Washington, Oct 14; Osama Bin Laden's son Saad Bin Laden has emerged in recent months as part of upper echelon of Al-Qaeda network and is managing the terrorist outfit with the help of a small group of leaders from Iran. Saad and other senior Al-Qaeda operatives were in contact with an Al-Qaeda cell in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, prior to may 12 suicide bombing there that left 35 people dead, including eight Americans, the Washington Post reported today quoting US, European and Arab intelligence sources.
The younger Bin Laden is protected by an elite, radical Iranian security force loyal to nation's clerics and beyond the control of central government. The secretive unit, known as Jerusalem Force, has restricted Al-Qaeda's movements to its bases, mostly along the border with Afghanistan.
Also under Jerusalem force's protection is Saif Al-Adel, Al-Qaeda's chief of military operations, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, the organisation's Chief Financial Officer, and two dozen other top Al-Qaeda leaders, it said.
The Jerusalem force is a "state within a state" and that is why it is able to offer protection to Al-Qaeda, the daily said quoting intelligence analysts. The force trains in psychological and guerrilla warfare with emphasis on use of hand-grenades, mines, booby-trap techniques, camouflage and ambushes. The operations include assassinations, kidnapping, torture and explosions, it added.
Bureau Report