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Egypt’s alleged al-Qaida leader denies link with terror group

29 February 2012 17:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The alleged Egyptian al-Qaida leader Seif al-Adel, who was arrested at the airport on Wednesday upon his arrival in the Egyptian capital of Cairo from Pakistan, denied having any link with al-Qaida after 1989, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Adel, whose real name was Mohamed Ibrahem Mekkawi, had a dispute with al-Qaida over a plan of action and split from the group in 1989, he said when he arrived at Cairo’s airport.

He then joined the al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya organization and got married to the granddaughter of the founder of the Pakistan-based organization, and now returned to Egypt to face his charges, according to the report.

Commenting on reports claiming that he was likely chosen as al- Qaida’s leader after Osama Bin Laden’s death, Adel denied his link with the terror organization, adding that he did not commit any violent acts against any entities.

"Unfortunately, al-Qaida exploited my name to cover the identity of the third leader, whose name is Mohammad Salah Zidan," MENA quoted him as saying. However, he did not further go into details.

"Al-Qaida is an American-Israeli industry and I’m against Israel and the American dominance," Adel said.

"I did not make any contacts with the Egyptian authority, and I came back to Egypt to fight for my acquittal," he said.

Egypt’s security forces were informed of the arrival of al-Adel, so they monitored all the planes from East Asia, said official sources at the airport.

Adel, once been an officer in Egyptian special forces, has been wanted since 1994 by the Egyptian authorities over charges of his involvement in an extremist group. He was reported to have served as temporary leader of al-Qaida after Osama bin Laden was killed last May by U.S. forces in Pakistan.