Posted on 03/08/2003 7:44:24 AM PST by Indy Pendance
THE United States has refused to deny reports that two of Osama bin Laden's sons – including his heir apparent to the al-Qaida terror network – have been captured in a gun battle with US troops.
The reports, confirmed on television by a Pakistani Government official, have intensified speculation that the US is closing in on the fugitive terrorist warlord, the world's most wanted man since the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.
The official said bin Laden's sons were shot in a fierce gunfight between al-Qaida fighters and US troops in Ribat, an area of Afghanistan near the borders with Iran and Pakistan.
It is believed Washington is incensed that the official may have spoken too early, with US special forces tracking bin Laden in tribal lands between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Responding to the claim, White House spokesman Ari Fleisher said: "We have no information to substantiate that report." However, he would not deny it.
The US and Pakistan have been dropping leaflets offering lucrative rewards for bin Laden and his supporters, as part of increased military action in the region since the capture last weekend of al-Qaida operations chief Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who had been in recent contact with his boss
The sons – anointed successor Saad, 23, the oldest of bin Laden's 20 children, and youngest son Hamza, a teenager – are said to have been shot during the battle in which nine al-Qaida fighters died.
The report came from Sanaullah Zehri, Home Minister of Pakistan's Baluchistan province and the region's top security official.
"We have information that two sons of Osama bin Laden were injured. The people killed belonged to al-Qaida," Mr Zehri said.
Saad has emerged as one of the US's top targets. His arrest would come as a major blow to bin Laden.
Sources say that of all his children, bin Laden is closest to Hamza.
We got the POS. and a few of buds!!!
1. If the sons are captured, they may lead to others including Bin Laden. No reason to give other terrorists a head’s up.
2. Bin Laden could already be dead and the sons are/were running the organization. Many reasons not to disclose the death of Bin Laden yet.
3. If they have not been captured, then the rumors may cause other terrorist to check in to see what’s the real news and any orders. This would lead to additional information on the terrorists.
4. No matter if the rumors are true or disinformation, the terrorists will be wondering what to do and what’s true. Confusion is good.
5. Basically as they say “strike while the iron’s hot”.
Updated 03/08/03:
| Its the Terrorist Scumbag Scorecard |
| Name | Function | Status |
| SHURA MAJLIS | ||
| These are the first-tier guys and the actual members of al-Qaeda's board of directors. Any one of them is a possible successor to Osama bin Laden. | ||
| Osama bin Laden | Emir-General | Possibly killed at Tora Bora in Dec. 2001, now believed to be at large |
| Ayman al-Zawahiri | Second-in-Command/Egyptian Islamic Jihad Emir | At Large |
| Mohammed Atef | Supreme Military Commander | Dead |
| Abu Zubaydah | Global Operations Chief | Apprehended |
| Rifa Ahmed Taha | Gamaa al-Islamiyyah Secretary-General | At Large |
| Thirwat Salah Shirhata | Egyptian Islamic Jihad Deputy Emir | At Large |
| Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri | Middle East Operations Chief | Apprehended |
| Abu Musab Zarqawi | Former Southeast Asian Operations Chief, currently Global Operations Chief | At Large |
| Abu Zubair al-Haili | North African Operations Chief | Apprehended |
| Tawfiq Attash Khallad | Leader of USS Cole Operation | At Large |
| Omar Al-Farouq | South Asian Operations Chief | Apprehended |
| Abu Mohammed al-Masri * | East African Operations Chief | At Large |
| Zaid Khayr | Operations Chief | At Large |
| Mohammed Salah | Senior Explosive Expert, Central African Operations Chief | Dead |
| Tariq Anwar al-Sayyid Ahmad | Balkans Operations Chief | Dead |
| Saif al-Adel | Former second-in-command of al-Qaeda's military, currently Supreme Military Commander | At Large |
| Amin al-Haq | Shura Majlis Security Chief | At Large |
| Abu Hafs the Mauritanian (aka "Mr. Mauritania") | Theologian | Formerly believed dead, now believed to be at large |
| TERRORIST TRAINING CAMP COMMANDERS | ||
| These are the guys who supervise the training, indoctrination, and assignment of al-Qaeda operatives worldwide. They also seperate all recruits into four categories: mujahideen (foot soldiers), shahideen (suicide bombers), takfiri (sleepers), and ansar (support personnel). Each category has its own version of the "Afghan Guide to Jihad," al-Qaeda's training manual (all four versions combined are roughly 3,000 pages in length) that provides instruction to recruits for just about any situation imaginable. | ||
| Sheikh Ibn al-Liby | Terrorist Training Camp Commander | Apprehended |
| Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi | Terrorist Training Camp Commander | Apprehended |
| Omar Bandon | Terrorist Training Camp Commander | At Large |
| THE FINANCIAL COMMITTEE | ||
| This is the committee that oversees al-Qaeda's legitimate and illegitimate businesses, charities, drug smuggling, ect. The top ten al-Qaeda donors have all been named by both the UN and the families of 9/11 victims as being the major financiers of al-Qaeda and remain at large | ||
| Sheikh Saeed (Mustafa Ahmed al-Hisawi?) | Head of the Financial Committee | Apprehended |
| Mohammed Jamal Khalifa | Financier and envoy to the Saudi Bin Laden Group | At Large |
| Abu Jafar al-Jaziri | Financier | Dead |
| Abu Salah al-Yemeni | Financier | Dead |
| Abdul Rahim Riyadh | Financier | Apprehended |
| Ahmed Saeed al-Kadr | Financier | At Large |
| Saad al-Sharif | Financier / OBL's Brother in Law | At Large |
| Hamza al-Qatari | Financier | Dead |
| MEDIA COMMITTEE | ||
| This the group that manages and updates the websites, oversees the E-Jihad, and is responsible for all statements by the al-Qaeda leadership. Not a lot of declassified info on this one as far as names go. | ||
| Suleiman Abu Ghaith | Spokesman | At Large |
| Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Masri | Spokesman/Recruiter | At Large |
| Sheikh Omar al-Bakri | Spokesman | At Large |
| Sheikh Abu Qatada al-Philisteeni | Spokesman | Apprehended |
| WMD COMMITTEE | ||
| Al-Qaeda employs a number of Muslim scientists of various nationalities to assist it in procuring as well as manufacturing the necessary materials to create chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons. | ||
| Midhat Mursi | Top scientist for nuclear weapons research | At Large |
| Abu Khabab | Biological and chemical weapons expert | At Large |
| Assadalah Abdul Rahman | Weapons of Mass Destruction Chief | At Large |
| Abu Bashir al-Yemeni | Unknown | At Large |
| MILITARY COMMITTEE | ||
| These are the definite guys to watch out for. Most have a great deal of combat experience either from serving in Arab militaries or else from fighting in Sudan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, or the Philippines. | ||
| Khalid Sheikh Mohammed | Martyrdom Battalion Commander-in-Chief | Apprehended |
| Abd al-Aziz al-Jamal | Unknown - Thought to be Atef's Successor | At Large |
| Bilal bin Marwan | Arabian Sea Commander-in-Chief | At Large |
| Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi | Yemen Commander-in-Chief | Dead |
| Mohsen al-Fadli | Kuwait Commander-in-Chief | Apprehended |
| Essid Sami ben Khemais | Southern Europe Commander-in-Chief | Apprehended |
| Saqar al-Jadawi | Unknown | At Large |
| Mohammed Omar Abdel Rahman | Military Commander | Apprehended |
| Ahmed Omar Abdel Rahman | Military Commander | Apprehended |
| Abu Walid | Military Commander | At Large |
| Abdel Hari al-Iraqi | Afghanistan Commander-in-Chief | At Large |
| Abu Leith al-Lybi | Algeria/Libya Commander-in-Chief | At Large |
| Shamil Basayev | Chechnya Commander-in-Chief | At Large |
| Amir ibn al-Khattab | Dagestan Commander-in-Chief | Dead |
| Hanbali | Indonesia Commander-in-Chief | At Large |
| Imam Samudra | Java Commander-in-Chief | Apprehended |
| Mas Selamat Kastari | Singapore Commander-in-Chief | Apprehended |
| Others | ||
| These are non-leader Al Qaeda members who are on the FBI most wanted list or have, in some way, come to attention.. | ||
| Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah | African Embassy Bomber | At Large |
| Sheik Mohammed Al Hasan Al-Moayad | Financier / Cleric | Apprehended |
| Mohammed Mohsen Yahya Zayed | Financier / Cleric | Apprehended |
| Abdelkarim Hussein Mohamed Al-Nasser | Khobar Towers Bomber | At Large |
| Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah | African Embassy Bomber | At Large |
| Ali Atwa | Flight 847 (Lebanon) Hijacker | At Large |
| Hasan Izz-Al-Din | Flight 847 (Lebanon) Hijacker | At Large |
| Anas Al-Liby | African Embassy Bomber | At Large |
| Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani | African Embassy Bomber | At Large |
| Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali | African Embassy Bomber | At Large |
| Fazul Abdullah Mohammed | African Embassy Bomber | At Large |
| Imad Fayez Mugniyah | Flight 847 (Lebanon) Hijacker | At Large |
| Mustafa Mohamed Fadhil | African Embassy Bomber | At Large |
| Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan | African Embassy Bomber | At Large |
| Abdul Rahman Yasin** | 1993 WTC Bombing | At Large |
| Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam | African Embassy Bomber | At Large |
| Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Mughassil | Khobar Towers Bomber | At Large |
| Muhammad Atef | African Embassy Bomber | At Large |
| Ali Saed Bin Ali El-Hoorie | Khobar Towers Bomber | At Large |
| Saif Al-Adel | African Embassy Bomber | At Large |
| Ibrahim Salih Mohammed Al-Yacoub | African Embassy Bomber | At Large |
| Ramzi bin Al-Shibh | Planner and Organizer of Sept. 11 attacks | Apprehended |
| Zacarias Moussaoui | September 11 Conspirator | Apprehended |
| Saad bin Laden | Spawn of Satan | Believed to be Apprehended |
| Hamza bin Laden | Spawn of Satan | Believed to be Apprehended |
| Zakariya Essabar | September 11 Cell Member in Hamburg w/Atta | At Large |
| Said Bahaji | September 11 Cell Member in Hamburg w/Atta | At Large |
| Mujib Susukan | Abu Sayyaf Commander | Dead |
| *Note: There has been some contradictory information as to the status of this individual. Abu Mohammed al-Masri is a nom de guerre, hence one should not confuse him with the al-Qaeda functionary of the same name who was recently killed in Algeria working with the GSPC. Mossad reportedly had intelligence that al-Masri might have been one of the suicide bombers involved in the al-Qaeda attack in Mombasa, but near as I can tell the findings were not corroborated **Currently "at large" because he was released by the Clinton Justice Department after "cooperating" in the investigation of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. It turns out that he was actually an Iraqi intelligence agent, and is believed to have fled to Baghdad. |
||
A Freeper Production-SV
Not so.
In particular, if it is Saad bin Laden that has been captured this is a very big deal. He is believed to be the heir apparent to Osama and filling in for him now due to his ill health.
Just occurred to me> Have we added any security to the Bush twins?
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