Friday February 15, 8:50 AM New al Qaeda leader reported to plan more U.S. raids
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 30-year-old Palestinian has become al Qaeda's new chief of operations and is believed to be organising remnants of the network to carry out new attacks against the United States, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
Abu Zubaydah has been linked directly to the planning of the September 11 strikes, and tied to plans for a wave of attacks in Europe that were to occur last year, including plots to blow up the American embassies in Paris and Sarajevo, the Times said, citing U.S. officials.
American investigators said they were convinced that Abu Zubaydah was now trying to activate al Qaeda sleeper cells for new strikes on the United States and its allies, the Times reported.
Investigators are eager to apprehend Abu Zubaydah because he is one of the few al Qaeda leaders who could provide information as to the identities of the thousands of trainees that passed through the network's camps in Afghanistan and could still be awaiting instructions, the Times said.
American intelligence agencies believe that he was at Osama bin Laden's side in Afghanistan in the first weeks after September 11, and Bush administration officials say there is fragmentary evidence that he escaped to Pakistan, the Times reported.
Abu Zubaydah first came to the attention of American counterterrorism experts as a major al Qaeda figure after they received reports that he had coordinated plots to attack the Los Angeles International Airport and tourist sites in Jordan in December 1999.
Abu Zubaydah travels the world using false passports and multiple aliases, the Times said. His full name is believed to be Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn Abu Zubaydah, the Times said.
The newspaper said Abu Zubaydah, reportedly born in Saudi Arabia, has taken over the job of Muhammad Atef, who is believed to have been killed in a U.S. bombing raid in Afghanistan.
sg.news.yahoo.com |
