Posted on 01/15/2006 5:37:46 AM PST by snarks_when_bored
January 15, 2006 -- WASHINGTON — U.S. officials are still holding out hope they killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant, in an airstrike in Pakistan.
Sources say American officials are anxiously awaiting DNA test results to determine if the Friday strike killed the Egyptian doctor, al Qaeda's second-in-command.
Tissue samples taken from people killed in the strike are being flown to Quantico, Va., where the FBI will test them, sources say.
[snip]
But privately, sources say the strike was based on strong intelligence that Zawahiri would be among the guests at a dinner party there, and that he was the primary target.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
I would hope they were watching the strike site (by drone) as it was being, um, cleaned up by locals and Paki officials.
And since they don't usually say things like this after a strike, they must have had pretty good intel.
Right. Clearly, they've got something to work with. Fingers crossed (heh-heh) here...
You think the villagers are just going to willingly provide American intelligence with samples?
I like it when our guys talk about terrorists and DNA testing in the same sentence.
but wait.. I already read in the guardian yesterday that we were idiot for even thinking we had a chance or trying, and of course being eeeevil and killing all kinds of innocent 'muslims' who were bunking with Zawaheri for the night :rolleyes:
I wouldn't be surprised if we had assets on the ground there, perhaps Pakistani, but perhaps our guys...
Warms the heart, huh?
Except, of course, that I think he's dead, and am not expecting to see that or any other video out of him.
" CIA ATTACKS WEDDING PARTY."
A shorter variation of your statement would make a great tagline.
Zawahiri is the most dangerous sort of lunatic: very smart, completely without scruples, and completely convinced of the correctness of his views. The sooner he's confirmed dead, the better I'll like it.
Wouldn't it be justice if the intelligence came from phone calls from the U.S.
Nice thought!
Perhaps our guys posing as Pakistanis?
I would not be surprised in the least if we have a significant number of SEALS, Delta and other Special Forces in country.
One good thing that may come out of this destruction is, the villagers may think twice before inviting terrorists over for dinner.
Zawahri missed dinner that prompted US strikeReutersISLAMABAD - A dinner invitation to al Qaeda's second-in-command triggered a U.S. airstrike in Pakistan but Ayman al-Zawahri failed to show up, Pakistani intelligence officials said on Sunday. Pakistan condemned Friday's strike, which killed at least 18 people, including women and children, and summoned U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker to protest. There were anti-American demonstrations in several towns and cities on Sunday, and supporters of Islamist and secular parties mustered close to 10,000 people for a rally in the southern city of Karachi. The Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that foreigners had been near the village of Damadola in the Bajaur region bordering Afghanistan and were the probable target. Pakistani intelligence officials said they were checking reports up to seven foreign militants had been killed and their bodies removed by local supporters. But they said there were no indications Osama bin Laden's deputy, Zawahri, was there. "He was invited for the dinner, but we have no evidence he was present," a senior intelligence official told Reuters. Al Arabiya television quoted a source it said had contact with al Qaeda saying Zawahri was alive. The U.S. government has not commented, but U.S. sources familiar with the operation said it was too early to determine his fate and the remains of the dead would have to be examined. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the airstrike was based on "very good" intelligence indicating Zawahri was at the targeted location. Another Pakistani intelligence official said two local Islamist clerics, known for harboring al Qaeda militants, had attended the dinner but left hours before the airstrike at 3.00 a.m. (2200 GMT). But there is widespread cynicism in Pakistan regarding what the United States says and what it does. "America raised the bogey of Zawahri to provide justification for this attack," said Meraj-ul-Huda, a local leader of Pakistan's main Islamist alliance, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, attending the rally in Karachi. ANTI-AMERICAN ANGER Washington has offered $25 million each for Zawahri and bin Laden, who have been on the run since U.S.-led forces toppled Afghanistan's Taliban rulers in 2001 after the September 11 attacks. The two have long been thought to be hiding along the Afghan-Pakistan border under the protection of Pashtun tribes. The angry reaction to the strike comes days after Pakistan, an important ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, lodged a protest with U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, saying cross-border firing in a nearby tribal area last weekend had killed eight people. Zawahri is seen as the brains behind al Qaeda and has been its public face, denouncing the United States in repeated video messages, the most recent of which was broadcast this month. Killing him would be a major victory for Washington in its battle against al Qaeda, which has lost much of its capability to launch attacks globally after a string of high profile arrests in Pakistan and elsewhere, analysts say.
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Anyone that is okay with inviting Zawahiri over for a dinner party deserves a JDAM gatecrasher. Even if he wasn't there, that's one more safehouse denied to him, and hopefully the word will spread that breaking bread with the Z man can be detrimental to your health.
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