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| Europe |
| Al-Qaeda propaganda chief studied in Germany |
| 2006-02-03 |
| Osama bin Laden's propaganda chief, believed to have been killed in a US missile strike on a remote Pakistani village in mid-January, studied electronics at German universities in the 1990s. Intelligence agents think he organised the distribution of bin Laden's video messages and trained al-Qaida to use the Web. Moroccan-born Abdul Rehman Al-Misri al Maghribi, 35, studied electronics for over three years at the German universities of Cologne and Krefeld in the 1990s before moving to Afghanistan in 1999 where he made contact with bin Laden. He is believed to have helped equip al-Qaida with modern computer technology and given it a high level of expertise in using the Internet, enabling the group to spread its message across the Web without being tracked by intelligence agencies. Maghribi, known as Mohamed Abateh to German authorities, helped bin Laden distribute the videotape messages in which the terrorist leader regularly threatens the West, according to intelligence agents. The missile strike on the village of Damadola in Pakistan's remote Bajaur tribal region was launched from an unmanned drone aircraft controlled by the CIA, according to media reports. It was aimed at al-Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, who wasn't hit. Abateh is believed to have been his son-in-law. At least 18 civilians were killed in the attack. Media reports quoting Pakistani intelligence sources said the attack also killed three other militants including an al-Qaida bomb expert with a $5 million bounty on his head. Abateh travelled to Germany in 1996 and was given a residence permit. He only became known to authorities as a result of testimony by Jordanian crown witness Shadi Abdallah, a former bin Laden bodyguard detained in Germany. While at university, Abateh joined a group of young Muslims and became increasingly radical, eventually deciding to join bin Laden in Afghanistan, according to Abdallah, who travelled with him. After arriving, Abateh was taken to bin Laden in Kandahar and the two were seen together constantly after that. Abateh built up close contacts with a secretive production company, al-Sahab, which according to US and German intelligence agencies produced most of the propaganda videos relating to the 9/11 attacks. However, there is no evidence of his death. Shortly after the missile attack, villagers carried the bodies of the militants into the mountains, probably to prevent US forces from identifying them. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 darn. The headline made me think the Propaganda Chief was being interrogated in Germany. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-02-03 04:21 |