Alleged al-Qaeda operative captured in Libya among organization’s early elite
By Ernesto Londoño, WashPost, Published: October 7
During al-Qaeda’s early years in the 1990s, when Osama bin Laden ran the terrorist group out of Sudan, a young Libyan man who was part of his country’s besieged diaspora of Islamists used his advanced computer skills to rise to the top of the organization long before it emerged as a global menace.
After the Libyan uprising started in early 2011, Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai — who was detained by U.S. Special Operations forces over the weekend — was among the Islamists who flocked back home. He soon received an important assignment from al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan, according to a U.S. intelligence official: establish a cell for the network in his strategic North African homeland, which was reeling from a brutal civil war.
“He was tasked to create a terrorist network in Libya and involved in strategic planning between al-Qaeda and Libya,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an intelligence assessment. The official said the order was delivered within the past year, which might help explain why the Obama administration authorized the rare and risky “rendition” carried out Saturday by U.S. commandos.
(More here.)
During al-Qaeda’s early years in the 1990s, when Osama bin Laden ran the terrorist group out of Sudan, a young Libyan man who was part of his country’s besieged diaspora of Islamists used his advanced computer skills to rise to the top of the organization long before it emerged as a global menace.
After the Libyan uprising started in early 2011, Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai — who was detained by U.S. Special Operations forces over the weekend — was among the Islamists who flocked back home. He soon received an important assignment from al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan, according to a U.S. intelligence official: establish a cell for the network in his strategic North African homeland, which was reeling from a brutal civil war.
“He was tasked to create a terrorist network in Libya and involved in strategic planning between al-Qaeda and Libya,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an intelligence assessment. The official said the order was delivered within the past year, which might help explain why the Obama administration authorized the rare and risky “rendition” carried out Saturday by U.S. commandos.
(More here.)
Powered by Blogger
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home