CA man ID'd as al-Qaida figure on video

A man identified as an al-Qaida operative on a video posted to the Internet this week is a former Orange County teenager who converted to Islam � and is being sought by the FBI � a local mosque leader said Friday.

Haitham Bundakji, vice chairman and spokesman for the Islamic Society of Orange County, said the face he saw on a computer screen Friday was that of the man who slapped him during an altercation at the Garden Grove mosque in 1997.

Adam Gadahn was arrested and sentenced to two days in jail and 40 hours of community service after pleading guilty to an assault charge.

Bundakji said he was sure of the man's identity even when his face was hidden in previous militant videos. Now, with no disguise, he was even more certain.

"He's the same man I was able to identify when his family denied it was him, with his voice, head movement and I could see his eyes also," said Bundakji after seeing an image of the bearded speaker on an Internet site.

"It certainly appears to be Adam Gadahn," said Laura Eimiller, spokeswoman for the FBI's Los Angeles office. "The bureau is employing further technical methods to evaluate the tape in order to verify it's him."

The FBI has sought Gadahn for questioning since 2004 on suspicion of making terrorist threats against the United States.

Although the agency has not linked him to specific terrorist activities, Gadahn is believed to have trained at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan after leaving Orange County in 1998, and to have worked as a translator for al-Qaida leaders.

In the tape, the speaker believed to be Gadahn is seen in a robe and a turban, speaking in English for about five minutes. He refers to recent suspected atrocities by U.S. Marines in Iraq and suggests that a shooting spree at Camp Pendleton's housing facilities would be justified in response.

"He's the only known individual of Britain or American background in senior levels of al-Qaida," said Evan Kohlmann, a New York consultant.

Another speaker is Ayman al-Zawahri, the deputy leader of the terror network, who says that two of the four suicide bombers who attacked London on July 7, 2005, spent time at an al-Qaida camp to prepare themselves for a suicide mission.

In the video, the man believed to be Gadahn speaks against British and U.S. involvement in the Middle East and Asia, saying no Muslim should "shed tears" for Westerners killed by al-Qaida attacks.

The speaker was identified with the Arabic nickname "Azzam al-Amriki" � Azzam, or "Adam the American." The same name was used in previous al-Qaida videos by the man identified as Gadahn.

An excerpt is available at the Web site www.siteinstitute.org.