Fazul Abdullah Mohammed
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname(s) | Abdallah Mohammed Fazul[2] Abu Seif Al Sudani, Abu Aisha, Abu Luqman, Fadel Abdallah Mohammed Ali Fouad Mohammed Daniel Robinson[3] |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  Al-Qaeda  Al-Shabaab |
| Service | Al-Qaeda Actions in East Africa |
| Years of service | 1990 - 2011 |
| Commands | Head of Al-Qaeda Actions in East Africa and Al-Shabaab's top military commander |
| Battles / wars | War in Somalia Battle of Ras Kamboni War in Somalia (2009–) |
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed (Arabic: فاضل عبدالله محمد) (born August 25, 1972, February 25, 1974, or December 25, 1974 – June 8, 2011) was a suspected member of al-Qaeda, sometimes purported to be the leader of their East African presence. Mohammed was born in Moroni, Comoros Islands and had Kenyan as well as Comorian citizenship. He spoke French, Swahili, Arabic, English, and Comorian.[4]
Role in al-Qaeda
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and a number of others were under indictment[5] in the United States for their alleged participation in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa. Mohammed was on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists since its inception on October 10, 2001. The reward for finding Mohammed was US$5 million.[4][6]
In Kenya, Mohammed was once the secretary of, and lived in the same house as, Wadih el Hage. El-Hage was indicted with Mohammed,[5] and has been convicted. A letter to el-Hage, thought to be from Mohammed, was exhibited at el-Hage's trial.[7]
Mohammed spent time in Mogadishu planning a truck bombing against a United Nations establishment there, and was in the city on October 3, 1993, when Somali gunmen brought down two American helicopters and killed 18 U.S. special operations soldiers.[8]
War on Terror
Mohammed is suspected in Kenya of involvement in two attacks in Mombasa on November 26, 2002. One was the truck bombing of Paradise Hotel, in which 15 were killed. The other was the launch of two shoulder-fired missiles at an Israeli airliner on takeoff; the missiles missed and there were no casualties.[9] [10]
On May 26, 2004, United States Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller announced that reports indicated that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was one of seven al-Qaeda members who were planning a terrorist action for the summer or fall of 2004.[11] American Democrats labeled the warning "suspicious" and said it was held solely to divert attention from President Bush's plummeting poll numbers and to push the failings of the Invasion of Iraq off the front page.[12] CSIS director Reid Morden voiced similar concerns, saying it seemed more like "election year" politics, than an actual threat. The New York Times pointed out that one day before the announcement, they had been told by the Department of Homeland Security that there were no current risks.[12]
According to an FBI interrogation report, an associate of Mohammed confessed that the militant trained with al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.[13] Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, also on that list, was captured in Pakistan a month later. Soon thereafter, several press reports, claiming UN and official US sources, described the participation of several al-Qaeda personnel, including Mohammed and Ghailani, in the acquisition and movement of diamonds in Liberia.[14]
When the ferry MV Bukoba sank in Lake Victoria in 1996, taking al-Qaeda co-founder Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri with it, Fazul Mohammed was one of the individuals sent to the scene by al-Qaeda, attempting to verify that Abu Ubaidah was dead, and had not in fact defected.[15]
Suspected involvement in Somali conflict
In early 2007, during the War in Somalia, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was thought to be in the border area near Ras Kamboni, along with remnants of the Islamic Courts Union. On January 8, 2007, a US Air Force AC-130 gunship targeted al-Qaeda in the area. It is likely he was one of the targets as The Pentagon has said the "target of the strike was the principal al-Qaeda leadership in the region."[16][17][18] Somali government officials said that his death was confirmed in an intelligence report provided to Somali authorities by the United States.[13] However, in an interview with the BBC, the US ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, denied that Mohammed had been killed in the airstrike, and stated that the search for the three al-Qaeda suspects continues.[19] The gunship attack resulted in the deaths of at least 70 civilian nomads and many more injuries as they were searching for a water source at night.[20] Mohammed's remains, if they are found, can be identified by aid of a DNA sample taken in Comoros.[9]
One of Mohammed's wives and her children were captured trying to escape to Kenya from Somalia. They were arrested in Kiunga and brought to Nairobi for questioning.[21] Before Mohammed's wife was deported back to Somalia by the Kenyan government a computer in her possession thought to have been Fazul's was seized and was said to have "contained vital information on terrorism training and intelligence collection including spying".[22] Mohammed is believed to "be very good with computers".[4]
While it was never confirmed that Mohammed escaped from the fighting in Somalia or had even been there when the violence broke out, Madagascar's largest newspaper, Midi Madagasikara, reported in early February, 2007, that Mohammed was currently residing in the island nation. This is in contrast to the statement by Abdirizak Hassain, saying that Mohammed was killed in the Battle of Ras Kamboni by a U.S. airstrike. Quoting military and "other sources," the newspaper claimed he was in the city of Majunga. A partner of his from the Comoros currently resides on the island.[citation needed]
On August 2, 2008, Mohammed supposedly escaped a police dragnet in Malindi, Kenya, but two of his aides were arrested. He was said to have been covertly taken into Kenya from Somalia a few days previously, seeking treatment for kidney problems. The police confiscated two of his passports and a laptop, among other belongings. The police operation took place several days before the 10th anniversary of the 1998 Embassy bombings.[23][dead link][24]
Al-Qaeda top commander in East Africa and Al Shabaab top military commander
On November 11, 2009 Fazul was "inaugurated" during an open ceremony in the southern city of Kismayo, according to a translation received by The Long War Journal of an article posted Waaga Cusub, a website operated by the Hawiye clan, which supports the Somali insurgency. He "delivered his longest speech delivered his longest speech [sic]," the website reported. During his speech, Fazul said he was appointed by Osama bin Laden and praised his predecessor, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who was killed during a US special operations raid in southern Somalia in mid-September. Fazul also said that al-Qaeda and Shabaab would take the fight to neighboring countries. "Praise be to Allah," Fazul said. "After Somalia we will proceed to Djibouti, Kenya, and Ethiopia." Sheikh Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, Shabaab's leader, also spoke at Fazul's appointment ceremony and praised Fazul's skill in training Somali jihadis. On July 15, 2010 the Saleh Ali Nabhan Brigade is likely led or directed by Fazul Mohammed. The cell that caried out the July 2010 Kampala attacks. The names of some of the foreign al-Qaeda leaders were disclosed in a report compiled by the African Union Mission for Somalia, according to The East African. The report was confirmed to The Long War Journal by a US intelligence official who closely watches Shabaab. The report listed Fazul is considered to be Shabaab's military leader.[25] [26] [27]
Death
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and Ali Dere were driving in a car carrying 40,000 USD, medicines, phones, laptops and passports in the Afgoye corridor, northwest of Mogadishu on June 8, 2011. At 2:00 a.m. they failed to stop at a check point managed by Somalian military (SNA). The SNA opened fire at the car killing both Mohammed and Dere.[3][28][29] Fazul Abdullah Mohammed's death was confirmed by Somali and U.S. government officials and was characterized by the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as "a significant blow to Al Qaeda, its extremist allies and its operations in East Africa."[30]
See also
References
- ^ "Fazul Abdullah Mohammed [images]". FBI. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- ^ "PBS story on FAM and al-Hage".
- ^ a b c d e BBC News - 'East Africa embassy bomber Fazul Abdullah killed'
- ^ a b c Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Department of Justice
- ^ a b Copy of indictment USA v. Usama bin Laden et al., Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies
- ^ Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, Rewards for Justice Program, US Department of State
- ^ Letter to el-Hage, PBS, 2001
- ^ Benjamin, Daniel & Steven Simon. "The Age of Sacred Terror", 2002
- ^ a b CBS reports that Mohammed is wanted in Kenya, January 10, 2007
- ^ "Aronson, Samuel_ "Crime and Development in Kenya"".
- ^ Transcript: Ashcroft, Mueller news conference, CNN.com, Wednesday, May 26, 2004 Posted: 8:19 p.m. EDT (0019 GMT)
- ^ a b Pither, Kerry. "Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror", 2008.
- ^ a b Al Qaeda militant killed CNN
- ^ Liberia's Taylor gave aid to Qaeda, UN probe finds, Boston Globe, August 4, 2004
- ^ Transcript of testimony in the trial of El Hage and others
- ^ "U.S. launches new attacks in Somalia".
- ^ Attacks against al-Qaeda continue in Somalia, MSNBC, 9 January 2007
- ^ "Somali Government closes in on al-Qa'eda stronghold". London. [dead link]
- ^ "Somali raids miss terror suspects". BBC. 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
- ^ The Independent, January 13, 2007, http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2149716.ece
- ^ "Reuters report on FAM's wife".
- ^ Kenya: We have hacked al-Qaida laptop, UPI, 30 January 2007
- ^ The Standard, August 4, 2008: Top al-Qaeda man now back in Kenya
- ^ Daily Nation, August 4, 2008: Two arrested as top terror suspect flees
- ^ Al Qaeda leaders play significant role in Shabaab - The Long War Journal
- ^ Al Qaeda names Fazul Mohammed East African commander - The Long War Journal
- ^ Uganda attack carried out by Shabaab cell named after slain al Qaeda leader - The Long War Journal
- ^ "Somalia Report: Al-Qaeda Terrorist Fazul Killed in Somalia"
- ^ "alQaeda’s Fazul Abdullah killed in Somalia | Alshahid Network"
- ^ "Mastermind of 2 U.S. Embassy Bombings Is Killed in Somalia", New York Times, June 11 2011. Accessed June 11 2011