Walid Muhammad Salih bin Roshayed bin Attash | |
---|---|
Born | 1979 (age 37–38) |
Detained at | CIA black sites, Guantanamo |
Alternate name | Tawfiq bin Attash Khallad Silver |
ISN | 10014 |
Charge(s) | Charged before a military commission |
Walid Muhammad Salih bin Roshayed bin Attash (Arabic: وليد محمد صالح بن رشيد بن عطاش; born 1979) is a Yemeni prisoner held in extrajudicial detention at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camps.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence described him as a "scion of a terrorist family".
American prosecutors at the Guantanamo military commissions allege that he helped in the preparation of the 1998 East Africa Embassy bombings and the USS Cole bombing and acted as a bodyguard to Osama bin Laden, gaining himself the reputation of an "errand boy". He is formally charged with selecting and helping to train several of the hijackers of the September 11 attacks.
Attash was given victim status in Poland for his alleged torture by Americans in a CIA black site on Polish soil.
Hailing from a prominent Saudi family on friendly terms with Osama bin Laden, Attash had several brothers fighting during the tumultuous 1990s in Afghanistan. His family was deported from Yemen based on his father's radical views, and he grew up in Saudi Arabia.
He studied at the University of Islamic Studies in Karachi, Pakistan.
Attash lost his right leg in 1997 while fighting against the Northern Alliance and wore a metal prothesis in its place, leading to the nickname "Father of the Leg". His brother was killed in the same battle, and his death led Attash to join al-Qaeda.