Showing posts with label Terrorism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Terrorism. Show all posts
Sunday, May 8, 2011
9/11 was the worst terrorist mass-murder in history. Although famed British presenter Simon Reeve detailed the existence, development and objectives of Al-Qaeda in his 1998 bestseller, “The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama Bin Laden and the future of terrorism” and warned the world of impending spectacular terrorist attacks, Al-Qaeda only really hit the mainstream after the 9/11. Since that fateful day, the US and its allies have embarked on a ruthless mission to eliminate Al-Qaeda leadership using drone, cruise missile and air strikes as well as ground operations.
Here we list the top 10 Al-Qaeda leaders they have managed to assassinate.
10 - Rashid Rauf
Although not a high ranking leader, Rashid Rauf was a significant indoctrinator and planner of a number of plots. Son of a Birmingham baker of Pakistani origin, Rauf fled to Pakistan in 2002 and was soon incorporated into terrorist circles. He was arrested in Pakistan after the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot but soon made a spectacularly simple escape from police custody and headed straight to the tribal areas. He was reportedly killed in a drone strike in late 2008 in North Waziristan but this has never been confirmed and his body was never recovered.
9 - Abu Ayyub al-Masri
Zarqawi’s successor in Iraq, al-Masri was prominent as a bomb maker and for his association with Ayman al-Zawahiri in Egypt. Once carrying a $25 million bounty, his headmoney was reduced to $100,000 in 2008 as the US forces determined that he was, “not an effective leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq as he was last year”. He was killed on April 18, 2010 during a joint American and Iraqi operation in Tikrit, Iraq.
8 - Sayeed al-Masri
Sayeed al-Masri was one of the few senior members of al-Qaeda who opposed 9/11, fearing a massive US reprisal. He served as a member of the organization’s shura and was also the payroll in charge, responsible for paying members and compensating families of fallen comrades and suicide bombers. A shadowy members of extremist circles for more than 30 years, al-Masri was highly respected by the Taliban leadership, in contrast to other Arabs whom they found to be highly arrogant and hotheaded. His respect and close relationship with the locals might have helped him get elevated to the chief of operations in Afghanistan and up to number 3 in the organization, after Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim’s death in 2008 . He was eliminated on May 21, 2010 in North Waziristan, along with his wife and three children by the preferred method of terrorist neutralization; the Predator Drone strike.
7 - Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim
Rumored to be the head of media and propaganda and chief of external operation for Al-Qaeda. Having a long history of Jihadist activity, he was suspected to be involved in the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat and had spend jail time in many countries. He was also a self-styled jihad scholar and authored many works on the subject. After Abu Hamza Rabia’s death in 2005, he might also have served as the chief of operations at Al-Qaeda. He was eliminated in a drone strike in November 2008.
6 - Abu Laith al-Libi
Another veteran of Afghan jihad, al-Libi was a charismatic senior leader who also served as the organization’s spokesman. Before Al-Qaeda, he had a long history of terrorist and revolutionary activity in his native Libya and was implicated in the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. He was killed in a Predator Drone strike in January 2008 in North Waziristan.
5 - Midhat Mursi
A high ranking official and the bomb making boss, Mursi was reportedly the head of al-Qaeda’s R&D division. Somewhat of a terrorist Dr. Mengele, he is alleged to have used animals to test chemical weapons. His bomb making genius was highly respected in the organization and his protégées include Richard Reid the Shoe Bomber, Ahmed Ressam the Millenium Bomber and Zacarias Moussaoui. Like most Egyptian terrorists, Mursi had been a member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and had been radicalized in 1970’s. A chemical engineering graduate, he was appointed the head of project al-Zabadi or the yogurt project for chemical and biological weapons by Ayman al-Zawahiri. He was killed on January 13, 2006 in the Damadola drone strike in Pakistan, which was originally intended to take out Ayman al-Zawahiri. After his alleged death, it was revealed that CIA had been erroneously using the photo of radical London cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri on Midhat Mursi’s wanted poster for one and a half year.
4 - Abu Hamza Rabia
Although details about his background and death are sketchy, Egyptian national Abu Hamza Rabia was a key Al-Qaeda operative who might have been ranked as high as number 3 in the organization, only behind Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. He might have been the man who replaced Muhammad Atef after his death and was allegedly responsible for planning of terrorist operations. In November 2005, He was reported killed in an explosion at his compound which, according to the official version, was caused by his own bomb-making material…. and according to the locals, from a drone strike. After Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf said that he was “200% sure” that he was killed, locals dismissed him as only a low-level activist.
3 - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Even by Al-Qaeda standards, Zarqawi was savage and ruthless. Starting off as a petty thief, he travelled to Afghanistan in the late 1980’s where he met Bin Laden and had formed his own militant group by the mid 1990’s and became a feared man. The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 gave him the license to exercise his terrorist skills with utmost ferocity and by 2004, he became known as the “Emir of Al-Qaeda in the Country of Two Rivers”. His campaign of almost non-stop bombings, assassinations and beheadings claimed thousands of victims. His almost animal-like disregard for civilian casualties and his declaration of war on Shiite Muslims caused concern within the Al-Qaeda high leadership and he was simply considered out of control. Zarqawi’s reign of terror ended on June 7, 2006 when his Baqubah safehouse was bombed by USAF F-16C jets.
2 - Muhammad Atef
For a long long time, Muhammad Atef or Abu Hafs was the only achievement the US had to show for its huge crusade against Al-Qaeda. The Egyptian jihadist fought arm in arm with Bin Laden during the Afghan Jihad and was one of the founding members of Al-Qaeda. By 1996, he had risen to become the organization’s military chief and was directing terrorist operations around the world. He was killed in drone attack in Kabul, between November 14-16, 2001.
1 - Osama Bin Laden
For a long time, the prophet of carnage seemed untraceable and indestructible. Ever since his escape from hell at Tora Bora, he managed to slither his way, for almost 10 years, into dark pits which seemed out of reach for all forms of technological detection and spying. But he was finally found, almost miraculously, in the early hours of 2nd May, 2011, not in a cave, not in an accessible mountain fortress, not in a grave but in a mansion located in a rather densely populated city known as Abbottabad. He was swiftly dispatched with a shot above the eye and fed to the fish. It remains to be seen whether the master of hide and seek was traced out, spied out or sold out.
- Reference/Source: elistmania.com by FairDinkum [05 May 11 at 04 09 am]
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Hambali (Ridouan Isomuddin)
Indonesian. In Guantánamo since September 2006
Accused of being behind the October 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, after being recruited to jihadism at a mosque in Malaysia. Planned strikes against UK and US embassies in Cambodia. Captured in Thailand in 2003. Allegedly involved in al-Qaida’s “biological weapons programme”
Abu Faraj al-Libi
Libyan. In Guantánamo since September 2006
Promoted to be operational chief of al-Qaida in both Afghanistan and Iraq, after capture of 'KSM' (Khalid Sheikh Mohammed). Captured by Pakistan in 2005. Planned to assassinate President Musharraf of Pakistan. “Has knowledge of al-Qaida possibly possessing a nuclear bomb.”
Ramzi bin al-Shibh
Yemeni. In Guantánamo since September 2006
The alleged co-ordinator of the entire 9/11 plot from a base in Germany, who was picked up by Pakistan in a raid on a house in Karachi in 2002. Claimed to have also planned with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in June 2002 to crash a hijacked plane into Heathrow airport, London
Majid Khan
Pakistani. In Guantánamo since September 2006
Allegedly tasked by 'KSM' to poison water reservoirs and blow up multiple fuel stations on the US mainland 'as well as a project targeting nuclear reactors'. He was termed a 'willing suicide operative' who delivered funds for a 2003 Marriott hotel bombing in Jakarta and had probably been arrested in Pakistan through his links with 'KSM'
Mohd Farik Bin Amin
Malaysian, detained in Guantánamo since September 2006
Arrested leaving a bookstore in Thailand in 2003, he is called a senior al-Qaida operative who swore an oath of allegiance to Osama bin Laden. Targeted the UK embassy in Cambodia and helped with an abortive 'west coast airliners plot' in the US to crash a plane into 'the tallest building in California'. Captured computer allegedly contained images of the Space Needle in Seattle and bomb diagrams. Trained in camps in Afganistan. Allegedly tried to buy a surface-to-air missile
Bashir Bin Lap
Malaysian, detained in Guantánamo since September 2006
Al-Qaida member who tried to learn to fly, cased Israeli flights out of Bangkok airport and was due to lead a three-man suicide team in KSM’s disrupted 'west coast airliners' hijacking plot. Former member of Malaysian military, trained with al-Qaida in Afghanistan, cased the UK embassy in Kuala Lumpur and was captured in Thailand in 2003. 'He thought it would be a good idea to attack world sporting events, such as soccer matches, because many westerners are generally in attendance ... He would not be worried about accidentally killing Muslims during such an attack, because any Muslims attending such a sinful event were not pious Muslims'
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Pakistani, detained in Guantánamo since September 2006.
The alleged mastermind behind the attacks of 11 September 2001, he is said by US forces to have 'described himself as the head of al-Qaida’s military committee'. His file alleges he planned the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge, the collapse of a Chicago apartment block and destruction of a US hotel or fuel station as follow-ups to the September 2001 attacks. Repeatedly waterboarded in CIA detention prior to his transfer. He is one of 16 'high-value' detainees transferred to Guantánamo to stand trial
Abd al-Rahim Hussein Muhammad Abdah al-Nashiri
Yemeni, detained in Guantánamo since September 2006
Believed by US forces to be 'one of the highest-ranking, most skilled and dangerous al-Qaida operatives captured to date', al-Nashiri is allegedly a key Bin Laden aide. His file details an alleged plot to attack a UK base on the Gibraltar – with the target chosen after being featured on a 'news documentary'. His notes stress excellent contacts with 'Yemeni tribes and Yemeni security services' which were used to provide documents and cover for extremists
Haji Hamidullah
Afghani detained in Guantánamo since November 2003
Hamidullah’s file calls him not only a senior leader of anti-coalition militias in Afghanistan, but also an Iranian intelligence agent. Hamidullah is described as having been imprisoned by the Taliban before securing his escape and fleeing to Iran – working as a baker for four months – then returning as an Iranian agent and channeling Iranian money to anti-coalition groups. His intelligence assessment concludes: 'Detainee probably has information on Russian and Iranian support to HIG and the Taliban efforts against the Karzai Afghan government'
Maad al-QahtaniFacts - Did you know?
Saudi Arabian, detained in Guantánamo since February 2002
The alleged intended '20th hijacker' can never stand trial after the Bush administration admitted torture in 2008. He remains in Guantánamo where officials recommend he is held indefinitely. Qahtani’s file describes his attempted entry into the US from the UK in 2001, before the attacks. Qahtani successfully entered the UK but failed to gain entry to the US as officials noted he had purchased no return ticket. His file notes US forces believe Qahtani 'likely has information on al-Qaida’s activities regarding the 11 September 2001 attacks which has not been divulged, such as other operatives who were unable, but intended, to participate'
Only the most dedicated, well-trained recruits are allowed to become full al Qaeda members. Osama bin Laden hand-picked the operatives used to hijack U.S. planes in the 9/11 attack.In 2002 and 2003 no successful attacks occurred on U.S. soil but attacks against U.S. interests worldwide continued. In 2002 of all anti-U.S. attacks carried out by various terrorist organizations, the most—forty-six—occurred in Latin America followed by sixteen in the Middle East and ten in Asia. The type of facilities targeted most were U.S. businesses. Most terrorist threats and attacks involved bombings.
Each year the U.S. State Department compiles a list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations known as FTOs. Compiled since 1997, the list took on a new sense of urgency since 9/11. In 2004 the list included thirty-six terrorist organizations. The U.S. government may freeze any FTO assets in U.S. financial institutions, may deny entry of a FTO member into the United States, and may prosecute any U.S. citizen or person in the United States who supports an FTO in any way.
- Reference/Source: staroba.my
The most dreaded terrorist in the world until now, Bin Laden gained attention in September of 2001, when the attacks on the United States left as many as 3,000 people dead and several hundred injured. It was only a matter of time and the man had become one of the most hated and feared men in the world.
After Bin Laden's death, US President Obama told the world “Justice has been done”.
However, even after Osama's death, terrorism continues to remain a major threat to the people across the globe. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) rolled out a list of most wanted terrorists in late 2001 which has been constantly updated since then. Here's a brief description of ten of most wanted terrorists out of that list which features at least 30 names.
The list also contains the name of Osama Bin Laden, who is now dead.
Usama Bin Laden
Apart from the 9/11 attacks, the Saudi-born dissident was also wanted in connection with August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. The Al-Qaeda leader was also a suspect in various other terror attacks throughout the world.
Bin Laden was a southpaw who walked with a cane. After 9/11 attacks the United States launched several operations to track the man. But they were not to taste success until 10 years. He had a reward of about $27 million dollars on his head and operated under eight alias names.
Adam Yahiye Gadhan
Born as Adam Pearlman in California, US, he converted to Islam in his teens. He is reported to be the cultural interpreter, spokesperson, and media advisor for the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. He has been indicted of treason and material support to Al-Qaeda and is said to be involved in numerous terrorist activities.
Gadahn has scars on his chest and right forearm and operates under eight aliases. The Rewards for Justice Program, United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to a million dollars for information leading to the arrest of Gadahn.
Daniel Andreas San Diego
He is wanted for his alleged involvement in the bombing of two office buildings in San Francisco. A vegan, he is known to be linked to animal rights extremist groups. The man wears glasses, is adept at sailing and is always expected to be armed.
He is reported to have at least three tattoos on his bodies. He has three alias names as well. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $250,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of San Diego.
Ayman Al-ZawahiriCurrently the leader of Al-Qaeda, he is reportedly a qualified surgeon who has a deep and radical understanding of Islamic theology and Islamic history. Al-Zawahiri has been indicted for his alleged role in the August 7, 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), the group he founded merged with Al-Qaeda in 1998 under his leadership.
Operating under 12 alias names, Al-Zawahiri can speak Arabic, English and French. The Rewards for Justice Program, United States Department of State, has offered a reward of up to $25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or the conviction of Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
Fahd Mohammed Ahmed Al-Quso
The man is wanted by the FBI, the Interpol and the US Department of State. He has been indicted in the Southern District of New York for his role in the October 12, 2000, bombing of the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen in which 17 Americal sailors lost their lives.
Al-Quso is believed to be hiding in the mountains of Yemen. He operates under nine aliases. The Rewards For Justice Program, United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction, in any country, of Fahd Mohammed Ahmed Al-Quso.
Abdul Rehman YasinBorn in Bloomington, Indiana, US, Yasin is of Iraqi heritage. He is wanted for his alleged participation in the terrorist bombing of the World Trade Centre, New York City in February of 1993. The bombing led to six deaths, wounding of several individuals, and intense damage to property. He is believed to be held as a prisoner in Iraq since 1994.
FBI reports that Yasin epileptic. He is believed to have a chemical burn scar on his right thigh and operates under at least four alias names. The US Department of State has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Yasin.
Husayn Muhammad Al-UmariHe has been indicted for his alleged role in the August 11, 1982 bombing of Pan Am Flight 830, while it was en route from Japan to Hawaii. A mechanic and explosives expert, he formed an organisation in 1979 whose mission was to promote the Palestinian cause through violence towards the supporters of Israel.
A holder of Lebanese passport, Al-Umari has three alias names. He has a scar on the fingers of his right and one on his left hand in the web between the thumb and the index finger. A reward of up to $5 million is being offered by United States Department of State for information about Al-Umari.
Anas Al-LibyBorn in Tripoli, Libya, Al-Liby is under indictment in the United States for his part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings. He has worked as a computer specialist for Al-Qaeda. He recently lived in the United Kingdom where he was granted political asylum.
Al-Liby has a scar on the left side of his face and operates under at least four alias names. The reward on him offered by the United States Department of State is about $5 million.
Wadoud Muhammad Hafiz Al-TurkiBorn in Iraq, Al-Turki faced indictment for his alleged role in September 5, 1986 hijacking of Pan American World Airways Flight 73 during a stop in Karachi, Pakistan. 20 passengers and crew members were killed in the attack.
The man is a heavy smoker and is believed to be residing in a Middle Eastern country. He has five alias names and there is a reward of up to $5 million on offer for information related to him.
Ahmed Ibrahim Al-MughassilThis man is wanted by the United States government for his alleged involvement in the June 25, 1996 attack on Khobar Towers military housing complex near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The attacks claimed the life of 19 US Air Force personnels and one local.
Al-Mughassil has been identified as the head of military wing of the Pro-Iran Saudi Hizbullah. He has just one alias name and the US Department of State has offered a reward of up to $5 million dollars for him.
- Reference/Source: allvoices.com by soniyaa of Dimāpur, Nagaland, India
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