U.S. drones may have killed one of Osama Bin Laden's sons in Pakistan, according to a variety of reports. But the CIA has sat on the news for months for the ambiguous purpose of "messing with al-Qaeda."
Saad Bin Laden, an al-Qaeda member and the eldest son of Osama Bin Laden and his first wife, Najwa Ghanem, is reported to have been killed by a drone strike in Pakistan sometime the past few months. In the absence of DNA evidence from the strike’s aftermath, one source told NPR that U.S. officials remain “80-85 percent certain” of Saad’s death. News of his apparent death was gleaned from intercepted communications and reports from the field, American officials say.
Saad was said to have been placed under an ambiguous “house arrest” in Iran in 2003 along with other al-Qaeda figures following their flight from Afghanistan. Some U.S. officials believe Iran held Bin Laden's son and other al-Qaeda figures as collateral against potential attacks from the terrorist group. In a press roundtable this January, then-Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell stated that Saad had left Iran for Pakistan.
Reports of Saad’s responsibilities in al-Qaeda have described him variously as a liaison between the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and al-Qaeda’s senior leadership, a manager of the group’s activities from Iran, a potential successor to his father, and a plotter involved in al-Qaeda attacks in Tunisia, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.
A host of quotes from anonymous U.S. counterterrorism officials commenting on Saad’s death have emerged, casting doubt on the notion that he was a significant figure in al-Qaeda. One “U.S. counterterrorism official” speaking to NPR claimed that the Bin Laden scion did not merit individual targeting and had been killed incidentally. “We make a big deal out of him because of his last name,” the source added. Another official quoted by the Washington Post, concluded, “If he is dead, Saad bin Laden was a small player with a big name.”
In his January press conference, DNI McConnell indicated that Saad’s move to Pakistan would make him more vulnerable to U.S. forces, saying “it’s better for my world if he is – if any of these players are in places that we have access.”
[Photo: USAF]
