Terrorist mastermind believed killed by US

17 Nov, 2001 09:49 AM5 mins to read

KABUL/WASHINGTON - The United States believes its air raids on Afghan targets killed the al Qaeda military expert suspected of plotting the Sept. 11 suicide-hijackings that claimed about 4,500 lives and sparked the US-led war on terrorism.

Mohammed Atef, the Egyptian-born militant who directed Osama bin Laden's deadly terror strikes for a decade, is believed to have been killed in an airstrike near Kabul.

If confirmed, Atef's death would be a direct blow to bin Laden's inner circle and could greatly hurt the al Qaeda network's ability to plan future terrorist attacks, US officials said.

"He was No. 2. We obviously have been seeking (him) out," Defence Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said. Atef was seen as bin Laden's likely successor, another official said.

Mr Rumsfeld said Atef, an Egyptian and one of Osama bin Laden's top two lieutenants, was believed killed by American warplanes on Wednesday or Thursday.

"The reports I have received seem authoritative," Rumsfeld said in an appearance near Chicago when asked about earlier statements from US officials that Atef had been killed.

Another US official, who asked not to be identified, said the news came from intelligence information which showed "some people within the al Qaeda organisation believe he's dead because they expressed regrets at his passing".

As for bin Laden, he is still thought to be hiding in Afghanistan, Rumsfeld said. "Needless to say, if we knew his whereabouts, we would have him."

Atef is suspected of helping to plan the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon that killed thousands. He directly planned the embassy bombings in Africa in 1998 that killed 224 people, according to a US indictment that charged him with murder. And he is accused of helping plan a 1993 helicopter shootdown in Somalia that killed 18 US soldiers.

Atef also is believed to have overseen bin Laden camps inside Afghanistan, training a string of Islamic militants responsible for attacks including the bombing of the USS Cole in October 2000 that killed 17 sailors, and a failed attempt to attack Los Angeles' airport during millennium celebrations.

Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem, a Pentagon spokesman, said the United States learned of Atef's death "from intelligence reports picking up discussions" after an airstrike - which suggests an intelligence service intercepted communications between people saying Atef was dead.

Taleban officials in southern Afghanistan said they had no knowledge of Atef's death.

Since the Taleban lost control of northern Afghanistan, the US campaign has shifted toward tracking down bin Laden and al Qaeda leaders, who are thought to be hiding in southern Afghanistan where the Taleban still retain some control.

Airstrikes have hit a number of other al Qaeda leaders, "particularly in the last five or six days," Rumsfeld said, speaking in Great Lakes, Ill., where he was giving a speech. He provided no details.

Atef's death, if confirmed, "will have an impact on their (al Qaeda's) future operations. That's good for us," Stufflebeem said. But he cautioned, "It probably has no impact on operations that have already been planned and ... are in the can just awaiting for some triggering device to be released."

Along with spiritual adviser and fellow Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri, Atef was said to be one of bin Laden's top two lieutenants. Earlier this year, Atef's daughter married bin Laden's son, and TV footage of the wedding was broadcast on an Arab satellite station.

Atef, who is also known as Sobhi al-Sitta and Abu Hafs el-Masry, is believed to be a former Egyptian police officer. He was born around 1944 in Minoufia, north of Cairo.

His affiliation with bin Laden dates back to the early 1980s, when he helped recruit fighters for the Afghan war with the Soviet Union.

The British government says Atef travelled to Somalia several times in 1992 and 1993 to organise violence against US and UN troops then stationed in that African nation. On each occasion he reported back to bin Laden, who was based at the time in Sudan.

Atef took even greater control in the late 1990s, essentially heading the military side of bin Laden's network, responsible for training followers and planning terror operations.

"He was an absolutely key member of the leadership, particularly with regard to their ... terrorist attacks," said Daniel Benjamin, a former National Security Council staff member and terrorism expert now with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

Atef had been a leader in the Islamic Jihad of Egypt, which has been linked to a number of attacks in Egypt, including the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat.

Atef supported Islamic Jihad of Egypt's merger with al-Qaida in 1998. The merged group's military wing, which he headed, claimed responsibility for the US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, and the United States in 1999 charged him with murder.

An Egyptian court sentenced Atef to life imprisonment in absentia in 1999 after convicting him of subversion and membership of Islamic Jihad.

The State Department was offering a $US5 million reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of Atef.

- REUTERS

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