In a recently released tape aired on Al-Jazeera, Osama Bin Laden threatened to kill any Americans that Al Qaeda takes prisoner if Khalid Sheik Mohammed is given the death penalty. Mohammed is the self-professed mastermind of the September 11th attacks and is currently in US custody, awaiting trial. The Obama Administration has stated that it will seek the death penalty for Mohammed, whether his trial is held by military commission or in federal court. Currently, Al Qaeda does not hold any American prisoners, but a related Pakistani group does hold Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl. A US counter-terrorism official has put little stock in this new threat, citing Al Qaeda’s mistreatment of prisoners in the past as evidence that this new threat does not indicate a shift in Al Qaeda policy toward captured persons.
Read more about this story at the Washington Post.
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