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The number two of the al-Qaida terrorist network is apparently dead. The deputy chief is said to have been assassinated in Iran as early as August, the New York Times reports, citing intelligence officials. Abu Mohammed al-Masri is said to have been shot by two men on a motorcycle in Tehran. The men were Israeli secret agents who, according to statements by four officials, had acted on behalf of the United States. The role of the Americans, if this information is true, is unclear.
The murder occurred in an underworld of geopolitical intrigue and counter-terrorism counterespionage, for which Masri was rumored to be dead. But no one, not Iran, not Al Qaeda, the United States or Israel, has so far publicly admitted the assassination. Iranian officials silenced him, according to the “NYT.”
Iran denied the report on Saturday. There are no al-Qaida “terrorists” on Iranian soil, the Foreign Ministry in Tehran said. “From time to time, Washington and Tel Aviv attempt to associate Iran with such groups by lying and leaking false information to the media to accept responsibility for the criminal activities of this group and other terrorist groups in the region. Withdraw,” the ministry said .
Masri, also known as Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, was the deputy of al-Qaeda leader Aiman al-Zawahiri and was believed to be his possible successor. The al-Qaida deputy is responsible for the deadly bombings against the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, in which 224 people were killed and more than 5,000 injured. The United States had him on its list of most wanted terrorists and had offered a reward of ten million dollars (9.3 million euros) for advice on his capture. So far, al-Masri’s photo, estimated to be 57 years old, is still on the FBI’s Most Wanted List.
Secret Service on the anniversary of the embassy attacks
Masri’s daughter, Miriam, was also killed during the secret service operation, said to have taken place on August 7, the anniversary of the embassy attacks. She was the daughter-in-law of Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who was assassinated by a US special unit hidden in Pakistan in 2011. Bin Laden is responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. Security personnel at the US Presidential Office did not initially receive a statement.
Shiite Iran and al-Qaida, a militant Sunni-Muslim organization, have long been enemies. Masri is said to have been in Iranian “custody” since 2003 and to have lived freely in an exclusive suburb of Tehran since 2015, US intelligence officials said according to the “NYT.” American fighters against terrorism believed that Iran, also an enemy of the United States, could have allowed the Al Qaeda deputy to live there to carry out operations against American targets.
The impact of Masri’s possible death on Al Qaeda’s activities remains unclear. Although the terrorist organization has lost high-ranking leaders in the nearly two decades since the attacks on New York and Washington, it has been able to sustain its activities from the Middle East to Afghanistan and West Africa.
