Rashid Rauf has always been something of an enigmatic figure, so it is not surprising that confusion surrounds reports of his death today. The British Islamist has already disappeared twice before. He is reported to have been killed in a United States airstrike in north-west Pakistan , but officials cautioned that this could not be confirmed because his body had not yet been recovered.
The year-old was suspected of being the ringleader of the plot to blow up transatlantic airliners using liquid explosive; acting as the go-between for al-Qaida and plotters in Britain. He was arrested in Pakistan in August based on information from the British authorities, but controversially escaped Pakistani police custody in December last year. Rauf vanished outside an extradition hearing at an Islamabad court after police allowed him to say afternoon prayers at a mosque, en route to the high-security Adiala prison.
His lawyer and family questioned the official version of events. They remain convinced that he was abducted and returned to the custody of the notorious Pakistani intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence ISI , which had held him for several months after he was first detained.
You could call it a 'mysterious disappearance' if you like, but not an escape. Ali Habib is likely to be sceptical of today's announcement. He predicted that Rauf's death might be announced at some point in the future. Rauf's family in Birmingham say that he told an uncle during an adjournment in the Pakistani court proceedings that for around four months he had been held in a cell that was so small his knees touched the ceiling when he lay on his back and raised his legs.
From time to time, his family said, he would be taken, hooded, from his cell and tortured with beatings and electric shocks.
