| I hate to be the wet blanket, but he's been dead before in Lebanon as well as in Kenya. Also you'll forgive my skepticism of Pakistani intelligence after the recent debacle in South Waziristan ... |
An al-Qaida intelligence chief reported killed during a 12-day border offensive by Pakistani forces is believed to be one of the FBIâs âmost wantedâ terrorists and an architect of the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, senior U.S. officials told NBC News on Monday. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had no independent confirmation of the Pakistani claim that a âMr. Abdullahâ had been killed in the fierce fighting along the border with Afghanistan. But they said they believe that the person referred to by Pakistani authorities is Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who has been indicted on murder and conspiracy charges in connection with the simultaneous attacks on the U.S. embassies, which killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, and injured more than 5,400.
| Uhuh. And I believe that the Mr. Jones bumped off by drug dealers a few weeks ago was actually John Paul Jones, the famous American naval officer, even though he, too, was previously reported dead. They have the same name, right? Must be the same guy. |
The officials spoke hours after Pakistan Army spokesman Maj.-Gen. Shaukat Sultan announced in Islamabad that an al-Qaida intelligence chief, whom he identified only as âMr. Abdullah,â had been killed in the border operation. He would not provide further details, such as the manâs nationality, full name or how and when he was killed.
| Probably because he doesn't know them. Golly. The dead guy could also be Binny, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Abdullah. |
Sultan said that the dead man was among 63 militants killed by Pakistani troops during the raid on the semi-autonomous South Waziristan tribal territory bordering eastern Afghanistan that ended on Sunday. Another 163 militants were captured, including 73 foreigners, he said.
| But there were supposedly anywhere from 400-700 in the area. What happened to the rest of them? |
| They're in Chicago, for the Ice Capades... |
Later Monday, Pakistani intelligence officials told The Associated Press that the report was based on intercepted radio conversations indicating that a man named Abdullah had been killed and that his death caused a great deal of distress among the al-Qaida forces. âHe was a very important person for al-Qaida,â said one Pakistani official, who like the others spoke on condition of anonymity.
| See? They were upset. Toldja it was Binny... |
He added that interrogations of suspected al-Qaida members led the Pakistanis to believe that Abdullah was the groupâs top intelligence official. But the officials acknowledged that no body has been found, and one member of Pakistan's intelligence service said that none of the captured militants had so far identified a photo of Abdullah that interrogators were showing to prisoners. Without a body â and after earlier speculation that al-Qaidaâs No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri was cornered â the officials were cautious about any conclusions, since many al-Qaida leaders use aliases. |