Was Bin Laden betrayed by his right-hand man? Al Qaeda's deputy leader 'led U.S. troops to OBL

Daily Mail UK ^ | 6th May 2011 | Paul Bentley

[COUNTrecount]

Osama Bin Laden's deputy led U.S. troops to the Al Qaeda leader's hideout so he could take over the terrorist group, it was claimed today.

Egyptian Ayman Al Zawahiri, who has been touted widely as the man who will succeed Bin Laden as the head of Al Qaeda, turned his back on his terrorist leader following a prolonged power struggle, according to a Saudi newspaper.

The plot to get rid of Bin Laden began when Zawahiri’s faction persuaded bin Laden to leave the protection of the tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border. Power struggle: This photograph from October 2001, one month after 9/11, shows Osama Bin Laden alongside his top lieutenant, Egyptian Ayman Al Zawahiri

Instead, they convinced him to set up home in Abbottabad, where he was finally killed by U.S. Navy SEALS earlier this week, a regional source told the Al-Watan newspaper.

Zawahiri's Egyptian ally Saif Al Adel is said to have moved to Pakistan last autumn as Al Qaeda's 'chief of staff' after a period of house arrest in Iran.

With his return, Al Qaeda's Egyptian faction then hatched a plan to dispose of Saudi-born Bin Laden after irresolvable divisions developed between the terrorist group's top two men. Judas? Al Qaeda's number two Ayman Al Zawahiri is said to have tipped off U.S. troops about the whereabouts of Bin Laden

'The Egyptian faction of Al Qaeda is defacto running the organisation now and since he was taken ill in 2004 they have been trying to take full control,' the paper wrote on Thursday.

The courier who led U.S. forces to Bin Laden was a Pakistani national working for Zawahiri, according to the source.

The man is said to have known he was being followed by American troops and to have intentionally led them to their target.

[COUNTrecount]

Judas? Al Qaeda's number two Ayman Al Zawahiri is said to have tipped off U.S. troops about the whereabouts of Bin Laden

ZAWAHIRI: THE EGYPTIAN TERROR BOSS SET TO REPLACE BIN LADEN

Ayman Al Zawahiri met Osama Bin Laden in the mid-1980s while supporting mujahideen guerrillas fighting Soviets in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.

The Egyptian was born in Cairo in 1951 to a prominent family, his father a professor of pharmacology and his grandfather the grand imam of the highly influential Al Azhar mosque.

Zawahiri is said to be the brains behind the Al Qaeda network with analysts describing him as Al Qaeda's chief organiser and Bin Laden's closest mentor.

He has at times appeared the terrorist groups's most public face, often appearing in videos denouncing the West.

The terror chief is notorious in Egypt after being sentenced to death in absentia by an Egyptian military court in 1999. He has also been indicted in connection with the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Zawahri has repeatedly called for al Qaeda to seize control of a state, an elusive goal for the group.

Zawahiri wrote in his 2001 essay Knights Under The Prophet's Banner: 'If we do not achieve this goal, our actions will be nothing more than small scale harassment.'

[A CA Guy]

I thought OBL was working for Michael Moore as tour guide all this time. Had me fooled.

[Hans]

The end of Bin Laden reeks of abandonment. Where were his soldiers? The mess of a house with women and noncombatants. It is well he is dead - he would have out thought our leaders easily. It would seem one of his sons did the mercy killing then went to his own death.

[jonsie]

‘The Egyptian faction of Al Qaeda is defacto running the organisation now and since he was taken ill in 2004 they have been trying to take full control,’ the paper wrote on Thursday. Taken ill? How many children has OBL fathered since 2004? Was he taking Viagra? One wonders.

[Wooly]

The Saudis considered OBL a hero and they are trying their best to keep this status. No doubt when we look through the intel from the raid we will find the names of many high ranking Saudis that supported him.

[Jonah Hex]

Off topic, I know, but is that supposed to be a grenade launcher under-slung on that AK-74?

[No Socialist]

Maybe this is misinformation to cause a fracture in Al Qaeda.

[No Socialist]

Or maybe it’s misinformation to end the debate about waterboarding being helpful in finding UBL. That’s probably more believable. Attack Americans more than Al Qaeda.

[Lucky9teen]

[Mr. Lucky]

You mean because US Navy SEALS weren’t up to the task, so they just made the whole story up?

[RGRX]

Yea, it is. It’s a GP 25 and loads from the front. Lots of fun to shoot too.

[Truth is a Weapon]

I think that 0bama or Panetta should come out with confirmation that Ayman Al Zawahiri gave them a direct tip. See if we can’t start a little civil war among the enemy camp.

[Sacajaweau]

I'm betting that Osama was disgusting in appearance..never mind the shot in the head...(they could have covered it up).

I'll bet he was also hooked up to a machine.

Remember the last video of him...years ago....his own followers said...no, no....you look terrible....and we never saw another video of him.

And that's why I believe you're not seeing him...because Obama doesn't want to demoralize his muslim brothers.

[tflabo]

‘Meet the new boss, same as the old boss’. Osama was one or two ticks higher on the attractive scale low as it may be vs. Ayman Z. who outranks him in the category of ugly. Halloween 24/7 with this bunch.

[FES0844]

Guess he needed the reward money$$$!!!!

[TrueKnightGalahad]

Smells like classic disinformation. Problem is it seems too transparent; OTOH, since AQ can't know beyond doubt that it is disinformation [always a problem when trusting the wrong person = death], it could still have the intended effect of destabilizing AQ leadership.

[Steve Van Doorn]

Don’t tell me. Obama is going to give Al Zawahiri the reward money?

[Wuli]

O.K.

Here’s the only serious question in this.

What is it the U.S. needs to do differently, towards Al Queda?; because of this “news” or “disinformation”?

Nothing; just continue our dogged persistence and don’t stop; and have the patience to not stop. That’s all.

[sjmjax]

Similar to my thoughts.

Sow seeds of suspicion and mistrust in their ranks. The more the merrier!

[SunkenCiv]

The great thing about Muzzie civil wars is, everybody wins.

Thanks COUNTrecount.