Birmingham "terror mastermind" is still alive claims Pakistan
TERROR mastermind Rashid Rauf is top of a ‘most wanted’ hit list in Pakistan despite US claims that they “killed” the Brummie Al Qaeda chief in an air strike.
A secret list of the top 10 most wanted terror operatives in the lawless tribal regions of North West Pakistan, distributed to field commanders just last week, reveals that Birmingham-born Rauf, Al Qaeda’s chief recruiter for attacks in the UK and Europe, is still at large.
The Sunday Mercury also revealed that US intelligence sources are convinced the British terror kingpin, who was the brains behind the liquid bomb plot to kill thousands of transatlantic airline passengers, is alive.
Baker’s son Rauf, 28, whose arrest led to the capture of the three men convicted last week of plotting liquid bomb attacks, was reported dead following a missile strike from an un-manned US Predator drone in North Waziristan in November 2008.
However, CIA insiders say video footage taken by the drone of the attack is inconclusive, meaning the hit may have failed to kill Rauf.
The Brummie militant’s body was never produced, and no DNA samples taken to confirm that he died. His family, who still live in Ward End, Birmingham, have consistently denied that he is dead.
A source close to the US intelligence community says that signals intelligence on Rauf, taken from phone intercepts and eavesdropping devices, has been discovered since his apparent “death”.
“The reports that he is dead came out at a time when the CIA was under pressure to take out high-profile Al Qaeda operatives,” our source explained. “I have seen some of the information and his lawyers, who also believe he is still alive, have seen reports from Pakistani intelligence.
“The problem with the strike on Rauf is that you cannot make out from the cameras that tracked the air strike whether or not he was hit. This took place at night, in a building where it is impossible to tell who is inside.
“The timing of this strike is crucial. There was a lot of pressure for these raids to make an impression.
“If there was suspicion that someone was killed, they went ahead and released it to the press claiming that person was dead.
“I understand that he is alive, and that the Pakistanis are hunting him.”
Reports that Rauf may still be alive first emerged in April after a militant detained during a raid in Belgium claimed that he had been trained by the Brummie terror chief.
