Israeli operatives in Iran killed al-Qaeda’s second-in-command in August, report claims

Israeli agents on motorcycles gunned down the deputy leader of al-Qaeda on the streets of Tehran during a secret mission requested by Washington, US media reports have claimed.

Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who was wanted in the United States for the 1998 bombing of its embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, was shot dead by two Israeli operatives in August, the New York Times reported.

Iran strongly denied the report on Saturday, claiming it was a “Hollywood scenario” dreamed up by “American and Zionist officials.”

The New York Times cited intelligence sources who said Abdullah, who was better known under his nom-de-guerre Mohammed al-Masri, was killed along with his daughter, Miriam.

Two Israeli agents riding motorcycles are said to have fired five shots with a silenced pistol at Masri's car, killing the deputy leader of al-Qaeda and the widow of Osama bin Laden’s son, Hamza, in one fell swoop. 

Hamza bin Laden was once a candidate to take over al-Qaeda's leadership, but he was killed during a US counterterrorism operation near Afghanistan shortly after Donald Trump took office.

The Tehran mission was carried out at the behest of the United States, which had been seeking to bring Masri to justice for the embassy attacks and ongoing terror plots, sources told the New York Times.

The assassination was reported in Iran at the time, but state media identified the victim as “Habib Daoud,” an academic and member of the Lebanese group Hizbollah.

However, the New York Times said that this was an alias used by Iran to conceal the death of one of al-Qaeda’s most powerful chiefs.

It is unclear why the Iranian regime, a Shia Muslim theocracy, would harbour a member of al-Qaeda, which is a Sunni jihadist group, and then cover up his death.

In some cases, such as on the battlefields of Iraq, the two groups have even fought against each other.

Intelligence officials told the New York Times that Masri had been in Iranian “custody” since 2003 and had been living in Tehran since 2015.

Though he was under surveillance by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), he was allowed to travel around Iran and abroad, the newspaper said.

It has been speculated that Iran overlooks the Sunni-Shia divide when it benefits the regime’s interests, such as undermining or attacking US targets..

The New York Times said US intelligence officials believe Iran may have allowed Masri to live in Tehran as he was plotting attacks against America.

Both Israel and the United States have declined to comment on the reports, while Iran has angrily rejected all of the claims made by the New York Times.

Saeed Khatibzadeh, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, said: “The media should not be a loudspeaker for the publication of the White House’s purposeful lies against Iran.”

He added: "Even though America has not shied away from making any false accusation against Iran in the past, this approach has become routine in the current US administration.”

Al-Qaeda has not yet announced the death of Masri, an Egytian-born jihadist who hoped to become a professional football player before he was radicalised.

It remains unclear whether his death will have a significant impact on the terrorist group, which continues to operate across the Middle East and in West Africa.

Washington has previously accused Iran of harbouring al-Qaeda operatives and allowing them to pass through its territory, but Tehran denies this.

The US National Counter-Terrorism Centre has described Masri as the “most experienced and capable operational planner not in US or allied custody.”