3 May 2011

Is this the man who gave up bin Laden?

The chain of events leading to the killing of Osama bin Laden is starting to become clear, but the first person to interview him tells Channel 4 News that Abbottabad should have been noticed long ago.

Abu Faraj al-Libbi. (Reuters)

(Pictured: Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the former number three of al-Qaeda who was captured in 2005)

On Monday US intelligence officials revealed that the heavily fortified compound in Abbottabad, northern Pakistan, where bin Laden was hiding was identified by tracking the movements of his most trusted courier, who is believed to be – but not confirmed as – Maulawi Abd al-Khaliq Jan.

US intelligence officials said: “One courier in particular had our constant attention. Detainees gave us his nom de guerre or his nickname and identified him as both a protégé of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of September 11th, and a trusted assistant of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the former number three of al Qaeda who was captured in 2005.”

Intelligence operatives located the courier and began intercepting his phone calls, which eventually led them to the compound.

Bin Laden and three adult men, including a son, were killed along with his wife who was used as a shield by a male combatant.

More from Channel 4 News: Osama bin Laden killed by US forces in Pakistan

US authorities first learned of al-Khaliq when they captured top al-Qaeda operative al Libbi and detained him at Guantanamo, according to WikiLeaks files released as late as last week: which revealed how the US knew as early as 2003 that Abbottabad was a town used as a hideaway for al-Qaeda.

The file shows how al-Libbi had moved his family to the northeastern town.

“In July 2003, detainee received a letter from UBL’s designated courier, Maulawi Abd al-Khaliq Jan, requesting detainee take on the responsibility of collecting donations, organizing travel, and distributing funds to families in Pakistan. UBL stated detainee would be the official messenger between UBL and others in Pakistan. In mid-2003, detainee moved his family to Abbottabad, PK and worked between Abbottabad and Peshawar.”

The Abbottabad compound where Osama bin Laden was hiding is reported to have been built in 2005, the same year al Libbi was captured. There are also reports the fortified compound had been raided before – in 2003 while still under construction.

Channel 4 News special report: War on Terror

Peter Bergen, the first journalist to interview Osama bin Laden in 1997, and who has subsequently written extensively about him, with a focus on his possible whereabouts, expressed surprise at how long it had taken the US to track the terror leader down.

“I’ve been writing about where he might be for many, many years and starting in 2004 I said that it was likely that he was in a comfortable house, well appointed with the access to the kind of luxuries that anyone with a fair amount of money in that area would have,” he told Channel 4 News.

Peter Bergen interview: US drone attacks ‘failing to kill many militant leaders’

Mr Bergen added that there has long existed a trove of information which would mark out affluent areas of northern Pakistan as likely locations for the whereabouts of bin Laden and senior al-Qaeda operatives, as opposed to the mountainous regions or the Tora Bora caves in Afghanistan.

“I had written that he might be up in Kashmir: Abbottabad where he was found was quite near the area which is called Free Kashmir.

“The idea that he was in a cave didn’t make any sense. If you look at the last video tape that bin Laden released in 2007, his clothes are well-pressed, he looks well, caves don’t usually have laundry facilities: this guy was well turned out and there was nothing in any of these video tapes to suggest that he was living a life of discomfort.”