Mohammed Atef
Encyclopedia
Mohammed Atef (born Sobhi Abu Setta, also known as Abu Hafs al-Masri) was the alleged military chief of al-Qaida, although his role in the organization was not well known by intelligence agencies for years. His death in November 2001 was one of the United States' largest and first victories in the War on Terror
.
and became an agricultural engineer. He was a police officer and a member of the group Egyptian Islamic Jihad before he moved to Afghanistan to repel the Soviet invasion, while operating from Peshawar
. He has been credited as having convinced Abdullah Azzam to abandon his life and devote himself to preaching jihad
at this time.
Atef was sent to an Afghan training camp
where he met Ayman al-Zawahiri
, who later introduced him to Osama bin Laden
.
He attended two meetings from August 11–20 in 1988, along with Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim
, Jamal al-Fadl
, Wael Hamza Julaidan, and Mohammed Loay Bayazid
and eight others, to discuss the founding of "al-Qaeda". Bin Laden later sent a letter to Mohammed Loay Bayazid informing him that Atef and Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri
were to each be given 6,500 Saudi riyal
s monthly, the same as they had been given for their work in Maktab al-Khidamat.
, and Atef moved to Afghanistan.
In 1994, he refused to allow American double agent
Ali Mohammed to know which name and passport he would be traveling under, expressing concerns that Mohammed could be working with the American authorities. He traveled to Mombassa, Kenya where he met with Mohammed Odeh
and gave him money to purchase himself a 7-tonne trawler and start a fishing business.
While in the Sudan, he allegedly conducted a study which resulted in him presenting al-Qaeda details on why aircraft hijacking
s were a poor idea as they were engineered to allow the negotiation of hostages in exchange for prisoners, rather than inflicting damage. Another alleged study he carried out determined that the Afghan Arabs
and Taliban could together topple the dictatorship of Pervez Musharraf
in Pakistan, and the government of Iran.
In 1995, Atef gave Khalid Sheikh Mohammed details for a contact in Brazil. When Mohammed returned to Afghanistan, he turned to Atef to set up a meeting with Bin Laden in Tora Bora
, at which he told the pair his plans for military attacks against the United States.
Prior to 1996, Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri
, Atef and Yaseen al-Iraqi aided Enaam Arnaout
in purchasing AK-47
s and mortar rounds from a Pashtun tribesman named Hajjji Ayoub, and they were subsequently delivered in large trucks to the Jawr and Jihad Wahl training camp
s.
drowned in a ferry accident on Lake Victoria
, and Atef was chosen to succeed him. He drew up a plan summarizing the positive qualities of Taliban leaders, and showed his "nuanced understanding" that the United States had energy interests in the Caspian Sea
which would lead them to want an oil pipeline built through Afghanistan in the near future.
In 1998, a number of militants began to speak openly of their disdain for Atef, leading Bin Laden to convene a meeting at which he spoke at length about Abu Bakr
's loyalty to Muhammad
. Comparing Atef to the Prophet's lieutenant, he reminded those present that Atef "knew of Jihad before most of you were even born", and warned them that he didn't want to hear any more "negative talk" about Atef.
Atef was allegedly sent into Somalia at least twice to meet with tribal leaders, once having to escape aboard a small Cessna
aircraft used for transporting khat
. Years later, a material witness
told American authorities that he flew Atef and four others from an al-Qaeda compound in the Sudan
, to Nairobi, Kenya to train Somali fighters. This led the United States to accuse him of training the militants who attacked their troops in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.
signed by Afghan scholars on May 7, which said that attacks against American civilians could be justified. Three months later, al-Qaeda carried out the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, leading to Atef's indictment as having been involved in the preparation of the attack.
Following the American reprisal bombings, Atef frisked
journalists looking to meet Bin Laden. On November 4, an arrest warrant
was issued in the United States for Atef.
Atef also began speaking to Hambali in Singapore, as the Indonesian-based militant sought al-Qaeda's financing for Jemaah Islamiyah
operations. In turn, when Atef informed Hambali of al-Qaeda's need for a new biological engineer, the latter sent Yazid Sufaat
to al-Zawahiri.
, he was tried in absentia
by an Egyptian court which sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment for his associated with the EIJ. That year, he met repeatedly with Bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed at the Al-Matar complex
to discuss possible targets for the 9/11 attacks. Near the end of the year, he met with Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Mohamed Atta
and Ziad Jarrah
and explained they would be undertaking a highly secret operation, in cooperation with Nawaf al-Hazmi
whom he named as Rabia al-Makki.
Following the 2000 USS Cole bombing
, Atef was moved to Kandahar, Zawahiri to Kabul, and Bin Laden fled to Kabul, later joining Atef when he realised no American reprisal attacks were forthcoming. Whenever al-Qaeda organised games of volleyball
, Atef and Bin Laden were forced to be on separate teams since they were both tall, and good players.
In January 2001, in Kandahar
, Atef's daughter married bin Laden's 17-year-old son Mohammed; the wedding guests included Osama's mother, al-Jazeera journalist Ahmad Zaidan, a "few" Taliban party members, and about 400 others. Osama recited poetry about the USS Cole bombing, but was upset with his delivery and tried having Zaidan re-record the section before deciding he preferred the earlier version.
That year, Mullah Omar
is said to have argued that Bin Laden should not draw further reprisals against Afghanistan by striking the United States again. This led to a schism among al-Qaeda leadership, where Atef sided with Bin Laden, while leaders like Saif al Adel sided with Omar.
He is believed to have given José Padilla money to travel back to Egypt from Afghanistan, to visit his wife. The two then formed a working relationship. He also gave Ramzi bin al-Shibh money to travel from Karachi
to Malaysia to meet with Atta. When David Hicks
completed his training at al-Farouq, Atef interviewed him about his achievements and asked about the travel habits of Australians, before agreeing to suggest he be moved to the Tarnak Farms
training camp.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks
, and still a fugitive from his U.S. indictment in the 1998 Embassy bombings, Atef appeared on the initial list of the FBI's top 22 Most Wanted Terrorists
, which was released to the public by President Bush on October 10, 2001. Debka.com
has suggested that Atef led a "elite unit" of militants who captured and killed rival warlord Abdul Haq
in October 2001.
In early November 2001, the Taliban government announced they were bestowing official Afghan citizenship
on him, as well as Bin Laden, Zawahiri, Saif al-Adl, and Shaykh Asim Abdulrahman
.
Described as a "devout" and "very quiet man", Atef was one of the few al-Qaeda leaders to not make public video statements. He is alleged to have written a 180-page manual entitled "Military Studies in the Holy Struggle against Tyrants", and directed Afghan training camp
s himself.
air-strike on his home near Kabul during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
at some time during November 14–16, 2001. American intelligence intercepted communications from those digging through the rubble of Atef's home, leading them to believe they had been successful in killing him.
According to the Combatting Terrorism Center he was killed in a strike on an "al Qa'ida safehouse". Although initial reports said that American bomber aircraft had destroyed the house, it was later revealed that MQ-1 Predator UAVs had attacked the structure.
Donald Rumsfeld
was initially cautious and indicated only that reports of Atef's death "seem authoritative". His death was confirmed when the ambassador of the Taliban, Abd Al-Salam Dhaif, said three days later, "Abu Hafs al-Masri died from injuries he suffered after US warplanes bombed his house near Kabul." Pakistani authorities warned that he may have actually survived the bombing, and still be on the loose. Two months after his reported death, he was still listed as "wanted" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, since no "definitive proof" of his death was ever found, and all claims simply relied on the intercepted phone calls of Afghans saying that he was killed. American authorities conceded it was possible Atef had faked his own death.
When American forces sifted through the rubble of his house, they found a number of videocassettes, including five that carried martyrdom messages from Abderraouf Jdey
, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan
, Abd Al-Rahim, and Khalid Ibn Muhammad Al-Juhani
. Another videocassette included Hashim Abas casing American institutions in Singapore for possible attack
by Jemaah Islamiyah
in 1999, but was not turned over to Singapore authorities until December 14. It showed a bus station where American military personnel departed for their base, a temple adjoining American military barracks, a park where off-duty soldiers gathered and the Eagle's Club restaurant owned by the American government for its local workers.
Wall Street Journal reporter Alan Cullison purchased two computers that had been looted from the home on the black market, and noted that while Atef's computer had relatively few files, the other computer appears to have belonged to Ayman al-Zawahiri
and held nearly a thousand files, including some of importance.
On November 8, Bin Laden delivered a joint eulogy for Atef and Jummah Khan Namangani. Following his death, it was rumored that Saif al-Adl would take over his position as Military Chief of al-Qaeda. Under interrogation, a number of suspected militants including Ibn Shaykh al-Libi later invented fictitious ties from Atef to other non-involved entities to distract American attention from their true colleagues. al-Libi told interrogators that Atef had sent an emissary named Abu Abdullah to Iraq
to obtain CBW
training for two al-Qaeda members in December 2000. This led the CIA to release a paper tying al-Qaeda to Iraq in January 2003, and justifying the invasion two months later, which arguably relieved some of the pressure on militants in Afghanistan.
Atef appeared in a video released in September 2006 that showed the planning of the September 11 attacks.
Atef has been named as a conspirator in the conspiracy charges against several of the Guantanamo captives. In March 2002, Bosnian security forces raided a Benevolence International Foundation
office in Sarejevo and seized a computer which contained a number of documents suggesting a degree of complicity with al-Qaeda, including a letter to Atef from Enaam Arnaout
stating that "the organization loaned us a Howitzer
cannon, and it must be returned so that it can be transferred to Kabul".
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
.
Life
Atef served two years in the Egyptian Air ForceEgyptian Air Force
The Egyptian Air Force, or EAF , is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. The EAF is headed by an Air Marshal . Currently, the commander of the Egyptian Air Force is Air Marshal Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed...
and became an agricultural engineer. He was a police officer and a member of the group Egyptian Islamic Jihad before he moved to Afghanistan to repel the Soviet invasion, while operating from Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
. He has been credited as having convinced Abdullah Azzam to abandon his life and devote himself to preaching jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
at this time.
Atef was sent to an Afghan training camp
Afghan training camp
An Afghan training camp is a camp or facility used for militant training located in pre-2002 Afghanistan. At the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Indian intelligence officials estimated that there were over 120 training camps operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, run by a variety of...
where he met Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
, who later introduced him to Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
.
He attended two meetings from August 11–20 in 1988, along with Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim
Mamdouh Mahmud Salim
Mamdouh Mahmud Salim is an alleged co-founder of the Islamist terrorist network al-Qaeda. He was arrested on 16 September 1998 near the German town Munich...
, Jamal al-Fadl
Jamal al-Fadl
Jamal Ahmed Mohamed al-Fadl is a Sudanese militant and former associate of Osama bin Laden in the early 1990s. Al-Fadl was recruited for the Afghan war through the Farouq mosque in Brooklyn. In 1988, he joined al Qaeda and took an oath of fealty to Bin Laden...
, Wael Hamza Julaidan, and Mohammed Loay Bayazid
Mohammed Loay Bayazid
Born in Syria, Mohammed Loay Bayazid is an American citizen alleged to have been a founding member of al-Qaeda, although he has cooperated with American authorities and claims his role in the group has been over-stated....
and eight others, to discuss the founding of "al-Qaeda". Bin Laden later sent a letter to Mohammed Loay Bayazid informing him that Atef and Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri
Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri
Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri was the nom de guerre of Ali Amin al-Rashidi , one of the "most capable and popular leaders" of al-Qaeda....
were to each be given 6,500 Saudi riyal
Saudi riyal
The Riyal is the currency of Saudi Arabia. It is abbreviated as ر.س or SR . It is subdivided into 100 Halalas . The Saudi Ghirsh is 5 Halalas.-History:...
s monthly, the same as they had been given for their work in Maktab al-Khidamat.
In the Sudan
Atef followed al-Qaeda to the Sudan in 1992 until the group was forced to leave, following the execution of the teenaged son of Ahmad Salama MabrukAhmad Salama Mabruk
Ahmad Salam Mabruk was the alleged leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad's Azeri cell. He was one of 14 people subjected to extraordinary rendition by the CIA prior to the 2001 declaration of a War on Terror.-Life:...
, and Atef moved to Afghanistan.
In 1994, he refused to allow American double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
Ali Mohammed to know which name and passport he would be traveling under, expressing concerns that Mohammed could be working with the American authorities. He traveled to Mombassa, Kenya where he met with Mohammed Odeh
Mohammed Odeh
A Palestinian, Mohammed Saddiq Odeh is one of the four former al-Qaeda members sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001 for their parts in the 1998 United States embassy bombings. He is in a supermax prison known as ADX Florence....
and gave him money to purchase himself a 7-tonne trawler and start a fishing business.
While in the Sudan, he allegedly conducted a study which resulted in him presenting al-Qaeda details on why aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
s were a poor idea as they were engineered to allow the negotiation of hostages in exchange for prisoners, rather than inflicting damage. Another alleged study he carried out determined that the Afghan Arabs
Afghan Arabs
Afghan Arabs were Arab and other Muslim Islamist mujahideen who came to Afghanistan during and following the Soviet-Afghan War to help fellow Muslims fight Soviets and pro-Soviet Afghans....
and Taliban could together topple the dictatorship of Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
in Pakistan, and the government of Iran.
In 1995, Atef gave Khalid Sheikh Mohammed details for a contact in Brazil. When Mohammed returned to Afghanistan, he turned to Atef to set up a meeting with Bin Laden in Tora Bora
Tora Bora
Tora Bora , known locally as Spīn Ghar , is a cave complex situated in the White Mountains of eastern Afghanistan, in the Pachir Wa Agam District of Nangarhar province, approximately west of the Khyber Pass and north of the border of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan...
, at which he told the pair his plans for military attacks against the United States.
Prior to 1996, Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri
Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri
Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri was the nom de guerre of Ali Amin al-Rashidi , one of the "most capable and popular leaders" of al-Qaeda....
, Atef and Yaseen al-Iraqi aided Enaam Arnaout
Enaam Arnaout
Enaam M. Arnaout is a Syrian-American who pleaded guilty to using charitable donations to support fighters in Bosnia without apprising the donors of this, during his tenure as a director of the charity Benevolence International Foundation . -Life:Arnaout was raised in Hamat, Syria...
in purchasing AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s and mortar rounds from a Pashtun tribesman named Hajjji Ayoub, and they were subsequently delivered in large trucks to the Jawr and Jihad Wahl training camp
Jihad Wahl training camp
The Jihad Wahl training camp was an alleged al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.Prior to 1996, Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri, Mohammed Atef and Yaseen al-Iraqi aided Enaam Arnaout in purchasing AK-47s and mortar rounds from a Pashtun tribesman named Hajjji Ayoub, and they were subsequently delivered in...
s.
Named military chief
In 1996, al-Qaeda's military chief Abu Ubaidah al-BanshiriAbu Ubaidah al-Banshiri
Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri was the nom de guerre of Ali Amin al-Rashidi , one of the "most capable and popular leaders" of al-Qaeda....
drowned in a ferry accident on Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
, and Atef was chosen to succeed him. He drew up a plan summarizing the positive qualities of Taliban leaders, and showed his "nuanced understanding" that the United States had energy interests in the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
which would lead them to want an oil pipeline built through Afghanistan in the near future.
In 1998, a number of militants began to speak openly of their disdain for Atef, leading Bin Laden to convene a meeting at which he spoke at length about Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
's loyalty to Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. Comparing Atef to the Prophet's lieutenant, he reminded those present that Atef "knew of Jihad before most of you were even born", and warned them that he didn't want to hear any more "negative talk" about Atef.
Atef was allegedly sent into Somalia at least twice to meet with tribal leaders, once having to escape aboard a small Cessna
Cessna
The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
aircraft used for transporting khat
Khat
Khat, qat, gat or Waquish Spoken from true Yemeni, is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula....
. Years later, a material witness
Material witness
A material witness is a person with information alleged to be material concerning a criminal proceeding. The authority to detain material witnesses dates to the First Judiciary Act of 1789, but the Bail Reform Act of 1984 most recently amended the text of the statute, and it is now codified at...
told American authorities that he flew Atef and four others from an al-Qaeda compound in the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, to Nairobi, Kenya to train Somali fighters. This led the United States to accuse him of training the militants who attacked their troops in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.
1998 embassy bombings
On May 7, 1998, Atef faxed Bin Laden a fatwaFatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
signed by Afghan scholars on May 7, which said that attacks against American civilians could be justified. Three months later, al-Qaeda carried out the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, leading to Atef's indictment as having been involved in the preparation of the attack.
Following the American reprisal bombings, Atef frisked
Frisking
Frisking is a search of a person's outer clothing wherein a person runs his or her hands along the outer garments to detect any concealed weapons or contraband.-Stop and frisk:...
journalists looking to meet Bin Laden. On November 4, an arrest warrant
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
was issued in the United States for Atef.
Atef also began speaking to Hambali in Singapore, as the Indonesian-based militant sought al-Qaeda's financing for Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiah , is a Southeast Asian militant Islamic organization dedicated to the establishment of a Daulah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia incorporating Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, Singapore and Brunei...
operations. In turn, when Atef informed Hambali of al-Qaeda's need for a new biological engineer, the latter sent Yazid Sufaat
Yazid Sufaat
The Malaysian Yazid Sufaat was a member of the Islamist terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah from shortly after its foundation in 1993 until his arrest by Malaysian authorities on 9 December 2001....
to al-Zawahiri.
Planning of further militant activity
In the 1999 Returnees from AlbaniaReturnees from Albania
The case of the Returnees from Albania was a massive criminal trial in an Egyptian military court from February to April 1999. The trial is one of the principal sources of information about Sunni terrorist groups in the 1990s, especially al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya and its offshoot Egyptian Islamic...
, he was tried in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
by an Egyptian court which sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment for his associated with the EIJ. That year, he met repeatedly with Bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed at the Al-Matar complex
Al-Matar complex
According to American counter-terrorism analysts the Al-Matar complex was an Afghan training camp run by al Qaeda.In 1999, Mohammed Atef met repeatedly with Bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed at the Al-Matar complex to discuss possible targets for the 9/11 attacks.According to testimony offered...
to discuss possible targets for the 9/11 attacks. Near the end of the year, he met with Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta was one of the masterminds and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.Born in 1968...
and Ziad Jarrah
Ziad Jarrah
Ziad Samir Jarrah was one of the masterminds of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, crashing the plane into a field in a rural area near Shanksville—after a passenger uprising—as part of the coordinated attacks.After a wealthy and secular...
and explained they would be undertaking a highly secret operation, in cooperation with Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf Muhammed Salim al-Hazmi was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
whom he named as Rabia al-Makki.
Following the 2000 USS Cole bombing
USS Cole bombing
The USS Cole Bombing, or the USS Cole Incident, was a suicide attack against the United States Navy destroyer on October 12, 2000 while it was harbored and refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden. Seventeen American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured...
, Atef was moved to Kandahar, Zawahiri to Kabul, and Bin Laden fled to Kabul, later joining Atef when he realised no American reprisal attacks were forthcoming. Whenever al-Qaeda organised games of volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, Atef and Bin Laden were forced to be on separate teams since they were both tall, and good players.
In January 2001, in Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
, Atef's daughter married bin Laden's 17-year-old son Mohammed; the wedding guests included Osama's mother, al-Jazeera journalist Ahmad Zaidan, a "few" Taliban party members, and about 400 others. Osama recited poetry about the USS Cole bombing, but was upset with his delivery and tried having Zaidan re-record the section before deciding he preferred the earlier version.
That year, Mullah Omar
Mohammed Omar
Mullah Mohammed Omar , often simply called Mullah Omar, is the leader of the Taliban movement that operates in Afghanistan. He was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to late 2001, under the official title "Head of the Supreme Council"...
is said to have argued that Bin Laden should not draw further reprisals against Afghanistan by striking the United States again. This led to a schism among al-Qaeda leadership, where Atef sided with Bin Laden, while leaders like Saif al Adel sided with Omar.
He is believed to have given José Padilla money to travel back to Egypt from Afghanistan, to visit his wife. The two then formed a working relationship. He also gave Ramzi bin al-Shibh money to travel from Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
to Malaysia to meet with Atta. When David Hicks
David Hicks
David Matthew Hicks is an Australian who was convicted by the United States of America Guantanamo Military Commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, on charges of providing material support for terrorism...
completed his training at al-Farouq, Atef interviewed him about his achievements and asked about the travel habits of Australians, before agreeing to suggest he be moved to the Tarnak Farms
Tarnak Farms
Tarnak Farms refers to a former Afghan training camp near Kandahar.The camp is very near the Kandahar airport.The Al-Qaeda camp is alleged to have offered training constructing bombs, using poisons, urban warfare, and assassination...
training camp.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, and still a fugitive from his U.S. indictment in the 1998 Embassy bombings, Atef appeared on the initial list of the FBI's top 22 Most Wanted Terrorists
FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted Terrorists is a list of fugitives who have been indicted by sitting Federal grand juries in the United States district courts, for alleged crimes of terrorism. The initial list was formed in late 2001 in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks...
, which was released to the public by President Bush on October 10, 2001. Debka.com
Debka.com
DEBKAfile is a Jerusalem-based English language Israeli open source military intelligence website with commentary and analyses on terrorism, intelligence, security, and military and political affairs in the Middle East...
has suggested that Atef led a "elite unit" of militants who captured and killed rival warlord Abdul Haq
Abdul Haq (Afghan leader)
Abdul Haq was an Afghan Pashtun mujahideen commander who fought against the Soviets and Afghan communists during the Soviet-Afghan War...
in October 2001.
In early November 2001, the Taliban government announced they were bestowing official Afghan citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
on him, as well as Bin Laden, Zawahiri, Saif al-Adl, and Shaykh Asim Abdulrahman
Asim Abdulrahman
The son of Omar Abdur Rahman, Asim Abdulrahman was described as "among the closest" of Osama bin Laden's followers in the days following the September 11th attacks in 2001....
.
Described as a "devout" and "very quiet man", Atef was one of the few al-Qaeda leaders to not make public video statements. He is alleged to have written a 180-page manual entitled "Military Studies in the Holy Struggle against Tyrants", and directed Afghan training camp
Afghan training camp
An Afghan training camp is a camp or facility used for militant training located in pre-2002 Afghanistan. At the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Indian intelligence officials estimated that there were over 120 training camps operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, run by a variety of...
s himself.
Death
Atef was killed, along with his guard Abu Ali al-Yafi'i and six others, in a U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
air-strike on his home near Kabul during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
at some time during November 14–16, 2001. American intelligence intercepted communications from those digging through the rubble of Atef's home, leading them to believe they had been successful in killing him.
According to the Combatting Terrorism Center he was killed in a strike on an "al Qa'ida safehouse". Although initial reports said that American bomber aircraft had destroyed the house, it was later revealed that MQ-1 Predator UAVs had attacked the structure.
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
was initially cautious and indicated only that reports of Atef's death "seem authoritative". His death was confirmed when the ambassador of the Taliban, Abd Al-Salam Dhaif, said three days later, "Abu Hafs al-Masri died from injuries he suffered after US warplanes bombed his house near Kabul." Pakistani authorities warned that he may have actually survived the bombing, and still be on the loose. Two months after his reported death, he was still listed as "wanted" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, since no "definitive proof" of his death was ever found, and all claims simply relied on the intercepted phone calls of Afghans saying that he was killed. American authorities conceded it was possible Atef had faked his own death.
When American forces sifted through the rubble of his house, they found a number of videocassettes, including five that carried martyrdom messages from Abderraouf Jdey
Abderraouf Jdey
A Canadian citizen, Abderraouf bin Habib bin Yousef Jdey was found swearing to die as a shaheed on a series of videotapes found in the rubble of Mohammed Atef's house in Afghanistan...
, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan
Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan
Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan was self-implicated on videotape as a possible terrorist in 2002, and has since then been wanted by the United States Department of Justice's FBI, which is seeking information about his identity and whereabouts...
, Abd Al-Rahim, and Khalid Ibn Muhammad Al-Juhani
Khalid Ibn Muhammad Al-Juhani
Khalid Ibn Muhammad Al-Juhani was a Saudi member of al-Qaeda who appeared cradling a rifle, in a 2002 videotape in which he promised a "martyrdom" attack...
. Another videocassette included Hashim Abas casing American institutions in Singapore for possible attack
Singapore embassies attack plot
The Singapore embassies attack plot was a plan in 2001 by Jemaah Islamiyah to bomb the diplomatic missions and attack personnel of the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Israel based in Singapore. There were also several other targets. The plot was uncovered in December 2001 and as...
by Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiah , is a Southeast Asian militant Islamic organization dedicated to the establishment of a Daulah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia incorporating Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, Singapore and Brunei...
in 1999, but was not turned over to Singapore authorities until December 14. It showed a bus station where American military personnel departed for their base, a temple adjoining American military barracks, a park where off-duty soldiers gathered and the Eagle's Club restaurant owned by the American government for its local workers.
Wall Street Journal reporter Alan Cullison purchased two computers that had been looted from the home on the black market, and noted that while Atef's computer had relatively few files, the other computer appears to have belonged to Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
and held nearly a thousand files, including some of importance.
On November 8, Bin Laden delivered a joint eulogy for Atef and Jummah Khan Namangani. Following his death, it was rumored that Saif al-Adl would take over his position as Military Chief of al-Qaeda. Under interrogation, a number of suspected militants including Ibn Shaykh al-Libi later invented fictitious ties from Atef to other non-involved entities to distract American attention from their true colleagues. al-Libi told interrogators that Atef had sent an emissary named Abu Abdullah to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
to obtain CBW
CBW
CBW may refer to:* CBW , a radio station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada* CBW-FM, a radio station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada* Chemical and Biological Weapons/Warfare - see:**Chemical warfare**Biological warfare...
training for two al-Qaeda members in December 2000. This led the CIA to release a paper tying al-Qaeda to Iraq in January 2003, and justifying the invasion two months later, which arguably relieved some of the pressure on militants in Afghanistan.
Atef appeared in a video released in September 2006 that showed the planning of the September 11 attacks.
Atef has been named as a conspirator in the conspiracy charges against several of the Guantanamo captives. In March 2002, Bosnian security forces raided a Benevolence International Foundation
Benevolence International Foundation
The Benevolence International Foundation was a purported nonprofit charitable trust based in Saudi Arabia. It was a front for al-Qaeda and is now banned worldwide by the United Nations Security Council Committee 1267...
office in Sarejevo and seized a computer which contained a number of documents suggesting a degree of complicity with al-Qaeda, including a letter to Atef from Enaam Arnaout
Enaam Arnaout
Enaam M. Arnaout is a Syrian-American who pleaded guilty to using charitable donations to support fighters in Bosnia without apprising the donors of this, during his tenure as a director of the charity Benevolence International Foundation . -Life:Arnaout was raised in Hamat, Syria...
stating that "the organization loaned us a Howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
cannon, and it must be returned so that it can be transferred to Kabul".