A man and his daughter who were killed in Tehran over the summer were not Lebanese nationals as Iran’s Fars news agency reported at the time. It was, in fact, al-Qaeda’s number two Abou Mohammed al-Masri and his daughter, according to intelligence officials, the New York Times reported late Friday.
Al-Masri and his daughter, Miriam, were gunned down by Israeli operatives “at the best of the United States,” the Times said.
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Miriam is reportedly the widow of Osama bin Laden’s 11th son, Hamza, who was his father’s heir in the terrorist group. US President Donald Trump announced the killing of Hamza in September 2019.
Al-Masri, who the Times says was around 58-years-old, was one of al-Qaeda’s founders and the successor to the terrorist group’s current leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
It is unclear why Iran was giving refuge to al-Masri, who was wanted by the US for his role in multiple US embassy bombings in Africa.
In the Times article, the intelligence officials said that he had been “living freely in the Pasdaran district of Tehran, an upscale suburb, since at least 2015.”
After the news was published in Iran and Lebanon that a Lebanese teacher and his daughter were found dead, he was identified as “Habib Daoud.” The New York Times says that name was his alias.
“American counterterrorism officials believe Iran may have allowed them to stay to run operations against the United States, a common adversary,” the Times said.
Read more: From Iran to al-Qaeda: How Hamza bin Laden’s future was secured
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