 | This article needs to be updated. (August 2023) |
Rashid Rauf | |
|---|---|
راشد رؤوف | |
| Born | ca. 1981 Birmingham, West Midlands, England |
| Died | 22 November 2008 (aged 26–27) North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Cause of death | Drone attack |
| Citizenship | British Pakistani |
| Organization(s) | Jaish-e-Mohammed Al-Qaeda |
| Known for | 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot |
| Criminal charge | Terrorism |
| Escaped | 14 December 2007 |
| Escape end | 22 November 2008 (death) |
Rashid Rauf (Urdu: راشد رؤوف; ca. 1981 – 22 November 2008) was an alleged Al-Qaeda operative.[1] He was a dual citizen of Britain and Pakistan who was arrested in Bhawalpur, Pakistan in connection with the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot in August 2006, a day before some arrests were made in Britain. Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao claimed that "he is an al Qaeda operative with linkages in Afghanistan".[2] He was identified as one of the ringleaders of the alleged plot. In December 2006, the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi found no evidence that he had been involved in terrorist activities, and his charges were downgraded to forgery and possession of explosives. A 2022 article offers an assessment of the impact of Operation Overt and refers to Rauf's alleged role [3]
Rauf was born in England to Pakistani parents, and brought up in Birmingham where his father was a baker. Rauf was married to a relative of Maulana Masood Azhar, who is the head and founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamist militant group in Pakistan.[4]
Rauf escaped from custody in December 2007. He was reportedly killed by a US drone attack in Pakistan on 22 November 2008, carried out by the CIA's Special Activities Division.[5] The report was based on communications intercepted from militants in North Waziristan.[6] His family initially denied that he was killed.[7] While CIA and Pakistan intelligence officials maintained that Rauf was killed in the airstrike,[8] the news site Long War Journal believed otherwise.[8]
On 11 August 2009, Asia Times Online claimed that Rauf was alive and living in North Waziristan.[9] On 8 July 2010, however, a US counterterrorism official told the New York Daily News that Rauf was killed.[10] Some of Rauf's associates also believe that he never escaped from prison in 2007 and that he might have been dead long before the airstrike;[11] Hashmat Malik, a lawyer representing the family of Rauf's wife Umat al-Warood, has also argued that Rauf was probably killed during a prison shootout at the time of his alleged escape.[7] British security sources also believed he might still be alive.[12]
On 27 October 2012, Rauf's family officially confirmed that he was killed in a US drone strike.[13] A family friend also told the Sunday Mercury that Rauf's family was filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the British government, claiming that "They want justice for their son who was killed in murky circumstances that amount to cold-blooded murder. Rashid never had a chance to defend or explain himself. He was accused of some heinous crimes and without any trial, judge or jury he was blown to pieces by a unmanned Predator drone aircraft controlled by a soldier sitting thousands of miles away in the US. The Americans could not have found and killed him without help from British intelligence officers who shared information."[13]
- ^ Cobain, Ian (22 November 2008). "Rashid Rauf". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ today.reuters.com. "Pakistan says al Qaeda member held over foiled plot". Reuters. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2006.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ "How the U.S., U.K. and Pakistan Teamed Up To Stop Another 9/11 - POLITICO". Politico. 2 January 2022.
- ^ "JeM chief's father questioned about Rauf", NDTV, 18 August 2006. Retrieved on 18 August 2006
- ^ Airstrike Kills Qaeda-Linked Militant in Pakistan, The New York Times, 23 November 2008
- ^ Hussain, Zahid; Loyd, Anthony (24 November 2008). "MPs seek answers as CIA kills British terror suspect Rashid Rauf". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 1 April 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ a b Shah, Saeed (25 November 2008). "Rauf did not die in US attack, say fugitive's family". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Threat Matrix - by the Long War Journal".
- ^ Shahzad, Syed Saleem. "Guessing games over Taliban leader". Asia Times Online. 11 August 2009.
- ^ articles.nydailynews.com
- ^ Cobain, Ian (8 September 2009). "Rashid Rauf: the al-Qaida suspect caught, tortured and lost". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ Gardham, Duncan (10 September 2009). "Airlines plot: al-Qaeda mastermind 'is still alive'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ a b Bassey, Amardeep (27 October 2012). "Family of Al Qaida terrorist Rashid Rauf to sue British Government for murder". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 29 May 2012.