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Bin Laden strategist believed dead
11/17/2001
By SALLY BUZBEE WASHINGTON — 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, officials said Friday. If confirmed, Atef's death would be a direct blow to bin Laden's inner circle
and could greatly hurt the al-Qaida network's ability to plan future terrorist
attacks, U.S. officials said. They cautioned that any strikes already planned
could still occur. ``He was No. 2. We obviously have been seeking (him) out,'' Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld said. Atef was seen as bin Laden's likely successor, another
official said. 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 U.S.
indictment that charged him with murder. And he is accused of helping plan a
1993 helicopter shootdown in Somalia that killed 18 U.S. 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. Rumsfeld said he had seen authoritative reports, but not conclusive proof,
that Atef was killed. 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. Taliban officials in southern Afghanistan said they had no knowledge of
Atef's death. Since the Taliban lost control of northern Afghanistan, the U.S. campaign has
shifted toward tracking down bin Laden and al-Qaida leaders, who are thought to
be hiding in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban still retain some control.
Airstrikes have hit a number of other al-Qaida 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-Qaida'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.'' Atef, an Egyptian Islamic militant, ``was bin Laden's military specialist
since the early 1990s, widely thought to be bin Laden's successor in the event
of his death,'' said another official, speaking on condition of anonymity. 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 traveled to Somalia several times in 1992
and 1993 to organize violence against U.S. and U.N. 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 Center 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
U.S. 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 $5 million reward for information leading
to the capture and conviction of Atef.
Associated Press Writer
Mohammed
Atef
AP