Familiar figure: Mastermind behind US subway plot

PESHAWAR:

Born in Saudi Arabia on August 4, 1975, Adnan el Shukrijuma moved to the United States at an early age, and received his education there before joining al Qaeda.

He was counted amongst a few top al Qaeda commanders and was responsible for its external affairs, militant campaigns and network.

Tribal sources confirm that Shukrijuma was a familiar figure amongst the locals and he spoke fluently in Pushto, Urdu and Darri, besides Arabic and English. He reportedly also knew the variation in Waziri and Mehsud pronunciation of Pushto. The US FBI had declared el Shukrijuma as ‘one of al Qaeda’s top commander, responsible for external operations programme’.  He was also declared as absconder and wanted in connection with the attempt to blow up the New York subway, as well as for plots connected to targets in the United Kingdom in 2010.

He was also wanted in the alleged conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and to commit murder in a foreign country.

Charges, framed by US agencies against el Shukrijuma, reveal that the plot against New York City’s subway system, uncovered in September of 2009, was directed by senior Al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan.

Shukrijuma was also linked by US authorities to other suspects, including a group of men accused of planning to bomb fuel pipelines at New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2014.