9/11 mastermind’s photo ‘manipulated’
Picture raised concerns about its authenticity, how it came to be smuggled out of US military base in Guantanamo Bay.
WASHINGTON:
A photograph of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-confessed architect of the 9/11 attacks, that has recently circulated on the internet has been digitally manipulated, Pentagon officials said on Friday.
The picture, which shows Khalid Sheikh with a long, bushy gray beard holding an open book and smiling, had raised concerns about both its authenticity and how it came to be smuggled out of the US military base in Guantanamo Bay. US authorities ban the taking and distribution of any non-authorised photos from Guantanamo.
The photo of Khalid Sheikh was published on an Internet site, Al-Ebdaa, and showed a different visage to the one of the 9/11 mastermind seen during his last court appearance on May 5, when his beard appeared to have been dyed red with henna. “The recent photos of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, et al, that have surfaced on the Internet represent a very poor effort at digital manipulation,” Pentagon spokesman Lt Col Todd Breasseale said in an email to AFP.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2012.
A photograph of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-confessed architect of the 9/11 attacks, that has recently circulated on the internet has been digitally manipulated, Pentagon officials said on Friday.
The picture, which shows Khalid Sheikh with a long, bushy gray beard holding an open book and smiling, had raised concerns about both its authenticity and how it came to be smuggled out of the US military base in Guantanamo Bay. US authorities ban the taking and distribution of any non-authorised photos from Guantanamo.
The photo of Khalid Sheikh was published on an Internet site, Al-Ebdaa, and showed a different visage to the one of the 9/11 mastermind seen during his last court appearance on May 5, when his beard appeared to have been dyed red with henna. “The recent photos of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, et al, that have surfaced on the Internet represent a very poor effort at digital manipulation,” Pentagon spokesman Lt Col Todd Breasseale said in an email to AFP.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2012.