Ilyas Kashmiri, Pakistani commando, deemed a rising star of Al Qaeda in wake of Bin Laden's death
BY <http://www.nydailynews.com/authors/Alison%20Gendar> Alison Gendar, <http://www.nydailynews.com/authors/Joseph%20Straw> Joseph Straw and <http://www.nydailynews.com/authors/Larry%20Mcshane> Larry Mcshane DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS Originally Published:Tuesday, May 10th 2011, 10:37 AM Updated: Tuesday, May 10th 2011, 10:37 AM clip_image001 SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images Ilyas Kashmiri, described by one senior U.S. official as a rising star in the terror group, is among the candidates to take over for Osama Bin Laden. Take our Poll The death of <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Osama+bin+Laden> Osama Bin Laden could mean higher profiles for other terror bosses - including a one-eyed, nine-fingered Pakistani with a $5 million bounty on his head. <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Ilyas+Kashmiri> Ilyas Kashmiri is a shadowy figure who fought the Russians and survived a <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/United+States> U.S. assassination bid, but is little known outside U.S. intelligence circles. The strapping 6-foot terror suspect, known as the Commando Commander, hides behind dark shades and favors a dyed beard. Only the call of nature saved him from a 2009 <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Central+Intelligence+Agency> CIA drone attack: Kashmiri reportedly left his house to urinate in the bushes just seconds before the missile struck. Kashmiri was born in the <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Pakistan> Pakistan-controlled section of <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Jammu+and+Kashmir> Kashmir. He took up arms against the Russians in <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Afghanistan> Afghanistan in the 1980s, losing one eye and an index finger in the fighting. He frequently sports aviator-style sunglasses along with a woolly beard that he alternately dyes white, black or red with henna highlights, U.S. officials said. U.S. authorities last month approved a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. The brown-eyed Kashmiri heads the Harkut-ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI), or "Movement of Islamic Holy War." The group was blamed for the March 2, 2006, bombing of the U.S. Consulate in <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Karachi> Karachi, Pakistan, that killed four people - including U.S. diplomat <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/David+Foy> David Foy. <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Federal+Bureau+of+Investigation> FBI officials describe him as an "influential terrorist organization leader in Pakistan who is in regular contact with the leaders of <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Al+Qaeda> Al Qaeda." His ties to HUJI could limit any ascension in Bin Laden's organization. "He's a great field commander, but he's a Harkut-ul-Jihad person," said former CIA counterterrorism adviser <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Bruce+Hoffman> Bruce Hoffman of <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Georgetown+University> Georgetown University. "He's not an Al Qaeda person." His role within Al Qaeda could be detailed in the massive intelligence trove recovered from Bin Laden's Pakistani hideaway, officials said. The 47-year-old has more than two decades of military experience, making him more palatable to many in Al Qaeda than current second-in-command <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Ayman+al-Zawahiri> Ayman al-Zawahiri - long considered Bin Laden's likely successor. Bin Laden's longtime aide lacks Kashmiri's fighting history and the aura of invincibility, most recently reinforced by his narrow escape from the drone hit. He resurfaced a short time after the bombing with an interview in the <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Asia> Asia Times in which he threatened a series of large-scale attacks targeting European cities. The 2008 <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Mumbai> Mumbai attack that left more than 160 dead was "nothing compared to what has already been planned for the future," he warned. Kashmiri remains under indictment in a <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Chicago> Chicago case involving a suspect who cased Mumbai targets for two years before the terror attack. The indictment charged him with plotting to kill two employees of a Danish newspaper that ran cartoons of the <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Prophet+Muhammad> Prophet Muhammed. Kashmiri also operated terrorist training camps in Pakistan, and conspired to provide money, weapons and manpower for an attack on the newspaper, prosecutors say. The main suspect in the case was busted in October 2009 while boarding a flight to Pakistan for a meeting with Kashmiri. Kashmiri was a commando with the <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Pakistani+Armed+Forces> Pakistani military before going rogue, joining the Al Qaeda-affiliated HUJI. Despite his Al Qaeda ties, Kashmiri doesn't define himself as part of Bin Laden's organization, said <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Don+Borelli> Don Borelli, former head of the <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Joint+Terrorism+Task+Force> FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. Other than the plot in <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Denmark> Denmark, and despite the threat of attacks in <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Europe> Europe, Kashmiri's group operates mostly in Pakistan and <http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/India> India. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. 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