A "prominent member" of an al-Qa'ida-linked web forum claims that rumors Abu Musab al Suri was released from a Syrian prison sometime last year are true. The Syrian jihadist has been active with various extremist groups groups for three decades, including working as a military trainer at al-Qa'ida's notorius Darunta camp, before establishing his own camp near Kabul. It is believed that he trained terrorists in poisons and chemical weapons at both camps.
More importantly, he is a prominent al-Qa'ida strategist, who opposed the 9/11 attacks because he correctly predicted the Western backlash in response would significantly damage the terror network. He is the preeminent theorist of "leaderless jihad," in which Muslims would establish decentralized cells that would acquire the tactical knowledge necessary to conduct attacks via the internet. Such a "starfish" network would be more exponentially more difficult to defeat than al-Qa'ida's present hierarchical structure.
In 2004 the United States issued a $5 million reward for information leading to al Suri's capture. He was subsequently captured in Quetta, Pakistan, in November 2005, transferred to U.S. custody, and eventually transferred to Syrian custody.
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| Abu Musab al Suri, the Clausewitz of "leaderless jihad." |
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