THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

Among the many things that Florida is noted for, being the home of a top al-Qaeda commader may not be its proudest achievement, but it does make Florida stand out among the 50 states.

The long saga of South Florida’s leading al Qaida figure has added another chapter nearly a year after his death in Pakistan.

The Pakistani Taliban announced Wednesday that a former al Qaida operative had confessed to leaking the whereabouts of Adnan El Shukrijumah, the onetime Miramar, Fla., resident who rose in al Qaida’s ranks to be a top commander, perhaps chief of the terrorist group’s external operations.

Shukrijumah was killed in a South Waziristan village by helicopter-borne Pakistani troops sent to capture him last December. He’d evaded detection by U.S. security agencies for more than a decade.

“Under interrogation, Yasser alias Shikari made dramatic disclosures, including his personal involvement in heinous activities including the martyrdom of Adnan Shukri and many others,” Mohammed Khorasani, chief spokesman for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said in a statement emailed to McClatchy...

Born in Saudi Arabia of Guyanese parents, Shukrijumah was raised in Brooklyn before moving with his parents to Miramar, northwest of Miami, where his father was imam at a local mosque. He studied off and on at Broward Community College but left home, apparently to join al Qaida.

He last visited his parents in Florida in 2001, prior to the Sept. 11 attacks. His possible ties to the 9/11 hijackers, who also lived in South Florida, have been the subject of speculation for years.

He was elevated to the FBI’s most-wanted list in March 2003 and was indicted in 2009 for allegedly plotting to bomb the New York subway.

By their own admission, U.S. authorities had received no intelligence on Shukrijumah’s whereabouts since he’d reportedly attended a 2004 meeting of second-generation al-Qaida leaders in South Waziristan.

Another Saudi born terrorist, dead AQ leader and soon to be Member of the Florida Hall of Fame?