The Long War Journal: Al Qaeda operatives targeting Pakistanileaders
Written by Bill Roggio on June 4, 2009 3:50 PM to The Long War Journal
Available online at:http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/06/al_qaeda_operatives.php
Al Qaeda has transferred seven operatives from the Iraq theater to target senior Pakistani leaders. Thetargets of the planned attacks are President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani, General Kiyani, and othersenior military officers, cabinet ministers, and provincial leaders.The seven operatives, who were behind deadly attacks in Iraq, reportedly met in Afghanistan's easternprovince of Paktia on May 3 to plan the operations,according to a reportin the
Daily Times
. The alQaeda operatives are assigned to cooperate with the Pakistani Taliban, led by Baitullah Mehsud.The operatives were identified as Amanullah Afghani, Shahidullah Khan, Maulvi Khalid Shah,Rehmatullah Khan, Abdul Latif Afghani, Muhammad Saeed Bin Talha, Muhammad Shaheen Kawrai,and Ahmed Ali Tanwancy.A US military intelligence official has confirmed the report in a conversation with
The Long War Journal
, and said that some of the operatives are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.The location of the meeting, in Paktia province, also indicates involvement with the Haqqani Network,which controls operations in the eastern Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika, and Khost.The Haqqanis, led by Jalaluddin and Siraj Haqqani, have extensive links with al Qaeda and withPakistan’s military intelligence agency, the Inter-Service Intelligence, or ISI. This relationship hasallowed the Haqqani network to survive and thrive in North Waziristan. The Haqqanis also controllargeswaths of North Waziristan, and run a parallel administration with courts, recruiting centers, tax offices,and security forces.The meeting in Paktia also highlights the interlinking of operations between al Qaeda and the variousTaliban groups. The Haqqani Network, Baitullah Mehsud, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and a host of Taliban andPakistani jihadi groups coordinate some of themilitary operations through the Lashkar al Zil, or ShadowArmy, al Qaeda's paramilitary force that operates in Pakistan and Afghanistan. [see
LWJ
report,AlQaeda's paramilitary 'Shadow Army']. The Shadow Army maintains bases in Pakistan's tribal areas aswell as in southern and eastern Afghanistan [see
LWJ
report,Al Qaeda Shadow Army camps located innorthern Helmand].Al Qaeda has a long history of shifting senior commanders and operatives between the Iraq and Afghan-Pakistan theaters. In late 2007, Abd al Hadi al Iraqi, one of Osama bin Laden's senior deputies who waspersonally chosen by bin Laden to monitor al Qaeda operations in Iraq, was captured trying to enterIraq. Al Hadi was a senior commander in the Shadow Army. He was captured while trying to enter Iraqvia Iran, intelligence officials have told
The Long War Journal
.Al Hadi was al Qaeda's internal operations chief, an instructor on military operations, and a commanderof several al Qaeda training camps inside Afghanistan [see
LWJ
reportSeniorAl Qaeda operative Abd
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