Washington - US counterterrorism officials have identified two key lieutenants of Osama bin Laden - including an alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks - as the most active plotters of several al-Qaeda attacks during the past year.
While many top al-Qaeda leaders went into hiding after September 11, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri have taken the lead in arranging new attacks with cells in the field, US officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Mohammed, a Sepember 11 organiser who has risen to be one of Bin Laden's top planners, and al-Nashiri, al-Qaeda's Persian Gulf operations chief, are among roughly two dozen key lieutenants being sought by the CIA, FBI and military in a worldwide manhunt.
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While last week's capture of Ramzi Binalshibh in Pakistan may shed light on both the September 11 attacks and ongoing al-Qaeda plots, US officials say he was not a leader but an aide to Mohammed. Officials hope that by tracking down the leaders they can disrupt terrorist plots and the multiple cells under their command.
Mohammed, a Kuwait-born Pakistani national, has been linked to the April 11 suicide truck bombing of the Djerba synagogue in Tunisia. At least 19 tourists, mostly Germans, were killed.
The suspected bomber, Nizar Naouar, spoke by phone with Mohammed about three hours before the attack, German officials said. Bin Laden's son Saad, seen as a rising star in al-Qaeda, is also suspected of ties to the plot.
The Tunisia attack marked al-Qaeda's first successful strike since September 11. The suicide bombing of the US consulate in Karachi in June is also believed to be an al-Qaeda operation, but who commanded it has not been determined.
Mohammed, who is on the FBI's most-wanted terrorists list, has been charged in connection with plots in the Philippines to bomb trans-Pacific airliners and crash a plane into CIA headquarters.
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