Exclusive: Al Qaeda No. 2 Injured?

Letter Obtained By CBS News Urgently Requests Doctor To Treat Ayman al-Zawahiri

(CBS)  Ayman al-Zawahiri - the second most powerful leader in al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden's No. 2 - may be critically wounded and possibly dead, CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan reports exclusively.

CBS News has obtained a copy of an intercepted letter from sources in Pakistan, which urgently requests a doctor to treat al-Zawahiri. He's believed to be somewhere in Pakistan's remote tribal areas of Pakistan.

The letter refers to Sheikh Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri by name - and says that he is in "severe pain" and his "injuries are infected."

[Following the broadcast of this report, Taliban officials denied that al-Zawahiri was injured or killed in any missile attack.]

The letter is reportedly written by local Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, whose signature and seal are visible on the letter.

The Taliban logo and the Mehsud's seal have been confirmed by experts as legitimate.

The letter is dated July 29 - one day after a U.S. air strike that killed al Qaeda weapons expert Abu Khabab al-Masri, and five other Arabs in South Waziristan.

U.S. authorities have said they do not have information that al-Zawahiri was present during Monday's strike, or that he was injured.

However, a counter-intelligence expert and other U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News that the U.S. is looking into reports that al-Zawahiri is dead.

Logan reports that while there have been false death rumors regarding al-Zawahiri before, there have been no denials yet from Pakistan, the U.S. or al Qaeda Web sites.

[republic1776]

Good,
I hope this dirtbag is dead!

[hober_mallow]

I''m no supporter of George Bush or his phony war, but if al Zawahiri dies, that would be a good thing.

[libsluv2spit]

Why does the GOP attack us? They hate us for our freedom.


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Posted by downtowner97 at 06:54 PM : Aug 01, 2008
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squirm your terrorist appeasing liberal..squirm..that noose is getting thighter and thighter..SQUIRM

[usclimey]

Until he''s rotting in SuperMax waiting for the needle we should have caution. Remember today''s dead dirtbag is tomorrow''s Isalmic Martyr

This grumpy old man claim to fame is talking Muslim youth to die for his cause.

[rosieod4prez]

"The letter refers to Sheikh Dr. Ayman ul Zawahiri by name - and says that he is in "severe pain" and his "injuries are infected." - article



I hope he is still alive and in severe pain still. I hope his injuries are from the bombs that killed al Qaeda weapons expert Abu Khabab al-Masri, and five other Arabs in South Waziristan. And I hope he is able to pass on to all that visit him that one moment they were enjoying tea and the next, out of no where with out warning, Allah willed an explosion that has set him to his current misery.

All terrorist should die after a protracted, painful wounding. May he rot in hell, Allah willing of course.

[vietnam21]

Send him 72 Ga# GUY VIRGIN EH.....

[dcnewton2]

I hope he survives so we can water board the slimeball.

[ankouemo]

How do we know that this is not a distraction

[rosieod4prez]

vietnam21 - I''d like it if the US could give them ALL the oportunity to see the 72 virgins (goats).

[cdfoxtrot1]

Didn''t they kill the #2 guy multiple times already. This is beginning to read like an Austin Powers movie.

[cdfoxtrot1]

How do we know that this is not a distraction

Posted by ankouemo

It IS a distraction and it has people talking about the great "successes" of the moron-in-chief and gets simple minded people thinking we need more of the same, in November. It''s all geared around getting McBush elected.

[deacon20081]

Show me a Dead Body...then I might believe it

[voxpopulus]

"but it simply cannot be denied that the man knows how to kill and capture terrorist scum."

Yeah. Ignore the country they do come from, and the country they are in, and invade one they do not come from and aren''t in.

[deacon20081]

It IS a distraction and it has people talking about the great "successes" of the moron-in-chief and gets simple minded people thinking we need more of the same, in November. It''''s all geared around getting McBush elected.

We have seen the propaganda spin machine working overtime before, I doubt this is anything different.

[shazam112]

SHOW me the dead mullah than I will believe it...pakistanis are big big liar ...

[wwudiver]

"I hope he survives so we can water board the slimeball. "

You have to violate pakistan''s sovereignty first. If they can''t control their borders and continue having an issue with what is there a popular movement, can we just carpet bomb those border stinkies below the stone age level that they live in?

My buddy Jason Bogar was killed playing this game of border jumping a few weeks ago. We need to pour resources to people who attacked us. Regardless of the reason for the attack we need to make an example. We need to call our generals and tell them to kill them no matter where they hide, even if we chase them Islamabad.

[dnamj]

If true, it would be good progress. This guy is a truly bad guy, and we should have gone after him and never stopped. But I doubt it''s true.

[thcarson-2009]

Didn''''t they kill the #2 guy multiple times already. This is beginning to read like an Austin Powers movie.


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Posted by cdfoxtrot1

You just showed your intelligence level, he''s only been the #2 man since roughly June of 01''

[bhphoto]

i want bin ladin !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[thcarson-2009]

Thank you President George W. Bush!!!

[marshall_nee]

Was it his right wrist that got ''Injured'' from all those constant hand gestures he seems to do in every video?

[annia1233]

I will pray for God to deliver him some gangrene to both legs and his tongue, and kidney shut down, I also hope he will have encephalopathy and MRSA.

[mandalay-bay]

Less than 100 days to a national election day and the propaganda tide is approaching maximum flood...

Regards,


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Posted by Nancy_Naive at 07:37 PM : Aug 01, 2008

Yup. He might be "hurt"...or....."seriously injured"....maybe even "dead"...who knows?

could be any of those...could be none...


Yeah right...

[marshall_nee]

I will pray for God to deliver him some gangrene to both legs and his tongue, and kidney shut down, I also hope he will have encephalopathy and MRSA.

Posted by annia1233 at 07:44 PM : Aug 01, 2008

Just send him to the UK for pretty much all of those.

[thcarson-2009]

Maybe we can send Dr. Kevorkian.

[rosieod4prez]

"Less than 100 days to a national election day and the propaganda tide is approaching maximum flood... - Nancy_Naive


You wouldn''t mean like Michael Moron''s award winning ''documentary'' would you ?


Tough having the shoe on the other foot ain''t it.

[royalia]

This is good news. Why has it taken so long? Oops, we invaded Iraq, where there were no al Qaeda before we invaded! Hasn''t Obama been clearly stating that we need to put more effort into Afghanistan and Pakistan? Yes, that''s RIGHT folks! I am sincerely happy that he may have been hurt or killed. But how is this a credit to Bush? And a note to CBS about the sub-heading for this War on Terror section that calls it "Bush''s War on Terror". Uh, when did become his war? It''s a global effor that involves many, many countries. Did W. invent this war?

[wdh3007]

If true then OBL and his security must not be too far ahead and Al Qaeda has taken a severe loss in the last few days. But now at least we all know the leadership is indeed concentrated inside Pakistan''s tribal area. Now it is time for the intelligence community to hit hard on what''s infront of them!

[oneamerican_]

If it wasn''t from the Hellfire missle strike - then it is probably involving a nasty sexually transmitted disease and a goat.

Poor goat.

[royalia]

Yes, yes, "liberals" like to have their cities blown up. I voted for Bush twice. Big mistake. Answer this question. Don''t ya think we could have had al Qaeda in south and central Asia pretty much wiped out if we hadn''t invaded Iraq? You DO know al Qaeda wasn''t in Iraq before we invaded, right? You DO know Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11, right? Look it up, do some research, find the Youtube clip with Cheney saying so himself.

[libsluv2spit]

Posted by royalia at 08:03 PM : Aug 01, 2008
+ report abuse


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where ever there is radical islamic ideology..THERE WILL ALWAYS BE AN ''AL QUEDA" AND WHENEVER there is an anti-american cause..there will be a liberal right behind it..

[libsluv2spit]

Ayman al-Zawahiri and George W Bush have something in common - "A Pet Goat"...




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Posted by IOWEIGN at 08:06 PM : Aug 01, 2008
+ report abuse

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and we all know liberals knows all about ''pet goats'' and deseases

[rosieod4prez]

"This news will upset liberals.

"Anything that''s bad for America''s enemies and good for America makes liberals angry - SpinLiberal



Yeah - good thing it was a shear coincidence that former President Ford died the same day that Zarqawi''s died, otherwise people would be asking the New York Times and Pelosi why their US flags were at half mast.

Ha ha - just kidding. Everyone knows there aren''t any US flags at the NY Times building.

[libsluv2spit]

Posted by IRLiberal at 08:13 PM : Aug 01, 2008
+ report abuse


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that is a very generic ''reasoning'' from a liberal..they use it all the time since the 60''s. Of course, it makes you squirm when things like things turns up int he news.

[royalia]

Let''s start over without the liberal and neocon labels. How about we use objective evidence. You want to kill terrorists in an Islamic state? Then start in Saudi Arabia, not Iraq. Most of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. There ARE terrorist cells in western Europe (France, Spain, Netherlands). And if you want to talk about real failure, let''s talk about the failure of the Bush Administration to act on the VOLUMINOUS intelligence about al Qaeda threats in 2000 and leading up to September 11. If you want the source, I''ll give it to you.

[rosieod4prez]

shazam112 - don''t stroke out on us gomer.

Allah willing, I''m sure Ayman al-Zawahiri will survive that hellfire to suffer for a LONG time, m''boy.

[thcarson-2009]

I hope that little traitor Adam Gadahn gets his soon.

[ioweign]

Failure of Bush. Failure of Cheney. Failure of the republicans.

Time for a change.

Posted by IRLiberal at 08:31 PM : Aug 01, 2008


Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

John F. Kennedy

[thcarson-2009]

Bin Laden still lives. The mastermind of 9/11 still walks free. Posted by IRLiberal at 08:31 PM

On February 23, 1998, he issued a joint fatwa with Osama bin Laden under the title "World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders". Zawahiri, not bin Laden, is thought to have been the actual author of the fatwa.[52] Similarly, bin Laden''s preferred biographer Hamid Mir is reported to have said that he believed that Ayman al-Zawahiri was the operational head of al-Qaeda, and that "[h]e is the person who can do the things that happened on Sept. 11."[53]

[shazam112]

shazam112 - what''''s za matter - got your goat, so to speak ?


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Posted by RosieOD4Prez at 08:33

If like rosie dine you can be my goat ,but I am long way to toronto ,plenty of grazing for you along the way...rosie b-utttts.....

[rosieod4prez]

royalia - it''s not that we don''t want to answer you.

We just don''t want to read your comments.

[obama8years]

Barack Obama has seen which way the wind is blowing on gas prices, and today he changed his mind about offshore drilling:

"My interest is in making sure we''''''''ve got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices," Obama said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post.
"If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage%u2014I don''''''''t want to be so rigid that we can''''''''t get something done."
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About time I hear something that makes sense from Obama lips. Now Obama get your boss Nancy to get back in the Congress Session and Pass a Bill. Will See Oil spiral as soon as its signed. The psychology of the World finding out America is going to Drill for its own oil, will make the market unstable. Will start seeing 2.00 gas. IT WILL HAPPEN. or we Could just go Inflate our tires.

[irliberal]

Bin Laden still lives. The mastermind of 9/11 still walks free. Posted by IRLiberal at 08:31 PM

On February 23, 1998, he issued a joint fatwa with Osama bin Laden under the title "World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders". Zawahiri, not bin Laden, is thought to have been the actual author of the fatwa.[52] Similarly, bin Laden''''s preferred biographer Hamid Mir is reported to have said that he believed that Ayman al-Zawahiri was the operational head of al-Qaeda, and that "[h]e is the person who can do the things that happened on Sept. 11."[53]

Posted by thcarson at 08:36 PM

Fine. They''re both still alive. And we invaded and occupied a country that had nothing - nothing at all - to do with al qaeda.

[thcarson-2009]

Rosie cosie posie dosie what a freaking name lady bug...


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Posted by shazam112


How old are you, 4? Does your mom know you''re on the computer talking to grown-ups

[shazam112]

OH you again liar boy....obama 20 years

[irliberal]

royalia - it''''s not that we don''''t want to answer you.

We just don''''t want to read your comments.

Posted by RosieOD4Prez at 08:37 PM

We? Who''s we? You and ... your other hand? Lol..

[irliberal]

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

John F. Kennedy

Posted by IOWEIGN at 08:36 PM

Very nice quote. 8-)

[shazam112]

Posted by shazam112


How old are you, 4? Does your mom know you''''re on the computer talking to grown-ups


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Posted by thcarson at 08:38 PM : Aug 01, 2008


GROWN UP lord have mercy another bubble bee ,do grown up have meager brains in the u.s.

[thcarson-2009]

Fine. They''''re both still alive. And we invaded and occupied a country that had nothing - nothing at all - to do with al qaeda.


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Posted by IRLiberal

You seem pretty sure about them both being alive, maybe your posting from a cave in Pakistan.