What dossier on Mahmoud Omar Muhammad Bin Atef says about him
A dossier published by the New York Times on one of the former Guantanamo detainees now in Ghana, Mahmoud Omar Muhammad Bin Atef, describes him as “an admitted member of the Taliban” and a fighter in Usama Bin Laden’s primary battle formation – the 55th Arab Brigade.
The dossier, dated December 28, 2007, classifies him as HIGH risk and likely to pose a threat to the US, its interests and allies; a HIGH threat from a detention perspective; and of MEDIUM intelligence value.
It says that he participated in hostilities against US and coalition forces and was at the aforementioned date, still in continued demonstration of his support for Usama Bin Laden and extremism.
Mahmoud Omar Muhammad Bin Atef is assessed to have stayed at al-Qaida and Taliban guesthouses and admitted receiving militant training at the al-Qaida al-Faruq training camp. His name was also found on an al-Qaida affiliated document.
According to an account of his events, stated to be Bin Atef’s own, the Yemeni who was born in Saudi Arabia, only completed the first year of high school in Saudi Arabia and held a job as a driver during the hajj period.
He decided to travel to Afghanistan to participate in Jihad after watching several propaganda videos and discussing them with several people including one Muhammad Saad al-Lahibi who approached him at the al-Shinqiti Mosque in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, persuaded him and facilitated his travel arrangements.
At Kandahar in Afghanistan, he expressed his desire to fight and was trained for three weeks at the al-Faruq camp, on the AK-47, pistol and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher.
A note by an analyst on his dossier, however says: “The approximate period for basic training at al-Faruq was eight weeks. Though possible, it is unlikely detainee only received three weeks of training.”
While at the camp, he saw Usama Bin Laden when the latter visited the camp to speak to the trainees. He was asked to swear an oath of loyalty to Usama Bin Laden but claims he refused, for unstated reasons.
After his training, Mahmoud Omar Muhammad Bin Atef was assigned to the Talha Unit, one of four fighting positions of Usama Bin Laden, in the Khwaja Ghar area of northern Afghanistan.
In late November 2001, his unit commander Gharib al-Sanaani ordered the unit to withdraw and approximately, on November 24, 2001, Northern Alliance forces captured Bin Ateh, along with other retreating Taliban and al-Qaida forces. He was then transferred to US custody not later than January 1, 2002.
His overall conduct and behaviour during detention at Guantanamo, was at the December 2007 date classified as “noncompliant and semi-hostile to the guard force and staff”, with 125 reports of disciplinary infractions, having assaulted and made multiple threats to kill guard force personnel.
Mahmoud Omar Muhammad Bin Atef is also reported to have on multiple occasions, stated that upon his release from Guantanamo, he would research guard force personnel’s names and faces on the internet and sneak into their homes to cut their throats like sheep.
By Emmanuel Odonkor