Iran & AQ: a safe haven or holding cell?

[davidbfpo]

A short update after the air attacks in Syria, which starts with:

A striking commonality between two al-Qaeda figures that made headlines this week is that they both lived in Iran. Muhsin al-Fadhli, targeted by a U.S. airstrike in Syria on Monday night, is a reported al-Qaeda figure who was reportedly placed under house arrest in Iran

Link:http://english.alarabiya.net/en/view...mplicated.html

Just me, I am curious that the cited report and the one it refers to are from Arab newspapers. A reminder to others Iran remains an untrustworthy partner against ISIS?

[davidbfpo]

The first paragraph in an article on the AQ -v- ISIS contest which fits here, my emphais:

The latest edition of Dabiq, the flagship publication of the group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS), includes an eviscerating, accusation-laden polemic against al-Qaeda’s central leadership in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The article, titled, “Al-Qa’ida of Waziristan – A Testimony of Within,” was written by Abu Jarir al-Shamali, an al-Qaeda commander who spent around seven years in an Iranian prison followed by three years in FATA, and defected to IS earlier this year (some media reports that al-Shamali actually spent the immediate post-9/11 years in Iraq rather than Iran)

Link:http://nationalinterest.org/feature/...da-heats-11962

[davidbfpo]

More of an updated amalgam of plots, perhaps the "alliance that shall not be spoken of" needs some barbs inside The Beltway?

Link:http://m.weeklystandard.com/articles...html?nopager=1

[davidbfpo]

Within a longer WoTR article on how to use the newly released documents from Bin Laden's home in Abbottabad I spotted this:

The al Qaeda operatives holed up in Iran have always been a big black hole in understanding al Qaeda. Why did they go there? What were they up to? Was Iran in bed with al Qaeda? Check out this document in particular and others describing the Iran linkages with al Qaeda. It appears al Qaeda lost a lot of manpower to Iranian detention. It’s possible that the reason for al Qaeda’s weak showing in Libya post-Arab Spring was due to its losing many of its key former members of the Islamic Fighting Group to Iran’s prisons. The entire Iran aspect in these documents is new stuff.

Link:

Follow the underlined link to the document (6 pg PDF in English):http://warontherocks.com/2015/05/con.../?singlepage=1

[davidbfpo]

Via Twitter an update:

Hamzah bin Ladin's new audio confirms that Abu Basir Nasir al-Wuhayshi was the "deputy leader of Qa'idat al-Jihad". Also interesting: he mentions some of the Iran-based AQC leaders he studied under and speaks of them as still in prison. They were: Ahmad Hasan Abu al-Khayr, Abu Muhammad al-Misri, Sayf al-'Adl and Sulayman Abu Ghayth.

The author is 'alleyesonjihad', a French student.

Quick research found Sulayman Abu Ghayth has been in US custody since March 2013 (subject of posts here IRRC). Both Abu Muhammad al-Misri and Sayf al-'Adl have been reported to be in Iran via Wiki.

[davidbfpo]

An Ali Soufan column on FP explaining how the long wanted suspect for the Kobar bombing in 1996, is now in Saudi custody; having flown from Iran to Lebanon and being arrested:http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/09/08/...zbollah-iran/?

Under-statement:

...the question of why Hezbollah allowed Mughassil to be plucked from its own backyard — without any retaliation or even a tangible response — may be even more fascinating.

(Later) Mughassil’s capture and arrest should be a lesson to state-sponsored terrorists everywhere: They are being played as pawns and are only safe as long as they are useful.