Meet Al Qaeda's New Operations Chief
Eli Lake at the Washington Times reports:
A former Pakistani special forces officer has emerged as al Qaeda's most dangerous field commander in charge of a network of deep-cover agents in Europe who has had contact with an American terror suspect, Western intelligence officials say.
Meet Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri, the jihadist network's new chief of operations who is thought to have masterminded the 2008 paramilitary raid on Mumbai.
Last month, the U.S. government added him to its list of designated terrorists that includes top al Qaeda leaders including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri, still thought to be the No. 1 and No. 2 al Qaeda leaders. Kashmiri is a top target for the U.S. military and CIA field operatives around the world.
"Ilyas Kashmiri is clearly in the tradition of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, he is the heir to the position of global operational commander for al Qaeda," said Frances Townsend, White House director of homeland security during President George W. Bush's administration.
Bruce Riedel, a former senior CIA officer, said: "He certainly has to be regarded today as one of the top operational commanders of al Qaeda. Because of his connections in Pakistan, he brings capabilities that probably no one else has. Paramilitary experience, connections to the Pakistani army and the Pakistani intelligence service, he knows where the bodies are."
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