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| Afghanistan/South Asia | |
| âSenior al-Qaeda operative deadâ | |
| 2004-03-29 | |
A senior al-Qaeda figure has been killed in the latest Pakistani offensive against militants near the Afghan border, the army has said. A military spokesman identified the dead man as "Mr Abdullah", who, he said, was an intelligence chief. There was no other information about him, Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan said.
Pakistan says it will continue operations to clear suspected foreign militants from villages along the Afghan border. The army said it had dismantled a "terrorist structure" in a prolonged operation in the South Waziristan tribal area that ended on Sunday. It was aimed against al-Qaeda and Taleban members and tribesmen sheltering them. Pakistan says 46 soldiers have died so far in nearly two weeks of fighting, as well as 63 opposition fighters. Another 163 have been arrested. Cordon lifted "This stage of the operation is over," Gen Sultan told the BBCâs Urdu service. He said the "basic objectives" of the operation were met - one of which was " to dismantle the terrorist structure" in South Waziristan. The army on Sunday lifted a cordon around the area of the fighting and began withdrawing some of its troops. But the spokesman said troops would remain in the tribal areas until they were "purged of militants". There were reports that another key militant, the Uzbek Islamist Tahir Yuldashev - said to rank 10th in the al-Qaeda leadership - was wounded and still at large in the region. On Sunday fighters linked to al-Qaeda released 12 hostages they seized at the beginning of the army offensive. Two more hostages are expected to be released soon. The Yargulkhel tribesmen had insisted they would not release the hostages until the army ceased its operation in South Waziristan. The army operation in South Waziristan focused on an area west of the town of Wana. US co-ordination Pakistanâs largest military operation in the tribal areas began on 16 March with the aim of catching or killing al-Qaeda leaders and their supporters in the area. Initially, al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri was believed to have been among them. However, a tape recording purportedly by Mr Zawahri was aired on Arabic television during the offensive - and deemed by the American CIA to be probably authentic, even though the time of its recording could not be established. The army conceded during the operation that suspects may have escaped through a network of secret tunnels. The Pakistani operation was being co-ordinated with a similar sweep by US forces on the other side of the border. The US has announced it is sending up to 2,000 more marines to Afghanistan to step up the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda and Taleban leaders. | |
| Posted by:Howard UK |
| #15 Is it me or is much of the world just plain name lazy, witness Omar (just Omar), in a do-loop Butro Butros or just lacking in imagination Abdullah and yes Kim & Lee. Hell the local school system provides enough new first names in a year by 17 yr. olds to provide for a country the size of Pakistan. |
| Posted by: Fransico Ponce de Leon Jaun Jose Maria Shipman 2004-03-29 3:40:11 PM |
| #14 ...the person referred to by Pakistani authorities is Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah ... Hey Bomb-o-rama -- you were only one Abdullah off! |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-03-29 3:31:52 PM |
| #13 Just in from NBC, no conf.yet but it looks like the story is "firming up" BREAKING NEWS NBC News and news services Updated: 12:27 p.m. ET March 29, 2004ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - An al-Qaida intelligence chief reported killed during a 12-day border offensive by Pakistani forces is believed to be one of the FBIâs âmost wantedâ terrorists and an architect of the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, senior U.S. officials told NBC News on Monday. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had no independent confirmation of the Pakistani claim that a âMr. Abdullahâ had been killed in the fierce fighting along the border with Afghanistan. But they said they believe that the person referred to by Pakistani authorities is Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who has been indicted on murder and conspiracy charges in connection with the simultaneous attacks on the U.S. embassies, which killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, and injured more than 5,400. |
| Posted by: Evert Visser in NL 2004-03-29 1:10:50 PM |
| #12 If my speculation is correct than the fact that he "was killed" doesn't mean that the Pakis killed him. It could be that Abdullah received some very low marks on his most recent fitness report. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-03-29 12:33:37 PM |
| #11 Standby for shameless speculation: I think that the Pakis probably have some knowledge of what the AQ spy chief looks like. By Spy Chief, I don't think they are talking about international spying. This was the local interface who let every body important know when it was time to jump into the tunnel. Abdullah's infinite lunch break should be inconvenient for those on the run. It makes it more likely that they will try a border crossing. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-03-29 12:29:16 PM |
| #10 I think abdullah means...."some dude". abdullah abdullah abdullah is the same as "john q. public" or "john doe". So, what we have here is a nameless dead dude, with a different colored turban than all the other dead dudes. |
| Posted by: Texan 2004-03-29 11:38:12 AM |
| #9 "...how many terrorist leaders named Abdullah can there be around there?..." actually given the fact that Abdullah is a popular name (Mohammud the prophet's father was named Abdullah) and the fact that terrorists have a non de guerre in addition to their own name and the fact that false identities are common, it might be more difficult than you think to id the deceased |
| Posted by: mhw 2004-03-29 10:36:27 AM |
| #8 A military spokesman identified the dead man as "Mr Abdullah", who, he said, was an intelligence chief. Spokesman: "The person in question who died in our offensive was Mr. Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah...." |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-03-29 10:32:54 AM |
| #7 OldSpook can you speak to this? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-03-29 10:26:35 AM |
| #6 "Unless they have a body, I wouldn't put much hope in it." brains... Brains.... BRAINS.... "Shouldn't be too hard to track down, how many terrorist leaders named Abdullah can there be around there?" It could be worse; they could all be named Steve. |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2004-03-29 10:19:20 AM |
| #5 Shouldn't be too hard to track down, how many terrorist leaders named Abdullah can there be around there? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-03-29 10:15:51 AM |
| #4 Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan identified the intelligence chief only as Abdullah. When pressed for details, including Abdullah's full name and nationality, Sultan said he had no more information. Sultan said the army had confirmed Abdullah's death through "independent intelligence sources" but would not say if it had his body. Abdullah is a common name in the Islamic world, and it was impossible to know which of many al-Qaeda and other terror suspects Sultan might be referring to. Unless they have a body, I wouldn't put much hope in it. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-03-29 9:48:48 AM |
| #3 Rooters says it's Al Queda's 'spy chief', though no name is given. So, it's not Zawahri. |
| Posted by: JAB 2004-03-29 9:29:02 AM |
| #2 Doubtful. There will follow a news blackout for four days while the Indian subcontinent focuses, quite rightly, upon the cricket. |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2004-03-29 9:13:21 AM |
| #1 I'm guessing we got Zawahri. Otherwise they wouldn't have tried to convince us he wasn't surrounded by airing a tape. |
| Posted by: Charles 2004-03-29 9:07:00 AM |