U.S. Captures Senior Al Qaeda Leader, Sources Say

Reuters via Yahoo ^ | 11/15/02

[B-bone]

U.S. Captures Senior Al Qaeda Leader, Sources Say

1 hour, 8 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of the top two-dozen al Qaeda leaders sought by the United States in its war on terrorism was captured recently and is in American custody, U.S. government sources said on Friday.

The sources declined to name the operative for Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s network who was caught in the past week or so. But it was not top lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahri, operational leader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, nor bin Laden's son Saad.

U.S. authorities have become increasingly concerned this week that al Qaeda was planning fresh attacks.

The FBI (news - web sites) said that in selecting its next targets, the network may favor "spectacular attacks" that result in mass casualties and severe damage to the U.S. economy.

Contributing to that concern was an audio tape broadcast earlier this week on the al-Jazeera television channel in Qatar believed to be of bin Laden praising recent attacks and making fresh threats.

The United States blamed bin Laden and his al Qaeda network for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America that killed about 3,000 people.

Senior al Qaeda leaders in U.S. custody include Abu Zubaydah and Ramzi Binalshibh, who were being interrogated at an undisclosed location overseas.

"There have been a number of -- numerous senior leaders of al Qaeda that have either been eliminated, incarcerated or detained someplace," national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) said without elaborating.

President Bush (news - web sites) earlier this week, in response to a question about the audio tape, said, "We'll chase these people down one at a time. It doesn't matter how long it takes, we'll find them and bring them to justice."

[Angelus Errare]

Haqqani.

Jalaluddin Haqqani. He's a former Taliban prefect and a veteran of the Afghan War against the Soviets. The raid that captured Abu Zubaydah in Pakistan was actually intended to net him, though he escaped just before the feds arrived. Haqqani is also the guy who's coordinating with Abdel Hari al-Iraqi, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and Ismail Khan to merge all of the different anti-Western Afghan groups into one big coalition to destroy Karzai.

He also planned the assassination attempt (though not the car bomb in Kabul, that was al-Iraqi) on Karzai earlier in September.

[Dog]

Rumsfeld said yesterday that parts of the new tape were done by Binny calling into someone recording it. We have that area of the world covered......just waiting for that one call.

And we have his doctor in custody also....

Makes you go hmmmmmmm.

[B-bone]

This whole war on terror has been like reading every other chapter of a Tom Clancy novel--there's so much happening we don't know about.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

One more Democrat locked way! Good!

[Republic]

Are you wondering, like I am, if we have one of Osama's sons? We were told misinformation would be used...and this release of info-the way it was worded-as Blam above noted-is truly strange.

[finnman69]

Get out the dentist tools and the sodium pentathol on this A hole stat.

[Dog]

How many son's does Bin Laden have that "work" with him in al-Qaeda??

[Tunehead54]

I just had a wicked thought......what IF this is Bin Laden??

No can't be.....could it?

---

I recall we got one "biggie" recently, shortly after an al jazeerha (sp) interview ... and OBL just phoned in a statement so maybe so?

[Coop]

That would explain the delay in announcing it. The need for positive ID, you know. The longer our people wait to announce who it is the more your wicked thought might be correct!

On MSNBC's site they described a "complication," as reported by U.S. officials, as to why they could not announce the name. So it may be I.D. confirmation.

Or maybe they beat the tar out of the coward, and they now need to change his status to "terminated."

[Angelus Errare]

We know that bin Laden has at least 3 of his sons involved in al-Qaeda, Saad (23, his heir apparent), Mohammed (17, a member of his security detail), and Saif (9, who appears in propoganda videos).

[Coop]

How about not drumming up a war with Iraq and actually FINDING THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING 3000 AMERICANS!

How about you grasp reality, or more preferably, just shut the heck up?

[Coop]

Oh, by the way, welcome to the forum. Now get lost!

[Republic]

How many son's does Bin Laden have that "work" with him in al-Qaeda??

I don't know. But post #51 states THREE with SAAD (or whatever) being numero uno!

[TheHeterodoxConservative]

"There have been a number of -- numerous senior leaders of al Qaeda that have either been eliminated, incarcerated or detained someplace," national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said without elaborating.

That woman has a way with (few) words. Just another example of why I love her, and the press, well, they just don't know quite what to do with her.

[wayoverontheright]

How about not drumming up a war with Iraq and actually FINDING THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING 3000 AMERICANS!

Please tell us how the world can conclude that the war on terror has been won without having disposed of terror's most dangerous purveyor, Saddam Hussein. What will it take to convince you guys that Saddam wants us dead and in very short order will have the ability to pull it off!

[Republic]

How about taking out creeps who would WILLINGLY supply Osama's band of pigs with serious, massively destructive weapons? How about taking out a dictator who rapes women in front of their husbands, tortures CHILDREN in front of their parents, kills for joy, has tried to ASASSINATE an American president, is LUCKY he was NOT blown into oblivion the first time around after he tried to crush Kuwait, who has BROKEN SEVENTEEN promises MADE after he LOST that war, who has GASSED and KILLED over ONE MILLION of his own people, who continues to pay suicide bombers families to encourage this corrupt and cruel practice, who has had CONTACTS with Osama's pig pen and who is a danger to our way of life?

How about that? Or is that not enough?

[openotherend]

- Saif al-Adel (the top military commander)

- Abu Musab Zarqawi (the operations chief and Abu Zubaydah's successor)

- Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (Persian Gulf operations C-in-C)

- Midhat Mursi (the WMD guy)

- Amin al-Haq (bin Laden's security chief)

- Sheikh Saiid (top financial officer)

- A black and white goat (you don't want to know)

[wireman]

Is that BigTymer...

Or BigClymer?

[Woodman]

Do you think it maybe a notice of the "We Know Where You Are" type? Or maybe the three Amigos are missing and they do'nt want anyone to know their true status.