Place of Birth: Rochdale, United Kingdom;

Gender: Male;

Nationality: British;

General Info:
Rangzieb Ahmed is a British citizen who was allegedly the highest ranking al-Qaeda operative in the United Kingdom (UK). Ahmed, who was a key link between British recruits and al-Qaeda leaders, was responsible for setting up a terrorist cell in Manchester and contacting one of the terrorists responsible for the failed London bombings of 21 July 2005.

Early life:
Ahmed was born in Rochdale in Greater Manchester and moved to the Kashmir area of Pakistan at the age of seven or eight. At the age of 18, Ahmed was arrested by Indian forces after allegedly fighting as a member of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and was held in an Indian jail for seven years without charge; during this time Ahmed was also allegedly tortured.

While incarcerated, Ahmed received money from Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who later allegedly had Daniel Pearl murdered. Ahmed was eventually released in 2001 and he subsequently visited the UK for a brief period of time before returning to Pakistan. He returned to the UK again in 2005.

Al-Qaeda and British intelligence:
In 2005, surveillance by British intelligence revealed a diary in Ahmed’s possession (located in his luggage at the time) containing al-Qaeda contacts, with some contact details written in invisible ink. Included in the contact list were the personal details of Abu Hamza Rabia, who was later killed in Pakistan on 30 November 2005, during a US/Pakistani joint operation.

Traces of explosives were also found on Ahmed’s rucksack. Following his arrest, Ahmed was initially held in a secret Pakistani prison facility, where he claims he was tortured alongside Hassan Ghul. A second confrontation with the UK authorities occurred in 2007 when Ahmed was captured at London’s Heathrow Airport following his arrival from Pakistan.

On this occasion, he was charged with “directing the activities of an organization which was concerned in the commission of acts of terrorism”, “possessing three books containing information which would be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism”, and “possession of a rucksack containing traces of an explosive, in circumstances which suggested it was for a purpose connected with terrorism”.

In December 2008, Ahmed was convicted in the UK of “directing the activities of an organization which was concerned in the commission of acts of terrorism”. Such a finding of guilt meant that Ahmed was the first member of al-Qaeda to be convicted for directing terrorism in the UK. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and has been directed to serve a minimum of ten years before he is considered for parole.