Sulaiman Abu Ghaith was initially detained in Turkey but was taken into U.S. custody in Jordan while he was in the process of being deported to Kuwait, according to U.S. officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
Abu Ghaith would become the closest relative of bin Laden —who was killed two years ago by U.S. commandos in Pakistan —to face trial in an American court. Abu Ghaith, who married one of bin Laden’s daughters, appeared in videos thatsurfaced after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks celebrating the success of that terrorist plot and warning of additional strikes.
The case also marks a rare instance under the Obama administration in which a terrorism suspect has been captured and taken into U.S. custody. Officials at the FBI, the CIA and the White House declined comment Thursday, but a statement released by Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) praised the Obama administration for the apprehension of Abu Ghaith. “I commend our CIA and FBI, our allies in Jordan, and President Obama for their capture of al-Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith,” King said in the statement. “I trust he received a vigorous interrogation, and will face swift and certain justice. The propaganda statements in which Abu Ghaith and his late father-in-law, Usama bin Laden, praised the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 are alone enough to merit the most serious punishment.”
Abu Ghaith, a native of Kuwait, was part of a group of al- Qaeda operatives who were held under a form of house arrest in Iran for several years. Reports in the Turkish press on Thursday said Abu Ghaith had entered Turkey on a forged Saudi passport and was detained by authorities there after the Turkish government received a tip from the CIA. Turkey then moved to deport Abu Ghaith, who was taken into U.S. custody in Jordan, according to the reports
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