Terrorist of the week: Yasi al-Suri

In 2005, Yasin al-Suri made al-Qaeda's
"Top 30 under 30." According to Uncle Sam,
his head is worth $10  million.

Have you seen this guy?  If you have, the United States government would like to have a chat with him.  In the age of the Global on Terror, what that really means is "If you have and would be so kind to let the United States government know, they will pay you a very large reward fee for being able to put him in the crosshairs of a drone pilot."

What did he do?  According to the State Department,

Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, more commonly known as Yasin al-Suri, is a senior al-Qaida facilitator based in Iran. Al-Suri moves money and recruits from across the Middle East into Iran, and then on to Pakistan, to support al-Qaida’s senior leadership. Iranian authorities maintain a relationship with al-Suri and have permitted him to operate within Iran’s borders since 2005.

Al-Suri facilitates the movement of recruits for al-Qaida from the Gulf to Pakistan and Afghanistan via Iran. He is also an important fundraiser for al-Qaida and has collected money from donors and fundraisers throughout the Gulf. Al-Suri funnels significant funds via Iran for onward passage to al-Qaida’s leadership in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Working with the Iranian government, al-Suri arranges the release of al-Qaida personnel from Iranian prisons. When al-Qaida operatives are released, the Iranian government transfers them to al-Suri, who then facilitates their travel to Pakistan.

As you might imagine, our "friends" in Iran flat out deny any connection. According to the Iranian news agency, Fars, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said, "The American government's recent unwise scenario regarding Iran's involvement in the September 11, 2001 attacks and the presence of an al Qaeda member in Iran is completely baseless. The US endangers international peace and security through repeating such false claims which are raised to meet Washington's political goals."


What's amazing about the reward and Yasin is the admission that he's been a liaison between al Qaeda and Iran since 2005 when he was 23 years old.  I know of drug dealing thugs who murder people every day and don't even have a sum this high on their heads.  Yasin's bounty is only $15 million less than Ayman Zawhiri, the new chief of al Qaeda.  What does this make Yasin?  I'll tell you what it makes him a high value target.  My guess is if captured or killed, Yasin's disappearance from the global terrorism scene would be a huge victory for American intelligence agencies as well as put a dent in the number of foreign fighters who appear to be growing exponentially.  Another reason you offer this kind of cash is because you know someone out there wants this money more than they care about Yasin.

So this leads me to wonder as to what happens if the government has actionable intelligence on his whereabouts possibly in Iran.  Do we send in Joint Special Operations assets to render him? Do we send in our drones? Do we apply "diplomatic pressure" (i.e. apply another series of ineffective sanctions with a country who does business with other countries not affected by our sanctions)?  Any covert actions, once discovered, could provoke the Iranians into more overt acts of aggression against the United States.

It is highly doubtful the US government expects to actually capture or kill him in Iran.  Why put up the reward then?  Perhaps it's a message for Iran to let them know we know who Yasin is and who he works for.  Whatever their reasons, the government is taking this guy very seriously.

To leave a tip (tell them The Security Dialogue sent you), click on the link below:
https://www.rewardsforjustice.net/index.cfm?page=tip&language=english

Here's a link to Yasin's wanted page:
http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/index.cfm?page=suri

Here's the Treasury Department's Press Release in July 2011 about Yasin's network:
http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1261.aspx