Matiur Rehman
Encyclopedia
Matiur Rehman is a Pakistan
i militant who has been identified as al Qaeda's planning director. He was thought to have frequent contacts with Ayman al-Zawahiri
and to be in contact with Rashid Rauf
. It was suggested at one point that Rehman and Rauf were one and the same, but this was dismissed by officials in Britain and Pakistan. Rehman was linked by Pakistani officials with the 2006 plot
to destroy aircraft using homemade "liquid explosive" devices.
In March 2006 it was reported by ABC News that Pakistani officials said Rehman was behind plans for an attack against the United States and that Pakistan had posted a 10-million rupee (about $166,000) award for his capture. According to ABC News consultant and former French defense ministry adviser Alexis Debat, Rehman was "probably Pakistan's most wanted". Debat described Rehman as "extremely dangerous because of his role as the crucial interface between the brains of al Qaeda and its muscle, which is mainly composed these days of Pakistani militants." Pakistani officials suspected Rehman of being connected to the 2 March 2006 Karachi consulate attacks
and said that he had helped train Pakistani militants at al Qaeda training camps in the late 1990s.
In August 2006 ABC News erroneously reported that Matiur Rehman had been captured in Pakistan. ABC consultant Alexis Debat had warned ABC it was not true a day after the report had initially been broadcast, and ABC retracted it when it turned out that Rehman had not in fact been captured.
GlobalSecurity.org
's profile of Rehman reports that US counterterrorism sources remain unconvinced of his importance.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i militant who has been identified as al Qaeda's planning director. He was thought to have frequent contacts with Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
and to be in contact with Rashid Rauf
Rashid Rauf
Rashid Rauf was an alleged Al-Qaeda operative. He was a dual citizen of Britain and Pakistan who was arrested in Bhawalpur, Pakistan in connection with the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot in August 2006, a day before some arrests were made in Britain...
. It was suggested at one point that Rehman and Rauf were one and the same, but this was dismissed by officials in Britain and Pakistan. Rehman was linked by Pakistani officials with the 2006 plot
2006 transatlantic aircraft plot
The 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board at least 10 airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada...
to destroy aircraft using homemade "liquid explosive" devices.
In March 2006 it was reported by ABC News that Pakistani officials said Rehman was behind plans for an attack against the United States and that Pakistan had posted a 10-million rupee (about $166,000) award for his capture. According to ABC News consultant and former French defense ministry adviser Alexis Debat, Rehman was "probably Pakistan's most wanted". Debat described Rehman as "extremely dangerous because of his role as the crucial interface between the brains of al Qaeda and its muscle, which is mainly composed these days of Pakistani militants." Pakistani officials suspected Rehman of being connected to the 2 March 2006 Karachi consulate attacks
Karachi consulate attacks
The Karachi consulate attacks are a string of attacks against and plots to attack against the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan during the War on Terrorism....
and said that he had helped train Pakistani militants at al Qaeda training camps in the late 1990s.
In August 2006 ABC News erroneously reported that Matiur Rehman had been captured in Pakistan. ABC consultant Alexis Debat had warned ABC it was not true a day after the report had initially been broadcast, and ABC retracted it when it turned out that Rehman had not in fact been captured.
GlobalSecurity.org
GlobalSecurity.org
GlobalSecurity.org, launched in 2000, is a public policy organization focusing on the fields of defense, space exploration, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and homeland security...
's profile of Rehman reports that US counterterrorism sources remain unconvinced of his importance.