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Osama requested safe house in Peshawar for his son Hamza
In the past, al Qaeda has not shied away from putting its top leaders in Pakistan’s major cities.
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Bin Laden advised relocation of some leaders to Afghanistan due to drone strikes in Waziristan
In late 2010, the al Qaeda emir said some of the group’s leaders and operatives should relocate from North and South Waziristan to the eastern Afghan provinces of Kunar, Nuristan, Ghazni, and Zabul.
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Analysis: Nearly all of bin Laden’s documents should be released
Only a tiny fraction of Osama bin Laden’s files have been released. Nearly all of them should be.
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LWJ Series: Analyzing the bin Laden documents
We will be analyzing Osama bin Laden’s documents in a series of articles. While partial declassification is a good thing, the public should see nearly all of bin Laden’s documents, not just some of them.
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Leaders of German al Qaeda cell living in Iran
Leaders of an al Qaeda cell that plotted a Mumbai-style attack in Europe in 2010 and fought alongside the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan are living in Iran.
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Senior al Qaeda leader reportedly killed
Atiyah Abd al Rahman, a top al Qaeda leader, was reportedly killed on August 22. Senior US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal would neither confirm nor deny Atiyah’s death. Atiyah was al Qaeda’s “general manager” and Osama bin Laden’s “chief of staff,” according to a senior US intelligence official.
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Latest issue of Inspire highlights al Qaeda succession
AQAP has released the sixth edition of its Inspire magazine. In it, Osama bin Laden is praised as a martyr. Inspire’s editors also praise the selection of Ayman al Zawahiri as al Qaeda’s new emir. Two other al Qaeda affiliates have already sworn their allegiance to Zawahiri.
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Bin Laden’s courier tied to Pakistani-backed terror group
The New York Times reports that Osama bin Laden’s courier was found to be in contact with members of Harakat ul Mujahedin (HUM), a terrorist organization long backed by Pakistan’s spy agency. Leaked Guantanamo files provide more details about the relationship between HUM and al Qaeda.
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DC district court denies former Taliban governor’s habeas petition
In a decision released on Thursday, a DC district court denied Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The court cited Khairkhwa’s clandestine meetings with Iranian officials, among other evidence.
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State Department designates former Gitmo detainee turned AQAP commander
The State Department designated former Gitmo detainee Othman al Ghamdi as a global terrorist today. Al Ghamdi is an “operational commander” in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
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AP: Key source on bin Laden’s courier freed by Pakistanis
Pakistan freed the al Qaeda operative who gave the CIA key intelligence on Osama bin Laden’s courier. That intelligence led to Osama bin Laden’s demise.
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The Gitmo Files: Fazul Mohammed continued to seek bin Laden’s direction
Leaked Guantanamo threat assessments highlight Osama bin Laden’s influence over East Africa al Qaeda (EAAQ) and its leader, the recently slain Fazul Mohammed. The files also contain striking details about the ties between EAAQ and Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union, the predecessor of Shabaab.
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Analysis: Al Qaeda’s interim emir and Iran
Al Qaeda’s interim emir is reportedly Saif al Adel, a longtime member of al Qaeda and the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Al Adel has a decades-long relationship with Iran and was protected by the Iranians after 9/11.
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Why was key source on bin Laden’s courier freed?
The Pakistanis freed Hassan Ghul, a top al Qaeda operative who gave up vital intelligence on Osama bin Laden while in US custody.
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Osama bin Laden’s Internet connection
Details of bin Laden’s modus operandi emerge.
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Ex-Gitmo detainee training Libyan rebels in Derna
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.”
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DC Circuit Court finds Gitmo detainee was no ‘Forrest Gump’
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.
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Judge finds Gitmo detainee was no ‘Gucci jihadist’
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.
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Judge finds that Kuwaiti Gitmo detainee was no charity worker
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.
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Osama bin Laden’s spokesman freed by Iran
Iran has freed Osama bin Laden’s spokesman, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, from “house arrest.” Abu Ghaith gained infamy after Sept. 11, 2001, when he promised more attacks on American soil. He recruited the al Qaeda cell responsible for the Oct. 8, 2002, attack on US Marines training on Faylaka Island.
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Al Qaeda bodyguard and accountant pleads guilty before military commission
Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi, a Sudanese detainee held at Guantanamo, pled guilty to charges of conspiracy and material support for terrorism before a military commission today. Al Qosi served the Taliban and al Qaeda in a variety of roles beginning in 1990.
