Abu al Bara'a Abdul Aziz bin Attash, a son of a notorious al Qaeda family, has been killed by Ethiopian forces in Somalia near the Kenyan border, according to a biography posted on the al Fida' forum. The SITE Intelligence Group has translated the posting, which details Abu al Bara'a's life.
By Thomas Joscelyn, December 30, 2011, LWJ
Abu al Bara'a was one of 10 sons in the bin Attash family, at least five of whom served al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their allies. The history of the bin Attash family's jihad is outlined in leaked Joint Task Force-Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) files, as two of the bin Attash brothers are currently detained at Guantanamo. The two bin Attash brothers in detention are Walid Muhammad Saleh (also known as Khallad) and Hassan Ali, both of whom swore bayat (oath of allegiance) to deceased al Qaeda master Osama bin Laden and were involved in al Qaeda's international terrorist operations.
A third bin Attash brother, Hussam, was "killed in Kabul, [Afghanistan] while working with the Taliban in 1997," according to a leaked JTF-GTMO memo. A fourth brother, Hussayn, was killed in Kandahar, Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
In addition, the patriarch of the family, Muhammad Saleh bin Attash, was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. The details of the senior bin Attash's arrest and detention are not included in the leaked JTF-GTMO files. However, it appears that senior al Qaeda detainees in US custody thought he was a close associate of Osama bin Laden.
From Khalden training camp to Somalia
Abu al Bara'a traveled to Afghanistan in 1997 to join his brothers in al Qaeda's training courses. Abu al Bara'a was less than 20 years old at the time, according to the jihadist forum posting translated by SITE. Some of the details of the training are contained in leaked JTF-GTMO files.
Like his brothers Hassam and Hassan Ali, who is held at Guantanamo, Abu al Bara'a was trained at the Khalden camp, which was operated by top al Qaeda operatives Abu Zubaydah and Ibn Sheikh al Libi. Zubaydah is detained at Guantanamo, and al Libi committed suicide in a Libyan prison in 2009. Al Libi seems to have been an especially important figure for the bin Attash family. While in custody, according to a JTF-GTMO file, Khallad described al Libi as being "like a father to most of the bin Attash boys" and "very close to their mother."
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Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/12/son_of_infamous_al_q.php#ixzz1i4Qs6r3u
Posted in: Afghanistan, Kenya, Somalia, Yemen
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