Walid Muhammad Salih Ba Atash, Khaled Bin Attash, Khallad Bin Attash
Executive Summary: Detainee is a senior al-Qaida lieutenant and former bodyguard for Usama Bin Laden (UBL). Detainee swore Bayat, an oath of loyalty, to UBL.
Detainee participated in the Tajikistan Jihad and fought against the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan (AF). The detainee helped coordinate and acquire materials for the 12 October 2000 bombing ofthe USS COLE in Aden, YM. He also participated in casing security measures of US-based air carriers out of Southeast Asia for the intended Southeast Asia portion of the 11 September 2001 hijacking operations.
After UBL canceled the detainee`s portion of the mission, the detainee assisted Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and his nephew Ammar al-Baluchi,2 in Pakistan (PK) to plan and coordinate the intended attack against Heathrow International Airport in London, United Kingdom (UK), as well as the Karachi Plot.; Detainee's former positions as a UBL bodyguard and senior al-Qaida lieutenant have provided him with the connections and training to be a future threat.
Detainee traveled to Tajikistan to participate in jihad ln 1996, detainee returned to Afghanistan from Tajikistanfo In 1997, during a battle against the Northern Alliance, detainee lost a portion of his leg for which he traveled to Malaysia (MY) to be fitted with a prosthetic replacement. He returned to Malaysia again in 1999 to obtain a new, better fitting, replacement prosthetic. Also in 1999, detainee instructed a close combat course at Mes Aynak training camp, located near Kabul,
AF, prior to the camp closingf] Detainee also attended a 10-14 day training course in Karachi, PK, where he learned basic English-language words and phrases, such as how to read the yellow pages and airline time tables, and how to use the internet to encode communications and make travel reservations.l2 Later, detainee traveled to Thailand (TH) via Hong Kong, China and cased US airline security in preparation of the attacks of ll September 2001
Reasons for Continued Detention: Detainee was a senior al-Qaida lieutenant
and bodyguard for UBL, had ties to other senior al-Qaida personnel, and is a veteran jihadist.
Detainee arranged for the procurement of explosives used in the bombing of the USS COLE and was to be a suicide hijacker for the cancelled Southeast Asia portion of the ll September 2001 attacks. Detainee conducted surveillance of security for US-based air carriers flying in the Southeast Asia region. Detainee had proposed and was involved in the operational planning for an attack against London's Heathrow International Airport. Was also the primary collaborator in a plot to attack US diplomatic and commercial interests in Karachi prior to his capture.
Detainee served as a UBL bodyguard and supervisor of the security after his return from Tajikistan in 1996. Detainee elaborated on procedures for selecting bodyguards for UBL's personal security force. Being a security guard or personal bodyguard was a prestigious position and bodyguards had closer contact with UBL than other support personnel.
Ahmed Ould Abdel Aziz, identified detainee as the supervisor for UBL's bodyguards" Detainee said that UBL would often change the composition of his security detail and would rely on individuals, namely the detainee, to identify new bodyguards."
Al-Qaida financial operative Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, claimed that his relationship with detainee was not very close as they did not work together. explained that detainee was a bodyguard for UBL while he was in the media committee.
Ahmed Muhammed Haza al-Darbi, stated that the detainee was with UBL all ofthe time as part of UBL's entourage; riding in a Toyota Hi-Lux double cab pickup truck.
KSM said that detainee had extensive experience and familiarity with the region and arrived in Malaysia ahead of the others to conduct preliminary surveillance regarding flight procedures on US aircraft flying between Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Upon completion of his surveillance, and with the realization that it may be difficult for Yemeni's to enter the US, detainee retumed to Afghanistan, where he met with UBL and presented a proposal to conduct an operation in Southeast Asia.
Detainee provided additional comments on planning for the 9/ ll attacks. Detainee stated that he was in Asia during December l999. Detainee clarified that after he completed his surveillance mission in Southeast Asia, he returned to Pakistan in approximately mid-January 2000. Alier retuming, he discussed the results of his surveillance with KSM and Abd al Rahim Hussein Mohammed al Nashiri.
Detainee commented that his flights throughout Southeast Asia were surveillance missions for the Southeast Asia part of the 9/ ll operations. Detainee stated he flew first class on United Airlines flights from Bangkok, TH, to Hong Kong, and then returned first class on a second United Airlines flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok on January 2001. Detainee stated that he and other al-Qaida operations planners believed that security measures were applied company wide, thus whatever in formation he obtained on United Airlines security measures would apply to all United Airlines flights throughout Southeast Asia." Detainee stated that most of the passengers in the first class cabin were US persons. Detainee stated he wanted to fly additional casing missions in Southeast Asia so he could fly on the upper deck of a 747 to observe the cockpit during flight."
Detainee stated that, upon returning to Afghanistan from Malaysia in early 2000, he discussed his plans with UBL. UBL, on the other hand, wanted detainee to sit in the economy class section of a 747 on a flight between Bangkok and Hong Kong to find out how many US citizens were on a typical Southeast Asia flight on a US carrier. UBL was worried it would be mostly Southeast Asians in economy class, so UBL wanted to make sure most of the passengers were US persons, thus ensuring he would kill the largest number of US persons possible. Detainee did not know why UBL cancelled the Southeast Asia portion of the 9/11 operations. Detainee speculated that because the planning for the Southeast Asia portion was not moving as fast as the US portion, the hijacking plan in Southeast Asia was cancelled."
According to KSM, while planning for the 9/11 hijackings was still in the early stages, detainee was among those who were pre-selected as participants. Prior to leaving for the US, via Malaysia, detainee received basic information on ways to rent an apartment, popular restaurants, and how to read a phone book. KSM stated detainee was to be used as one of the "muscle men" on the aircraft." Detainee explained that his knowledge of the proposed attack against London's Heathrow International Airport was based on what he had leamed after KSM's capture in March 2003 from al-Qaida co-conspirator Ammar al Baluchi, during a series of approximately four or five meetings in Karachi.