Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — Turkey, in cooperation with the United States, has captured
a senior member of Al Qaida.

Turkish and Islamist sources said Suleiman Abu Gheith was captured by
special forces in Ankara on Feb. 1. They said Abu Gheith, identified as the
son-in-law of the late Al Qaida founder Osama bin Laden, entered Turkey on a
forged Saudi Arabian passport.

“Turkish authorities arrested the Kuwait national Suleiman Jassim Abu Gheith,” the Islamic Observatory said.

For nearly a decade, Abu Gheith was said to have been based in Iran. The sources said Abu Gheith, who married bin Laden’s daughter, Fatima, served as spokesman of Al Qaida.

“Turkish security forces were able to arrest Suleiman Abu Gheith,
son-in-law of Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, after Turkish authorities received intelligence from the CIA regarding his arrival in Turkey,” the British-based Observatory said.

The sources said Abu Gheith, transferred to Turkey’s General Security
Directorate, has asked Ankara for asylum while the United States sought to interrogate the Al Qaida leader. They said Abu Gheith had intended to leave Turkey for Saudi Arabia to be reunited with his wife.

In 2001, Kuwait stripped Abu Gheith of his nationality in wake of Al
Qaida’s suicide air strikes in the United States. More than a decade later,
the United Nations removed Abu Gheith’s name from the so-called terror watch
list.

In another development, at least two people were killed when a suicide
bomber blew himself up outside the U.S. embassy in Turkey. Later, a leftist
group, Revolutionary People’s Liberation Front, claimed responsibility for
the Feb. 1 attack.

“This attack will not affect Turkish-American relations, and we still
see you as a friend,” U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Francis Ricciardione, said.

  bin Laden’s son-in-law, Fatima bin Laden, Francis Ricciardone, Islamic Observatory, Revolutionary People’s Liberation Front, Suleiman Abu Gheith, Turkish special forces capture top Al Qaida leader