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| Africa North | ||
| 3 al Qaeda operatives took part in Benghazi attack | ||
| 2013-05-03 | ||
Several Yemeni men belonging to al Qaeda took part in the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi last September, according to several sources who have spoken with CNN. One senior U.S. law enforcement official told CNN that "three or four members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula," or AQAP, took part in the attack.
According to one source, counterterrorism officials learned the identity of the men and established they had spent two nights in Benghazi after the attack. Western intelligence agencies began trying to track the men in the aftermath of the terrorist attack, but were always behind in their manhunt. They were later traced to northern Mali, where they are believed to have connected with a fighting group commanded by Moktar Belmoktar, a prominent jihadist leader, according to a senior law enforcement source. The trail appears to have then gone cold. In early 2013, jihadists were driven out of many areas of northern Mali in a French-led offensive. Another source briefed on the investigation had previously told CNN that Belmoktar had received a call in the aftermath of the Benghazi attack from someone in or close to the city. Whoever made the call was excited. "Mabruk, Mabruk!" he repeated, meaning "Congratulations" in Arabic. There is no proof the call was specifically about the attack, but the source says that is the assumption among those with knowledge of the call. One source says the phone call was discovered when a Western intelligence service trawled through intercepts of communications made in the wake of the attack. CIA officials told CNN they had no comment on whether any call had been intercepted. One other source briefed by Western intelligence told CNN a call was intercepted but said only that it was placed to an AQIM commander, not specifically Belmoktar. Belmoktar is an Algerian terrorist operative linked to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb who claimed responsibility for the attack on the In Amenas gas facility in southern Algeria in January this year. Chadian troops supporting the French intervention in Mali claimed in March that Belmoktar and others in his group had been killed during an operation in the remote Adrar des Ifhogas mountain range.
Belmoktar is believed to have moved to the region in late 2012 after signs that an international intervention in Mali was growing more likely. Known as 'the Salvador pass,' the area is a key transit points for drug traffickers and international criminal groups. | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 "At this point, what difference does it make?" |
| Posted by: Pappy 2013-05-03 11:26 |
| #1 Interesting, but not very. Thank you |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-05-03 03:01 |