‘High Value’ Al-Qaida Operative in Custody

A high-value al-Qaida operative has been taken to the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention facility, the U.S. Defense Department said Friday.

Muhammad Rahim is a high-level al-Qaida member and a close associate of Osama bin Laden, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said in a news release.

Before arriving at Guantanamo, Rahim has been held in CIA custody, Whitman said.

Rahim prepared the Tora Bora, Afghanistan, complex as a hideout for bin Laden, and helped al-Qaida’s departure from the area in late 2001.

He had knowledge of, or was involved in, al-Qaida attacks planned against coalition forces in Afghanistan, Whitman said. At the time of his capture, he was providing support to anti-coalition militias and groups allied with al-Qaida.