Al-Qaeda has accused Pakistani security forces of detaining the wife of its chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and two other families of the insurgent group’s “martyrs” for nearly a year.



In a statement, the leadership of al-Qaeda on Friday alleged “treacherous Pakistani forces” captured Zawahiri’s wife and others as they left the former Taliban stronghold of Waziristan bordering Afghanistan about a year ago due to continuous airstrikes.



“We ... hold Pakistan’s government and its treacherous army and their American masters responsible for their criminal acts,” the statement said.



There was no immediate comment from Pakistan.



Zawahiri, an Egyptian, became the leader of al-Qaeda following the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan by US Navy SEALS. He is believed to be hiding somewhere in the region.

Last Update: Friday, 23 August 2019 KSA 16:58 - GMT 13:58 </s> New Delhi: Al-Qaeda leadership has accused Pakistan’s security forces of detaining the wife of its chief Ayman al-Zawahiri along with two other families of their ‘martyrs’ for nearly a year.

The insurgent group released a statement alleging that “treacherous Pakistani forces” had “captured” Chief Zawahiri’s wife while they were leaving Waziristan, former Taliban stronghold adjacent ot Afghanistan, about a year ago due to continuous airstrikes.

“We … hold Pakistan’s government and its treacherous army and their American masters responsible for their criminal acts,” read the statement, as reported by news agency Associated Press.

Pakistan has not given any immediate response to their statement.

Zawahiri, who hails from Egypt, took command as the leader of al-Qaeda following the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan by United States Navy SEALS. He is believed to be hiding somewhere in the region.

Notably, the terror front ha been trying to make a comeback in Afghanistan under a resurgent Taliban, strengthening their alliance in their ‘jihad’. The Al-Qaeda and Taliban leadership have repeatedly stressed the importance of their nature of alliance as “military and religious instructors” for their jihadist motive, a UN report stated. </s> ISLAMABAD (AP) — Al-Qaida has accused Pakistani security forces of detaining the wife of its chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and two other families of the insurgent group’s “martyrs” for nearly a year.

In a statement, the leadership of al-Qaida on Friday alleged “treacherous Pakistani forces” captured Zawahiri’s wife and others as they left the former Taliban stronghold of Waziristan bordering Afghanistan about a year ago due to continuous airstrikes.

It said: “We … hold Pakistan’s government and its treacherous army and their American masters responsible for their criminal acts.”

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian, became leader of al-Qaida following the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan by U.S. Navy SEALS. He is believed to be hiding somewhere in the region.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> Islamabad: Al-Qaeda has accused Pakistani security forces of detaining the wife of its chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and two other families of the insurgent group's "martyrs" for nearly a year.

In a statement, the leadership of al-Qaeda on Friday alleged "treacherous Pakistani forces" captured Zawahiri's wife and others as they left the former Taliban stronghold of Waziristan bordering Afghanistan about a year ago due to continuous airstrikes.

It said: "We ... hold Pakistan's government and its treacherous army and their American masters responsible for their criminal acts."

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian, became leader of al-Qaeda following the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan by U.S. Navy SEALS. He is believed to be hiding somewhere in the region.

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Subscribe to Moneycontrol Pro and gain access to curated markets data, trading recommendations, equity analysis, investment ideas, insights from market gurus and much more. Get Moneycontrol PRO for 1 year at price of 3 months. Use code FREEDOM. </s> The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.

On August 22, 2019, Al-Qaeda's central command released a statement via its media wing Al-Sahab condemning the Pakistani authorities for detaining the families of the foreign mujahideen for nearly a year at the behest of the U.S. intelligence services.[1] The statement names one of wives of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri among the families that were held in Pakistan after leaving Waziristan more than four years ago.

The statement begins by saying the "traitorous" Pakistani authorities have held, on the orders of U.S. intelligence, the mujahideen's families for nearly one year. The statement then lists the three families, including one of the wives of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, as follows: Hajar Nazih Nushi Rashid, the widow of "martyr" Sufyan Al-Maghribi, and her children; Iman Nazih Nushi Rashid, the widow of "martyr" Abu 'Ubaydah Al-Maqdisi, and her children; and Sayyidah Muhammad Ahmad Halawah, the wife of Sheikh Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

Saying that the three women and their families were arrested in Pakistan after departing Waziristan more than four years ago due to "repeated bombardments," the statement adds that "all attempts at mediation and negotiation with the traitorous and agent Pakistani Army, which continues to detain these vulnerable families at the behest of their American masters, have failed so far."

The statement goes on to say that Al-Qaeda holds "the Pakistani government and its traitorous army and their American masters responsible for their criminal acts." The statement concludes by citing Quran 26:227: "And soon will the unjust assailants know what vicissitudes their affairs will take." </s> Pakistani security forces have detained the wife of Al-Qaeda chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and two other family members of the groups 'martyrs' for nearly a year, according to a statement released by the insurgent group on Friday.

Al-Qaeda claimed that "treacherous Pakistani forces" captured the family members including Al-Zawahri's wife a year ago as they left Waziristan, a former Taliban base bordering Afghanistan due to airstrikes, reported Associated Press.

"We ... hold Pakistan's government and its treacherous army and their American masters responsible for their criminal acts," the statement said.

The current leader of Al-Qaeda, al-Zawahri is an Egyptian who took over the group's leadership after US military forces killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan's Abbottabad region in 2011.

While Pakistan has not commented on the statement, Zawahiri is said to be hiding in the country.

Al-Qaeda's statement came a day after US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper confirmed the death of 9/11 mastermind's son, Hamza bin Laden.

The US official confirmation comes weeks after it was reported that he was killed during the last two years in an operation that involved the United States. Hamza who is believed, to be 30 years old, may have been killed before the US announced a $1 million bounty on him in February 2019.

According to the documents found in the Abottabad house, Bin Laden was preparing Hamza to replace him as the terror outfit's leader. Later on, Hamza was assumed to have donned the role of a deputy to the Alqaeda's current chief, Al-Zawahiri.

The United Nations Security Council reported that the deteriorating health of Al-Zawahiri has raised doubts about the global terrorist organisation's succession.

Pakistan has often been accused of supporting terrorists in Afghanistan including the Al-Qaeda. Yesterday, the terror watchdog Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) Asia Pacific Group placed Pakistan in its "enhanced expedited follow-up list".

The list, which is believed to be similar to be blacklisted, APG found the country non-complaint to 32 of the 40 parameters on money-laundering and terror financing.

The announcement came a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan said that 40 different militant groups were operating in Pakistan when the country joined US war on terror after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

"We were fighting the US war on terror. Pakistan has nothing to do with 9/11. Al-Qaeda was in Afghanistan. There were no militant Taliban in Pakistan. But we joined the US war. Unfortunately, when things went wrong, where I blame my government, we did not tell the US exactly the truth on the ground," the Pakistani PM said as quoted by news agency PTI.

However, India has accused Pakistan of its state-sponsor of promoting cross-border terrorism in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region.

Earlier this month, Indian intelligence reports stated Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has given terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) full permission for conducting suicide bomb attacks in the valley and cause as many casualties as they can, without worrying about "collateral damage".

US President Donald Trump in the middle of negotiating peace talks in Afghanistan with the Taliban and the Afghan government.

The US government have stated that the withdrawal of US troops in a bid to end the 19-year war will be done over a period of time to ensure political stability and avoid security resurgence of Taliban's state control in the region. </s> The American woman who was held captive with her husband by a Taliban-linked militant group claims her husband routinely physically and emotionally abused her while they were in captivity.

In new documents unsealed this week, Caitlan Coleman, 32, alleges that her husband Joshua Boyle regularly threatened to kill her by setting her on fire during their five-year ordeal as hostages by the Haqqani network.

The Ottawa Citizen reported that Coleman is seeking to gain sole custody of their three children – who were all born in captivity.

Coleman claims that throughout their time as hostages, her husband became increasingly erratic and irrational, “depicting me as an enemy of his life.”

FORMER TALIBAN HOSTAGE CAITLAN COLEMAN SPEAKS OUT FOLLOWING RESCUE

“[He] had uncontrolled rage, instituted corporal punishment of me, and struck me in a fit of rage,” she said.

Coleman also accused her husband of having extremist ideologies that included “the complete subservience of women.” As evidence, she cited his previous marriage to Zaynab Khadr, the eldest daughter of Ahmed Said Khadr, a member of Usama bin Laden’s inner circle.

In his own 23-page affidavit, Boyle, a native of Canada, denied the allegations of abuse against him and instead accused her of neglecting their children because of mental health issues.

The couple, who met online and married in July 2011, were taken hostage on October 2012 after they went on an overseas trip to Afghanistan.

They were rescued in October 2017 by Pakistani security forces.

FORMER TALIBAN HOSTAGE JOSHUA BOYLE ACCUSED OF USING ROPE DURING SEXUAL ASSAULT

In January 2018, Boyle was charged with numerous crimes including sexual assault and was released on bail.

In July, an Ontario judge granted Coleman temporary sole custody of their children and issued a restraining order prohibiting Boyle from contacting or coming near his wife and the children.

Coleman currently lives in Pennsylvania with the kids. She is due to give birth to the couple’s fourth child this month, the Ottawa Citizen reported. </s> Saudi Arabia announced on Friday that it has revoked the citizenship of Hamza bin Laden, one of the sons of former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Reuters reported. The interior ministry’s statement to this effect was published by the official gazette.

The announcement came a day after the United States announced a reward of up to $1 million (over Rs 7 crore) for information on him, with the State Department saying Hamza bin Laden was “emerging as a leader” in the al Qaeda.

However, according to a statement published in the Um al-Qura official journal, the decision to strip him of his citizenship was made by a royal order in November.

The US State Department had designated Hamza bin Laden a global terrorist in 2017 after he called for acts of terrorism in Western capitals and threatened to take revenge against the US for his father’s killing. He had also threatened to target Americans abroad and urged Saudi tribes to unite with Yemen’s al Qaeda to fight against Saudi Arabia.

Hamza bin Laden is the son of Khairiah Sabar, one of Osama bin Laden’s three surviving wives. Sabar was living with her husband when he was killed in Pakistan’s Abbottabad in a military operation in 2011, a decade after the September 11 attacks. Hamza bin Laden, who is suspected to be around 30 years old, has reported to have been living in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria and even Iran in the past.

Osama bin Laden’s wives and other children have gone back to Saudi Arabia, where they were given refuge by the former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. They reportedly still stay in touch with Bin Laden’s mother, Alia Ghanem.

In August, reports emerged that Hamza bin Laden had married the daughter of Mohammed Atta, the chief hijacker in the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States. He is considered the second-in-command to current leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the al Qaeda. Bin Laden has reportedly threatened to exact revenge against the United States for his father’s death. In January 2017, the US added him to its counter-terrorism list, prohibiting its citizens from doing business with them. </s> A Canadian man who was held captive by a faction of the Afghan Taliban for five years has been arrested on 15 charges including sexual assault, illegal confinement and issuing death threats, according to reports.Joshua Boyle was freed last October along with his American wife Caitlan Coleman and their three children born in captivity.

The identity of the alleged victim was being withheld by a court, according to Boyle's lawyer Eric Granger.Granger added his client was "presumed innocent" and had never been in any form of legal trouble before."We look forward to receiving the evidence and defending him against these charges," he said, adding Boyle would appear before a court in Ottawa on Wednesday.

According to news channel CTV, Boyle is facing eight counts of assault, two counts of sexual assault and two counts of unlawful confinement, as well as one each of misleading police to "divert suspicion from himself," uttering a death threat, and administering a noxious substance, Trazodone.In a statement to The Toronto Star and published on the newspaper's website, Boyle's wife would not comment on the specific charges "but I can say that ultimately it is the strain and trauma he was forced to endure for so many years and the effects that that had on his mental state that is most culpable for this."

She said "with compassion and forgiveness that I... hope help and healing can be found for him."Coleman added that she and the children were healthy.

Boyle and Coleman, who have been married since 2011, were kidnapped by the Taliban during what they described as a backpacking trip through war-torn Afghanistan in 2012, and were later transferred to the custody of the Haqqani faction, known for its alleged ties to the Pakistani military.

They were freed on October 12, but refused to board a US military plane. Boyle, a Muslim convert and long-time advocate of freed Guantanamo inmate Omar Khadr, cited fears over his background.Upon his arrival in Toronto two days later Boyle accused his captors of raping his wife and killing his baby daughter, a fourth child -- allegations swiftly refuted by the Taliban's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

Mujahid admitted a baby had died but said it was a result of a natural miscarriage.A month later Coleman also spoke of a sexual "assault" by two of her captors in an interview with ABC news.

Boyle has been an outspoken advocate for Omar Khadr, a Canadian captured at the age of 15 in 2002 in Afghanistan and held at Guantanamo Bay before being transferred to Canada and later released.
Al-Qaeda accuses "treacherous Pakistani forces" of detaining the wife and two other relatives of the group's leader Ayman al Zawahiri for over a year.