While Americans continue to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden, it seems that bombshell regarding the replacement of the leader is about to come with Kashmiri, the man who has been the face of global terrorism for nearly 20 years. However some security experts indicate that “filling bin Laden's shoes will be no easy task; he has served as an inspiration for jihadists across the globe; and with deep connections in the Gulf, he has been able to keep the money flowing into al-Qaeda's coffers.”[1]

 

 

Born in the Pakistani-controlled section of Kashmir in 1964, Ilyas Kashmiri (also referred to as Maulana Ilyas Kashmiri or Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri) is an Islamic militant connected to the Soviet-Afghan war, the Kashmir conflict and attacks against the government of Pakistan and the United States.

 

Known Pakistan’s Frankenstein, Kashmiri has one eye; a thick beard streaked with henna and he has lost his index finger during the war. He wears thick aviator-style dark glasses. Kashmiri is a veteran jihadist who in his early years fought the Indians in the disputed territory of Kashmir and the Russians in Afghanistan where he lost his eye. He famously escaped from an Indian jail and then fought with a unit of Pakistan’s Special Forces.[2]

 

He was an active participant in 1980s Soviet-Afghan War, training the Afghan mujahideen in mine warfare in Miranshah on behalf of Pakistan. He continued his official militant work in Kashmir after the war as a member of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), despite of disagreements with the leader. Several years after his joining in 1991 this led Kashmiri to establish his own new unit within HuJI known as the 313 Brigade.

 

During the mid-1990s Kashmiri and Nasrullah Mansoor Langrial were close to Poonch when they were seized by the Indian Army and sent to prison, where he would spend the next two years before escaping and returning to Pakistan.[3] Upon his return Kashmiri continued to conduct operations against India, once reportedly being rewarded personally with cash by then Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf for presenting the head of an Indian army sepoy to him. He also worked for the Pakistani intelligence service, but turned to Islamabad with a vengeance in 2003, trying to murder President Pervez Musharraf. Kashmiri rejected orders to serve under Maulana Masood Azhar in the newly founded mujahideen organization Jaish-e-Mohammed and was once even targeted by the group. Falling out of favour with the Pakistani military, he was even taken into custody and tortured in late 2003 in the wake of an attempt to assassinate President Musharraf.[4] From his release in February 2004 [5] until the 2007 Siege of Lal Masjid he apparently did little, but afterward he returned to the 313 Brigade in the terrorist organization Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, which is closely tied to Al-Qaeda.

 

 

Kashmiri was reported to be killed along with Hanifullah Janikhel and Kaleemullah in Machikhel, North Waziristan on September 7, 2009 when they were hit by a missile fired from a U.S. drone. At the time he was reportedly one of the top 10 most wanted militant commanders in Pakistan. However, in mid-October Kashmiri was reported to have survived the airstrike and granted an interview with Asia Times Online's Syed Saleem Shahzad.[6] A senior American official was later quoted by The Washington Times as saying “While there were preliminary indications that Kashmiri may have been dead, there is now reason to believe that he could be alive. One rumor among militants asserted that Kashmiri was outside urinating when the house he was staying at was hit.”[7]

 

 

On August 6, 2010 the United States Treasury Department labeled Kashmiri a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ while the United Nations added him and his group HuJI to its blacklist established under UN Security Council Resolution 1267. The label allows the United States to freeze any of his assets in US jurisdiction and to “prohibit US persons from engaging in any transactions with him.” Treasury singled out his organization for providing support for Al Qaeda operations.

 

In addition, the Obama administration is offering USD 5 million for information leading to the commander of what the US says is a terrorist group that supports al-Qaeda. The State Department says HuJI has launched several attacks in India and Pakistan, including a 2006 suicide bombing against the US Consulate in Karachi that killed four people. Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri is also a key suspect in the Mumbai terrorist attack. A statement encouraged anyone with information about Kashmiri's location to contact a US embassy or consulate, an American military commander or the US government’s “Rewards for Justice” office. [8]

 

 

It could be said that there must be a potential danger for the US interest to act in the name of “war on terror”. From a critical perspective, the US was trying to create a new image of enemy with Ilyas Kashmiri after Bin Laden. He has already been linked to several attacks in Denmark, Germany, France, the UK, and the US. Therefore Kashmiri was a well reasoned target for the US interests. Whether Kashmiri takes control of al-Qaeda or not, his significance for the organization is obvious.

 

Most importantly, the current situation about the successor is not the same with the US prospects. Al-Qaeda has temporarily chosen Saif al-Adel, also known as Muhamad Ibrahim Makkawi, a former Egyptian Special Forces officer and a top al-Qaeda strategist as interim leader in the wake of Bin Laden’s death earlier this month[9]. In recent days, the global jihadist community was impatient about the lack of a formal leader. Moreover Al-Adel is known for involving anti-American activities for years. It is interesting that the US is not focusing on al-Adel as much as Kashmiri regarding the fight with al-Qaeda. That brings the question to minds. Why do the US intelligent agencies choose Ilyas Kashmiri as a new leader of al-Qaeda instead of any other for their analysis?  

   

 

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