Top al-Qaeda commander Adnan Shukrijuma killed in South Waziristan: army
Pak Army conducted raid in Shin Warsak area of South Waziristan, the state radio reported.
RAWALPINDI (Web Desk / AP) – Al-Qaeda s head of global operations, Adnan Shukrijuma and his one companion were killed during raid in South Waziristan today (Saturday), the army spokesman reported.
#ZarbeAzb:Top AlQaeda Comd Adnan Al Shukri Aljuma with his 1 companion killed by Pak Army raid in S.Waziristan today.5 terrorists nabbed-1/2
— AsimBajwaISPR (@AsimBajwaISPR) December 6, 2014
Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Asim Saleem Bajwa said that five terrorists were also nabbed in the operation.
The army spokesperson also stated that Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif has appreciated the raiding team for successful operation.
#ZarbeAzb:#COAS appreciated raiding team for successful op&said,will chase&eliminate all terrorists from own soil, none will be spared-2/2
— AsimBajwaISPR (@AsimBajwaISPR) December 6, 2014
Shukrijumah, 39, held a position that once was Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The FBI lists the Saudi as a "most wanted" terrorist and had offered up to a $5 million reward for his capture.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. allege Shukrijumah had recruited the three men in 2008 to receive training in the lawless tribal region of Pakistan for the attack. The New York indictment links him to the Manhattan plot and a similar never-executed scheme to attack British subways.
Attorney General Eric Holder has called that plot one of the most dangerous since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
After the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Shukrijumah was seen as one of al-Qaida s best chances to attack inside the U.S. or Europe, captured terrorist Abu Zubaydah told U.S. authorities. Shukrijumah studied at a community college in Florida but when the FBI showed up to arrest him as a material witness to a terrorism case in 2003, he already had left the country.
In 2004, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft called Shukrijumah a "clear and present danger" to the United States.
