Washington, Sept 10: Two years after its most ambitious terrorist strike, the leadership of the al-Qaeda terror network is facing the "growing risk of breaking apart," but the group continues to pose a threat, the US Central Intelligence Agency has warned. The assessment was contained in an unclassified brief the CIA gave Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz for his Tuesday testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"The central leadership of al-Qaeda is at growing risk of breaking apart as our blows against the group create a level of disarray and confusion throughout the organisation that we have not seen since the collapse of the Taliban in late 2001," the agency said.
It pointed out that more than two-thirds of known senior al-Qaeda leaders, operational managers and key facilitators were now dead or in custody, while others were being actively hunted down. Those neutralised included 10 key al-Qaeda financiers who were involved in raising funds for the organisation by using charities and other non-governmental groups, according to the CIA.
The names of the fundraisers have not been released.
As a result of multiple counter-terrorism operations, al-Qaeda founder and mastermind of the September 11 attack Osama bin Laden has been practically "isolated from the group" as he hides in a rugged mountainous area along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, said a US official. Bureau Report