The Matrix of Threat Indicators for Enemy Combatants document, one of hundreds released by WikiLeaks, described the intelligence agencies of Pakistan, Iran, and Yemen as “associated forces” that support al Qaeda.
A detainee assessment claimed that two al Qaeda operatives had knowledge of the 2001 anthrax attacks in the US, but the report cannot be confirmed.
The Italian government announced the deportation of a former Gitmo detainee to Tunisia. Adel Ben Mabrouk had been convicted of terrorism-related charges, but his sentence was commuted to time served because of his eight-year-long detention at Gitmo. Mabrouk went to Afghanistan to train and fight in early 2001 and was part of an al Qaeda cell that plotted to blow up Milan’s Gothic cathedral.
The DC Circuit Court affirmed a district court’s decision to deny Guantanamo detainee Yasein Khasem Mohammad Esmail’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Esmail was trained at a notorious al Qaeda camp, studied at an al Qaeda-run school for martyrs, and fought at Tora Bora.
A former Guantanamo detainee named Sufyan Ben Qumu is training Derna’s rebels. Declassified memos prepared at Gitmo note that Qumu was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group’s military committee, trained at Osama bin Laden’s camps, worked for al Qaeda front companies, and was a known “extremist” with “no qualms about committing terrorist acts.”
In the latest edition of Inspire, Ibrahim Rubaish, a former Guantanamo detainee who is AQAP’s mufti, criticizes the Saudi government for taking in Tunisia’s former president.
A three-judge DC Circuit Court panel overturned a lower court’s ruling that would have granted freedom to Guantanamo detainee Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman.
The Afghan High Peace Council, set up by President Hamid Karzai in 2010, reportedly wants to speak with four top Taliban commanders held at Guantanamo. All four allegedly had significant ties to al Qaeda prior to their detention.
In an opinion released on Feb. 18, a DC district judge denied the habeas corpus petition of Guantanamo detainee Mashour Abdullah Muqbel al Sabri; the decision contradicts earlier district court rulings in important ways. Al Sabri’s career demonstrates that there was extensive overlap between Taliban and al Qaeda operations prior to Sept. 11, 2001.
An al Qaeda trainer agreed to a plea deal at Gitmo on Tuesday. The terms of the deal remain undisclosed. The trainer, Noor Uthman Mohammed, was captured alongside top al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah in March 2002 and was allegedly involved in Zubaydah’s plot against Israel.
A former Gitmo detainee convicted of terrorism-related charges was freed from an Italian jail on Monday. Adel Ben Mabrouk, a Tunisian who lived in Italy for much of the 1990s, was a member of a known al Qaeda network in Italy prior to his detention at Guantanamo. Mabrouk was captured after fleeing the Tora Bora Mountains in late 2001.
Anwar ul Haq Mujahid, who had formerly been detained and released by Pakistan, spoke at Awar Gul’s funeral in Nangarhar province. An official Taliban statement was read, praising Gul as “the renowned commander.” In addition, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for the release of a top Taliban official from Guantanamo.
The Afghan High Peace Council has requested the release of Khairullah Khairkhwa, a top Taliban official, from Guantanamo. Khairkhwa, who was detained in early 2002, was the governor of Herat province during the Taliban’s reign. He was also allegedly involved in drug trafficking, had ties to senior al Qaeda leaders, and admittedly set up security for meetings between the Taliban and Iran.
In a piece last week, I noted that a former Taliban commander, Awal Gul, died of an apparent heart attack at Guantanamo on Tuesday, Feb. 1. The Taliban have now released a statement online concerning Gul’s death, calling him “the prominent Jihadi commander of Nangarhar province” and lamenting the “martyrdom of the eminent commander.” Much […]
Awal Gul, a former Taliban commander, died of an apparent heart attack at Guantanamo on Tuesday. According to the US military’s declassified files, Osama bin Laden allegedly gave Gul $100,000 to help al Qaeda members escape Afghanistan after 9/11.
An Italian court convicted a former Guantanamo detainee named Mohamed Ben Riadh Nasri of terrorsm-related charges on Monday. At Gitmo, Nasri was identified as “one of the most dangerous Tunisian operatives,” as well as the emir of the Tunisian Combat Group, a known al Qaeda affiliate.
The Department of Defense announced the transfer of a Guantanamo detainee to Algeria on Thursday. A district judge ruled that he should be freed even though he was recruited by al Qaeda to train and fight in Afghanistan.
A former Guantanamo detainee was reportedly involved in plotting against targets in Saudi Arabia in December 2009, two years after he was repatriated to the country. He remains a member of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
An Algerian court acquitted former Guantanamo detainee Sofiane Hadarbache of terrorism-related charges. In declassified memos prepared at Gitmo, US military officials alleged that Hadarbache was recruited by al Qaeda in France.
A DC district judge denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by an Afghan detained at Gitmo. The judge’s decision and declassified memos produced at Gitmo indicate that the detainee, known as Obaydullah, was a member of an al Qaeda IED cell tasked with attacking US forces.
An ex-Gitmo detainee named Jabir Jubran al Fayfi has reportedly turned himself in to Saudi authorities. Al Fayfi was arrested in Yemen in September and his “surrender” was likely coordinated by the Saudi and Yemeni governments.
The latest edition of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s Inspire magazine features two former Gitmo detainees. One is an AQAP military commander and the other is AQAP’s deputy leader. Both rely on al Qaeda’s “narrative” in an attempt to woo new recruits in the West.
A district judge denied a Kuwaiti Gitmo detainee’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus in September. The detainee, Fayiz al Kandari, claims that he was a mere charity worker, but he was really an influential al Qaeda recruiter with ties to a terror cell that launched an attack on the US Marines in 2002.
Earlier this month, a DC district judge ruled that a facilitator for the HIG is properly detained at Guantanamo. The detainee, Shawali Khan, allegedly plotted attacks against American forces on behalf of his uncle, a HIG commander based in Quetta, Pakistan.
Jabir Jubran al Fayfi, a former Gitmo detainee who fought in Afghanistan and Kashmir, has been arrested in Yemen. Along with other former Gitmo detainees, al Fayfi joined al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
As part of its reconciliation process with terrorists and extremists, the Libyan government has freed a former Gitmo detainee who served al Qaeda and the Taliban for almost a decade.
A former Gitmo detainee who rejoined al Qaeda after being repatriated surrendered to authorities in Yemen.
According to a new report by the US State Department, Usama Abu Kabir, a former Gitmo detainee, was arrested in Jordan in April 2009 while plotting a terrorist attack against Israel. Kabir was allegedly the leader of a terrorist cell.
Abdul Rauf Khadim, a former Gitmo detainee, sent a handwritten note threatening Afghan tribal elders who cooperate with Coalition forces and the Afghan government. Khadim is one of two former Gitmo detainees who are part of Mullah Omar’s inner circle.
The Algerian government has denied reports that it is mistreating Abdul Aziz Naji, a former Guantanamo detainee. Naji was a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba and an expert in improvised explosive devices prior to his detention at Gitmo. His transfer was supposed to entail “security measures,” but an Algerian official claims Naji was outright released.