Washington: Al-Qaeda affiliated websites Friday posted the name and photo of an American Navy SEAL who led the raid in Abbotabad, a city of Pakistan, that killed Osama bin Laden.
The New York Times reported this week that the SEAL, writing under the pseudonym Mark Owen, wrote a book documenting the events of the raid — news that came as a surprise to the industry and even the U.S. government.
According to Fox News, the Navy SEAL who wrote an account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden under a pseudonym was identified Thursday as Matt Bissonnette, who retired from the Navy last summer.
The book, “No Easy Day,” is scheduled to be released Sept. 11, with the author listed under the pseudonym of Mark Owen. Penguin Group (USA)’s Dutton imprint, the publisher, asked news organizations Thursday to withhold his identity.
Users on several militant Islamic websites affiliated with al-Qaida have posted the name and photo of a former Navy SEAL identified as the author of an upcoming book on the commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden. The posts called for his “destruction” in revenge for the al-Qaida founder’s killing.
Among the website publishing the death threats was the “Al-Fidaa” web forum, which al-Qaida uses to distribute its media and public communications, said Evan Kohlmann, an NBC News consultant and a terrorism analyst at Flashpoint Partners, a global security firm.
Special Operations Command spokesman Col. Tim Nye expressed his concern over the unveiling of the author’s name saying that the retired SEAL could be endangered by being identified, which could also expose those active-duty SEALs the author worked with in the killing of bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan last year.
The book and the author’s name come out amid debate over the possible damage to U.S. national security by leaks in the media about top secret operations.
Loading ...
Copyright © 2011-13 The News Tribe. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed, unless stated otherwise.