Hassan Ghul

Who was Hassan Ghul?

Allegedly an al-Qaeda agent, Hassan Ghul born Mustafa Hajji Muhammad Khan, was also identified as a member of Ansar al-Islam. His nationality was reported as Saudi Arabian, Yemeni, Pakistani or Egyptian. His testimony was a critical factor in identifying the secret location of Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad.

Captured by Kurdish Military and turned over to American forces in 2004, Ghul was stated to have been as lowly as a "courier" who ran packages and delivered letters for al-Qaeda members. Ghul held such high ranks as "top lieutenant", "second-in-command" or "trusted emissary" of everyone from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to Osama bin Laden to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

He was held at a CIA black site for two years, before being turned over to a Pakistani prison system. It was during this time of detainment by the CIA that Ghul surrendered the nickname al-Kuwaiti as a key piece of intelligence. The name al-Kuwaiti was questionable but the information supplied by Ghul gave intelligence operatives some interesting insight and raised speculation as to why no captured enemy combatant ever revealed the real name of Osama bin Laden's courier. The questions surrounding al-Kuwaiti are still unanswered, however, intelligence agents intercepted a satellite phone call made by Osama bin Laden's bodyguard in 2010 which led to the surveillance of a courier that in turn led intelligence operatives to Osama bin Laden's compound.