Pentagon Says Top Al Qaeda Figure Held At GitMo

The Pentagon says authorities have captured a high-level al-Qaeda figure who helped Osama bin Laden escape from Afghanistan in 2001.

Officials declined to say when or where Mohammad Rahim was captured — announcing only that he was handed over by the CIA to the Pentagon earlier this week and is being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman says Rahim is a close associate of bin Laden and has ties to al-Qaeda organizations throughout the Middle East.

Whitman says Rahim helped prepare the hideout at Tora Bora, a mountain area used by bin Laden as the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001. Whitman says Rahim assisted al-Qaeda's escape from the area during the U.S. operation to try to catch the al-Qaeda leader.

The past few weeks have seen a concerted effort by US forces worldwide to take out al Qaeda all over the world, from airstrikes in Somalia against al Qaeda forces aligned with the Islamic Courts Union, to ongoing operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and airstrikes in Pakistan that killed top level terrorists.

The CIA apparently snatched Rahim from somewhere, and they don't want to reveal how that happened to preserve operational security - as they may still have forces in the field that they don't want to reveal.

The curious thing is that wikipedia has a full dossier on the legal issues surrounding Rahim.

The Pentagon may be revealing more details about what Rahim has done in the past, including working for the inner circle of al Qaeda's top terrorists.

UPDATE:
Thanos at LGF points out this article, which notes that Rahim and another major terrorist thug were picked up in two separate incidents in Pakistan. Rahim was captured in Lahore while Sheikh Ilyas Khel, a bigwig with the Taliban, was picked up in Peshawar.

Also of note, the report states that the US now has a permanent base of operations in Tora Bora. Further, the Danish Defense Minister is saying that NATO will be able to send 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

UPDATE:
Hot Air also notes that there's already a Mohammad Rahim sitting in Gitmo. That Rahim denies that he's who the US claims, but his case was heard by a tribunal in December 2004 and found that evidence was sufficient to continue his detention. This Rahim was apparently captured two months ago, along with Dr Aminul Haq, who is another Al-Qaeda terrorist from Afghanistan and a close associate of late Afghan Jihadi leader Maulvi Younas Khalis. The delay in releasing this information may be significant - that they were looking to act upon intel proffered by these guys.

That does make sense, especially when you consider that al Libi was killed in an airstrike at the end of January. Also, Adam Gadahn (aka traitorous Azzam the American) hasn't been heard from since that time either. It is possible that the intel gleaned from Haq and Rahim ended up as actionable intel used in the Libi strike and Gadahn bought the farm as well.

UPDATE:
Apparently someone can keep a secret, although the AP reports that Rahim was turned over to Gitmo and has been in custody since August 2007.