[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
Obama Wars Title: Us Official Says Al-Qaida's Second-Ranking Leader Has Been Killed In Pakistan Al-Qaida's second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan, delivering another big blow to a terrorist group that the U.S. believes to be on the verge of defeat, a senior Obama administration official said Saturday. The Libyan national who was the network's former operational leader rose to al-Qaida's No. 2 spot after the U.S. killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden during a raid on his Pakistan compound in May. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last month that al-Qaida's defeat was within reach if the U.S. could mount a string of successful attacks on the group's weakened leadership. "Now is the moment, following what happened with bin Laden, to put maximum pressure on them," Panetta said, "because I do believe that if we continue this effort we can really cripple al-Qaida as a major threat." Al-Rahman was killed Aug. 22 in the lawless Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan, according to the official said, who insisted on anonymity to discuss intelligence issues. The official would not say how al-Rahman was killed. But his death came on the same day that a CIA drone strike was reported in Waziristan. Such strikes by unmanned aircraft are Washington's weapon of choice for killing terrorists in the mountainous, hard-to-reach area along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Al-Rahman, believed to be in his mid-30s, was a close confidant of bin Laden and once served as bin Laden's emissary to Iran. Al-Rahman was allowed to move freely in and out of Iran as part of that arrangement and has been operating out of Waziristan for some time, officials have said. Born in Libya, al-Rahman joined bin Laden as a teenager in Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union. After Navy SEALs killed bin Laden, they found evidence of al-Rahman's role as operational chief, U.S. officials have said. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Number 2 Google Number 2 second in command al qaeda killed .....;}
#2. To: mcgowanjm, all (#1) Pakistani officials doubt US killed Al-Qaeda no. 2By Agence France-Presse Sunday, August 28th, 2011 -- 10:02 am Print
Tags: abd al rahman, atiyah, north waziristan Pakistani security officials expressed doubt on Sunday over reports from the United States that it had killed the Al-Qaeda second-in-command near the Afghan border. A senior US official said on Saturday that Atiyah abd al-Rahman had been killed in the northwest tribal area of Waziristan on August 22, without divulging the circumstances of his death. However, local officials in the region told AFP last week that a US drone strike in North Waziristan on that date had killed at least four militants. It was not clear if the two incidents were connected. A senior Pakistani security official in Peshawar told AFP: "We have checked this news report with informers and have worked on it. I doubt the authenticity of this news." Another security official in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, said he had received no information on the killing. "For me it is just a rumour. Frankly speaking, we are even not aware that a man with this name is working as deputy chief of Al-Qaeda," he added. The officials said the remote, mountainous area, just four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the Afghan border, is inaccessible. "In such cases we rely on information sent from informers. We have not received any type of such a report," the security official in Mir Ali town, North Waziristan, told AFP.
www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/...-us-killed-al-qaeda-no-2/ Never swear "allegiance" to anything other than the 'right to change your mind'! #3. To: Brian S (#2) You've got to wonder just exactly who this was put put for. Is the Imperial City trying to convince us or themselves? ;}
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest |
|
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|