Private Diaries of Captured Al Qaeda Official Released

The U.S. has released private diaries from Abu Zubaydah, who is believed to have been the third-in-command of Al Qaeda and also believed to have taken part in the planning of 9/11. The diaries span from 1990 to March 2002. 

According to the Daily Mail, Zubaydah is a Saudi-born Palestinian who was a 19-year old computer science student when he joined the Afghan Civil war following the Soviet Union’s withdrawal.

Besides 9/11, Zubaydah is also believed to have been involved “in every other major attack perpetrated by [Al Qaeda] in the last decade, including the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa.” He was one of the first terror detainees to face “enhanced interrogation techniques” and was allegedly “waterboarded 83 times at a CIA site in Thailand.”

Zubaydah’s diaries “mention key figures in Al Qaeda including Osama bin Laden and their contents have been used as evidence to hold some of the 160 prisoners in Guantanamo [Bay].” Zubaydah also remains a detainee in the prison at Guantanamo Bay. 

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.