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Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 killed in Pakistan: US official

Phil1

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 3, 2009
465
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Minot N.D.
WASHINGTON: Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan, delivering another big blow to a terrorist group that the US believes to be on the verge of defeat, a senior Obama administration official said Saturday.

The Libyan national who was the network’s former operational leader rose to al-Qaeda’s No. 2 spot after the US killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden during a raid on his Pakistan compound in May.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last month that al-Qaeda’s defeat was within reach if the US could mount a string of successful attacks on the group’s weakened leadership.

”Now is the moment, following what happened with bin Laden, to put maximum pressure on them,” Panetta said, ”because I do believe that if we continue this effort we can really cripple al-Qaeda as a major threat.”

Al-Rahman was killed Aug. 22 in the lawless Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan, according to the official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss intelligence issues.

The official would not say how al-Rahman was killed. But his death came on the same day that a CIA drone strike was reported in Waziristan. Such strikes by unmanned aircraft are Washington’s weapon of choice for killing terrorists in the mountainous, hard-to-reach area along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Al-Rahman, believed to be in his mid-30s, was a close confidant of bin Laden and once served as bin Laden’s emissary to Iran.

Al-Rahman was allowed to move freely in and out of Iran as part of that arrangement and had been operating out of Waziristan for some time, officials have said.

Born in Libya, al-Rahman joined bin Laden as a teenager in Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union.

After Navy SEALs killed bin Laden, they found evidence of al-Rahman’s role as operational chief, US officials have said.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/27/al-qaeda’s-no-2-killed-in-pakistan-us-official.html
 
Re: Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 killed in Pakistan: US official

Chalk another one up for the good guys. God Bless America... and our Reapers.

<span style="font-size: 11pt"><span style="font-weight: bold">Special Delivery for one Mr. Atiyah Abd al-Rahman. No signature required.</span></span>
ReaperDrone-MQ-9%20022.jpg
 
Re: Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 killed in Pakistan: US official

uh, 997, it's 'haji'. An individual who has memorized the Koran. A respected term and a level of manhood that has come into favor as a racial epithet. Hadji is the Indian kid from the old TV cartoon. just sayin...
 
Re: Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 killed in Pakistan: US official

It was my understanding that haji was given muslims that successfully completed the haj, or pilgrimage. I have seen it spelled, maybe incorrectly,
using the letter a and i, twice.

Haadjii was the name of a cartoon character, but my friends and I began to use it loosely, in a disparaging fashion. It is in poor taste, and I will not use it again at this forum. I wasn't thinking, sort of slipped out.
 
Re: Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 killed in Pakistan: US official

glad he is gone....but extremly dissapointed it was at the hands of a flying robot, and not a personal touch like team 6 gave bin laden
 
Re: Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 killed in Pakistan: US official

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: benchmstr</div><div class="ubbcode-body">glad he is gone....but extremly dissapointed it was at the hands of a flying robot, and not a personal touch like team 6 gave bin laden </div></div>

But there is a certain satisfaction in killing the enemy with impunity and without risk to your men. Sort of like the 2000m shot. #1 Al Qaeda killed in Pakistan, #2. killed in Pakistan. Any doubt as to where they enjoy the greatest support?

"ETHNIC warfare in Pakistan’s most populous city has reached such a level that Karachi’s ambulance service now has to send out a driver matching the racial make-up of the destination district to pick up the victims of gang attacks. Otherwise, the district’s gunmen will not let the ambulance through. Now ambulances themselves are coming under fire, as gangsters try to stop them saving the lives of their enemies. Karachi’s ethnic wars have claimed some 1,000 lives this year, with more than 100 in the past week alone. By contrast the Taliban and other religious extremists kill tiny numbers in Karachi...

A grisly new feature of the carnage is that people are not just being shot. They are being abducted and tortured; then their bullet-ridden, mutilated bodies are dumped in sacks and left in alleyways and gutters. Victims’ limbs, genitals or heads are often severed. Torture cells operate across Karachi. The butchery is filmed on mobile phones and passed around, spreading the terror further. Most victims are ordinary folk randomly targeted for their ethnicity....

If this were just a turf war between criminal gangs, things might be brought under control. But each gang has the patronage of a mainstream political party, in a fight that exploded in 2008 when an election was held to end Pakistan’s latest period of military rule. Political support for warring ethnic gangs means the police largely stay out of the conflict: each gang will call on political muscle if its henchmen are rounded up."

http://www.economist.com/node/21526919

An ideal breeding ground for new Al-Qaeda recruits.
 
Re: Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 killed in Pakistan: US official

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A grisly new feature of the carnage is that people are not just being shot. They are being abducted and tortured; then their bullet-ridden, mutilated bodies are dumped in sacks and left in alleyways and gutters. Victims’ limbs, genitals or heads are often severed. Torture cells operate across Karachi. The butchery is filmed on mobile phones and passed around, spreading the terror further</div></div>

Hard to tell if you're talking about Pakistan or Mexico