Homeland Security


Abu Zubaydah

Al-Qaeda Terrorist Operations Facilitator

Detained

Abu Zubaydah

Details
ImportanceVery High
Location of DetentionU.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba1
Capturing AuthorityCIA, FBI, Pakistani authorities
Date of CaptureMarch 28, 2002
Location of CaptureFaisalabad, Pakistan
AffiliationAl-Qaeda
RoleTerrorist Operations Facilitator
Full Given NameZayn al-Abidin Mohammad Husayn
NationalityPalestinian
NationalitySaudi
Alias(es)Tariq1, Hani1
Alias(es)Abd Al-Hadi Al-Wahab
Alternate Spelling(s)Abu Zubaidah, Abu Zubeida, Abu Zoubeida, Abou Zoubeida
Date of BirthMarch 12, 1971
Place of BirthRiyadh, Saudi Arabia
GenderMale
Injuries/IllnessShot and wounded in the groin during his capture.
HistoryAttended training camp in postwar Afghanistan (1990-2001)
 
 
Narrative and Notes
 
Reliable
  • Abu Zubaydah was a operations planner as well as senior facilitator for al-Qaeda operatives, arranging their movements to avoid capture from authorities.
  • He assisted in al-Qaeda's move from Sudan in Afghanistan in 1996.
  • He arranged for fighters to travel from Afghanistan to Chechnya and Bosnia in the late 1990s and oversaw the "Khalden group" of training camps in Afghanistan between 1995 and 2000.
  • Trained in document forgery and explosives. Procured money from donors in the Arabian peninsula and sent it to Pakistan militant networks.
  • Helped Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and 70 other fighters move from Kandahar, Afghansitan to Iran in November 2001.
  • He was plotting an attack in Israel at the time of his capture.
  • He was severely wounded during his capture and might have died but for medical treatment arranged by the Central Intelligence Agency.
  • During his interrogation, he first identified Khalid Shaikh Mohammed as the 9-11 mastermind. He also provided information that contributed to the capture of Ramzi Binalshibh.
  • He was one of 14 key al-Qaeda operatives and associates transferred from CIA custody to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2006.1,2
    •  
     
    Sources
    1 'Detainee Biographies,' press release, Director of National Intelligence, Sept. 6, 2006.
    2 'Summary of the High Value Terrorist Detainee Program,' press release, Director of National Intelligence, Sept. 6, 2006.
    Photo: Globalsecurity.org archive
     
     
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