U.S. intelligence sources think al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. intelligence believes most of al-Qaida’s surviving leaders have relocated to Pakistan, although a few have slipped away to countries in Asia and North Africa, defense and counterterrorism officials say. Last week’s CIA strike on al-Qaida’s chief operative in Yemen crossed one “top 20” target off U.S. lists. But several key members of the terror group’s leadership remain alive and free, although U.S. officials believe many are laying low in Pakistan to avoid the worldwide dragnet.
Pakistan was the obvious rallying site once U.S. and anti-Taliban forces overran Afghanistan last year: It is easy to reach but difficult to police. Because of concerns that a U.S. military presence would anger the Pakistani populace, U.S. forces cannot operate with the impunity they enjoy in Afghanistan.
But some of al-Qaida’s senior operatives have been on the move – presenting a danger and an opportunity, say U.S. counterterrorism officials. As mobile operatives cross borders to meet with cells to plot attacks, they often must pass through airports and security checkpoints, spend money and make phone calls, all of which expose them to potential detection and capture.
In Pakistan, al-Qaida operatives are believed to have gone either to the wild mountainous region along the Afghan border, or to the cities, particularly Karachi.
Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts and status remain unknown, although many CIA and military officials say they assume he is alive. Their best bet: He is in the mountains along the border. His recent communications give no clues to their origins, and officials say it is possible they were made some time ago.
Bin Laden’s chief deputy, Egyptian doctor Ayman al-Zawahri, spent most of 2002 in limbo, finally re-emerging to speak on an audio tape released last month that referred to recent events. Al-Zawahri is believed to be in Pakistan. Officials won’t say if they think he is with bin Laden.
Two al-Qaida operations chiefs are out of the picture: Mohammed Atef, killed in a U.S. airstrike near Kabul a year ago, and Abu Zubaydah, captured in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad in March. Officials have identified seven senior operatives who have been killed since the Sept. 11 attacks, and several more who have been captured.
President Bush spoke Monday of the global effort to catch al-Qaida’s leaders.
“Some of the terrorists met their fate in caves and mountains of that country,” he said in a Veterans Day speech at the White House. “Others were a little luckier, and they’re now in custody answering questions. Yet many trained killers are still scattered amongst 60 nations, and ridding the world of this threat requires a different kind of strategy.”
Others have risen to replace those lost, particularly Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind, and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, allegedly al-Qaida’s Persian Gulf chief and one of two masterminds of the USS Cole bombing in 2000.
Mohammed is still believed to be in Pakistan, a U.S. defense official said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Mohammed’s aide, another alleged Sept. 11 plotter named Ramzi Binalshibh, was captured in a raid in Karachi in September.
Al-Nashiri, who was in Afghanistan when the war started, is thought to have escaped to Yemen, which would have required a trip by boat or plane, or a long overland journey through several countries. He is probably the top-ranking al-Qaida operative in Yemen, particularly since the CIA killed chief Yemen operative Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi in a missile strike Nov. 3.
Two other top al-Qaida operatives have also been on the move, according to officials:
-Abu Musab Zarqawi: He fled Afghanistan during the war, going first to Iran, then to Baghdad in Iraq for medical treatment, and then on to Syria, officials said. His presence in Iraq and Iran led to American invective against those nations, although it is unknown whether he had contact with either government. Zarqawi, a Jordanian, was convicted in absentia in connection with a plot to bomb tourist spots in Amman, Jordan, during millennium celebrations.
-Abu Zubair al-Haili: This corpulent senior Saudi operative allegedly helped al-Qaida foot soldiers escape from Afghanistan, but he was caught in Morocco in June.
Other key players remain in Pakistan, defense officials say:
-Shaikh Saiid al-Sharif: Bin Laden’s alleged financial chief and key financier of the Sept. 11 attacks is also known as Mustafa Ahmed al-Hisawi.
-Tawfiq Attash Khallad: A Yemeni missing his right foot, Khallad has been linked to both the USS Cole attack and two Sept. 11 hijackers. A CIA officer once described him as “a major-league killer.”
-Abu Mohammad al-Masri: U.S. officials have tied al-Masri to the 1993 attacks on U.S. soldiers in Somalia and the 1998 East Africa embassy bombings. An Egyptian on the FBI’s most wanted list, he is also known as Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah.
Still others are thought to have escaped to nearby countries:
-Saif al-Adil: Bin Laden’s alleged security chief went from Afghanistan to eastern Iran, defense officials said. He’s wanted for his alleged role in the Somalia attacks and the East Africa embassy bombings.
-Mohammad Omar Abdel-Rahman: The son of the “blind sheikh” convicted in connection with a plot to bomb New York landmarks in 1994, the younger Abdel-Rahman is thought to have remained in Afghanistan, the officials said.