Mohammed Atef
Mohammed Atef محمد عاطف | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | |
Born | 1944[2][a] Monufia Governorate, Egypt[2] |
Died | November 14–16, 2001 (aged 56–57)[2] Kabul, Afghanistan |
Allegiance | al-Qaeda |
Rank | Military Commander |
Battles/wars |
|
Mohammed Atef (
Atef served two years in the
Atef was sent to an
He attended two meetings from August 11 to 20 in 1988, along with bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, Jamal al-Fadl, Wa'el Hamza Julaidan, and Mohammed Loay Bayazid and eight others, to discuss the founding of "al-Qaeda".[8] Bin Laden later sent a letter to Mohammed Loay Bayazid informing him that Atef and Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri were to each be given 6,500 Saudi riyals monthly, the same as they had been given for their work in Maktab al-Khidamat.[9]
In Sudan
Atef followed al-Qaeda to the Sudan in 1992 until the group was forced to leave,[10] following the execution of the teenaged son of Ahmad Salama Mabruk, and Atef moved to Afghanistan.[11][12]
In 1994, he refused to allow American double agent Ali Mohammed to know which name and passport he would be traveling under, expressing concerns that Mohammed could be working with the American authorities.[13] He traveled to Mombasa, Kenya, where he met with Mohammed Odeh and gave him money to purchase himself a 7-tonne trawler and start a fishing business.[14][15][16]
While in Sudan, he allegedly conducted a study which resulted in him presenting al-Qaeda details on why aircraft hijackings were a poor idea as they were engineered to allow the negotiation of hostages in exchange for prisoners, rather than inflicting damage.[17] Another alleged study he carried out determined that the Afghan Arabs and Taliban could together topple the dictatorship of Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan, and the government of Iran.[18]
In 1995, Atef gave Khalid Sheikh Mohammed details for a contact in Brazil.[19] When Mohammed returned to Afghanistan, he turned to Atef to set up a meeting with bin Laden in Tora Bora, at which he told the pair his plans for military attacks against the United States.[19]
Prior to 1996, Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri, Atef and Yaseen al-Iraqi aided Enaam Arnaout in purchasing AK-47s and mortar rounds from a Pashtun tribesman named Hajjji Ayoub, and they were subsequently delivered in large trucks to the Jawr and Jihad Wahl training camps.[20]
Named military chief
Abu Hafs was the real chief of al-Qaeda. Bin Laden was very humble, I could ask him for advice in particular circumstances and he would simply say: "Go and ask Abu Hafs, who is more intelligent than me".
— Paulo Jose de Almeida Santos[15]
In 1996, al-Qaeda's military chief
In 1998, a number of militants began to speak openly of their disdain for Atef, leading bin Laden to convene a meeting at which he spoke at length about Abu Bakr's loyalty to Muhammad. Comparing Atef to the Prophet's lieutenant, he reminded those present that Atef "knew of Jihad before most of you were even born", and warned them that he didn't want to hear any more "negative talk" about Atef.[22]
Atef was allegedly sent into Somalia at least twice to meet with tribal leaders, once having to escape aboard a small
1998 embassy bombings
On May 7, 1998, Atef faxed bin Laden a
Following the American reprisal bombings, Atef frisked journalists looking to meet bin Laden.[2] On November 4, an arrest warrant was issued in the United States for Atef.[26]
Atef also began speaking to
Planning of further militant activity
In the 1999
Following the 2000 USS Cole bombing, Atef was moved to Kandahar, Zawahiri to Kabul, and bin Laden fled to Kabul, later joining Atef when he realised no American reprisal attacks were forthcoming.[32] Whenever al-Qaeda organised games of volleyball, Atef and bin Laden were forced to be on separate teams since they were both tall and skilled.[15]: 230
In January 2001, in Kandahar, Atef's daughter married bin Laden's 17-year-old son Mohammed; the wedding guests included Osama's mother, al-Jazeera journalist Ahmad Zaidan, a "few" Taliban party members, and about 400 others. Osama recited poetry about the USS Cole bombing, but was upset with his delivery and tried having Zaidan re-record the section before deciding he preferred the earlier version.[15][33]
That year,
He is believed to have given
Atef was a serious-minded man, a disciplined man. He was not the gregarious type who could live with the young mujahideen and understand and solve their problems and address their concerns ... his work and activities sometimes compelled him to avoid people and keep away from others.
—Abu Jandal[15]
Following the
In early November 2001, the Taliban government announced they were bestowing official Afghan citizenship on him, as well as bin Laden, Zawahiri, Saif al-Adel, and Shaykh Asim Abdulrahman.[38]
Described as a "devout" and "very quiet man", Atef was one of the few al-Qaeda leaders to not make public video statements.
Death
Atef was killed, along with his guard Abu Ali al-Yafi'i and six others, According to the
Donald Rumsfeld was initially cautious and indicated only that reports of Atef's death "seem authoritative".[44] His death was confirmed when the ambassador of the Taliban, Abd Al-Salam Dhaif, said three days later, "Abu Hafs al-Masri died from injuries he suffered after US warplanes bombed his house near Kabul."[45]
When American forces sifted through the rubble of his house, they found a number of videocassettes, including five that carried
On November 8, bin Laden delivered a joint eulogy for Atef and
Atef appeared in a video released in September 2006 that showed the planning of the September 11 attacks.[54]
Atef has been named as a conspirator in the conspiracy charges against several of the
See also
Notes
References
- ^ a b c "Reports suggest al Qaeda military chief killed". CNN. November 17, 2001. Archived from the original on June 11, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Dawoud, Khaled. The Guardian, Atef al-Masry, November 19, 2001
- ^ United States v. Usama bin Laden, Transcript of Day 8
- ^ "Mohammed Atef". Counter Extremism Project.
- ^ "Security Council committee approves correction of identifying information of fifty-three individuals, ten entities on consolidated list". United Nations. 6 December 2004.
- Potomac Books, Through Our Enemies Eyes, p. 95.
- ^ a b Raman, B. South Asia Analysis Group, "USA's Afghan Ops" Archived 2010-06-13 at the Wayback Machine, November 20, 2001
- ^ Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower, 2006. pp. 131-134
- ^ a b Shay, Shaul. Islamic Terror in the Balkans, 2008. p. 55
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Responsibility for the terrorist atrocities Archived 2010-03-31 at the Wayback Machine, October 4, 2001
- ^ Human Rights Watch, Chapter VI: Muhammad al-Zawahiri and Hussain al-Zawahiri
- ^ Kushner, Harvey W. "Encyclopedia of Terrorism", 2002. Atef, p. 56
- Raleigh News and Observer, "Al-Qaeda Terrorist Duped FBI, Army", October 21, 2001
- Simon Reeve, The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden and the future of terrorism, London: Deutsch Limited, 1999, p. 4
- ^ a b c d e f g Bergen, Peter, "The Osama bin Laden I Know', 2006.
- ^ United States of America v. Usama bin Laden et al, May 1, 2001 proceedings
- ^ 9/11 Commission, p. 153
- ^ Al-Sharq al-Awsat, Analysis: Al-Qa'ida Military Training on the Internet, February 16, 2002
- ^ a b 9/11 Commission, p. 148
- ^ Fitzgerald, Patrick J. United States of America v. Enaam M. Arnaout, "Governments Evidentiary Proffer Supporting the Admissibility of Co-Conspirator Statements", before Hon. Suzanne B. Conlon
- ^ Lance, Peter. "Triple-Cross", 2006. p. 104-105
- ^ Ressa, Maria. "Seeds of Terror", 2003.
- ^ Benjamin, Daniel & Steven Simon. "The Age of Sacred Terror", 2002
- New York Times, "A Witness Against Al-Qaeda Says the US Let Him Down", June 3, 2002
- ^ 9/11 Commission, p. 69
- ^ USA v. Muhammad Atef, Southern District of New York District Court, November 24, 1998
- ^ a b 9/11 Commission, p. 151
- ^ a b Nasrawi, Salah. Chicago Sun-Times, "Key bin Laden aide wrote terror manual", November 17, 2001
- ^ 9/11 Commission, p. 155
- ^ "9/11 Planners: Where Are They Now?". ABC News. 11 September 2010.
- ^ 9/11 Commission, p. 166
- ^ 9/11 Commission, p. 191
- ^ Newsweek, "Bin Laden's Poetry of Terror", March 26, 2001
- ^ 9/11 Commission, p. 251
- ^ 9/11 Commission, p. 243
- ^ United States v. David Matthew Hicks, June 2004
- Debka.com, Abdul Haq fell into trap laid by Bin Laden, October 29, 2001
- ^ The Hindu, Taliban grants Osama citizenship[usurped], November 9, 2001
- ^ World News Connection, Al-Qa'ida member recalls US bombardment, accuses Taliban of betrayal Archived 2004-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, October 29, 2003
- ^ Associated Press, Taliban confirms death of Osama bin Laden's military chief in US strike, November 17, 2001
- ^ "Abu Hafs Al Masri" (PDF). Combating Terrorism Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
Fortunately, Abu Hafs was killed in an al-Qa'ida safehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan, in November 2001, when it was bombed by coalition aircraft. This was a significant blow to al-Qa'ida, as they lost one of their most stalwart and capable members. Moreover, it was a huge loss to bin Laden who lost not only his senior military commander, but also a close companion who had been with him since the very beginning of the al-Qaeda organization.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ Thomas, Evan & Hosenball, Mark Newsweek, "The Opening Shot", November 11, 2002
- ^ "US strikes 'leadership compound". CNN. November 27, 2001.
- ^ Janabi, Ahmed (March 13, 2004). Profile: Abu Hafs al-Masri. Al Jazeera.
- ^ CBC, Two Canadians among fugitive al-Qaeda members, January 26, 2002
- ^ Burke, Jason. The Guardian, The Secret Mastermind Behind the Bali Bombing, October 20, 2002
- ^ Abuza, Zachary. "Militant Islam in Southeast Asia", p. 157
- ^ Bell, Stewart. "The Martyr's Oath", 2005. p. 136-137
- ^ Cullison, Alan; Higgins, Andrew (December 31, 2001). "Computer in Kabul holds chilling memos". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 21, 2002. Published also as "Files found: A computer in Kabul yields a chilling array of al-Qaeda memos" and "Forgotten Computer Reveals Thinking Behind Four Years of al Qaeda Doings"
- ^ Mir, Hamid, How Osama bin Laden Escaped death 4 times after 9/11, September 8, 2007
- ^ AFP, Iran holding Zawahiri, Abu Ghaith; al-Arabiya TV Archived 2004-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, June 28, 2003
- ^ Parry, Robert. Consortium News, "How Bush's torture helped al-Qaeda", April 23, 2009
- ^ "Video is said to show bin Laden prepping for 9/11 attacks". CNN. September 8, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
- Office of Military Commissions (2007-12-20). "MC Form 458 Jan 2007 - Charges in United States v. Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza Al Darbi" (PDF). United States. pp. 1–6. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2008-08-03. Retrieved 2007-12-23.