JTF-GTMO Detainee Assessment
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
S E C R E T / / NOFORN / / 20330625 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HEADQUARTERS, JOINT TASK FORCE GUANTANAMO U.S. NAVAL STATION, GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA APO AE 09360 JTF-GTMO-CDR 25 June 2008 MEMORANDUM FOR Commander, United States Southern Command, 3511 NW 9lst Avenue, Miami, FL 33172 SUBJECT: Recommendation for Continued Detention Under DoD Control (CD) for Guantanamo Detainee, ISN PK9SA-001456DP (S) JTF-GTMO Detainee Assessment 1. (S//NF) Personal Information: • JDIMS/NDRC Reference Name: Hassan Ali Bin Attash • Current/True Name and Aliases: Hassan Muhammad Ali Bin Attash, Amar al-Baluch, al-Mughayrah, al-Muhannad al-Jiddawi, Umayr Bin Attash, Umayr al-Gharib, Umayr, Sayyid Nur, Abd al-Sattar Khan, Hasan Muhammad Saleh al-Dini Umayr • Place of Birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (SA) • Date of Birth: 1985 • Citizenship: Saudi Arabia • Internment Serial Number (ISN): PK9SA-001456DP 2. (U//FOUO) Health: Detainee is in overall good health. 3. (U) JTF-GTMO Assessment: a. (S) Recommendation: JTF-GTMO recommends this detainee for Continued Detention Under DoD Control (CD). JTF-GTMO previously recommended detainee for Continued Detention Under DoD Control (CD) on 3 August 2007. b. (S//NF) Executive Summary: Detainee is a member of al-Qaida. He traveled to Afghanistan (AF) under the influence of his older brothers, one of whom, Walid Muhammad Salih Bin Attash, aka (Khallad), aka (Silver), ISN US9YM-010014DP (YM-10014), was a senior al-Qaida member. Detainee reportedly swore bayat (oath of loyalty) to UBL and was a member of UBL’s security detail. Detainee worked closely with senior level al-Qaida CLASSIFIED BY: MULTIPLE SOURCES REASON: E.O. 12958, AS AMENDED, SECTION 1.4(C) DECLASSIFY ON: 20330625 S E C R E T / / NOFORN / / 20330625 Downloaded from The Rendition Project www.therenditionproject.org.uk Source: the New York Times S E C R E T / / NOFORN / / 20330625 JTF-GTMO-CDR SUBJECT: Recommendation for Continued Detention Under DoD Control (CD) for Guantanamo Detainee, ISN PK9SA-001456DP (S) operatives and admitted having advance knowledge of attack plots. Detainee is a close associate of senior al-Qaida operative and maritime operational planner Abd al-Rahim Hussayn Muhammad al-Nashiri, aka (Mullah Bilal), ISN US9SA-010015DP (SA-10015). Detainee was an al-Qaida safe house operator and admitted attending al-Qaida and Taliban affiliated guesthouses and training camps. Detainee’s family has close familial ties with senior level al-Qaida members. JTF-GTMO determined this detainee to be: • A HIGH risk, as he is likely to pose a threat to the US, its interests, and allies • A MEDIUM threat from a detention perspective • Of HIGH intelligence value c. (S//NF) Summary of Changes: The following outlines changes to detainee’s assessment since the last JTF-GTMO recommendation. (Changes in this assessment will be annotated by ¾ next to the footnote.) • Added aliases Abd al-Sattar Khan1 and Hasan Muhammad Saleh al-Dini Umayr2 • Added multiple reports indicating detainee’s knowledge of the Strait of Hormuz operation • Added reported detainee pocket litter not at JTF-GTMO 4. (U) Detainee’s Account of Events: The following section is based, unless otherwise indicated, on detainee’s own account. These statements are included without consideration of veracity, accuracy, or reliability. a. (S//NF) Prior History: Detainee attended approximately eight to nine years of school in Jeddah studying history, geography, English, and other basic courses. Detainee has nine brothers four of whom were active extremists. Hussam, aka (Mohanad), was killed in Kabul, AF while working with the Taliban in 1997. YM-10014 is detained at JTF-GTMO. Abd al- Aziz, aka (Gul Aziz), aka (Abu Barra), is detained in Yemen. Lastly, Hussayn was killed in Kandahar, AF after 11 September 2001. Detainee stated his father, Muhammad Saleh Bin Attash, was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia.3 Detainee was a Yemeni citizen because his father had Yemeni citizenship.4 b. (S//NF) Recruitment and Travel: Detainee first traveled to Afghanistan in approximately 1997 at the request of his older brother Hussam, who was in Afghanistan at 1 ¾TD-314/44444-02 2 ¾001456 07-MAY-2005 BIO 00001 3 001456 FM40 26-JUN-2004, 001456 FM40 07-JUN-2004 4 001456 FM40 29-SEP-2004 2 S E C R E T / / NOFORN / / 20330625 Downloaded from The Rendition Project www.therenditionproject.org.uk Source: the New York Times S E C R E T / / NOFORN / / 20330625 JTF-GTMO-CDR SUBJECT: Recommendation for Continued Detention Under DoD Control (CD) for Guantanamo Detainee, ISN PK9SA-001456DP (S) the time.5 Detainee stated his older brother YM-10014 also played a major role during his time in Afghanistan.6 Detainee held a Yemeni passport, so he and his brother Abd al-Aziz traveled from Saudi Arabia to Yemen, where detainee obtained a visa for Pakistan.7 While in Yemen, detainee and his brother contacted mujahideen facilitator Muhammad al-Munasar, aka (Abu Hamza al-Baidani), who called senior al-Qaida operative Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, aka (Abu Zubaydah), ISN US9GZ-010016DP (GZ-10016), and recommended the two be accepted for participation in Afghan militant operations. They traveled to Karachi, PK where GZ-10016 and al-Dhahak al-Tabuki met and took them to al- Khattab’s Guesthouse located approximately one hour outside Peshawar, PK. Detainee and Abd al-Aziz then traveled to GZ-10016’s guesthouse in Peshawar where they met senior al- Qaida operative Ali Muhammad Abd al- Aziz al-Fakhri, aka (Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi), ISN US9LY-000212DP (LY-212). Detainee and Abd al-Aziz then traveled to Jalalabad, AF via Torkhum, AF. In Jalalabad, detainee’s older brother, Hussam, took detainee and Abd al-Aziz to Najim al-Jihad.8 Detainee stayed at Najim al-Jihad for a short period of time before his brother Hussam took him to Khaldan Training Camp in Khowst, AF via Kabul.9 c. (S//NF) Training and Activities: Detainee arrived at the Khaldan Camp prior to 30 December 1997, where he began basic training on light and heavy weapons, mortars, hand grenades, land mines, and a three to five week general overview of explosives. Detainee remained at the Khaldan Camp until approximately late May or June 1998, when Hussam returned to retrieve him.10 After detainee’s training at Khaldan, detainee returned to Kabul where he stayed for less than one month. In Kabul, detainee met his brothers YM-10014, Hussam, and Abd al-Aziz. Detainee remained in Kabul for two to three weeks recovering from malaria, when he heard Hussam was killed and YM-10014 lost a leg. Detainee and Abd al-Aziz then traveled to Jalalabad and then on to Peshawar, where they stayed at GZ- 10016’s house for two nights. GZ-10016 provided the pair with plane tickets from Islamabad, PK to Yemen. Detainee spent several days in Yemen with Abu Hamza al- Baidani’s group before continuing on to Saudi Arabia. Detainee spent approximately two to four months with his family in Jeddah before returning to Afghanistan. Detainee then traveled from Saudi Arabia to Kandahar, where he lived in a guesthouse near the airport. From Kandahar, he traveled via Kabul to the Jihad Wahl Camp in Khowst, where he and his 5 001456 FM40 29-SEP-2004 6 001456 FM40 26-JUN-2004 7 001456 FM40 29-SEP-2004 8 TD-314/48022-02, Analyst Note: Variants of Najim al-Jihad include Nejm al-Jihad and Nazim al-Jihad. The Najim al-Jihad compound is reportedly owned by UBL. The compound housed al-Qaida members and their families. 9 IIR 6 034 0180 06, 001456 FM40 29-SEP-2004 10 001456 FM40 29-SEP-2004, Analyst Note: Detainee stated he arrived at Khaldan Camp in late 1997 prior to Ramadan. Ramadan began on 30 December 1997 and ended on 28 January 1998. Detainee stated he remained at Khaldan for five or six months. 3 S E C R E T / / NOFORN / / 20330625 Downloaded from The Rendition Project www.therenditionproject.org.uk Source: the New York Times S E C R E T / / NOFORN / / 20330625 JTF-GTMO-CDR SUBJECT: Recommendation for Continued Detention Under DoD Control (CD) for Guantanamo Detainee, ISN PK9SA-001456DP (S) brother, Abd al-Aziz, attended explosives training for approximately three to five months. After this training, detainee traveled between Kabul and the front lines before enrolling at the Islamic School in Khowst. He remained at the Islamic School for less than one year, during which time he heard of the 7 August 1998 US Embassy bombings in East Africa. After leaving school, he traveled between Kandahar, Kabul, and Jalalabad. In early 1999, detainee traveled to Jalalabad, where he joined a large group of North Africans. He attended a few days of an electronics course, but quit because it was taught in English. While in Jalalabad, he attended an Algerian camp called “Daruntah,” where he took one week of explosives training. He quit Daruntah and returned to Jalalabad where he served as a “foot soldier” at a location run primarily by Algerians.11 Detainee then traveled to Kandahar, where he stayed at the airport complex belonging to UBL, who visited at least three times, and spent most of the year 2000 “just hanging out.” During this time detainee heard rumors about a “big hit.” Around the end of 2000, YM-10014 told detainee to travel to Karachi with SA-10015 because there were rumors that detainee was affiliated with Takfiris and their ideology.12 In approximately March 2001, detainee traveled to Karachi, lived with SA-10015 and spent most of his time picking up supplies. During this time, detainee was again privy to plans for an attack on US ships using ships purchased in the United Arab Emirates (AE).