Rashid Rauf

Rauf was born in England to Pakistani parents, and brought up in Birmingham where his father was a baker. Rauf was married to a relative of Maulana Masood Azhar, who is the head and founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamist militant group in Pakistan. One of Rauf's brothers, Tayib Rauf, was among those arrested in Britain, although he was later released without charges.

Rauf was reportedly killed by a U.S. drone attack in Pakistan on November 22, 2008, carried out by the CIA's highly secretive Special Activities Division. The report was based on communications intercepted from militants in North Waziristan. His family have denied that he was killed. While CIA and Pakistan intelligence officials have maintained that Rauf was killed in the airstrike, the news site Long War Journal believes otherwise. As of September 8, 2009, however, USA Today and United Press International still believe that Rauf was killed. Some of Rauf's associates also believe that he never escaped from prison in 2007 and that he might have been dead long before the airstrike; Hashmat Malik, a lawyer representing the family of Rauf's wife Umat al-Warood, has also argued that Rauf was probably killed during a prison shootout at the time of his alleged escape.

Timeline

August 15: Pakistan said it may extradite Rauf to Britain, although no request had been received, according to The Associated Press.

August 17: The alleged UK airport terror plot was sanctioned by al Qaeda's No2, Ayman al Zawahri, according to Pakistani intelligence. The latest investigations by Pakistan indicate that Rauf was the planner of the alleged attacks. "We have reason to believe that it was al Qaeda sanctioned and was probably cleared by al Zawahri", said a Pakistani official.

August 19: After two weeks of interrogation and a careful search of his house, too little evidence had been found to justify his extradition.

August 22: In Pakistan, law enforcement authorities continued to interrogate Rauf over his alleged key role in the plot. Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said British police were conducting inquiries in Pakistan but were not involved in questioning Rauf.

August 26: Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao said Rauf had “wider international links” and was in touch with an Afghanistan-based al-Qaida leader. He did not offer any evidence to back up his claim. Pakistan has withheld information about at least seven suspects, whom security officials say were arrested on Rauf’s information. Pakistan has no extradition treaty with Britain, but Sherpao said they would consider deporting Rauf to London if a request was made. Rauf, in his mid-20s, is believed to have been interrogated by Pakistan agents near the capital, Islamabad.

December 13: The terrorism charges against Rauf are dropped. The Pakistani court finds there is no evidence that he is involved in terrorism. The British government has stated this does not impact their proceedings against the other suspects whom they hold.

December 14, 2007: Rauf mysteriously escaped from jail. Authorities say he escaped after freeing himself from handcuffs. The two police officials on the duty were arrested by Islamabad police. The police also tightened security at public transport routes and especially in Rauf's native town, Mirpur. A month after this report surfaced, Rauf's lawyer denied he had escaped and said he was probably still in custody.

2008: Rauf had contact with Bryant Neal Vinas, an American who joined al-Qaeda. Vinas was captured in November 2008, and convicted of participating in and supporting al-Qaeda plots in Afghanistan and the U.S.

References