban commander, died of an apparent heart attack at Guantanamo on Tuesday. According to the US military’s declassified files, Osama bin Laden allegedly gave Gul $100,000 to help al Qaeda members escape Afghanistan after 9/11.
An Italian court convicted a former Guantanamo detainee named Mohamed Ben Riadh Nasri of terrorsm-related charges on Monday. At Gitmo, Nasri was identified as “one of the most dangerous Tunisian operatives,” as well as the emir of the Tunisian Combat Group, a known al Qaeda affiliate.
“I herewith proclaim to those (Western leaders) who still do not want to see the realities that the political axis of the new Middle East will soon be Islamic rulership and a democracy based on religion,” senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said on Friday during public prayers in Tehran. “All these protests in Egypt, […]
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair discussed the “link” between Iran and al Qaeda in his testimony before the Iraq Inquiry on Friday. Blair cited British intelligence reports pointing to collusion between the two in Iraq, and urged UK officials to look at the issue in a “broader context” as well.
The Center for Public Integrity has released an investigative report detailing the circumstances of Daniel Pearl’s murder in 2002. The report highlights the “nexus” between Pakistani terrorist groups and al Qaeda, and provides new details concerning Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s role in the plot.
AQAP has released the fourth edition of its Inspire magazine. In it, al Qaeda cleric Anwar al Awlaki calls on Muslims to steal from the disbelievers in order to fund their jihad. Awlaki’s message may indicate that AQAP’s fundraising has been hampered by US-led efforts.
An Algerian Guantanamo detainee named Abdel Razak Ali was denied his petition for a writ of habeas corpus on Tuesday. Razak was a member of the terrorist cell of top al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah.
The Department of Defense announced the transfer of a Guantanamo detainee to Algeria on Thursday. A district judge ruled that he should be freed even though he was recruited by al Qaeda to train and fight in Afghanistan.
One of the suspects arrested this week for allegedly plotting an attack against the Danish newspaper that published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed had been arrested twice before. He and his supporters claimed both times that he was merely vacationing.
The Obama administration has released a five-page summary of its annual strategy review on Afghanistan and Pakistan. In our view, the document is mostly ho-hum with no really major revelations or insights. The surge of military forces in Afghanistan is definitely having some positive effects in that country. But there is scant evidence that Pakistan’s […]
Top al Qaeda ideologue Abu Yahya al Libi has released a new tape imploring Muslims to wage jihad on behalf of Aafia Siddiqui. It is the second such tape released by al Qaeda in recent months.
According to a leaked State Department cable, Saudi Prince Nayif bin Abdulaziz told John Brennan, President Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser, that Iran is harboring al Qaeda members who are targeting the kingdom. Among the al Qaeda operatives is Ibrahim bin Laden, one of Osama’s lesser-known sons.
A State Department cable released by Wikileaks shows that the Afghan government has likely released dozens of Gitmo detainees, and many more from Bagram, instead of trying them.
In a “special issue” of its online publication, Inspire, AQAP explains its thinking behind the cargo planes bomb plot.
A former Guantanamo detainee was reportedly involved in plotting against targets in Saudi Arabia in December 2009, two years after he was repatriated to the country. He remains a member of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a statement on Friday claiming responsibility for the two package bombs found on board cargo planes in late October. The Saudis supplied the intelligence that was used to disrupt the plot, but US officials doubt the official Saudi story.
An Algerian court acquitted former Guantanamo detainee Sofiane Hadarbache of terrorism-related charges. In declassified memos prepared at Gitmo, US military officials alleged that Hadarbache was recruited by al Qaeda in France.
Two articles by al Qaeda cleric Anwar al Awlaki are featured in the latest edition of Inspire magazine. The publication also mentions the controversy surrounding the Obama administration’s decision to allow US forces to target Awlaki in Yemen.