By William Tucker
The Pakistani military released a press statement yesterday claiming that 3 top al-Qaeda operatives had been captured in Quetta with the assistance of U.S. intelligence. The most senior of the group, Younis al-Mauritani, is al-Qaeda’s commander for external operations. According to the Pakistanis, al-Mauritani had been personally chosen by former al-Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden to strike at the U.S., Europe and Australia. Al-Mauritani has become more widely known in the last few years along with another operational planner – Adnan al-Shukri Juma. Although both men have been portrayed as experienced operational planners, a successful attack on the west has not occurred in the last few years.
The pressure on al-Qaeda’s top tier leadership has been growing as of late, but the Taliban led insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan – with al-Qaeda’s assistance – has not abated. It is easy to assume that al-Qaeda has struggled with international attacks because of this pressure, but we cannot rule out the groups focus on insurgent warfare in South Asia. It is accurate to say that al-Qaeda’s international capabilities have substantially diminished; however once the U.S. accelerates the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, al-Qaeda will have room to rebuild.
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