Pakistani forces neutralized a Saudi Arabian-born and U.S.-raised senior al-Qaeda commander, Islamabad military officials said Saturday.
The 39-year-old jihadist, Adnan el Shukrijumah had previously been charged with attempting to bomb New York City’s subway system and explode fuel pipelines at NYC’s JFK airport.
He was reportedly killed in a Pakistani military raid on an al-Qaeda outpost in the country’s Waziristan region, known as a hotbed for international terrorists. Helicopter gunships were utilized to conduct the strikes, which killed two of Shukrijumah’s fellow al-Qaeda members.
As head of al-Qaeda’s global operations, he was the successor to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks.
Shukrijumah was born in Saudi Arabia but grew up in the United States. Prior to his death, he had been on the FBI’s Most Wanted list with a $5 million dollar reward for information leading to his capture.
FBI.Gov Most Wanted
In 2011, the United States indicted Shukrijumah for his role in plotting to attack targets in both the U.S. and UK.
“Top al-Qaeda leader Adnan el Shukrijumah was killed by Pakistan Army in an early morning raid in Shinwarsak, South Waziristan today,” said military officials on Saturday. “His accomplice and local facilitator were also killed in the raid.” A Pakistani soldier, too, was killed during the military operation, the report stated.
A local tribesman described the operation to NBC News: “Besides the ground forces, two helicopter gunships took part in the offensive and pounded suspected hideouts of the militants,” he said.
Funded by the Saudi Arabian government, Shukrijumah’s father, Gulshair, was a long-time cleric who preached at Wahhabi mosques in New York and Miami, reported Michelle Malkin. He also worked as an interpreter for the 1993 World Trade Center attacks mastermind, Omar Abdel Rahman.
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