StarvingStudent47
10-21-2003, 02:36 PM
U.S. officials say 9/11 mastermind killed Pearl
http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2003/US/10/21/pearl.mohammed/story.ksmohammed.ap.jpg
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2003/US/10/21/pearl.mohammed/story.new.pearl.jpg
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials say they believe Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, killed Daniel Pearl, The Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and slain in Pakistan.
Pearl, 38, the newspaper's South Asia bureau chief, was taken hostage in January 2002 and killed. A videotape of the killing was distributed, but the face of the person who slit Pearl's throat cannot be seen.
U.S. officials declined to say why they are convinced that Mohammed killed Pearl. But they point to testimony in the September 2002 trial of some in Pakistan accused of involvement in the case that indicated Mohammed did the killing.
A U.S. official said Mohammed, a prisoner of the CIA at an undisclosed location, will not be tried for the killing "anytime real soon" but could not rule out the possibility at some time in the future. He was captured in March.
Even before the grisly tape confirmed Pearl's death, Pakistani authorities captured four men it said were behind the kidnapping -- but none of those were believed responsible for slitting the reporter's throat.
Three other men -- who police said have provided much detail of the kidnapping and killing -- are reportedly being unofficially held by Pakistani authorities.
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a London-born Islamic militant who was convicted in 1994 of luring four Westerners into a kidnapping in India, was convicted of masterminding Pearl's abduction and sentenced to death. Three Pakistanis -- Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Mohammed Adeel -- also have been convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Pakistani authorities are holding three other militants -- Naeem Bukhari, Fazal Karim and Zubair Chishti -- who have admitted a role in the kidnapping and provided much detail of the abduction and Pearl's subsequent killing, according to two investigators who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Pearl was kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan, while researching links between Pakistani Islamic extremists and Richard C. Reid, who later was convicted for carrying explosives in his shoes on a trans-Atlantic flight in December 2001.
Daniel Pearl was taken hostage in January 2002.
According to Pakistani investigators, on the evening of January 23, 2002, Pearl was en route to a restaurant, where he expected to meet an Islamic activist who was supposedly trying to arrange an interview with a prominent cleric.
Pearl was put in one car, which was followed by another vehicle containing three other kidnappers. The car took Pearl to a shack, where he was to be held.
According to the two investigators, Pearl tried to escape as he was being led to the toilet during his sixth day in captivity. However, he was tackled, beaten and shot in the leg.
The kidnappers deliberated two days about killing him and issued a ransom demand, the officers said. On the ninth day of the kidnapping, three Arabs were brought to the hide-out, the police said.
The two officers said militants told them the Arabs were associates of Ramzi Yousef -- the imprisoned mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Police said the kidnappers began asking Pearl a series of questions about his religion and his background as one of the Arabs filmed it with a video camera.
Suddenly, someone seized Pearl's hands, and one of the Arabs slit his throat, the officers said in an August report. The killing was supposed to have been recorded, but "the cameraman lost his nerve," one of the policemen said.
The videotape was later sent to the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, confirming Pearl's death. In May 2002, Pakistani authorities found the reporter's body buried on the outskirts of Karachi, and DNA tests confirmed the remains were Pearl's.
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/US/10/21/pearl.mohammed/index.html
http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2003/US/10/21/pearl.mohammed/story.ksmohammed.ap.jpg
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2003/US/10/21/pearl.mohammed/story.new.pearl.jpg
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials say they believe Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, killed Daniel Pearl, The Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and slain in Pakistan.
Pearl, 38, the newspaper's South Asia bureau chief, was taken hostage in January 2002 and killed. A videotape of the killing was distributed, but the face of the person who slit Pearl's throat cannot be seen.
U.S. officials declined to say why they are convinced that Mohammed killed Pearl. But they point to testimony in the September 2002 trial of some in Pakistan accused of involvement in the case that indicated Mohammed did the killing.
A U.S. official said Mohammed, a prisoner of the CIA at an undisclosed location, will not be tried for the killing "anytime real soon" but could not rule out the possibility at some time in the future. He was captured in March.
Even before the grisly tape confirmed Pearl's death, Pakistani authorities captured four men it said were behind the kidnapping -- but none of those were believed responsible for slitting the reporter's throat.
Three other men -- who police said have provided much detail of the kidnapping and killing -- are reportedly being unofficially held by Pakistani authorities.
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a London-born Islamic militant who was convicted in 1994 of luring four Westerners into a kidnapping in India, was convicted of masterminding Pearl's abduction and sentenced to death. Three Pakistanis -- Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Mohammed Adeel -- also have been convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Pakistani authorities are holding three other militants -- Naeem Bukhari, Fazal Karim and Zubair Chishti -- who have admitted a role in the kidnapping and provided much detail of the abduction and Pearl's subsequent killing, according to two investigators who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Pearl was kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan, while researching links between Pakistani Islamic extremists and Richard C. Reid, who later was convicted for carrying explosives in his shoes on a trans-Atlantic flight in December 2001.
Daniel Pearl was taken hostage in January 2002.
According to Pakistani investigators, on the evening of January 23, 2002, Pearl was en route to a restaurant, where he expected to meet an Islamic activist who was supposedly trying to arrange an interview with a prominent cleric.
Pearl was put in one car, which was followed by another vehicle containing three other kidnappers. The car took Pearl to a shack, where he was to be held.
According to the two investigators, Pearl tried to escape as he was being led to the toilet during his sixth day in captivity. However, he was tackled, beaten and shot in the leg.
The kidnappers deliberated two days about killing him and issued a ransom demand, the officers said. On the ninth day of the kidnapping, three Arabs were brought to the hide-out, the police said.
The two officers said militants told them the Arabs were associates of Ramzi Yousef -- the imprisoned mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Police said the kidnappers began asking Pearl a series of questions about his religion and his background as one of the Arabs filmed it with a video camera.
Suddenly, someone seized Pearl's hands, and one of the Arabs slit his throat, the officers said in an August report. The killing was supposed to have been recorded, but "the cameraman lost his nerve," one of the policemen said.
The videotape was later sent to the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, confirming Pearl's death. In May 2002, Pakistani authorities found the reporter's body buried on the outskirts of Karachi, and DNA tests confirmed the remains were Pearl's.
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/US/10/21/pearl.mohammed/index.html