‘Top al Qaeda leaders moving from Pak to North Africa’

[Devil Soul]

‘Top al Qaeda leaders moving from Pak to North Africa’
DAWN.COM (2 hours ago) Today
British officials believed that senior leaders of al Qaeda in Pakistan had been killed in an intense campaign of drone strikes and others are moving to north Africa, DawnNews reported.

According to a report published in Guardian, the officials are confident that a “last push” in 2012 is likely to destroy the group’s remaining senior leadership in the country.

The report claimed that the militants are now moving to north Africa, including Libya, to open new fronts, raising fears that the region could become a new battle field.

 

[TOPGUN]

Good get the F__K out and take your coward rats with ya otherwise stick around and just die never the less sooner our later you will all die and be in hell .

 

[Devil Soul]

Al-Qaida leadership almost wiped out in Pakistan, British officials believe
Senior members of al-Qaida are feared to be moving to north Africa to open up a new front after being weakened in Pakistan
Senior British officials believe that a "last push" in 2012 is likely to definitively destroy al-Qaida's remaining senior leadership in Pakistan, opening a new phase in the battle against Islamist terrorism.

So many senior members of the organisation have been killed in an intense campaign of air strikes involving missiles launched from unmanned drones that "only a handful of the key players" remain alive, one official said.

However, well-informed sources outside government and close to Islamist groups in north Africa said at least two relatively senior al-Qaida figures have already made their way to Libya, with others intercepted en route, raising fears that north Africa could become a new "theatre of jihad" in coming months or years.

"A group of very experienced figures from north Africa left camps in Afghanistan's [north-eastern] Kunar province where they have been based for several years and travelled back across the Middle East," one source said. "Some got stopped but a few got through."

It is unclear whether the moves from west Asia to north Africa are prompted by a desire for greater security – which seems unlikely as Nato forces begin to withdraw from Afghanistan – or part of a strategic attempt to exploit the aftermath of the Arab spring. They may even be trying to shift the centre of gravity of al-Qaida's effort back to the homelands of the vast majority of its members.

Since the death of Osama bin Laden in a US special forces raid in Pakistan last May, other senior leaders have also been eliminated, even though the numbers of strikes are lower than last year.

The problems for al-Qaida in west Asia have been compounded by a smaller flow of volunteers reaching makeshift bases in Pakistan's tribal zones. "I think they are really very much weakened," said the official. "You can't say they don't pose a threat – they do – but it's a much lesser one."

British and US intelligence sources have told the Guardian they estimate that there are less than 100 "al-Qaida or al-Qaida-affiliated" militants in Afghanistan, of whom only "a handful" were seen to pose a threat internationally to the UK or other western nations.

Officials dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan say they see al-Qaida's activity as "effectively marginal" to events there. Instead, local networks, such as that run by the Haqqani family in the semi-autonomous tribal agency of North Waziristan on the Afghan-Pakistan border, are deemed more important.

Repeated efforts to push the Pakistani authorities to take military action against the Haqqanis have been rebuffed. Western and international officials said senior Pakistani military officers insisted they needed the Haqqani network, which has not attacked Pakistani targets though it has repeatedly struck Nato and other western targets in Afghanistan, to keep militant groups that make up the Pakistani Taliban network "under control". These latter have repeatedly struck civilian and military targets within Pakistan.

Western officials dismissed the argument as far-fetched and unrealistic. One international official said, however, that there was evidence the Haqqani family had been acting as intermediaries between the Pakistani secret services and militant groups and described the Pakistani position as "understandable".

"To move against the Haqqanis is a no-win option for the Pakistani military. If they suffer heavy casualties and fail to eliminate the group, they lose their authority and a key interlocutor. If they succeed, they lose a key asset," the official said.

Though the hunt for Ayman al-Zawahiri, the veteran Egyptian militant strategist who replaced Bin Laden as leader of al-Qaida, is a top priority, western officials say there is equal emphasis on eliminating those immediately below him in the now somewhat chaotic hierarchy.

These include Saif al-Adel, an experienced operator who may have returned to Pakistan, and Abu Yahya al-Libi, a Libyan in his mid-40s who escaped from a US prison in Afghanistan and has featured in propaganda videos.

Adel interests western intelligence services as "he is exactly the sort of low-profile, effective type who you don't want". Some doubt he is in Pakistan at all, suggesting he may be in detention in Iran.

"The fact that we can't be sure where someone like [Adel] actually is underlines how problematic dealing with this whole issue still is. There's still a lot we simply don't know," one official said.

Few doubt that al-Qaida is evolving. "Al-Zawahiri's leadership is transitional and he is handicapped by his own old school background. We are waiting to see what a new al-Qaida might look like," the official said.

Overall, analysts say, the picture is one of fragmentation, with groups in Somalia, Yemen and elsewhere pursuing local agendas. One example is the apparent move of al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia into humanitarian aid, a departure from the core leadership's past strategies. In Nigeria, the Boko Haram group has had financial help from the affiliate al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb but is not thought to have any interest in being part of al-Qaida global.

In Europe, security services say levels of radicalisation have stabilised. Analysis of a list of "recent martyrs" published by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which shares al-Qaida's ideology and is also based in Pakistan's tribal areas, appears to show that fewer number of Europeans than feared reached the group, previously been favoured by German-based extremists. Of the near 100 listed, only one was German and most appeared to be local men.

The move to Libya is seen as particularly alarming. William Hague, the foreign secretary, recently warned that mercenaries driven out of Libya could switch allegiance to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. While this seems unlikely, sources in Libyan mainstream Islamist groups say there is evidence of grassroots activism by individuals linked to al-Qaida that could lead to new cells being formed.

In a recent communique, Zawahiri made a particular appeal to Libyan fighters not to lay down or hand in their weapons.
Al-Qaida leadership almost wiped out in Pakistan, British officials believe | World news | guardian.co.uk

 

[Fracker]

Looks like "aab daal south asia main nahin galnay walli which is why this kind of news".

But this could be bad alarms for Edgpt, Libia and others as they (US+NATO) can attack them.

 

[pakistanitarzan]

Great work by USA.

If it is someone who really kicked the bad crew's asss, it is Pakistan Army!

 

[foxhound]

ref:Stop looking for the next al-Qaida | Jason Burke | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Stop looking for the next al-Qaida We've made progress fighting 'blame al-Qaida syndrome', but the search for new threats creates another dangerous disorder



Jason Burke
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 25 December 2011 20.00 GMT Article history

Armed fighters from al-Shabab. Somalia is now spoken of as a major threat. Photograph: Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP

In the last week there have been two good examples of a very familiar malaise that periodically affects governments around the world. Let's call it "blame al-Qaida syndrome". In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks there was a particularly acute outbreak of blame al-Qaida syndrome, which threatened to reach epidemic proportions. Many deeply unpleasant administrations around the world suddenly decided that deep-rooted domestic campaigns of Islamic militant violence were nothing to do with decades of repressive misrule and everything to do with a newly discovered, for most people, group led by Osama bin Laden. Al-Qaida was, of course, responsible for the September 11 attacks in America but it was not active in Uzbekistan, western China, the Philippines, Algeria, Chechnya or indeed in Saddam-controlled Iraq.

Last week the syndrome was back. Officials in the Lebanese and the Syrian governments spoke of al-Qaida elements fomenting trouble. In another outbreak of the malady, the late Colonel Gaddafi did too. The claim by the Syrian authorities that car bombs last week were the work of the organisation was a particularly egregious bit of misrepresentation.
There is also a related condition, less severe but also deeply concerning nonetheless. It is the constant search for the new danger posed by militant Islam, repetitive threat disorder. That there is still a threat from violent Islamic extremism is obvious. There is a steady drumbeat of low-level plots and bigger "spectaculars" are still very much an ambition of the battered but still capable al-Qaida senior leadership. And naturally the instability that has succeeded the various Arab uprisings also poses a potential threat in security terms.

But there seems nonetheless to be a search for new, acute threats to fill the space that the now less scary al-Qaida has left. For many years, the ultimate "clear and present danger" was the prospect of militants obtaining weapons of mass destruction. It was regularly invoked when the terrifying predictions of more conventional catastrophes started looking tired. Now the focus seems to be on new geographic menaces rather than new technological ones. For a while this was the Yemen, but most recently north Africa. "Operating largely from northern Mali, [al-Qaida in the Maghreb] presents an increased threat to our security," William Hague, the foreign secretary, recently told parliament.

It's not often that someone based in northern Mali, one of the most remote, poorest and desolate parts of the world, is described as an increased threat to anyone, let alone the UK or Europe, and it is difficult to really see the al-Qaida in the Maghreb organisation as one that should particularly worry the British or other security authorities. It has 1,000 or so active members at most, limited resources and almost no reach into Europe beyond a few scattered sympathisers. Its operations have been largely local and, though some of their antecedent groups in the region launched attacks in Europe, it has yet to do so.

Somalia, too, is now spoken of as a major threat. Yes, a few dozen British citizens may have travelled there but the real gravity of the menace posed by the al-Shabab group to Londoners, Parisians or New Yorkers needs to be kept in perspective.

So why is repetitive threat disorder so tenacious? Like blame al-Qaida syndrome, it is because it serves a variety of institutional interests.
Many have suggested that there is a deliberate conspiracy to maintain repressive legislation in place, scare citizens into acquiescence and maintain significant budgets for security establishments around the world. Indeed, some might draw parallels with the more grave condition outlined earlier, the blame al-Qaida syndrome. Certainly the two often go together.

However, there is little evidence of any kind of conscious, concerted effort. The conflicts of the last decade have created a huge counter-terrorist industry (of which specialist reporters and authors are necessarily a part). All wars end up generating new interest groups and beneficiaries. These are no different. For security services, threat is the guarantor of funding. For researchers, it means grants. For reporters, stories. There is a momentum here that is hard to stop.

Huge progress has been made in fighting blame al-Qaida syndrome over recent years. This is largely due to hundreds of millions of people being injected with healthy inoculations of scepticism. Some overdose and lurch towards conspiracy theories. But most do not. It will be harder, but not impossible, to fight repetitive threat disorder, too.

 

[Pioneerfirst]

how they are crossing oceans to reach Africa?

off course,ISI is helping them

future statements from CIA

 

[joekrish]

Good its high time pak leaves in peace

 

[Don Jaguar]

Thanks to Allah.

 

[BATMAN]

With signs of regime change in Pakistan and no more free petrol... naturally it would be difficult to play al-Qaeeda al-Qaeeda in Pakistan.

 

[DANGER-ZONE]

Al-quida is a navigation here, pointing towards possible next victim of USA.
It would be an African country.

 

[indushek]

ref:Stop looking for the next al-Qaida | Jason Burke | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Stop looking for the next al-Qaida We've made progress fighting 'blame al-Qaida syndrome', but the search for new threats creates another dangerous disorder



Jason Burke
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 25 December 2011 20.00 GMT Article history

Armed fighters from al-Shabab. Somalia is now spoken of as a major threat. Photograph: Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP

In the last week there have been two good examples of a very familiar malaise that periodically affects governments around the world. Let's call it "blame al-Qaida syndrome". In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks there was a particularly acute outbreak of blame al-Qaida syndrome, which threatened to reach epidemic proportions. Many deeply unpleasant administrations around the world suddenly decided that deep-rooted domestic campaigns of Islamic militant violence were nothing to do with decades of repressive misrule and everything to do with a newly discovered, for most people, group led by Osama bin Laden. Al-Qaida was, of course, responsible for the September 11 attacks in America but it was not active in Uzbekistan, western China, the Philippines, Algeria, Chechnya or indeed in Saddam-controlled Iraq.

Last week the syndrome was back. Officials in the Lebanese and the Syrian governments spoke of al-Qaida elements fomenting trouble. In another outbreak of the malady, the late Colonel Gaddafi did too. The claim by the Syrian authorities that car bombs last week were the work of the organisation was a particularly egregious bit of misrepresentation.
There is also a related condition, less severe but also deeply concerning nonetheless. It is the constant search for the new danger posed by militant Islam, repetitive threat disorder. That there is still a threat from violent Islamic extremism is obvious. There is a steady drumbeat of low-level plots and bigger "spectaculars" are still very much an ambition of the battered but still capable al-Qaida senior leadership. And naturally the instability that has succeeded the various Arab uprisings also poses a potential threat in security terms.

But there seems nonetheless to be a search for new, acute threats to fill the space that the now less scary al-Qaida has left. For many years, the ultimate "clear and present danger" was the prospect of militants obtaining weapons of mass destruction. It was regularly invoked when the terrifying predictions of more conventional catastrophes started looking tired. Now the focus seems to be on new geographic menaces rather than new technological ones. For a while this was the Yemen, but most recently north Africa. "Operating largely from northern Mali, [al-Qaida in the Maghreb] presents an increased threat to our security," William Hague, the foreign secretary, recently told parliament.

It's not often that someone based in northern Mali, one of the most remote, poorest and desolate parts of the world, is described as an increased threat to anyone, let alone the UK or Europe, and it is difficult to really see the al-Qaida in the Maghreb organisation as one that should particularly worry the British or other security authorities. It has 1,000 or so active members at most, limited resources and almost no reach into Europe beyond a few scattered sympathisers. Its operations have been largely local and, though some of their antecedent groups in the region launched attacks in Europe, it has yet to do so.

Somalia, too, is now spoken of as a major threat. Yes, a few dozen British citizens may have travelled there but the real gravity of the menace posed by the al-Shabab group to Londoners, Parisians or New Yorkers needs to be kept in perspective.

So why is repetitive threat disorder so tenacious? Like blame al-Qaida syndrome, it is because it serves a variety of institutional interests.
Many have suggested that there is a deliberate conspiracy to maintain repressive legislation in place, scare citizens into acquiescence and maintain significant budgets for security establishments around the world. Indeed, some might draw parallels with the more grave condition outlined earlier, the blame al-Qaida syndrome. Certainly the two often go together.

However, there is little evidence of any kind of conscious, concerted effort. The conflicts of the last decade have created a huge counter-terrorist industry (of which specialist reporters and authors are necessarily a part). All wars end up generating new interest groups and beneficiaries. These are no different. For security services, threat is the guarantor of funding. For researchers, it means grants. For reporters, stories. There is a momentum here that is hard to stop.

Huge progress has been made in fighting blame al-Qaida syndrome over recent years. This is largely due to hundreds of millions of people being injected with healthy inoculations of scepticism. Some overdose and lurch towards conspiracy theories. But most do not. It will be harder, but not impossible, to fight repetitive threat disorder, too.

Hey fox long time no see?? how are you doing. Busy with studies or something.

 

[fd24]

DONT quote the troll

They couldnt sort out Afghanistan - a few bananas in pyjamas - and you want to thank USA - What for? Thank you for being so sh1t and not knowing your ar*se from your mouth.
We are eternally grateful for the sacrifices our army has made in the WOT - we salute you and thank you!!

 

[Irfan Baloch]

its good that AQ finally decided that Pakistan was not safe for it.
it lost some key 911 plotters like KSM and AL Libbi at the hands of ISI and OBL by American forces. if Obama was not suddenly so sentimental we would have seen OBLs pictures too but since Obama always tells the truth so we believe him what he said.

otherwse why someone will have 50 hens 4 goats and a pair of cattle along with veigtables grwon in the back garden behind 17 ft. high walls?

(well all properties have that because its a local custom to build houses like that but thats another discussion)