U.S. granted access to speak to bin Laden's wives

By the CNN Wire Staff

May 10, 2011 5:12 p.m. EDT

Abbottabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The United States will be given access to Osama bin Laden's wives and children, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik told CNN on Tuesday.
On Monday, a senior Pakistani intelligence source had said the United States could question bin Laden's wives only if their "country of origin has been asked for permission."
One of bin Laden's wives is from Yemen. A well-placed U.S. official who would not speak on the record said the other two wives are from Saudi Arabia.
Malik, in an interview Tuesday with CNN, said Pakistan is giving the United States access "so they can interrogate them, they can interview them."
Malik did not say when or where the United States would have such access. Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Tuesday U.S. and Pakistani officials were discussing the matter.

 

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration is optimistic that U.S.-Pakistani cooperation "will continue with regards to" access to bin Laden's wives "and also to the materials that were collected by the Pakistanis after the U.S. commandos left" the compound where they killed bin Laden.
Carney described the U.S.-Pakistani relationship as "important and complicated."
Malik, in his interview with CNN, said allowing the wives to be interviewed should make clear to the United States that Pakistan has nothing to hide -- and put to rest any suspicions that the world's most-wanted terrorist might have had a support network inside the Pakistani government, military or intelligence services.
If Pakistan had "skeletons" to hide, "do you think we would allow access to the wives and the children of Osama?" he asked.
Malik called the decision "proof" that Pakistan is "very clear that we didn't know" bin Laden was living in a compound in Abbottabad, a Pakistani city with a major military presence, rather than in mountainous areas which Pakistani and U.S. officials often said were believed to be bin Laden's hiding place.
U.S. President Barack Obama told CBS' "60 Minutes," "We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan. But we don't know who or what that support network was."
Malik said there is "not an iota of doubt" in his mind that bin Laden had "no support network from official sources."
Acknowledging an intelligence failure, he said the investigation that Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has ordered will explore what went wrong, and the answers "will be made public."
One U.S. official said "both sides understand the importance of the relationship," but expressed concerns over Pakistan's control over all of its political participants.
"The boat is moving, but there is some chop in the water."
The official said that CIA Director Leon Panetta and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Chief Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha "have always had productive exchanges, even though there have been disagreements."
Pasha's position atop the ISI is considered valuable to the U.S., the official said, because of his close connection to chief of army staff, Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.
Meanwhile,Pakistani officials have said bin Laden's family members will be repatriated to their home countries after their initial interrogations.
All three wives and eight of his children were taken into Pakistani custody after the May 2 raid by U.S. commandos that killed bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda terrorist movement.
The 29-year-old Yemeni wife, Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah, was wounded during the raid. The U.S. official identified the other two women as Khairiah Sabar, also known as "Umm Hamza," and Siham Sabar, or "Umm Khalid."
Although U.S. officials have warned of possible reprisal attacks by bin Laden supporters, there has been no surge of attacks inside Afghanistan, the commander of NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan said Tuesday.
"There has been a lot of talk about revenge, about (insurgents) coming at both the coalition and the Afghan forces here, but we have not seen that here since the first of May," said Regional Command East Commander Maj. Gen. John Campbell. U.S. and coalition forces were already on guard against an expected Taliban spring offensive even before bin Laden's death, Campbell added.
Campbell said he hoped that bin Laden's death, and the images of him inside the compound that the United States released, may discourage insurgents. But he also cautioned that bin Laden will certainly be replaced with a new al Qaeda leader.
"I don't think that one person makes the war on terror here," Campbell said. But he added that he expects insurgents to face some difficulties raising money without bin Laden's "charisma" as part of the effort.

The commander also noted al Qaeda is just one of the insurgent groups that NATO and U.S. forces are fighting in Afghanistan.

Bin Laden death means possible power struggle in al Qaeda

From Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst, From Barbara Starr and Pam Benson, CNN

May 18, 2011 5:20 p.m. EDT

Jihadists are restive about the lack of an announcement of a successor to Osama bin Laden, an al Qaeda analyst says.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Choice of a "caretaker" leader signals organizational disarray
• A new leader would have to win allegiance from various factions
• Materials seized from bin Laden compound likely to hurt the group

(CNN) -- Osama bin Laden's sudden elimination created a leadership void for al Qaeda, setting up a possible power struggle involving the organization's various factions, CNN sources and analysts say.
After the May 2 attack by U.S. special operations forces that killed bin Laden in his Pakistan compound, a "caretaker" leader was chosen by several al Qaeda leaders in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area rather than the group's formal shura council, according to an expert on the organization.
At the same time, the group's Yemeni wing -- al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- is trying to position itself for greater power and influence in the aftermath of bin Laden's death, a U.S. official told CNN on Wednesday.
"They are using the death of bin Laden as a way to bolster their own image," the U.S. official said. The source declined to be identified because of the sensitive intelligence information that led to this assessment.
It all signals some disarray and operational difficulties for al Qaeda in the immediate aftermath of bin Laden's killing.
Al Qaeda's interim leader is Saif al-Adel, who has long played a prominent role in the group, said Noman Benotman, an analyst who is a former leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group that once aligned itself with al Qaeda. Benotman knew the al Qaeda leadership well for years before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
Benotman said based on his personal communications with militants and discussions on jihadist forums, al-Adel had been chosen interim chief of al Qaeda because the global jihadist community had grown restive in recent days about the lack of a formal announcement of a successor to bin Laden.
According to Benotman, this was not a decision of the formal shura council of al Qaeda, because it is currently impossible to gather them in one place, but was rather the decision of six to eight leaders of al Qaeda in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area.
Al-Adel, also known as Muhamad Ibrahim Makkawi, was already one of the top leaders of the group.
At the same time, Benotman said, bin Laden's top deputy in al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, remains the most likely successor to bin Laden. However, some questions persist about whether al-Zawahiri will receive the loyalty oath, or baya, that al Qaeda commanders swore to bin Laden.
A senior U.S. official told CNN on Wednesday that there is "absolutely no information at this time that points to a definitive succession plan" for al Qaeda.
The official could not rule out that al-Adel was given the interim position, but said there was no intelligence so far to confirm it.
In addition, the official said, the notion of al Qaeda choosing an interim leader was "strange," as the organization was believed to have rigid rules involving its leadership. While al-Zawahiri is presumed to be the next leader, that succession doesn't appear to have happened yet, the official added.
Al-Adel is an Egyptian who was once a Special Forces officer and has long played a prominent role in al Qaeda, according to Benotman.
The choice of an Egyptian may not sit well with some Saudi and Yemeni members of al Qaeda, who believe bin Laden's successor should come from the Arabian Peninsula, a region that is holy to all Muslims, Benotman noted. Bin Laden was from a wealthy Saudi family.
Al-Zawahiri is also Egyptian, and Benotman said the temporary appointment of al-Adel may be a way for the leadership to gauge reaction to the selection of someone from beyond the Arabian Peninsula as the group's leader.
Al-Adel fought the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s. After the fall of the Taliban in winter 2001, he fled to Iran. According to senior Saudi counterterrorism officials, al-Adel then authorized al Qaeda's branch in Saudi Arabia to begin a campaign of terrorist attacks in the Saudi kingdom that began in Riyadh in May 2003, a campaign that killed scores.
Some reports in the past year have suggested al-Adel had moved from Iran to Pakistan.
However, the senior U.S. official said there was "nothing definitive" to indicate al-Adel had left Iran, which has said al-Adel was held under house arrest in the country.
The U.S. official said al-Adel's involvement in al Qaeda operations has been limited over the years, but he was far from "retired," having some influence over the organization's activities while living in Iran.
Al-Adel initially opposed the 9/11 attacks on the United States as a strategic misstep that would make al Qaeda the focus of global anti-terrorism efforts, said Juliette Kayyem, a former assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Kayyem said al-Adel eventually returned to bin Laden's fold after going to Iran.
A key issue for al Qaeda amid the leadership question is the fallout from large quantities of sensitive information recovered by U.S. forces at the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where bin Laden was killed.
U.S. officials have indicated the information could prove damaging to al Qaeda operations.
By naming an interim leader, al Qaeda can begin the process of collecting allegiance, or baya, from al-Qaeda affiliates such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the North Africa-based al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Baya was a religious oath of allegiance to bin Laden rather than to the organization itself, in the same way Nazi Party members swore an oath of fealty to Hitler rather than to Nazism.
That baya must now be transferred to the new leader. However, there is scant evidence that al-Zawahiri has the charisma of bin Laden or commands the respect bordering on love that al Qaeda members held for their slain leader.
Al Qaeda affiliates such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula also have yet to swear loyalty to al-Adel.
According to the U.S. official who spoke about the group, there are indications al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is sending messages and issuing statements using bin Laden's death as a rallying cry to seek money, recruits and any resources it can get.
"They are definitely trying to take advantage of the situation," the U.S. official said, adding: "They are clearly trying to improve their capabilities," as they were even before bin Laden's death.
"We have seen a steady progression of al Qaeda presence in Yemen and efforts by them to organize and become more efficient," the official said.
The United States has long felt al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is a growing threat. One of its leaders, the American-born Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, has inspired attacks against America and its interests.
On another issue, bin Laden's death presents an opportunity for the Taliban to disassociate itself from al Qaeda, as required by the U.S. and Afghan governments for the Taliban to take part in peace talks.

Bin Laden swore an oath of allegiance to Taliban leader Mullah Omar sometime before the 9/11 attacks. Omar could now take the position that the new leader of al Qaeda does not need to swear an oath of allegiance to him as commander of the faithful. Such a move could be considered a Taliban rejection of al Qaeda, something it has yet to do.

Call for Gadhafi arrest a step towards justice

By Marco Vicenzino, CNN

May 16, 2011 7:30 p.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Marco Vicenzino says move on Gadhafi is milestone for International Criminal Court
• ICC's call for his arrest a diplomatic gain for opposition; black eye for regime, he says
• Move should buoy uprising; world must call for pursuit of Gadhafi himself, he says
• Vicenzino: Bringing Gadhafi to justice will elevate ICC's role in global affairs

Editor's note: Marco Vicenzino writes about geopolitical risk analysis for global media outlets and is director of the Global Strategy Project, a geopolitical research and analysis organization based in Washington

(CNN) -- The call by the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor for the arrest of Col. Moammar Gadhafi, his son and intelligence chief for crimes against humanity is a defining moment for the ICC -- a coming of age during a nine-year quest for broader international acceptance.
But it also provides an enormous breakthrough for the Libyan opposition's pursuit for greater diplomatic recognition and a huge moral boost for the international mission, its mandate and U.N. Security Council resolution 1973 authorizing action in Libya.
It's not valid to claim that the action of the ICC prosecutor complicates the possibility for a negotiated solution to the crisis or Gadhafi's voluntary exit from power.
Since the popular insurrection's start in February, Gadhafi has shown no serious intent to negotiate or step down. His answer has been unrestrained violence against his people leading to substantial loss of innocent life. Mounting evidence left the ICC prosecutor with no viable alternative.
By criminalizing Gadhafi and his cohorts, the chief prosecutor has effectively made them outcasts and further delegitimized the regime at home and abroad. The action provides further justification for ordinary Libyans to defy a wanted criminal and an additional pretext for nations to extend diplomatic recognition to the Libyan opposition.
Nations must not deal with the outlaw leader of a rogue regime. The Libyan opposition must seize upon this to pursue with even greater vigor its campaign as legitimate representative of the Libyan people.
Prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Gadhafi
What's more, the call for Gadhafi's arrest strengthens the international mission's ability to pursue him directly. Activities and operations must increase exponentially and include greater U.S. participation.
In its quest for greater international acceptance, the ICC has gradually developed a track record of modest achievements. The call for Gadhafi's arrest marks the second for a standing head of state.
The genocide charge against Sudanese President Omar Bashir over Darfur in 2009 was an historic step. But after a 42-year reign of terror, the Gadhafi brand name is far more global.
Pursuing Gadhafi and bringing him to justice presents the ICC with a groundbreaking opportunity to elevate its status to a remarkably higher level, consolidate its credibility and cement its role as a central institution in global affairs.
However, the ICC's present and future effectiveness will always remain dependent upon the ability and willingness of nation-states and the U.N. Security Council to pursue its agenda. The potential for effective international legal action largely increases whenever multilateral convergence of diplomatic and political interests prevails.

Bin Laden relatives want probe and proof of death

(CNN) -- Relatives of Osama bin Laden want proof that the terrorist leader is dead and are calling for an investigation into how he was killed, according to Jean Sasson, an author who helped one of bin Laden's sons write a memoir.
"They just really want some answers, and they would just really like to know what exactly happened, why they weren't called," said Sasson, who worked with Omar bin Laden to pen a memoir titled "Growing Up bin Laden."
The United States says U.S. Navy SEALs killed bin Laden during a May 2 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he was hiding out.
On Wednesday, a key lawmaker on Capitol Hill said the death of bin Laden presents an opportunity to "break the back" of al Qaeda.
The forces collected a trove of intelligence from the compound and later buried bin Laden's body at sea. While the Obama administration has decided not to release photos of the slain bin Laden, some U.S. lawmakers will be allowed to view them.
Bin Laden's relatives "would like to have been able to have witnessed seeing the body, at least identified the body, because, you know how it is in the Middle East so many times: They really need proof or people start believing -- this has been discussed by a lot more people than me -- that many people will not believe that he's dead," Sasson told CNN Wednesday.

 

 Her comments come a day after a statement from Omar bin Laden and his brothers was provided to The New York Times.Asked about the statement, Sasson said Omar bin Laden -- who has publicly denounced his father's violence -- contacted her and told her he has some things to say. She said she prepared a letter for him and he approved it.
Another family member had gotten an attorney to write a letter about what relatives were thinking and feeling and Sasson said it was decided to go with the attorney's letter.
The statement published in The New York Times is from bin Laden's sons -- "the lawful children and heirs" of the notorious al Qaeda leader.
It says that despite the extensive coverage of his death, "we are not convinced on the available evidence in the absence of (a) dead body, photographs, and video evidence that our natural father is dead."
"We seek such conclusive evidence to believe the stories published in relation to 2 May 2011 operation Geronimo as declared by the President of United States Barack Hussein Obama in his speech that he authorized the said operation and killing of OBL and later confirmed his death," they said.
The statement argued that if bin Laden has been "summarily executed," "international law" might have been "blatantly violated" and that U.S. legal standards were ignored.
The statement cites the trials for late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, and notes that Osama bin Laden didn't get a "fair trial" or "presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a court of law."
"If OBL has been killed in that operation as (the) president of United States has claimed then we are just in questioning as per media reports that why an unarmed man was not arrested and tried in a court of law so that truth is revealed to the people of the world."
"We maintain that arbitrary killing is not a solution to political problems and crime's adjudication as justice must be seen to be done," the statement said.
Three other men, including one of bin Laden's sons, and a woman were killed in the raid, and bin Laden's 29-year-old Yemeni wife, Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah, was wounded.
All three of bin Laden's wives and a number of children, some of whom were bin Laden's, were taken into Pakistani custody after the raid. A U.S. official identified the other two women as Khairiah Sabar, also known as "Umm Hamza," and Siham Sabar, or "Umm Khalid."
"It is also unworthy of the special forces to shoot unarmed female family members ... killing a female and that of one of his sons," the statement said.
"In making this statement, we want to remind the world that Omar (bin Laden), the fourth-born son of our father, always disagreed with our father regarding any violence and always sent messages to our father, that he must change his ways and that no civilians should be attacked under any circumstances.
"Despite the difficulty of publicly disagreeing with our father, he never hesitated to condemn any violent attacks made by anyone, and expressed sorrow for the victims of any and all attacks. As he condemned our father, we now condemn the president of the United States for ordering the execution of unarmed men and women," the statement said.
It also urged Pakistan "to release and hand over" the wives and the children of bin Laden. The authors of the statement called for a U.N. investigation into the event and said they will pursue justice in bodies such as the International Criminal Court if questions aren't answered.
A senior U.S. official Wednesday angrily rejected the charge that international law was violated.
"There is an inherent right of self-defense enshrined in the U.N. charter within Article 51. This is a man who is a terrorist, who declared war on the United States, killed Americans and continued to plan operations against the U.S. and its allies," the official said.
On Capitol Hill, one lawmaker was talking about the opportunity the death of bin Laden presents. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Michigan, said that although al Qaeda is still alive and well, "they are hurt, they are damaged. Their inspirational and operational leader has been taken off the battlefield, which is a huge opportunity for us.
"The confusion with them is opportunity for us and this is the time to step on the gas and break their back."
Rogers raised the possibility that there are Pakistani officials who knew about bin Laden's hideway in the country.
He spoke of a "confusing" relationship with Pakistan, one which was cooperative at times, taking thousands of casualties battling extremists and helping arrest hundreds of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders, bomb makers, financiers and weapons dealers. However, Rogers maintained there are renegade intelligence officers and others in the Pakistani government who are sympathetic toward the Taliban and al Qaeda.
The raid in which bin Laden was killed dealt a blow to the relationship between the United States and Pakistan. The revelation that bin Laden had been living in Pakistan has fueled suspicions that Pakistani officials knew the whereabouts of the terrorist leader, while Pakistan has complained about the U.S. military incursion.
But while the ties between the CIA and Pakistan's intelligence agency are strained, they are not shut down, another U.S. official said.
This official, who did not want to be identified for safety concerns, said both sides need to continue working together.
"Both sides understand the importance of the relationship," the official said. "Cooperation is continuing, discussions are continuing, but there are issues to work through."
Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, plans to go to Pakistan soon, a Senate source familiar with his plans said Wednesday. He has visited the country at other times and has the trust and respect of many senior Pakistani officials.
Most recently, Kerry visited Pakistan to help defuse tensions over the detention of Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who was jailed in Pakistan after he shot and killed two Pakistani men in what he said was a robbery attempt. He was released from jail after compensation was paid to the victims' families.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration is encouraging Kerry's trip.
"We think it's important as part of the overall efforts by the United States government to continue our collaborative relationship with Pakistan and the cooperation that we have seen in the past," Carney said.
"While we don't see eye to eye on the issues, that cooperation has led to some very important successes in our war against al Qaeda. We are working at the administration level to continue our consultations with Pakistani leaders, to continue that kind of cooperation, and are glad to see Senator Kerry make that trip as well."
In the aftermath of the U.S. raid on bin Laden's compound, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik told CNN Tuesday that the United States will be given access to bin Laden's wives and children "so they can interrogate them, they can interview them."
A senior Pakistani intelligence source had said earlier that the United States could question bin Laden's wives only if their "country of origin has been asked for permission."
Malik did not say when or where the United States would be able to question the wives. Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Tuesday U.S. and Pakistani officials were discussing the matter.
Carney said the administration is optimistic that U.S.-Pakistani cooperation "will continue with regards to" access to bin Laden's wives "and also to the materials that were collected by the Pakistanis after the U.S. commandos left" the compound where they killed bin Laden.

He described the U.S.-Pakistani relationship as "important and complicated."

Exclusive: Bin Laden's Yemen bride, 18, was confident, conservative

From Mohammed Jamjoom and Tim Lister, CNN

May 10, 2011 9:03 a.m. EDT

 

Amal al-Sadah's passport, which a relative said was obtained for the purpose of marrying bin Laden in Afghanistan in 2000.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Osama bin Laden was 43 when he married an 18-year-old Yemen woman in 2000
• Amal al-Sadah became his fifth wife, and they had a daughter shortly after 9/11
• She comes from a big, respectable, conservative family in Yemen, a relative tells CNN
• Her family didn't have any ties to al Qaeda prior to the marriage, the relative says

Ibb, Yemen (CNN) -- When 18-year-old Amal al-Sadah became the fifth wife of 43-year-old Osama bin Laden in 2000, she was "a quiet, polite, easygoing and confident teenager" who came from a big, conservative family in Yemen, a relative told CNN in an exclusive interview.
The relative, Ahmed, who knew al-Sadah growing up, said she came from a traditional family in Ibb, Yemen -- established and respectable but certainly with no militant views paralleling the al Qaeda leader's terrorism.
The family had no connection to al Qaeda prior to the arranged marriage, Ahmed told CNN during an interview in Ibb on Friday.
While some accounts say a matchmaker put the couple together, the relative wasn't sure of that report, adding he heard many stories about how the two were betrothed.
"She was a very good overall person," Ahmed told CNN. "The Sadah family is a big family in Ibb. The family of Amal was like most Yemeni families. They were conservative but also lived a modern life when compared to other families.
"The family is a respected family and is well known. The family had no extremist views, even though they came from a conservative background," Ahmed said, referring to al-Sadah's parents and siblings.
The Yemeni government is apparently pressuring the family not to speak publicly about their notorious in-law, bin Laden, Ahmed said.
"From what I know, the government would give the Sadah family an extremely difficult time and always warns them from talking to the media," Ahmed said. "The government tells them that the information or comments they give would be misunderstood or misinterpreted and could hurt the family more than the government."

 

An al Qaeda figure in Yemen named Sheikh Rashed Mohammed Saeed Ismail said he arranged the marriageand told the Yemen Post in 2008 that he was "the matchmaker" and that al-Sadah was one of his students, describing her as "religious and pious enough."

Ismail, whose brother spent time as a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, accompanied the young bride-to-be to Afghanistan in July 2000, where she and bin Laden were married after he gave her family a $5,000 dowry.
The marriage was apparently a political alliance to shore up bin Laden's support in the land of his ancestors.
"I was told after they got married that Osama did not want to cut his ties with his ancestral home, Yemen," Ahmed said.
Back in Yemen, al-Sadah was barely spoken of again, Ahmed told CNN.
"After her marriage, we heard a little about her, and her direct family knew the dangers of talking about such topics," Ahmed said. "Even if anyone asked them about her, they would avoid talking about the issue."
At first, Yemeni authorities didn't seem aware that they were giving al-Sadah a passport in 2000 for the purpose of marrying bin Laden in Afghanistan, Ahmed said.
"Only a small number of people knew about the story of the marriage in the start, so it wasn't difficult to travel," Ahmed said. "The Yemeni government gave the family a hard time after she left Yemen. The family is still being watched and have been interrogated dozens of times. Her father also went through a lot."
The marriage was immediately fruitful, and al-Sadah and bin Laden gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Safiyah, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in the weeks after 9/11.
According to Pakistani officials this week, Safiyah was inside the Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound where bin Laden was killed Monday by U.S. Navy SEALs, and she probably saw her father shot dead.
Ahmed asserted that al-Sadah and bin Laden also bore other children, but he couldn't provide details in his brief interview with CNN.
In "The Osama bin Laden I Know", Peter Bergen spoke with Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, who met bin Laden soon after the 9/11 attacks. Mir said bin Laden had told him that he had plans for his youngest daughter, Safiyah.
"I became a father of a girl after September 11," he said. "I named her after Safiyah who killed a Jewish spy at the time of the Prophet. (My daughter) will kill enemies of Islam like Safiyah."
In the aftermath of bin Laden's death, al-Sadah has told interrogators that for five years, she didn't venture outside the walled compound, according to a Pakistani military spokesman.
Al-Sadah, now 29, who was wounded in the raid, said she lived in the compound in Abbottabad with eight of bin Laden's children and five others from another family, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told CNN this week.
All of them have been in Pakistani custody since the pre-dawn U.S. commando raid Monday that killed bin Laden, and they will eventually be returned to their country of origin, Abbas said.
With five wives, bin Laden had a total of 20 children, and one of his adult sons was also reported killed in the commando assault.

Al-Sadah is the youngest of the five wives

Al Qaeda threats, terror plans surface

By the CNN Wire Staff

May 6, 2011 5:31 p.m. EDT

Protesters burn tires Friday at a rally organized by the Jamrat-E-Islami party in Abbottabad, Pakistan, to condemn the U.S raid.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: "We are going to ultimately defeat al Qaeda," Obama says
• Dozens of people are arrested in Abbottabad, a Pakistani intelligence official says
• Al Qaeda says bin Laden's death will curse the United States
• The group says it isn't going away and will continue to plot

CNN looks back at the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden in the award-winning documentary "In the Footsteps of bin Laden" at 11 ET Friday night.

(CNN) -- Al Qaeda warnings against the United States emerged Friday as the materials taken from Osama bin Laden's compound continued to yield a trove of intelligence, including details about a possible attack on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
Al Qaeda, the bin Laden terrorist network that carried out the deadly attack in 2001, confirmed its leader's death on Friday in a Web statement and used that opportunity to taunt and threaten the United States.
"Sheikh Osama didn't build an organization that will vanish with his death or fades away with his departure," according to the statement, which CNN could not independently authenticate.
The statement, which congratulates the "Islamic Nation on the martyrdom of their devoted son Osama," repeated themes and threats made over the years in prior al Qaeda statements.
"The blood of the mujahid sheikh, Osama bin Laden, may God have mercy on him, is very dear to us and more precious to us and to every Muslim from being shed in vain," the statement said. A mujahid is defined as a Muslim engaged in what he considers to be jihad.
"This blood will be a curse that will chase the Americans and their agents, a curse that will pursue them inside and outside their country, and soon -- with God's help -- we pray that their happiness turns into sorrow and may their blood mix with their tears and let Sheikh Osama's resonate again."

 

In its pronouncements, al Qaeda frequently cites the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and it did so again, saying Friday that America "will neither enjoy nor live in security until our people in Palestine live it and enjoy it."
"The soldiers of Islam in groups and as individuals will continue to plan and plot without any fatigue, boredom, despair, surrender or indifference until you receive from them a cunning misfortune that will gray the hair of the child even before he gets old," the statement said.
Pakistanis were urged to "rise up" and cleanse the "disgrace that was brought upon them by a handful of traitors and thieves" and "their country from the filth of the Americans who have wreaked havoc in the land."
The statement surfaced as protesters packed the streets of Abbottabad -- where bin Laden was shot and killed -- in a rally organized by Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's largest Islamist party. The demonstrators denounced the U.S. and Pakistani governments.
Also, the statement expressed disdain for the United States, both its efforts and its motives, saying that the Americans managed to kill bin Laden "by disgrace and betrayal." Bin Laden was killed in a U.S. Navy SEAL raid on his compound early Monday in Abbottabad, a military garrison town north of the capital of Islamabad.
"Men and heroes only should be confronted in the battlefields but at the end, that's God's fate. Still we ask, will the Americans be able -- through their media outlets, their agents, their instruments, soldiers, intelligence services and their might -- be able to kill what Sheikh Osama lived for and was killed for? How far! How impossible!"
Bin Laden was buried at sea in what U.S. officials have described as a proper Islamic burial.
But the statement said if Americans treat the bodies of bin Laden or his family members improperly, either dead or alive, or do not hand over the bodies to families, there will be retribution.
"Any offense will open unto your doors of multitudes of evil for which you will only have yourselves to blame."
According to the statement, bin Laden recorded an audio message a week prior to his death regarding the revolutions sweeping the Muslim world and offering advice and guidance. Al Qaeda indicated that the release of this message is forthcoming.
Meanwhile, investigators poring over material seized in the Monday raid found details about a possible attack on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and the intelligence led Thursday to a nationwide alert regarding rail security.
As early as February 2010, al Qaeda members discussed a plan to derail trains in the United States by placing obstructions on tracks over bridges and valleys, the alert said, according to one law enforcement official.
The plan was to be executed later this year, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, though no specific rail system was identified, the official said.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed a notice was sent to federal, state, local and tribal authorities.
"We have no information of any imminent terrorist threat to the U.S. rail sector, but wanted to make sure our partners are aware of the alleged plotting. It is unclear if any further planning has been conducted since February of last year," spokesman Matt Chandler said.
Rail agencies across the United States heightened security.
The Chicago Transit Authority reissued security bulletins, "reminding employees of what activities to look for and what steps to take should they encounter any suspicious or criminal activity during the course of their duties," said Wanda Taylor, a CTA spokeswoman.
Amtrak employees also were on a heightened "state of vigilance," spokesman Marc Magliari said.
At Fort Campbell, Kentucky, President Obama thanked the troops for their efforts and vowed to achieve more. "We are going to ultimately defeat al Qaeda," he said to applause. "We have cut off their head and we will ultimately defeat them."
He said the U.S. strategy is working, "and there is no greater evidence of that than justice finally being delivered to Osama bin Laden."
A U.S. official said that "valuable information has been gleaned already" from the information gathered at bin Laden's compound, though no specific plots or terrorist suspects were identified.
But the material suggests that al Qaeda was particularly interested in striking Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, according to the law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
U.S. authorities have found that al Qaeda appeared especially interested in striking on significant dates like July 4, Christmas and the opening day of the United Nations.
The material seized from the compound included audio and video equipment, suggesting bin Laden may have taped messages there, a U.S. official said.
Ten hard drives, five computers and more than 100 storage devices, such as disks and thumb drives, were also found, a senior U.S. official told CNN.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that the CIA had a safe house in Abbottabad "for a small team of spies" who performed surveillance on the compound.
Citing U.S. officials, the effort "relied on Pakistani informants and other sources to help assemble a 'pattern of life' portrait of the occupants and daily activities at the fortified compound where bin Laden was found."
It was "mobilized after the discovery of the suspicious complex last August that involved virtually every category of collection in the U.S. arsenal, ranging from satellite imagery to eavesdropping efforts aimed at recording voices inside the compound," the Post reported.
Dozens of people in Abbottabad have been arrested because of their suspected connections to the compound where Osama bin Laden was shot and killed, a Pakistani intelligence official said Friday. Investigators want to know whether any of the people are al Qaeda members or sympathizers.
The United States and Pakistan have been allies for years in the anti-terrorism effort, but U.S. concerns that Pakistanis haven't been robust enough in the fight against Islamic militants and suspected U.S. drone attacks that killed innocent civilians have heightened tensions. Another suspected drone strike killed 12 suspected militants on Friday in the Pakistani tribal region.
Questions remain over why and how Pakistani intelligence officials could not have known bin Laden was hiding out in the city, which is home to a military academy and has a strong military presence.
Pakistani armed forces chiefs issued a statement Thursday admitting "shortcomings in developing intelligence" on the terrorist leader's presence in the country.
The army chief of staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, "made it very clear that any similar action, violating the sovereignty of Pakistan, will warrant a review on the level of military/intelligence cooperation with the United States," the statement said.

Since the raid, Pakistan has ordered U.S. military personnel on its territory drawn down to the "minimum essential" level, the statement said.

Al Qaeda, in Web message, confirms bin Laden's death

By the CNN Wire Staff

May 6, 2011 10:18 a.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Al Qaeda released a statement on jihadist forums Friday confirming the death of its leader, Osama bin Laden, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors Islamist websites.
The development comes days after U.S. troops killed bin Laden in a raid on a compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.
The statement, translated by SITE, lauded the late militant, threatened to take action against the United States, and urged Pakistanis to "rise up and revolt."
Bin Laden's death will serve as a "curse that chases the Americans and their agents, and goes after them inside and outside their countries," the message said.

 

 

FBI: Bin Laden was plotting new attack "Soon -- with help from Allah -- their happiness will turn into sorrow, and their blood will be mixed with their tears," it said.

The statement said al Qaeda will "continue on the path of jihad, the path walked upon by our leaders ... without hesitation or reluctance."
Full statement from al Qaeda on Osama bin Laden's death
"We will not deviate from that or change until Allah judges between us and between our enemy with truth. Indeed, He is the best of all judges. Nothing will harm us after that, until we see either victory and success and conquest and empowerment, or we die trying."
It said that Americans "will never enjoy security until our people in Palestine enjoy it."
"The soldiers of Islam, groups and individuals, will continue planning without tiredness or boredom, and without despair or surrender, and without weakness or stagnancy, until they cause the disaster that makes children look like the elderly!"
It urged Pakistanis "to cleanse this shame that has been attached to them by a clique of traitors and thieves" and "from the filth of the Americans who spread corruption in it."

Bin Laden and other militants used the Internet to post messages to their followers before and after al Qaeda's September, 11, 2001 attack on the United State