Replies

25 January 2002

Ashcroft Releases Name of Fifth Suspected Al Qaeda Member

Suspect is 36-year-old Canadian citizen born in Tunisia

Attorney General John Ashcroft says the U.S. government has identified a Canadian man as the fifth suspected al Qaeda member seen delivering martyrdom messages in videotapes discovered in the bombed out residence in Afghanistan of Mohammed Atef, believed to have been Osama bin Laden's military chief.

The man is Al-Rauf bin Al Habib bin Yousef Al-Jiddi, 36, a Canadian citizen born in Tunisia, Ashcroft said in remarks prepared for delivery at a January 25 news conference.

"We identified Al-Jiddi through discovery of a suicide letter found in the ruins of the Atef residence by U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan," the attorney general said. "The letter, which is still being analyzed, was recently translated. In addition, the Canadian government assisted us in identifying Al-Jiddi."

The Justice Department last week released videos and photos of five suspected members of al-Qaeda. It identified the other four men but the fifth man's identify was not known at the time.

Ashcroft said the FBI also is looking for an associate of Al-Jiddi, identified as Faker Boussora, 37, also a Canadian citizen born in Tunisia. Boussora may be traveling with Al-Jiddi and "both individuals should be considered extremely dangerous," Ashcroft said.

He urged anyone who believes that he or she knows the identity or the whereabouts of Al-Jiddi, Boussora, or the four other suspected terrorists to contact the nearest FBI office or visit the FBI's website -- www.ifccfbi.gov -- or contact a U.S. embassy or consulate if they are unable to contact the FBI.