Life
Hailing from a prominent Saudi family on friendly terms with Osama bin Laden, Attash had several brothers fighting during the tumultuous 1990s in Afghanistan. His family was deported from Yemen based on his father's radical views, and he grew up in Saudi Arabia.
He studied at the University of Islamic Studies in Karachi, Pakistan.
Attash lost his right leg in 1997 while fighting against the Northern Alliance and wore a metal prothesis in its place, leading to the nickname "Father of the Leg". His brother was killed in the same battle, and his death led Attash to join al-Qaeda.
He was asked to help obtain explosives to target the USS The Sullivans in 1999, as part of the intended 2000 millennium attack plots.
In late 1999 while using the nom de guerre Khallad, Attash phoned Khalid al-Mihdhar, informing him up the upcoming Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit. In January 2000, Attash flew to Malaysia, ostensibly to receive a new prosthetic leg, and attended the summit. On January 8, Malaysian Special Branch informed the CIA that Attash had flown to Bangkok together with al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi. While there, the FBI received a transcript of a phone call from Fahd al-Quso and one of the USS Cole bombers, which mentioned giving Attash $5000 to purchase a new prosthesis. During later interrogation, al-Quso confessed that he was handing over $36,000, and that it wasn't actually meant to purchase a prosthesis.
In October 2000 Attash was identified as the mastermind behind the USS Cole bombing which took place in Aden, Yemen.
On September 11, 2002, his 17-year old brother Hassan bin Attash was taken prisoner by Pakistani forces raiding the Tariq Road House, handed over to the Americans and sent to The Dark Prison.
Read more about this topic: Walid Bin Attash
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