February 15, 2006: DNA analysis of the bodies recovered from the attack on an al Qaeda meeting in Pakistan last month, have confirmed that the main target, al Qaeda number two leader Ayman al Zawahiri, was not there. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, it was apparent that al Zawahiri was late arriving at the dinner meeting. However, the DNA tests did show that at least five foreigners were present. One of them was a close relative of Ayman al Zawahri, while a second was bomb building expert Midhat Mursi, who, like al Zawahri (who has $25 million reward on him), had a $5 million reward on his head. Another of the dead foreigners was Abdul Rehman al-Misri al-Maghribi, a son-in-law of Zawahiri and in charge of the al Qaeda's Information War operations. Another of dead was Abu Obaidah al Misri, who was in charge of terrorist operations just across the border, in Afghanistan's Kunar province.
Initially, al Qaeda tried to spin the attack as a complete failure, saying that only civilians were in the building, that 18 were killed, and that this included women and children. Demonstrations were held and indignation was high. Islamic radicals also made much of the fact that the attack was apparently (no one admitted anything) by U.S. Predator UAVs firing Hellfire missiles. But the Pakistani police got to the scene, and conducted their investigation, and released the information on the foreigners killed during the attack. The Pakistani government wants the U.S. cooperation, because the Islamic terrorists are at war with the Pakistani government as well, including assassination attempts on the president of Pakistan.
