Abdul Baset Egwilla is a Libyan-Canadian Islamist cleric linked to the Manchester bomber, Salman Abedi, who detonated a suicide bomb at an Ariana Grande concert killing 22 people, including an eight year old girl. In May 2017, a senior U.S. official stated that Egwilla had links to Abedi.Katrin Beinhold, Stephen Castle, and Susan Ali Zway, “Hunt for Manchester Bombing Accomplice Extends to Libya,” New York Times, May 24, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/world/europe/manchester-bomber-salman-abedi.html. Egwilla is thought to have played a part in radicalizing Abedi, whose father, Ramadan Abedi, regularly met with the preacher at Friday prayers in Tripoli. Egwilla has denied any link with either Ramadan or Salman Abedi.Lisa Laventure and Evan Dyer, “Libyan-Canadian cleric linked to Manchester bomber plans return to Canada to clear his name,” CBC News, June 5, 2017, http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/libyan-cleric-manchester-bomber-1.4143899.
Before living in Canada, Egwilla was a member of a Libyan militant group in Peshawar, Pakistan that was supported in part by Osama bin Laden. He moved to Canada and obtained citizenship there, serving as a cleric at a mosque in Ottawa. His son, Owais, also grew up in Ottawa but was killed in March 2016 in Benghazi while fighting for the Omar Mukhtar Brigade, an Islamist militia group.Lisa Laventure and Evan Dyer, “Libyan-Canadian cleric linked to Manchester bomber plans return to Canada to clear his name,” CBC News, June 5, 2017, http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/libyan-cleric-manchester-bomber-1.4143899. Owais had posted Facebook messages advocating violent jihad and in support of al-Qaeda propaganda.Stewart Bell, “Manchester bombing suspect Salman Abedi reportedly linked to former Ottawa extremist imam,” National Post (Toronto), May 25, 2017, http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/manchester-bombing-suspect-salman-abedi-reportedly-linked-to-former-ottawa-extremist-imam.
In 2007, Egwilla returned to Libya, and became a prominent supporter of the anti-Gaddafi Libya Dawn movement, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. After the Gadaffi regime fell in 2011, he became the administrative director for mosques in Tripoli.Lisa Laventure and Evan Dyer, “Libyan-Canadian cleric linked to Manchester bomber plans return to Canada to clear his name,” CBC News, June 5, 2017, http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/libyan-cleric-manchester-bomber-1.4143899. Canadian authorities then accused him of preaching violent jihad while in Libya. In 2014, Canada’s Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre reported that Egwilla had been featured in a video calling on Libyan militants to participate in jihad. Egwilla has responded that he has never called for jihad outside of Libya, nor outside the context of Gaddafi.Katrin Beinhold, Stephen Castle, and Susan Ali Zway, “Hunt for Manchester Bombing Accomplice Extends to Libya,” New York Times, May 24, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/world/europe/manchester-bomber-salman-abedi.html.
Egwilla claims to have fled Libya in late 2016 after an attempted assassination by Madkhalis, Salafist followers of a radical Saudi cleric, Nadir al-Omrani. In a June 2017 interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, he said he intended return to Canada imminently from an undisclosed location to clear his name.Lisa Laventure and Evan Dyer, “Libyan-Canadian cleric linked to Manchester bomber plans return to Canada to clear his name,” CBC News, June 5, 2017, http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/libyan-cleric-manchester-bomber-1.4143899.
Osama bin Laden was a Saudi citizen and co-founder and leader of al-Qaeda, notorious for orchestrating the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. Throughout his three-decade-long jihadist career, bin Laden oversaw the planning of numerous largescale terrorist attacks, established a network of al-Qaeda-linked businesses and operatives, and united terrorist groups from the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Between 1996 and 2001, he lived in Afghanistan under the protection of the ruling Taliban and its leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. Bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011, in a shootout with U.S. Navy SEALS at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden was succeeded as al-Qaeda's emir by Ayman al-Zawahiri.“TEXT: US GRAND JURY INDICTMENT AGAINST USAMA BIN LADEN,” United States District Court Southern District of New York, November 6, 1998, https://fas.org/irp/news/1998/11/98110602_nlt.html;
Peter Baker, Helene Cooper, Mark Mazzetti, “Bin Laden Is Dead, Obama Says,” New York Times, May 1, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/asia/osama-bin-laden-is-killed.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
Born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1957, Osama bin Laden was the 17th of 54 children fathered by Saudi billionaire Mohammed bin Laden. The elder bin Laden, an immigrant from Yemen, was the head of a successful construction firm—building many of the palaces and major roads in the kingdom as well as renovating Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque. Osama’s mother, Hamida al-Attas, came from a prominent Syrian Alawite family and was Mohammed bin Laden’s tenth wife. Osama’s parents divorced soon after he was born, and his father died in a plane crash when he was five years old. Nevertheless, Osama would later work for and inherit millions from his father’s business empire.Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 75, 84; Victory D. Comras, Flawed Diplomacy: The United Nations & the War on Terrorism, (Washington D.C.: Potomac Books, Inc., 2010), 36.
In high school bin Laden joined the Saudi branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and read the extremist texts of influential Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb. Bin Laden’s friend at the time, Jamal Khalifa, later said that Qutb “was the one who most affected [his and bin Laden’s] generation.”Alastair Finlan, The Test of Terrorism: Responding to Political Violence in the Twenty-First Century, (London: Routledge: 2015); Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 90-92. In his books, Qutb called for an Islamic “vanguard” to take up jihad against secular governments and eventually resurrect the caliphate. Qutb also re-popularized the Islamic concept of takfir, which permits the labeling of fellow Muslims as apostates, thus justifying their persecution and murder.Alastair Finlan, The Test of Terrorism: Responding to Political Violence in the Twenty-First Century, (London: Routledge: 2015).
In 1974, bin Laden—then a deeply pious 18-year-old—married his 14-year-old Syrian cousin. Bin Laden would go on to marry two more women and father at least 23 children.“The life and death of Osama bin Laden,” Washington Post, May 2, 2011, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/timeline-life-of-osama-bin-laden/. Between 1976 and 1979, bin Laden studied economics at the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. There, he formed a religious charity on campus, whose members “devoted a lot of time to interpreting the Quran and jihad,” according to bin Laden’s own account.Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 90. It was also at that university that bin Laden met Abdullah Azzam, a renowned Palestinian scholar and a professor at the school. Azzam, often referred to as the father of modern jihad, would serve as a spiritual mentor to bin Laden and eventually become a co-founder of al-Qaeda.Aryn Baker, “Who Killed Abdullah Azzam?” Time, June 18, 2009, http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1902809_1902810_1905173-1,00.html;
Asaf Maliach, “Abdullah Azzam, Al-Qaeda, and Hamas,” Institute for National Security Studies, October 2010, Volume 2, No. 2, http://www.inss.org.il/uploadimages/Import/(FILE)1298359986.pdf.
Bin Laden reportedly traveled to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border within two weeks of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979.National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Thomas H. Kean, and Lee Hamilton. 2004. The 9/11 Commission report: final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. (Washington, D.C.): 55, http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf;
Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 109. Bin Laden acted as a visiting envoy, meeting various militant leaders and devising ways to raise funds for the mujahideen (“holy warriors”). In the early-mid 1980s, he traveled back and forth to Saudi Arabia, where he implored wealthy family members to financially support the Afghan jihad. Bin Laden also brought construction machinery and Arab recruits into Afghanistan, and provided the fighters with logistical and humanitarian aid.Kate Zernike and Michael T. Kaufman, “The Most Wanted Face of Terrorism,” New York Times, May 2, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/02osama-bin-laden-obituary.html; “Osama Bin Laden: A Chronology of His Political Life,” PBS Frontline, accessed March 15, 2015, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html. Bin Laden’s former professor, Abdullah Azzam, arrived in Peshawar in late 1981, and the two men worked closely to recruit, train, and equip Arab fighters for the jihad.Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 111.
In September 1984, bin Laden and Azzam decided to create a formal role for Arabs and other foreign (including Western) fighters in Afghanistan. The pair soon established the Services Bureau (Makhtab al-Khadamat)—an office, printing center, funds repository, and hostel for foreign mujahideen. Bin Laden also began to offer plane tickets, residences, and living expenses for the men, and by 1986 was believed to be paying $25,000 per month to subsidize the fighters.Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 117-119.
In 1987, bin Laden met Ayman al-Zawahiri for the first time, in Pakistan.“Timeline of al-Zawahiri,” CNN, June 16, 2011, http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/16/timeline-of-al-zawahiri/. At the time, Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor, was a key leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ)—a jihadist group responsible for the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.“Timeline of al-Zawahiri,” CNN, June 16, 2011, http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/16/timeline-of-al-zawahiri/.
Bin Laden and Zawahiri quickly developed a close working relationship, and co-founded al-Qaeda (“the base”) in August 1988 alongside several other Islamist operatives, including Azzam.“Egyptian Islamic Jihad,” Mapping Militant Organizations, last modified October 26, 2015, http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/401;
“A history of terror: Al-Qaeda 1988-2008,” Guardian (London), July 12, 2008, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/13/history.alqaida;
“Tareekhosama/50/Tareekh Osama 122-123,” Intelwire.com, February 24, 2009, http://intelfiles.egoplex.com/1988-08-11-al-qaeda-founding.pdf;
Arabina Acharya, Ten Years After 9/11: Rethinking the Jihadist Threat, (London and New York: Routledge, 2013) 36. The secretary at the meeting noted that “al-Qaeda is basically an organized Islamic faction, its goal is to lift the word of God, to make His religion victorious.”Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 152;
Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror, (New York: Random House, 2002), 103;
“Origins of Al Qaeda,” Global Issues on Terrorism, accessed May 1, 2017, https://sites.stedwards.edu/craigc-culf331111fa2014/group-middle-east-and-north-africa/origins-of-al-qaeda/.
Within a year, however, disagreements arose between bin Laden and Azzam on al-Qaeda’s trajectory. While Azzam envisioned bringing the fight to Israel after Afghanistan, bin Laden preferred to prioritize targeting of the United States and Arab regimes such as the Saudi government.Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror, (New York: Random House, 2002), 103;
“Origins of Al Qaeda,” Global Issues on Terrorism, accessed May 1, 2017, https://sites.stedwards.edu/craigc-culf331111fa2014/group-middle-east-and-north-africa/origins-of-al-qaeda/. The disagreement ended when Azzam was killed in Peshawar on November 24, 1989.Aryn Baker, “Who Killed Abdullah Azzam?,” Time, June 18, 2009, http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1902809_1902810_1905173-1,00.html. Zawahiri continued to direct EIJ until it finally merged with al-Qaeda in 2001.“Country Reports on Terrorism 2008,” U.S. Department of State, April 2009, 305, https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/122599.pdf.
After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in February 1989, bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia emboldened by the perceived triumph of the mujahideen over the Soviets. While working at his father’s construction firm in Saudi Arabia, bin Laden was approached about moving his nascent al-Qaeda to Sudan by Hassan al-Turabi—the then-secretary general of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood.National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Thomas H. Kean, and Lee Hamilton. 2004. The 9/11 Commission report: final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. (Washington, D.C.): 57, http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf;
“Timeline: Al Qaeda’s Global Context,” PBS Frontline, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/knew/etc/cron.html;
Lawrence Joffe, “Hassan al-Turabi obituary,” Guardian (London), March 11, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/11/hassan-al-turabi-obituary. Turabi proposed allowing bin Laden use Sudan as al-Qaeda’s base in exchange for the building of roads and support in the ongoing war against Christian separatists in Southern Sudan.National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Thomas H. Kean, and Lee Hamilton. 2004. The 9/11 Commission report: final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. (Washington, D.C.): 57, http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf. Bin Laden would not relocate to Sudan until late 1991.“Osama Bin Laden: A Chronology of His Political Life,” PBS Frontline, accessed March 15, 2015, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html.
In August 1990, as U.S. forces arrived in Saudi Arabia to prepare for the first Gulf War, bin Laden urged Saudi King Fahd to expel the Americans and instead allow the veterans of the Afghan war to defend the Arabian Peninsula. King Fahd declined bin Laden’s offer in favor of U.S. and allied forces.Andrew Wander, “A History of Terror: Al-Qaeda 1988-2008,” Guardian (London), July 12, 2008, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/13/history.alqaida. Enraged, bin Laden began to publicly rebuke the monarchy for its alliance with the United States, prompting Saudi Arabia to expel him in April 1991. Bin Laden fled to Afghanistan, and then accepted Sudanese leader Hassan al-Turabi’s offer—arriving in Sudan by 1992.“Osama Bin Laden: A Chronology of His Political Life,” PBS Frontline, accessed March 15, 2015, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html. There, he established legitimate businesses and began to build out the al-Qaeda network.“Osama Bin Laden: A Chronology of His Political Life,” PBS Frontline, accessed March 15, 2015, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html.
The first attack orchestrated by bin Laden and his associates occurred on December 19, 1992, when a bomb exploded in a hotel room in Aden, Yemen, killing two Australian tourists. Bin Laden had intended for the explosion to kill a unit of U.S. soldiers, but those troops had already left the premises.“Osama Bin Laden: A Chronology of His Political Life,” PBS Frontline, accessed March 15, 2015, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html. Attacks perpetrated by al-Qaeda operatives and like-minded jihadist increased in the following years. On February 26, 1993, Ramzi Yousef—a Pakistani terrorist not directly linked to al-Qaeda—carried out the Word Trade Center bombing, killing six people and injuring over 1,000 others. While bin Laden praised Yousef’s bombing, he is not believed to have played a role in the attack.Robert Windrem, “Al-Qaida timeline: Plots and attacks,” MSNBC Research and NBC News, http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4677978/ns/world_news-hunt_for_al_qaida/t/al-qaida-timeline-plots-attacks/#.WN61y28rKpo.
In April 1994, the Saudi government revoked bin Laden’s citizenship and froze his assets. Undeterred, bin Laden continued to grow his operations, establishing training camps for foreign fighters in Yemen near the Saudi border, according to U.S. intelligence sources.“Osama Bin Laden: A Chronology of His Political Life,” PBS Frontline, accessed March 15, 2015, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html;
“TEXT: US GRAND JURY INDICTMENT AGAINST USAMA BIN LADEN,” United States District Court, Southern District of New York, November 6, 1998, https://fas.org/irp/news/1998/11/98110602_nlt.html. Meanwhile, the United States and Saudi Arabia began to pressure Sudan to expel bin Laden, citing his danger to the international community. In May 1996, Turabi reportedly gave bin Laden the choice to stay in Sudan and keep his operations quiet, or to leave the country altogether. Bin Laden opted to relocate his growing jihadist movement, and moved to Afghanistan shortly thereafter.Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 252-253; “TEXT: US GRAND JURY INDICTMENT AGAINST USAMA BIN LADEN,” United States District Court, Southern District of New York, November 6, 1998, https://fas.org/irp/news/1998/11/98110602_nlt.html;
“Osama Bin Laden: A Chronology of His Political Life,” PBS Frontline, accessed March 15, 2015, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html.
The Taliban controlled much of Afghanistan by the time bin Laden arrived. The group’s leader, Mullah Omar, allowed bin Laden to settle his family and operatives in the eastern city of Jalalabad. Bin Laden would later pledge allegiance to Mullah Omar in late August or early September 1998, forming a bond between the groups that persists to this day.Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 254-255, 326.
Bin Laden issued his first fatwa soon after arriving in Afghanistan. The statement, titled “Declaration of War Against the Americans Who Occupy the Land of the Two Holy Mosques,” was published by London’s Al Quds al Arabi newspaper on August 23, 1996. In it, bin Laden called on Muslims to force the U.S. military out of the Arabian Peninsula; dethrone the Saudi government; punish the U.S. and its allies for their “Crusade” against Islam; and liberate Muslim holy sites.“Bin Laden’s Fatwa,” PBS Newshour, August 23, 1996, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/military-july-dec96-fatwa_1996/;
“Osama bin Laden v. the U.S.: Edits and Statements,” PBS Frontline, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/edicts.html;
“Timeline: Osama bin Laden, over the years,” CNN, May 2, 2011, http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/osama.timeline/. Soon after the fatwa’s publication, bin Laden was visited by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM)—the uncle of World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef. KSM appealed to bin Laden for funds and material to carry out a largescale attack in the United States. Bin Laden agreed to front the funds and asked KSM to join al-Qaeda, though KSM politely declined, deciding to operate independently.National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Thomas H. Kean, and Lee Hamilton. 2004. The 9/11 Commission report: final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. (Washington, D.C.): 147, http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf.
Bin Laden would continue to issue fatwas and orchestrate largescale attacks against U.S. targets. In February 1998, he released his second fatwa—“Declaration of the World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and the Crusaders”—in which he declared it a duty for Muslims to carry out jihad against Islam’s enemies and to expel Americans from the Gulf region.“Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders,” Federation of American Scientists, February 23, 1998, https://fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm. That August, al-Qaeda carried out its then-largest attack when operatives targeted the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The explosions in Nairobi killed 213 people—nearly all Kenyans and 12 Americans—and injured approximately 5,000 others. In Dar es Salaam, the bombs killed 11 people, none of them Americans.National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Thomas H. Kean, and Lee Hamilton. 2004. The 9/11 Commission report: final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. (Washington, D.C.): 70, http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf. Three months later, in November 1998, bin Laden was indicted by a U.S. Federal Grand Jury in New York for engaging in a long-term conspiracy to attack U.S. facilities overseas and to kill American citizens.“TEXT: US GRAND JURY INDICTMENT AGAINST USAMA BIN LADEN,” United States District Court, Southern District of New York, November 6, 1998, https://fas.org/irp/news/1998/11/98110602_nlt.html;
Bill Mears, “Bin Laden charges formally dropped,” CNN, June 17, 2011, http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/17/bin.laden.charges/. At around the same time he was indicted in New York, bin Laden met with KSM in Pakistan and officially approved his plot to weaponize airplanes and crash them into buildings in the United States. The 9/11 plot had begun to take form.National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Thomas H. Kean, and Lee Hamilton. 2004. The 9/11 Commission report: final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. (Washington, D.C.): 149; 167, http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf.
In November 1999, bin Laden received four visitors—Mohamed Atta, Marwan al Shehhi, Ziad Jarrah, and Ramzi bin al-Shibh. The men were members of an al-Qaeda cell in Hamburg, Germany, and were eager to partake in a terrorist attack against the United States. After swearing fealty to bin Laden, the men were instructed to enroll in flight training schools in the West. Bin Laden selected Atta to lead the cell, and revealed to him al-Qaeda’s top targets in the United States: the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Capitol. Atta, Shehhi, and Jarrah would become hijacker-pilots in the 9/11 attacks, whereas Shibh would serve as a key facilitator in the attacks.National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Thomas H. Kean, and Lee Hamilton. 2004. The 9/11 Commission report: final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. (Washington, D.C.): 166; 242, http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf. Shibh is currently held by the United States as an enemy combatant at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.“Ramzi Bin al Shibh: Guantanamo Docket,” New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10013-ramzi-bin-al-shibh.
On October 12, 2000, in al-Qaeda’s last largescale attack before 9/11, two al-Qaeda suicide bombers steered a small boat laden with 400 to 700 pounds of explosives into the port side of the USS Cole while it refueled in Aden, Yemen. The explosion killed 17 U.S. sailors.“USS Cole Bombing Fast Facts,” CNN, October 6, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/world/meast/uss-cole-bombing-fast-facts/. The attack was masterminded by al-Qaeda operative Abd Rahim al-Nashiri upon instructions from bin Laden to target U.S. warships in Yemen’s southern port of Aden.National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Thomas H. Kean, and Lee Hamilton. 2004. The 9/11 Commission report: final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. (Washington, D.C.): [152], http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf.
On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda operatives hijacked U.S. commercial airliners and flew them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. A fourth hijacked airplane crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 civilians were killed and thousands more injured.“Timeline: Al-Qaeda,” BBC News, September 4, 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3618762.stm. Within weeks, the U.S. launched military operations against al-Qaeda’s suspected safe havens in Afghanistan. That December, bin Laden is believed to have escaped U.S. bombing in Afghanistan’s Tora Bora Mountains and fled to Pakistan.Kate Zernike and Michael T. Kaufman, “The Most Wanted Face of Terrorism,” New York Times, May 2, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/02osama-bin-laden-obituary.html.
Bin Laden did not claim responsibility for the 9/11 attacks until October 2004, when he appeared in a video released by Al Jazeera.“Bin Laden: 'Your security is in your own hands,'” CNN, October 29, 2004, http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/29/bin.laden.transcript/. “We should destroy towers in America [because] we are a free people…and we want to regain the freedom of our nation,” bin Laden reasoned. The al-Qaeda leader further said that America might avoid another 9/11-style attack if it stopped compromising the “security” of Muslims, warning, “As you undermine our security we undermine yours.”“Bin Laden claims responsibility for 9/11,” CBC News, October 29, 2004, http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/bin-laden-claims-responsibility-for-9-11-1.513654;
“Bin Laden Claims Responsibility for 9/11,” Fox News, October 30, 2004, http://www.foxnews.com/story/2004/10/30/bin-laden-claims-responsibility-for-11.html.
Bin Laden is believed to have settled in a compound in Abbottabad during the 2000s, though there is little publically available information on his whereabouts during this time. In 2009, the U.S. government announced that the al-Qaeda leader was most likely living on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, but conceded that it had a “lack of intelligence” regarding his exact location.“Osama bin Laden Fast Facts,” CNN, May 2, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/30/world/osama-bin-laden-fast-facts/. Living as an elusive fugitive, bin Laden was still able to release videos threatening the West and claim responsibility for al-Qaeda-linked attacks. In January 2010, bin Laden claimed responsibility for the failed bombing of a civilian airliner over Detroit, Michigan, on December 25, 2009. Perpetrated by “underwear bomber” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the attack had been planned by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.Scott Shane and Eric Lipton, “Passengers’ Quick Action Halted Attack,” New York Times, December 26, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/us/27plane.html.
In the early morning of May 2, 2011, a small team of U.S. Navy SEALS entered the Abbottabad compound where bin Laden was living and killed the 54-year-old al-Qaeda leader in a shootout. His body was transported to the U.S. aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson and given an Islamic burial at sea within 24 hours.“Osama Bin Laden: What happened to his body?,” BBC News, May 2, 2011, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-13261680. In a televised statement on the night of May 2, President Barack Obama referred to bin Laden as al-Qaeda’s “leader and symbol” and warned that bin Laden’s death did “not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that al-Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us.”Peter Baker, Helene Cooper, Mark Mazzetti, “Bin Laden Is Dead, Obama Says,” New York Times, May 1, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/asia/osama-bin-laden-is-killed.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0;
“Osama bin Laden Fast Facts,” CNN, May 2, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/30/world/osama-bin-laden-fast-facts/.
Bin Laden’s burial at sea took place within 24 hours of his death with proper religious rites, in accordance with Islamic law. Some Islamic scholars have argued there was no reason to give bin Laden a burial at sea instead of turning the body over to family or even his supporters for a proper burial. Dubai’s grand mufti Mohammed al-Qubaisi said at the time a sea burial was inappropriate and Islamic law required digging a simple grave if nobody was available to take custody of the body. U.S. officials, however, said there was not enough time to negotiate with other countries to take custody of the body. They further said the burial at sea took place to avoid bin Laden’s grave becoming a shrine.“Osama Bin Laden: What happened to his body?,” BBC News, May 2, 2011, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-13261680.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, previously al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, was elevated to leader of the international terror group six weeks after bin Laden’s death. Zawahiri vowed to continue waging jihad against “crusader America and its servant Israel, and whoever supports them.”“Al-Qaeda’s remaining leaders,” BBC news, June 16, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11489337. Bin Laden’s son Hamza bin laden was a key al-Qaeda operative being groomed for a senior leadership role prior to his own death in a 2019 U.S. counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.Dugald McConnell and Brian Todd, “Latest al Qaeda propaganda highlights bin Laden’s son,” CNN, May 15, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/15/middleeast/al-qaeda-bin-laden-son/index.html; Alex Horton, “Osama bin Laden’s son, once the probable heir to al-Qaeda leadership, killed in U.S. operation, Trump confirms,” Washington Post, September 14, 2019, https://beta.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/09/14/hamza-bin-laden-once-possible-heir-al-qaeda-was-killed-us-operation-trump-says/. Zawahiri reportedly died in November 2020 from asthma, but his death remains unconfirmed by al-Qaeda.Baker Atyani and Sayed Salahuddin, “Al-Qaeda chief Zawahiri has died in Afghanistan — sources,” Arab News, November 20, 2020, https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1765746/world; Tim Stickings, “Al-Qaeda's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has died, reports claim terror chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has died in Afghanistan from ‘asthma-related breathing issues,’” Daily Mail (London), November 20, 2020, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8970231/Al-Qaedas-leader-Ayman-al-Zawahiri-died-reports-claim.html.
President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13224 on September 23, 2001, listing “Usama bin Laden” as a Specially Designated National.“Executive Order 13224,” U.S. Department of State, September 23, 2001, https://www.state.gov/executive-order-13224/
The United Nations listed “Usama bin Laden” as a terrorist on October 15, 1999.“Resolution 1267 (1999),” U.N. Security Council, October 15, 1999, http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/1267%281999%29.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was the founder and first supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In that role, Khomeini created or influenced multiple violent extremist groups, including Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Lebanese political-terror hybrid Hezbollah. Even after his death in 1989, Khomeini’s views and philosophies, collectively known as Khomeinism, have continued to guide the Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies.Raymond H. Anderson, “Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 89, the Unwavering Iranian Spiritual Leader,” New York Times, June 4, 1989, http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/04/obituaries/ayatollah-ruhollah-khomeini-89-the-unwavering-iranian-spiritual-leader.html;
Don A. Schanche, “Ayatollah Khomeini Dies at 86: Fiery Leaders Was in Failing Health Following Surgery,” Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1989, http://articles.latimes.com/1989-06-04/news/mn-2499_1_ayatollah-khomeini-dies-power-struggle-jurisprudent;
“The Imam’s Background,” The Institute For Compilation and Publications of Imam Khomeini’s Works, August 16, 2011, http://en.imam-khomeini.ir/en/n3123/Biography/The_Imam_s_Background;
Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, “Khamenei and Hezbollah: Leading in Spirit,” Al-Akbar English, August 8, 2012, http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/10894.
Various records place Khomeini’s birth year as early as 1900 and as late as 1903. Born in Khomein, Iran, Khomeini was raised by his aunt’s family after the death of his father and his mother’s relocation to Tehran.Raymond H. Anderson, “Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 89, the Unwavering Iranian Spiritual Leader,” New York Times, June 4, 1989, http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/04/obituaries/ayatollah-ruhollah-khomeini-89-the-unwavering-iranian-spiritual-leader.html;
“The Imam’s Background,” The Institute For Compilation and Publications of Imam Khomeini’s Works, August 16, 2011, http://en.imam-khomeini.ir/en/n3123/Biography/The_Imam_s_Background.
In the early 1960s, Khomeini began to publicly criticize Iranian leader Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, accusing his “un-Islamic” government of acting at the behest of the United States, Great Britain, and Israel. Khomeini’s message began to gain momentum, leading government forces to arrest him in 1962 and 1963.“Ayatollah Khomeini (1900-1989),” BBC, accessed March 17, 2017, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/khomeini_ayatollah.shtml;
Raymond H. Anderson, “Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 89, the Unwavering Iranian Spiritual Leader,” New York Times, June 4, 1989, http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/04/obituaries/ayatollah-ruhollah-khomeini-89-the-unwavering-iranian-spiritual-leader.html.The Iranian government finally expelled Khomeini from the country in November 1964 after he protested the exemption of U.S. military members from Iranian legal jurisdiction.Raymond H. Anderson, “Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 89, the Unwavering Iranian Spiritual Leader,” New York Times, June 4, 1989, http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/04/obituaries/ayatollah-ruhollah-khomeini-89-the-unwavering-iranian-spiritual-leader.html.
Following his expulsion from Iran, Khomeini moved briefly to Turkey and then to Iraq, where he lived for 13 years while continuing to speak out against the shah.“Ayatollah Khomeini (1900-1989),” BBC, accessed March 17, 2017, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/khomeini_ayatollah.shtml;
“Exile to Paris,” Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini’s Works, August 16, 2011, http://en.imam-khomeini.ir/en/n2276/Biography/Exile_to_Paris. In Iraq in 1970, Khomeini wrote Islamic Government: Governance of the Jurist, in which he outlined his modern interpretation of the ninth-century Shiite concept of vilayat-e faqih, or guardianship of the Islamic jurist. Traditionally, the philosophy called for a single Islamic jurist to be endowed with religious authority while leaving political authority in the hands of the state, though scholars disputed the exact division of power. Khomeini used the concept to justify his vision of a single cleric overseeing Iran’s religious, military, and governmental sectors in order to ensure compliance with “divine law,” since only then could such a government be “accepted by God on Resurrection Day,” as he wrote in Unveiling the Mysteries.“Islamic Government: Governance of the Jurist,” Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project, accessed March 20, 2017, https://www.al-islam.org/islamic-government-governance-of-jurist-imam-khomeini;
Raymond H. Anderson, “Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 89, the Unwavering Iranian Spiritual Leader,” New York Times, June 4, 1989, http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/04/obituaries/ayatollah-ruhollah-khomeini-89-the-unwavering-iranian-spiritual-leader.html. Iran would eventually enshrine Khomeini’s interpretation of vilayat-e faqih into its 1979 constitution, thereby justifying the continued authoritarian role of the country’s supreme leader.“Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Constitution.com, accessed March 20, 2017, http://constitution.com/constitution-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/.
The Baha’is are not a genuine religion, and have no place in Iran.
In September 1978, the Iranian government imposed martial law after anti-shah riots broke out across Iran.“Iran profile – timeline,” BBC News, December 20, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14542438. The following month, Iraq expelled Khomeini amid pressure from the Iranian government. Khomeini subsequently relocated to Paris after being denied entry to Kuwait.“Exile to Paris,” Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini’s Works, August 16, 2011, http://en.imam-khomeini.ir/en/n2276/Biography/Exile_to_Paris. On January 12, 1979, while in Paris, Khomeini helped to form the Islamic Revolutionary Council with hardline Iranian religious leaders in Iran. The council oversaw protests against the shah and later appointed Khomeini’s revolutionary government.“Ayatollah Khomeini (1900-1989),” BBC, accessed March 17, 2017, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/khomeini_ayatollah.shtml.
Khomeini returned to Iran on February 1, 1979—weeks after the shah had left the country for cancer treatment.“Ayatollah Khomeini (1900-1989),” BBC, accessed March 17, 2017, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/khomeini_ayatollah.shtml. By this time, violent demonstrations against the government had broken out across Iran. Upon his arrival in Tehran, Khomeini addressed revolutionary supporters and issued a warning to shah-appointed Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar: “If you do not surrender to the nation, the nation will put you in your place.” Khomeini promised supporters he would form a new Islamic government and draft a new constitution.Muhammad Sahimi, “The Ten Days That Changed Iran,” Frontline, February 3, 2010, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/02/fajr-10-days-that-changed-iran.html.
Khomeini quickly worked to coopt Iranian political leaders and military forces. On February 2, 1979, Khomeini called on Iran’s armed forces to join the Revolutionary Council. The following day, Tehran’s mayor, Javad Shahrestani, tendered his resignation to the shah’s government and was asked by Khomeini to serve in the new Islamic Republic. Khomeini also met with senior Iranian religious leaders to convince them to support his revolution. On February 5, the last of Iran’s parliament resigned and Khomeini appointed a new prime minister, Mehdi Bazargan.Muhammad Sahimi, “The Ten Days That Changed Iran,” Frontline, February 3, 2010, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/02/fajr-10-days-that-changed-iran.html.
Fighting broke out across Iran between protesters, military forces still loyal to the shah, and military forces who had defected to Khomeini.Muhammad Sahimi, “The Ten Days That Changed Iran,” Frontline, February 3, 2010, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/02/fajr-10-days-that-changed-iran.html. On February 10, 1979, the beleaguered Iranian government ordered the SAVAK, Iran’s secret police, to arrest Khomeini and 200 others, including journalists and leftists. But pro-Khomeini members of the SAVAK alerted Khomeini, resulting in intensified clashes between pro-Khomeini and pro-regime supporters. The following day, Khomeini called on a group of Iranian soldiers to “act contrary” to the oath they swore to the shah’s government.Muhammad Sahimi, “The Ten Days That Changed Iran,” Frontline, February 3, 2010, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/02/fajr-10-days-that-changed-iran.html.
On February 11, 1979, fighting between Khomeini’s followers and Iranian forces left more than 220 people dead. In response, Iran’s armed forces declared their neutrality in the conflict, immediately leading Khomeini and his proto-Islamic Republic to declare victory in deposing the shah’s government.Muhammad Sahimi, “The Ten Days That Changed Iran,” Frontline, February 3, 2010, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/02/fajr-10-days-that-changed-iran.html. In late March 1979, Iran held a two-day national referendum deciding whether to transform Iran into Khomeini’s vision of an Islamic republic. A clear majority—97 percent—of Iranians voted in Khomeini’s favor, and on April 1, 1979, Khomeini declared the new Islamic Republic of Iran a “government of God.”“Iran profile – timeline,” BBC News, December 20, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14542438;
Gregory Jaynes, “Khomeini Declares Victory in Vote For a ‘Government of God’ in Iran,” New York Times, April 2, 1979, http://www.nytimes.com/1979/04/02/archives/khomeini-declares-victory-in-vote-for-a-government-of-god-in-iran.html?_r=0. That December, Iran passed a new constitution and named Khomeini the supreme leader.Pranay B. Gupte, “Member of Iranian Minority Says Khomeini’s Charter Is ‘Not for Us,’” New York Times, December 5, 1979, http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9504E4DB1438E732A25756C0A9649D946890D6CF.
Vilayat-e faqih is enshrined in Iran’s constitution.
Khomeini and his successor Ali Khamenei have utilized the concept of vilayat-e faqih to maintain the loyalty of Iranian military forces and Iranian-backed extremist movements. In the first months after the 1979 Iranian revolution, before its existence was enshrined in law, the IRGC operated as a militant activist network loyal to Khomeini, helping to stamp out dissident currents within the revolutionary movement.Afshon P. Ostover, Guardians of the Islamic Revolution: Ideology, Politics, and the Development of Military Power in Iran, 1979-2009, University of Michigan, 2009, 50-52. Since its founding, the IRGC has answered directly to the Iranian supreme leader and is tasked with preserving the Islamic government.Babak Dehghanpisheh, “Iran Guards Wield Electoral Power behind Scenes,” Reuters, June 4, 2013, http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/04/us-iran-election-guards-idUSBRE9530V120130604. In 1980, Khomeini’s government created the Basij militia, a paramilitary organization to enforce obedience domestically. Incorporated into the IRGC in 2007, the Basij has carried out widespread human rights abuses in Iran, notoriously during the 2009 protests against the contested presidential elections when its members attacked student dormitories and assaulted protesters.Frederic Wehrey et al., The Rise of the Pasdaran: Assessing the Domestic Roles of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (Santa Monica, Arlington, and Pittsburgh: RAND Corporation, 2009), 33, http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG821.pdf;
“IRGC’s Basij Paramilitary Trains Special Battalions for Crackdown on Potential Protests,” International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, February 24, 2014, http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2014/02/basij-battalions/.
Under Khomeini’s direction in the early 1980s, the IRGC provided funding, training, and weaponry to a group of Shiite militants in Lebanon that would emerge as Hezbollah in 1982.Jonathan Masters and Zachary Laub, “Hezbollah (a.k.a. Hizbollah, Hizbu’llah),” Council on Foreign Relations, January 3, 2014, http://www.cfr.org/lebanon/hezbollah-k-hizbollah-hizbullah/p9155. That year, the predecessor to Hezbollah’s Shura Council sent a delegation to Tehran to brief Khomeini on the group’s activities. According to an account given by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Khomeini told Hezbollah to “rely on God,” and “spoke of [future] victories.”Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, “Khamenei and Hezbollah: Leading in Spirit,” Al-Akbar English, August 8, 2012, http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/10894. Hezbollah pledged its loyalty to Khomeini in its 1985 manifesto, which explicitly states its compliance to the dictates of “one leader, wise and just, that of our tutor and faqih (jurist) who fulfills all the necessary conditions: [Ayatollah] Ruhollah Musawi Khomeini.”“An Open Letter: The Hizballah Program,” Council on Foreign Relations, January 1, 1988, http://www.cfr.org/terrorist-organizations-and-networks/open-letter-hizballah-program/p30967.
Khomeini’s early support for Hezbollah was but one manifestation of his antipathy toward Israel. In August 1979, Khomeini declared the first Al Quds Day—the Arabic word for Jerusalem—on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to be an annual, nation-wide protest against Israel.“Quds Days,” United Against Nuclear Iran, accessed March 21, 2017, http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/quds-day. Today, Iran and its proxies annually mark Al Quds Day with protests and rallies, frequently accompanied by chants of “Death to Israel.”Siavash Ardalan, “Iran's 'Jerusalem Day': Behind the rallies and rhetoric,” BBC News, August 2, 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-23448932.
I once again remind everyone of the danger of the prevalent, festering and cancerous Zionist tumor in the body of Islamic countries.
Khomeini’s hostility toward Israel was overshadowed only by his hatred for the United States, which he blamed for interfering in domestic Iranian affairs, including through support of the shah’s regime. Khomeini’s anti-American stance fueled Iranian hostilities toward the United States, such as in November 1979 when Iranian students attacked the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The students took 90 people hostage, including 66 Americans, and demanded the shah’s extradition from the United States to Iran for trial. Khomeini immediately praised the students’ actions. After the shah’s death in July 1980, Khomeini demanded that in exchange for the hostages, the United States unfreeze Iranian assets and transfer the shah’s U.S.-based property and wealth to the Iranian government. Throughout 1979 and 1980, the protesters released non-American hostages, female and African-American hostages, and eventually one ill American hostage.D. Parvaz, “Iran 1979: the Islamic revolution that shook the world,” Al Jazeera, February 11, 2014, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/01/iran-1979-revolution-shook-world-2014121134227652609.html;
“Iran Hostage Crisis Fast Facts,” CNN, last updated October 29, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/world/meast/iran-hostage-crisis-fast-facts/;
Susan Chun, “Six things you didn’t know about the Iran hostage crisis,” CNN, last updated July 16, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/27/world/ac-six-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-iran-hostage-crisis/.
The remaining 52 American hostages were released on January 21, 1981, one day after Iran and the United States signed the Algiers Accords.D. Parvaz, “Iran 1979: the Islamic revolution that shook the world,” Al Jazeera, February 11, 2014, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/01/iran-1979-revolution-shook-world-2014121134227652609.html;
“Iran Hostage Crisis Fast Facts,” CNN, last updated October 29, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/world/meast/iran-hostage-crisis-fast-facts/;
Susan Chun, “Six things you didn’t know about the Iran hostage crisis,” CNN, last updated July 16, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/27/world/ac-six-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-iran-hostage-crisis/. As stipulated in the accords, the United States agreed “not to intervene, directly or indirectly, politically or militarily” in Iranian affairs in exchange for the hostages’ release. The United States also agreed to release frozen Iranian assets to a third party.“Text of Agreement Between Iran and the U.S. to Resolve the Hostage Situation,” New York Times, January 20, 1981, http://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/20/world/text-of-agreement-between-iran-and-the-us-to-resolve-the-hostage-situation.html?pagewanted=all. The agreement, however, did little to assuage Khomeini’s ill will toward the United States, which he continued to refer to as the “great Satan.” In his last will and testament in 1989, Khomeini called the United States “the foremost enemy of Islam,” casting it as the root cause of Iran’s economic and political troubles and the leader of an international anti-Islamic front.“In The Name of God The Compassionate, the Merciful,” Al Seraj, accessed June 19, 2014, http://www.alseraj.net/maktaba/kotob/english/Miscellaneousbooks/LastwillofImamKhomeini/occasion/ertehal/english/will/lmnew1.htm.
We must all be prepared... [to] fight against America and its lackeys.
Khomeini regarded the Islamic Republic as the guardian of Islam against the secular world. This belief was notoriously exhibited in Khomeini’s 1989 fatwa ordering the death of British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie for his novel The Satanic Verses. According to Khomeini, the novel—inspired by the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad—ran counter to the tenets of Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran.Sheila Rule, “Khomeini Urges Muslims to Kill Author of Novel,” New York Times, February 15, 1989, http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/18/specials/rushdie-khomeini.html. Days after Khomeini issued the fatwa, Rushdie publicly apologized for “the distress that [his] publication has occasioned to sincere followers of Islam.”Steve Lohr, “Rushdie Expresses Regret to Muslims for Book’s Effect,” New York Times, February 19, 1989, http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/18/specials/rushdie-regret.html. Khomeini promptly rejected the apology, urging Muslims around the world to “send [Rushdie] to hell.”Michael Ross, “From the archives: Khomeini Renews Call for Death of Rushdie,” Los Angeles Times, February 20, 1989, http://articles.latimes.com/1989-02-20/world/la-fg-iran-archive-1989feb20_1_salman-rushdie-ayatollah-ruhollah-khomeini-satanic-verses. Khomeini’s successor, Ali Khamenei, announced in 2005 that the fatwa ordering Rushdie’s death remained in effect.Independent, “Iranian state media renew fatwa on Salman Rushdie,” USA Today, February 23, 2016, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/02/23/iranian-state-media-renew-fatwa-salman-rushdie/80790502/. In February 2016, 40 Iranian state-run media outlets offered a $600,000 joint reward for Rushdie’s murder.Independent, “Iranian state media renew fatwa on Salman Rushdie,” USA Today, February 23, 2016, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/02/23/iranian-state-media-renew-fatwa-salman-rushdie/80790502/. Affiliated with Iran’s supreme leader, the Iranian charity 15 Khordad Foundation has maintained a multi-million-dollar bounty on Rushdie since 1989. In 2012, the foundation raised its reward to $3.3 million and promised the full sum would be immediately paid to whoever kills Rushdie. The U.S. government levied sanctions on the foundation in October 2022 in the aftermath of an August 12, 2022, attack on Rushdie in Chautauqua, New York, by suspect Hadi Matar.“Treasury Sanctions Iranian Foundation Behind Bounty on Salman Rushdie,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, October 28, 2022, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1059; Steven Vago and Ben Kesslen, “Salman Rushdie attacker praises Iran’s ayatollah, surprised author survived: jailhouse interview,” New York Post, August 17, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/08/17/alleged-salman-rushdie-attacker-didnt-think-author-would-survive/.
Khomeini died on June 3, 1989. The following day, Ali Khamenei was named Iran’s supreme leader.“Iran profile – timeline,” BBC News, December 20, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14542438. Khomeini remains a revered figure among Shiite Muslims internationally, and tens of thousands of people reportedly attend annual ceremonies at Khomeini’s tomb in Tehran.“Revamped Khomeini Shrine Shocks Even His Fans,” Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, May 29, 2015, http://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khomenei-shrine-shocks-supporters-lavish/27043433.html;
Ramin Mostaghim and Nabih Bulos, “Iran marks 25th anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini's death, knocks U.S.,” Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2014, http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-iran-anniversary-khomeini-death-20140604-story.html. Khomeini’s philosophies continue to resonate among Shiite extremists. Iraqi Shiite militias such as the Badr Organization, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and Kata’ib Hezbollah have pledged allegiance to the Iranian regime and Khamenei out of duty to vilayat-e faqih.Ned Parker, Babak Dehghanpisheh, and Isabel Coles, “Special Report: How Iran's military chiefs operate in Iraq,” Reuters, February 24, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-committee-specialrepor-idUSKBN0LS0VD20150224;
Richard R. Brennan et al., eds., Ending the U.S. War in Iraq: the Final Transition, Operational Maneuver, and Disestablishment of United States Forces-Iraq (Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, 2013), 138-139, http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR200/RR232/RAND_RR232.pdf;
Ned Parker and Raheem Salman, “In defense of Baghdad, Iraq turns to Shi'ite militias,” Reuters, June 14, 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/14/us-iraq-security-volunteers-idUSKBN0EP0O920140614.
Mohammed Emwazi, a.k.a. “Jihadi John,” was a Kuwaiti-born British man who joined ISIS in Syria in 2013 and became known as one of the group’s most brutal executioners.Foreign Staff, “Jihadi John named as Mohammed Emwazi, from west London,” Telegraph (London), February 26, 2015, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11436596/Jihadi-John-named-as-Mohammed-Emwazi-from-west-London.html;
Tom Whitehead and Harry Yorke, “Jihadi John's fourth Beatle unmasked as refugee given shelter in UK,” Telegraph (London), May 23, 2016, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/23/jihadi-johns-fourth-beatle-unmasked-as-refugee-given-shelter-in/. He was featured in multiple ISIS videos in which he beheaded captives including American journalists James Foley and Steve Sotloff, American aid worker Peter Kassig, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto.Michael Holden and Ahmed Aboulenein, “British PM Cameron vows to hunt down ‘Jihadi John’,” Reuters, February 28, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/28/us-mideast-crisis-britain-cameron-idUSKBN0LV16H20150228. In the videos, Emwazi threatened U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and other world leaders.Michael Holden and Ahmed Aboulenein, “British PM Cameron vows to hunt down ‘Jihadi John’,” Reuters, February 28, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/28/us-mideast-crisis-britain-cameron-idUSKBN0LV16H20150228. He belonged to a four-member ISIS unit known as “The Beatles,” which included British foreign fighters Alexanda Amon Kotey, Aine Davis, and El Shafee Elsheikh. Emwazi was targeted and killed in a November 2015 U.S. drone strike in Raqqa, Syria.Dana Ford and Steve Almasy, “ISIS confirms death of ‘Jihadi John,’” CNN, January 20, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/19/middleeast/jihadi-john-dead/.
Emwazi was raised in the middle-class neighborhood of Queens Park, London.Foreign Staff, “Jihadi John named as Mohammed Emwazi, from west London,” Telegraph (London), February 26, 2015, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11436596/Jihadi-John-named-as-Mohammed-Emwazi-from-west-London.html. In the early 2000s, Emwazi and future Beatles members Kotey and Davis reportedly attended the Al-Manaar mosque in Landbroke Grove, London.Jane Bradley, Tom Warren, and Richard Holmes, “ISIS Accomplice Of ‘Jihadi John’ Named As ‘Quiet And Humble’ Londoner,” BuzzFeed News, February 8, 2016, https://www.buzzfeed.com/janebradley/unmasked-the-second-member-of-isiss-beatles-execution-cell?utm_term=.hblMB4XJj#.bx3DJ2X7r. Emwazi then joined the London Boys, a radical network linked to terrorist plots in the United Kingdom including the 7/7 bombings.Jane Bradley, Tom Warren, and Richard Holmes, “ISIS Accomplice Of ‘Jihadi John’ Named As ‘Quiet And Humble’ Londoner,” BuzzFeed News, February 8, 2016, https://www.buzzfeed.com/janebradley/unmasked-the-second-member-of-isiss-beatles-execution-cell?utm_term=.hblMB4XJj#.bx3DJ2X7r. Kotey was also reported to be a member.Adam Goldman and Souad Mekhennet, “Another Islamic State jailer who held Western hostages identified as Londoner,” Washington Post, February 7, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/another-islamic-state-jailer-who-held-western-hostages-identified-as-londoner/2016/02/06/a0f11d28-cc10-11e5-ae11-57b6aeab993f_story.html?utm_term=.9a89ab81d23c. British authorities have described the London Boys as “a network of United Kingdom and East African based Islamist extremists.”Colin Freeman, “Ladbroke Grove connection - the wealthy west London district that bred Jihadi John,” Telegraph (London), February 26, 2015, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11438534/Ladbroke-Grove-connection-the-wealthy-west-London-district-that-bred-Jihadi-John.html.
In the mid-2000s, Emwazi attended Britain’s University of Westminster, where he was exposed to the ideology of international Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir through the university’s Islamic Society. Maajid Nawaz, “The Education of ‘Jihadi John,’” New York Times, March 3, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/opinion/the-education-of-jihadi-john.html. During Emwazi’s years as a student at the University of Westminster, the Islamic Society organized on-campus panels that included HT members as speakers.Sara Malm, “100 members of controversial Islamic group linked to radicalised British students including Jihadi John have ‘joined forces with al Qaeda in Syria,’” Daily Mail (London), April 11, 2015, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3034733/100-members-controversial-Islamic-group-linked-radicalised-British-students-including-Jihadi-John-joined-forces-al-Qaeda-Syria.html. Emwazi graduated in 2009 with a degree in computer science.“’Jihadi John’ named as Mohammed Emwazi from London,” BBC News, February 26, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31637090.
The United Kingdom’s MI5 and Scotland Yard reportedly monitored Emwazi between 2009 and 2012.Robert Verkaik, “Mohammed Emwazi: 'Jihadi John' warned younger brother not to follow him to Syria and Isis,” Independent (London), January 24, 2016, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/jihadi-john-mohammed-emwazi-isis-syria-warned-brother-a6831666.html. British intelligence classified him as a “person of interest” in 2009 when Emwazi—using the name Muhammad ibn Muazzam—was detained in Tanzania while allegedly attempting to travel to Somalia to join the terror group al-Shabab. A Tanzanian police officer later told the BBC that Emwazi was being “rough and noisy” in the airport, likely because of alcohol, and was thus denied entry to the country.Dominic Casciani, “Islamic State: Profile of Mohammed Emwazi aka ‘Jihadi John,’” BBC News, November 13, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31641569. Tanzanian security deported Emwazi to Amsterdam where he was met by MI5 agents who interrogated and then returned him to the United Kingdom.Souad Mekhennet and Adam Goldman, “’Jihadi John’: Islamic State killer is identified as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi,” Washington Post, February 26, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jihadi-john-the-islamic-state-killer-behind-the-mask-is-a-young-londoner/2015/02/25/d6dbab16-bc43-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html;
Margaret Coker and Jenny Gross, “Islamic State Militant Known as ‘Jihadi John’ Identified,” Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-militant-known-as-jihadi-john-identified-1424955642. Soon after, Emwazi moved to his native Kuwait to take a job with a computer company.Margaret Coker and Jenny Gross, “Islamic State Militant Known as ‘Jihadi John’ Identified,” Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-militant-known-as-jihadi-john-identified-1424955642. Emwazi returned to London in the summer of 2010, but British security detained him and prevented him from returning to Kuwait because of an expired visa.Margaret Coker and Jenny Gross, “Islamic State Militant Known as ‘Jihadi John’ Identified,” Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-militant-known-as-jihadi-john-identified-1424955642;
“‘Jihadi John’ movements mapped,” BBC News, February 26, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30292532.
Emwazi contacted the British NGO CAGE to try to determine a way out of the country, telling them he was desperate to leave. Emwazi changed his name to Mohammed al-Ayan and applied for teaching positions in Saudi Arabia, though his applications were rejected.Dominic Casciani, “Islamic State: Profile of Mohammed Emwazi aka ‘Jihadi John,’” BBC News, November 13, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31641569. In August 2013, Emwazi reportedly crossed through six countries in order to reach ISIS in Syria. A jihadist source who allegedly accompanied Emwazi on the journey told British media that the pair left England on a boat, traveled to Belgium, and flew to Albania. From there they paid smugglers to take them to Greece, where they were detained but released after a few days. The pair then took a boat to Turkey, where ISIS handlers smuggled them into Syria.Chris Hughes, “Jihadi John dodged intelligence services in SIX countries after fleeing UK for Syria,” Mirror (London), April 28, 2016, http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jihadi-john-dodged-intelligence-services-7854688. Emwazi was reportedly guarding hostages in Idlib, Syria, later that year.Dominic Casciani, “Islamic State: Profile of Mohammed Emwazi aka ‘Jihadi John,’” BBC News, November 13, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31641569. By early 2014, Emwazi and The Beatles were believed to be guarding hostages in Raqqa, Syria, ISIS’s de facto capital.Souad Mekhennet and Adam Goldman, “’Jihadi John’: Islamic State killer is identified as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi,” Washington Post, February 26, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jihadi-john-the-islamic-state-killer-behind-the-mask-is-a-young-londoner/2015/02/25/d6dbab16-bc43-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html.
A masked Emwazi—nicknamed Jihadi John by former captives—began appearing in ISIS execution videos in August 2014.Dominic Casciani, “Islamic State: Profile of Mohammed Emwazi aka ‘Jihadi John,’” BBC News, November 13, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31641569. Hostages released by ISIS identified Jihadi John as one of four British jihadists known as The Beatles. Those former hostages described Jihadi John to the Washington Post as quiet, intelligent, and “the most deliberate” of the group.James Harkin, Ian Birrell, and Sharon Churcher, “British spies are on the verge of identifying ‘Jailer John’: Ambassador to U.S. reveals ‘we are not far away’ from unmasking fanatic who murdered James Foley as SAS gets ready to find him,” Daily Mail (London), August 23, 2014, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2732822/Vile-boast-Jihadi-John-I-ve-fortune-Bragging-British-executioners-sadists-say-ex-hostages-tortured-Tasers.html;
Souad Mekhennet and Adam Goldman, “’Jihadi John’: Islamic State killer is identified as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi,” Washington Post, February 26, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jihadi-john-the-islamic-state-killer-behind-the-mask-is-a-young-londoner/2015/02/25/d6dbab16-bc43-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html. They also described The Beatles as among the more brutal of ISIS’s guards. Didier Francois—a French journalist held prisoner by The Beatles for 10 months—told CNN that The Beatles would regularly tell captives they were to be beheaded and stage fake executions.Mick Krever, “ISIS captors cared little about religion, says former hostage,” CNN, February 4, 2015, http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/03/intl_world/amanpour-didier-francois/index.html?sr=fb020315isisquran4pVODtopVideo. Escaped captives also reported waterboarding and other torture. Francois was held captive alongside American journalist James Foley, whom Emwazi executed in an August 2014 ISIS video.Adam Goldman and Souad Mekhennet, “‘That is not the son I raised’: How a British citizen became one of the most notorious members of ISIS,” Washington Post, May 23, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/that-is-not-the-son-i-raised-how-a-british-citizen-became-one-of-the-most-notorious-members-of-isis/2016/05/23/6d66276c-1cfd-11e6-b6e0-c53b7ef63b45_story.html?utm_term=.75e4dbc45560.
Emwazi repeatedly threatened Western leaders and citizens in ISIS propaganda videos. In a September 2014 video message to President Barack Obama, he promised that ISIS would “begin to slaughter your people in the streets.”(Graphic Video) Islamic State Claims Beheading of Former U.S. Army Ranger/Aid Worker Peter Kassig,” Leak Source, November 16, 2014, http://leaksource.info/2014/11/16/graphic-video-islamic-state-claims-beheading-of-former-u-s-army-rangeraid-worker-peter-kassig/. In a January 2015 message to the Japanese government, Emwazi promised an “entire army thirsty for your blood” that would “cause carnage wherever your people are found. So let the nightmare for Japan begin.”“Graphic Video) Islamic State Beheads Japanese Journalist Kenji Goto,” Leak Source, January 31, 2015, http://leaksource.info/2015/01/31/graphic-video-islamic-state-beheads-japanese-journalist-kenji-goto/.
In February 2015, U.S. and British Intelligence officials revealed that Emwazi was the Beatle known as Jihadi John.“Has ‘Jihadi John’ fled ISIS?,” Fox News, July 26, 2015, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/07/26/has-jihadi-john-fled-isis/?intcmp=trending. According to a 2015 Independent interview with Emwazi’s younger brother, Omar, the elder Emwazi blamed British security services for ruining his chance at marriage and a normal life in Kuwait.Robert Verkaik, “Mohammed Emwazi: 'Jihadi John' warned younger brother not to follow him to Syria and Isis,” Independent (London), January 24, 2016, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/jihadi-john-mohammed-emwazi-isis-syria-warned-brother-a6831666.html.
In or around June 2015, Emwazi reportedly fled Syria for Libya out of fear that the U.S. and British governments would target him in Syria.Elaine O’Flynn, “Has Jihadi John fled to Libya? Experts fear killer left Syria when he was unmasked as Mohammed Emwazi, 26, from London,” Daily Mail (London), June 21, 2015, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3133221/Has-Jihadi-John-fled-Libya-Experts-fear-killer-left-Syria-unmasked-Mohammed-Emwazi-26-London.html;
“Has ‘Jihadi John’ fled ISIS?,” Fox News, July 26, 2015, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/07/26/has-jihadi-john-fled-isis/?intcmp=trending. Despite this, a U.S. airstrike reportedly killed Emwazi in Syria that November. Two months later, ISIS confirmed Jihadi John’s death and true identity in an obituary in its English-language magazine Dabiq.Dana Ford and Steve Almasy, “ISIS confirms death of ‘Jihadi John,’” CNN, January 20, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/19/middleeast/jihadi-john-dead/. Kotey and Elsheikh were captured in Syria in February 2017, while Davis was arrested in Turkey in November 2015.Tom Wyke, “Jihadi John ‘associate’ believed to be one of the British prison guards nicknamed ‘The Beatles’ is held in Turkey,” Daily Mail (London), November 13, 2015, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3317560/Turkish-authorities-detain-London-petty-drug-dealer-turned-Jihadi-John-associate-Aine-Davis.html; Mark Hosenball and Idrees Ali, “Syrian Kurds capture two British Islamic State militants: U.S. officials,” Reuters, February 8, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-britain/syrian-kurds-capture-two-british-islamic-state-militants-u-s-officials-idUSKBN1FS34Q. Kotey and Elsheikh were transferred to the United States for trial in October 2020.Rachel Weiner and Ellen Nakashima, “Two ISIS militants charged in deaths of James Foley and other American hostages in Syria,” Washington Post, October 7, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/isis-hostages-beheadings-miltants-charged/2020/10/07/69762ef2-089b-11eb-859b-f9c27abe638d_story.html. In September 2021, Kotey pleaded guilty to eight charges related to the kidnapping and murder of hostages.Rachel Weiner and Tom Jackman, “ISIS militant admits involvement in torture, killings of American hostages,” Washington Post, September 2, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/islamic-state-hostage-plea/2021/09/02/669d2b2c-0b56-11ec-9781-07796ffb56fe_story.html. On April 14, 2022, Elsheikh was convicted on eight charges, including four counts of hostage-taking resulting in death, murder conspiracy and conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization.“El Shafee Elsheikh: IS 'Beatle' found guilty of hostage-taking and conspiring to murder journalists and aid workers,” Sky News, April 14, 2022, https://news.sky.com/story/el-shafee-elsheikh-is-beatle-found-guilty-of-hostage-taking-and-conspiring-to-murder-journalists-and-aid-workers-12589377. On April 29, 2022, Kotey was sentenced to life in prison.“Alexanda Kotey: IS ‘Beatle’ sentenced to life in US for murders in Syria,” BBC News, April 29, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61274332. Elsheikh was sentenced to life in prison on August 19, 2022.Kanishka Singh, “Islamic State militant gets life in U.S. prison over killing of American hostages,” Reuters, August 19, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/legal/islamic-state-cell-member-faces-us-sentencing-beheadings-2022-08-19/.
Bachrumsyah Mennor Usman was an Indonesian citizen and U.S.-designated ISIS operative based in Syria.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives,” U.S Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Usman commanded ISIS fighters—including by coordinating their travel and communication—and facilitated funding for ISIS in Indonesia. He was also believed to recruit for the group. He was previously a member of the Indonesian jihadist organization Jemaah Islamiyah. The U.S. Department of the Treasury classified Usman as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on January 10, 2016.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives,” U.S Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx. On April 17, 2018, he was reportedly killed in a U.S. airstrike in Syria, although the U.S. military was unable to confirm his death.Roni Toldanes, “Pentagon: No Confirmation on Indonesian IS Leader’s Purported Death,” Benar News, April 20, 2018, https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/indonesian/indonesia-militants-04202018182403.html.
Usman pledged allegiance to ISIS in February 2014 at an ISIS-aligned mosque in Indonesia“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives,” U.S Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx.The following month, he joined ISIS in Syria and began facilitating the travel of Indonesian foreign fighters to ISIS-controlled territory.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives,” U.S Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in September 2014 Usman was appointed head of ISIS’s Archipelago Group, also known as Katibah Nusantara—a unit comprised of Southeast Asian fighters dedicated to organizing and conducting attacks in their home countries.Joe Cochrane, “Explosions in Jakarta, Indonesia,” New York Times, January 14, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/live/jakarta-indonesia-explosions/background-on-katibah-nusantara-a-military-unit-under-isis-linked-to-jakarta-attacks/;
“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives,” U.S Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx;
John McBeth, “Inside the cauldron of Indonesian-ISIS terror,” Asia Times, January 17, 2017, http://www.atimes.com/article/inside-cauldron-indonesian-isis-terror/.
Usman appeared in a number of ISIS propaganda videos, including a July 2014 video entitled “Join the Ranks” in which he encouraged Indonesians to support the terror group.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives,” U.S Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx;
“ISIS Online Recruitment Video “Join the Ranks” Featured Indonesian Jihadists,” Global Indonesian Voices, July 31, 2014, http://www.globalindonesianvoices.com/14849/isis-online-recruitment-video-join-the-ranks-featured-indonesian-jihadists/. Following the video’s release, Indonesian authorities discovered an underground ISIS recruitment network, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In March 2015, Usman appeared in another ISIS video that portrayed Indonesian and Malaysian children partaking in ISIS training camp activities, including firing machine guns.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives,” U.S Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx.
Usman previously studied under Indonesian Islamist Aman Abdurrahman, a.k.a. Omar Rochman, before the latter’s arrest and imprisonment in December 2010. Following Abdurrahman’s conviction, Usman co-founded an Indonesian Islamist group—alongside U.S.-designated operative Tuah Febriwansyah, a.k.a. Muhammad Fachary—that declared its support for ISIS in February 2014.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives,” U.S Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Usman alongside Abdurrahman and Australian ISIS propagandist Khaled Sharrouf. He was also designated alongside Neil Prakash, an Australian ISIS recruiter and propagandist also sanctioned by the United Nations and Australia.U.S. Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx;
“Counter-terrorism related sanctions listing,” Minister for Foreign Affairs, June 5, 2015, http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/Pages/2015/jb_mr_150604.aspx;
“Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 Listing 2015 (No. 2),” United Nations via Commonwealth of Australia, June 4, 2015 https://www.dropbox.com/s/knbydc3mjwihlka/C2015G00866%20-%20Charter%20of%20the%20United%20Nations%20Act%201945%20Listing%202015%20(No.%202).pdf?dl=0. Prakash has been featured in numerous ISIS videos, and has used social media platforms, including Twitter, to encourage Australians to join ISIS.Martin Chulov and Paul Farrell, “Revealed: the new face of Neil Prakash, Australia’s most wanted Isis member,” Guardian (London), December 2, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/neil-prakash-new-images-isis-member-arrest-turkey-australia.
On April 17, 2018, social media reports alleged that Usman had been killed in a U.S. airstrike in Syria. On pro-ISIS Telegram channels, militants eulogized Usman as “a martyr having been exposed to the bombardment of a B-1 Lancer fighter jet in the Hajin, Syria area.” The U.S. military publicly stated that although it had conducted bombings on April 17 in Hajin, it was unable to confirm that Usman had been killed.Roni Toldanes, “Pentagon: No Confirmation on Indonesian IS Leader’s Purported Death,” Benar News, April 20, 2018, https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/indonesian/indonesia-militants-04202018182403.html.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated “Bachrumsyah Mennor Usman” as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224 on January 10, 2017.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives,” U.S Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx.
Khaled Sharrouf was a U.S.-, U.N.-, and Australian-designated terrorist who fled his native Australia in December 2013 to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria. There, he carried out executions on behalf of the terror group.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives and Leaders,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx;
Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 Listing 2015 (No. 2),” United Nations via Commonwealth of Australia, November 13, 2014, https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:th9SnCXPdkkJ:https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2014G01861/7b2738b8-086e-47b5-af7f-c32e18bc556b+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us;
“Australia and sanctions [Consolidated List],” Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, accessed January 12, 2017, http://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/security/sanctions/Pages/consolidated-list.aspx. Sharrouf rose to global prominence in 2014 when he disseminated a photo—via Twitter—of his seven-year-old son holding the severed heads of executed ISIS victims.Rachel Olding, “Convicted terrorist Khaled Sharrouf was allowed to visit prisoners,” Sydney Morning Herald, August 3, 2016, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/convicted-terrorist-khaled-sharrouf-was-allowed-to-visit-prisoners-20160803-gqk367.html;
Geoff Chambers, “Tribute to Aussie IS thug Khaled Sharrouf by compatriot Neil Prakash indicates he was killed in an air strike,” The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), August 2, 2015, http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/tribute-to-aussie-is-thug-khaled-sharrouf-by-compatriot-jihadist-neil-prakash-indicates-he-was-killed-in-an-air-strike/news-story/23109ed2ddaa84258243f6018e913b96 Then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said of the photo, “This image, perhaps an iconic photograph… is really one of the most disturbing, stomach-turning, grotesque photographs ever displayed.”Paul Maley, “Federal Police told ISIS has put Khaled Sharrouf in jail,” The Australian (Sydney), May 13, 2016, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/terror/federal-police-told-isis-has-put-khaled-sharrouf-in-jail/news-story/5df5e1fb4b1afe46c1fbd05d922f1613. Sharrouf also released photos of himself participating in the execution of Iraqi captives.Paul Maley, “Federal Police told ISIS has put Khaled Sharrouf in jail,” The Australian (Sydney), May 13, 2016, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/terror/federal-police-told-isis-has-put-khaled-sharrouf-in-jail/news-story/5df5e1fb4b1afe46c1fbd05d922f1613. He was reportedly killed by a coalition airstrike in August 2017.Dylan Welch and Suzanne Dredge, “Khaled Sharrouf, Australian Terrorist, Believed to Have Been Killed in Air Strike in Syria,” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, August 16, 2017, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-16/khaled-sharrouf-believed-to-have-been-killed/8812600.
Sharrouf, who was married to an Australian woman and had five children, was known to Australian authorities long before joining ISIS.John Kehoe, “‘Dead’ Australian ISIL terrorists sanctioned by US Treasury,” Australian Financial Review, January 11, 2017, http://www.afr.com/news/dead-australian-isil-terrorists-sanctioned-by-us-treasury-20170110-gtp61z. As a teenager, Sharrouf turned to drugs and petty crime after being expelled from high school for bad behavior. According to Australian Supreme Court Justice Anthony Whealy, Sharrouf radicalized during this time by mixing in extremist Muslim social circles.Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop, “Khaled Sharrouf: The Australian radical fighting for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria,” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, February 10, 2016, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-14/khaled-sharrouf:-the-australian-radical-fighting-in-iraq/5671974. In 2005, Sharrouf was arrested alongside eight others for his role in one of Australia’s biggest terror plots, when Australian counterterrorism units uncovered an enormous cache of guns, ammunition, and bomb-making material in Sydney and Melbourne.Rachel Olding, “Terrifying legacy emerged from success of Operation Pendennis,” Sydney Morning Herald, August 24, 2014, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/terrifying-legacy-emerges-from-success-of-operation-pendennis-20140821-106ow0.html. Sharrouf was imprisoned for possession of materials intended to be used for terrorism, and was released on parole in 2009.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives and Leaders,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx;
Rachel Olding, “Terrifying legacy emerged from success of Operation Pendennis,” Sydney Morning Herald, August 24, 2014, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/terrifying-legacy-emerges-from-success-of-operation-pendennis-20140821-106ow0.html. Despite being subject to a travel ban, he managed to travel to ISIS-controlled territory in December 2013 by using his brother’s passport.“Australian terrorist’s children could be taken into care,” BBC News, May 27 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-32894860.
Sharrouf was falsely reported killed in a July 2015 U.S. airstrike in Syria. He was eulogized by his Australian compatriot Neil Prakash, an ISIS recruiter and propagandist notorious for recruiting Australians via Twitter to join ISIS.Martin Chulov and Paul Farrell, “Revealed: the new face of Neil Prakash, Australia’s most wanted Isis member,” Guardian (London), December 2, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/neil-prakash-new-images-isis-member-arrest-turkey-australia. The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Sharrouf in January 2017 alongside Prakash, as well as Indonesian ISIS supporters Bachrumsyah Mennor Usman and Aman Abdurrahman a.k.a. Omar Rochman.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives and Leaders,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx.
On August 11, 2017, Sharrouf was reportedly killed by a coalition airstrike in Syria. According to the Australian government, Sharrouf and his two sons, 12-year-old Abdullah and 11-year-old Zarqawi, were killed by the airstrike while they were driving in the area of Raqqa, Syria. An anonymous law enforcement official stated that photos of Sharrouf’s corpse had been shared on extremist social media channels, but the Australian border protection minister stated that the government was unable to confirm Sharrouf’s killing.Dylan Welch and Suzanne Dredge, “Khaled Sharrouf, Australian Terrorist, Believed to Have Been Killed in Air Strike in Syria,” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, August 16, 2017, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-16/khaled-sharrouf-believed-to-have-been-killed/8812600.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Khaled Sharrouf as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224 on January 10, 2017.“Treasury Designates Australian and Southeast Asian ISIL Operatives and Leaders,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, January 10, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0698.aspx.
The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs designated Khaled Sharrouf on November 13, 2014, under 15 section 15(1) of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (CotUNA), pursuant to Australia’s obligations under UNSC resolution 1373 (2001).“Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 Listing 2015 (No. 2),” United Nations via Commonwealth of Australia, November 13, 2014, https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:th9SnCXPdkkJ:https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2014G01861/7b2738b8-086e-47b5-af7f-c32e18bc556b+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us;
“Australia and sanctions [Consolidated List],” Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, accessed January 12, 2017, http://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/security/sanctions/Pages/consolidated-list.aspx;
“Counter-terrorism related sanctions listing,” Australian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, August 20, 2015, http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/pages/2015/jb_mr_150820.aspx.
The United Nations Security Council announced sanctions against Khaled Sharrouf on November 13, 2014.“Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 Listing 2015 (No. 2),” United Nations via Commonwealth of Australia, November 13, 2014, https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:th9SnCXPdkkJ:https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2014G01861/7b2738b8-086e-47b5-af7f-c32e18bc556b+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us;
“Australia and sanctions [Consolidated List],” Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, accessed January 12, 2017, http://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/security/sanctions/Pages/consolidated-list.aspx.
Oussama Atar was a dual Belgian-Moroccan citizen suspected of coordinating the deadly November 2015 attacks in Paris on behalf of ISIS.“Officials name possible coordinator of Paris, Brussels attacks as Oussama Atar,” CBS News, November 8, 2016, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/officials-name-possible-coordinator-paris-brussels-attacks-oussama-atar/. In early November 2016, a French judicial official and a security official confirmed that Atar was the real name of “Abu Ahmed,” the ISIS figure suspected by law enforcement of masterminding the November 2015 Paris attacks.Associated Press, “Authorities ID possible organizer of Paris, Brussels attacks,” Yahoo News, November 8, 2016, http://sports.yahoo.com/news/authorities-id-possible-organizer-paris-brussels-attacks-160254593.html. European authorities have also linked Atar to the March 2016 attacks in Brussels.Margot Haddad, Erin McLaughlin, and Tim Hume, “France identifies suspected coordinator of Paris, Brussels attacks,” CNN, November 8, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/08/europe/paris-brussels-attacks-suspected-coordinator/. On November 17, 2017, Atar was reportedly killed in an airstrike by the international coalition in Syria.“Oussama Atar mastermind behind Paris and Brussels attacks killed in Syria,” Brussel Times, November 7, 2018, https://www.brusselstimes.com/brussels/51710/oussama-atar-mastermind-of-paris-and-brussels-attacks-killed-in-syria/.
According to Agence France-Presse, a suspected extremist arrested in Austria in December 2015 said that Atar—identified by the extremist as “Abu Ahmed”—had sent him to participate in the Paris attacks.“Investigators name alleged planner of Paris, Brussels attacks,” Deutsche Welle, November 9, 2016, http://www.dw.com/en/investigators-name-alleged-planner-of-paris-brussels-attacks/a-36316533. According to European counterterrorism officials, suspects in the Paris attacks identified “Abu Ahmed” as their emir (leader) of the Paris cell, saying that he “discussed targets, strategy and bomb-making techniques from Syria via encrypted channels with survivors of the terrorist cell who were hiding in Brussels.”Sebastian Rotella, “U.S. Identifies Key Player in ISIS Attacks on Europe,” ProPublica, October 19, 2016, https://www.propublica.org/article/us-identifies-key-player-in-isis-attacks-on-europe.
Belgian authorities reportedly suspected that Atar was in the country in August 2016. Atar allegedly fled Belgium after information leaked to the media that Belgian Special Forces were searching for him. Belgian officials have described Atar as “the highest ranking ISIS operative” from the Brussels area.Margot Haddad, Erin McLaughlin, and Tim Hume, “France identifies suspected coordinator of Paris, Brussels attacks,” CNN, November 8, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/08/europe/paris-brussels-attacks-suspected-coordinator/.
Atar was the cousin of brothers Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui, two suicide bombers who killed at least 32 people and wounded more than 300 in Brussels, Belgium, on March 22, 2016.Margot Haddad, Erin McLaughlin, and Tim Hume, “France identifies suspected coordinator of Paris, Brussels attacks,” CNN, November 8, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/08/europe/paris-brussels-attacks-suspected-coordinator/. French authorities reportedly believe that Atar helped radicalize at least one of the El Bakraoui brothers, and that Atar coordinated the attacks from Syria. Authorities reportedly found proof on a computer belonging to one of the Bakraoui brothers connecting Atar to the Paris and Brussels attacks.Margot Haddad, Erin McLaughlin, and Tim Hume, “France identifies suspected coordinator of Paris, Brussels attacks,” CNN, November 8, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/08/europe/paris-brussels-attacks-suspected-coordinator/.
Authorities have described Atar as an “ISIS original.”Henry Samuel, “Paris and Brussels terror attacks were coordinated by Syria-based jihadist called Oussama Atar, French and Belgian intelligence believe,” Telegraph (London), November 8, 2016, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/08/paris-and-brussels-terror-attacks-were-coordinated-by-syria-base/. Atar reportedly first traveled to Iraq and Syria in 2002.Henry Samuel, “Paris and Brussels terror attacks were coordinated by Syria-based jihadist called Oussama Atar, French and Belgian intelligence believe,” Telegraph (London), November 8, 2016, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/08/paris-and-brussels-terror-attacks-were-coordinated-by-syria-base/. In February 2005, Atar was arrested in Ramadi, Iraq. Two years later, an Iraqi court convicted Atar on charges of illegally entering the country and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.Margot Haddad, Erin McLaughlin, and Tim Hume, “France identifies suspected coordinator of Paris, Brussels attacks,” CNN, November 8, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/08/europe/paris-brussels-attacks-suspected-coordinator/; “Osama Atar, one of the presumed brains of the attacks of Brussels, sought by the Belgian authorities,” Le Monde (Paris), August 17, 2016, http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2016/08/17/oussama-atar-le-cousin-des-kamikazes-des-attentats-de-bruxelles-activement-recherche-par-les-autorites-belges_4984153_3214.html. Atar then reportedly spent time in multiple Iraqi prisons, including Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca, where he reportedly met future ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.Margot Haddad, Erin McLaughlin, and Tim Hume, “France identifies suspected coordinator of Paris, Brussels attacks,” CNN, November 8, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/08/europe/paris-brussels-attacks-suspected-coordinator/. While in Iraq’s al-Rusafa Prison in 2010, Atar’s lawyer launched a public campaign with the help of various NGOs to have Atar receive immediate medical care. According to Amnesty International, prison authorities had told the Belgian embassy that Atar had a tumor in his kidney and required immediate surgery. The Red Cross later discovered that Atar had a colon infection, not cancer.Margot Haddad, Erin McLaughlin, and Tim Hume, “France identifies suspected coordinator of Paris, Brussels attacks,” CNN, November 8, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/08/europe/paris-brussels-attacks-suspected-coordinator/.
Atar was released from prison in September 2012 and returned to Belgium. According to Atar’s lawyer at the time, Vincent Lurquin, Belgian authorities were not as concerned by ISIS at that time and “left [Atar] by himself” after a routine interrogation.Margot Haddad, Erin McLaughlin, and Tim Hume, “France identifies suspected coordinator of Paris, Brussels attacks,” CNN, November 8, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/08/europe/paris-brussels-attacks-suspected-coordinator/. After news broke of Atar’s possible connection to the Paris attacks, Lurquin told media outlets that he did not know what had become of his former client.“Osama Atar, one of the presumed brains of the attacks of Brussels, sought by the Belgian authorities,” Le Monde (Paris), August 17, 2016, http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2016/08/17/oussama-atar-le-cousin-des-kamikazes-des-attentats-de-bruxelles-activement-recherche-par-les-autorites-belges_4984153_3214.html.
As of November 2016, Atar reportedly remained at large in Syria, according to media reports.Margot Haddad, Erin McLaughlin, and Tim Hume, “France identifies suspected coordinator of Paris, Brussels attacks,” CNN, November 8, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/08/europe/paris-brussels-attacks-suspected-coordinator/.
On November 17, 2017, Atar was reportedly killed in an airstrike by the international coalition in Syria, but his death was not officially confirmed.“Oussama Atar mastermind behind Paris and Brussels attacks killed in Syria,” Brussel Times, November 7, 2018, https://www.brusselstimes.com/brussels/51710/oussama-atar-mastermind-of-paris-and-brussels-attacks-killed-in-syria/.
Abu Suleyman al-Firansi—born as Abdelilah Himich—is a Moroccan citizen, former French soldier, and suspected key member of ISIS. According to several ISIS defectors, Firansi leads the group’s amn al-kharjee, the external operations branch responsible for carrying out attacks in Europe. Various U.S. and French authorities have identified Firansi as one of the suspected masterminds behind ISIS’s November 2015 Paris massacre and March 2016 Brussels bombings.Sebastian Rotella, “U.S. Identifies Key Player in ISIS Attacks on Europe,” ProPublica, October 19, 2016, https://www.propublica.org/article/us-identifies-key-player-in-isis-attacks-on-europe. In November 2016, French authorities identified Moroccan-Belgian extremist Oussama Atar as the overall coordinator of both attacks.Associated Press, “Authorities ID possible organizer of Paris, Brussels attacks,” Yahoo News, November 8, 2016, http://sports.yahoo.com/news/authorities-id-possible-organizer-paris-brussels-attacks-160254593.html; Margot Haddad, Erin McLaughlin, and Tim Hume, “France identifies suspected coordinator of Paris, Brussels attacks,” CNN, November 8, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/08/europe/paris-brussels-attacks-suspected-coordinator/. Firansi has been the subject of French and Interpol arrest warrants, and is believed to operate out of ISIS-controlled territory in Syria.Sebastian Rotella, “U.S. Identifies Key Player in ISIS Attacks on Europe,” ProPublica, October 19, 2016, https://www.propublica.org/article/us-identifies-key-player-in-isis-attacks-on-europe. The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Firansi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on November 22, 2016.“Counter Terrorism Designations; Kingpin Act Designations Updates,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, November 22, 2016, https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20161122.aspx.
Firansi was born in Rabat, Morocco, in 1989 and moved with his family to France in his early teens. He joined the French Foreign Legion in 2008 and gained combat experience while on a six-month tour in Afghanistan.Sebastian Rotella, “U.S. Identifies Key Player in ISIS Attacks on Europe,” ProPublica, October 19, 2016, https://www.propublica.org/article/us-identifies-key-player-in-isis-attacks-on-europe; Michael Weiss, “From French Soldier to ISIS Spymaster,” Daily Beast, October 24, 2016, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/24/the-french-spymaster-of-isis.html. According to French officials, Firansi deserted the French Foreign Legion in 2010, and was arrested in Paris one year later while carrying 2.6 pounds of cocaine.Sebastian Rotella, “U.S. Identifies Key Player in ISIS Attacks on Europe,” ProPublica, October 19, 2016, https://www.propublica.org/article/us-identifies-key-player-in-isis-attacks-on-europe; Michael Weiss, “Is This Frenchman Running ISIS Terror Networks in the West?,” Daily Beast, May 1, 2016, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/01/is-this-frenchman-running-isis-terror-networks-in-the-west.html. In 2013, Firansi was convicted on drug-related charges and sentenced to three years in prison, but was released after five months.Sebastian Rotella, “U.S. Identifies Key Player in ISIS Attacks on Europe,” ProPublica, October 19, 2016, https://www.propublica.org/article/us-identifies-key-player-in-isis-attacks-on-europe. By early 2014, Firansi had traveled to Syria by driving through Italy, Greece, and Turkey, to fight with an al-Qaeda-linked group before joining ISIS.Sebastian Rotella, “U.S. Identifies Key Player in ISIS Attacks on Europe,” ProPublica, October 19, 2016, https://www.propublica.org/article/us-identifies-key-player-in-isis-attacks-on-europe.
As a member of ISIS, Firansi has reportedly helped plot the group’s major attacks in Europe. Following the November 2015 Paris attacks, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi reportedly rewarded Firansi“ABOU SOULEIMAN : L’ÉMIR FRANÇAIS DE DAECH,” TTU, April 15, 2016, http://www.ttu.fr/abou-souleiman-lemir-francais-de-daech/; Michael Weiss, “Is This Frenchman Running ISIS Terror Networks in the West?,” Daily Beast, May 1, 2016, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/01/is-this-frenchman-running-isis-terror-networks-in-the-west.html. by appointing him to the head of the amn al-kharjee, a unit belonging to the larger intelligence structure known as the Emni. The Emni was previously led by Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, the group’s spokesman and director of external operations killed in an August 2016 drone strike.Sebastian Rotella, “U.S. Identifies Key Player in ISIS Attacks on Europe,” ProPublica, October 19, 2016, https://www.propublica.org/article/us-identifies-key-player-in-isis-attacks-on-europe; Rukmini Callimachi, “How A Secret Branch of ISIS Built a Global Network of Killers,” New York Times, August 3, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/world/middleeast/isis-german-recruit-interview.html?_r=0.
According to one unnamed U.S. counterterrorism official, Faransi is “one of the most important Frenchmen in ISIS, especially after the death of Adnani.”Sebastian Rotella, “U.S. Identifies Key Player in ISIS Attacks on Europe,” ProPublica, October 19, 2016, https://www.propublica.org/article/us-identifies-key-player-in-isis-attacks-on-europe. Journalist Michael Weiss has referred to Faransi as “arguably the single most important European in ISIS.”Michael Weiss, “From French Soldier to ISIS Spymaster,” Daily Beast, October 24, 2016, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/24/the-french-spymaster-of-isis.html.
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The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Abdelilah Himich as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.“Counter Terrorism Designations; Kingpin Act Designations Updates,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, November 22, 2016, https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20161122.aspx.
Mounir Ben Dhaou Ben Brahim Ben Helal was a Tunisian member of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) who was sanction-designated by the United States,“Treasury Sanctions Major Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Leaders, Financial Figures, Facilitators, and Supporters,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, September 29, 2015, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0188.aspx. the United Nations,“Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing,” U.N. Security Council, February 29, 2016, https://www.un.org/sc/suborg/en/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/individual/mounir-ben-dhaou-ben-brahim-ben-helal. and the European Union“Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/307 of 3 March 2016,” EUR-Lex, March 3, 2016, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1462456080638&uri=CELEX:32016R0307. for facilitating the flow of foreign fighters to the terror group.
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Helal used “his experience in establishing and securing travel routes” to create networks in North Africa for AQIM, as well as to aid foreign fighters in traveling to Syria to join ISIS. The United States also accused Helal of supplying arms to AQIM.“Treasury Sanctions Major Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Leaders, Financial Figures, Facilitators, and Supporters,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, September 29, 2015, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0188.aspx.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) identified Helal as “Abu Mariam,” a senior ISIS leader killed in a November 2015 U.S. airstrike in Iraq. The strike targeted and killed a senior ISIS finance chief, known as “Abu Saleh.” According to AFP, Abu Mariam was “an enforcer and senior leader in the IS group’s extortion networks.” The news agency reported that Abu Mariam “appears on the State Department’s terrorist list as Mounir Ben Dhaou Ben Brahim Ben Helal, a 32-year-old Tunisian.”Agence France-Press, “IS finance chief killed in Iraq air strike: US,” Yahoo News, December 11, 2015, https://www.yahoo.com/news/finance-chief-confirmed-killed-air-strike-us-180340733.html?ref=gs. Despite Helal’s reported death, the United Nations listed him as an associate of al-Qaeda on February 29, 2016.“Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing,” U.N. Security Council, February 29, 2016, https://www.un.org/sc/suborg/en/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/individual/mounir-ben-dhaou-ben-brahim-ben-helal. On the same day, the European Union added Helal to its list of Natural persons.“Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/307 of 3 March 2016,” EUR-Lex, March 3, 2016, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1462456080638&uri=CELEX:32016R0307.
The U.S. Treasury designated “Mounir Ben Dhaou Ben Brahim Ben Helal” as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224.“Treasury Sanctions Major Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Leaders, Financial Figures, Facilitators, and Supporters,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, September 29, 2015, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0188.aspx.
The United Nations Security Council added “Mounir Ben Dhaou Ben Brahim Ben Helal” to its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List.“Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing,” U.N. Security Council, February 29, 2016, https://www.un.org/sc/suborg/en/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/individual/mounir-ben-dhaou-ben-brahim-ben-helal.
The European Union added “Mounir Ben Dhaou Ben Brahim Ben Helal” to its list of Natural persons.“Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/307 of 3 March 2016,” EUR-Lex, March 3, 2016, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1462456080638&uri=CELEX:32016R0307.
Abul Ala Maududi (1903-1979) was an Islamic theologian, a prolific author, and the founder of the political Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI). Maududi’s theories helped form the tenets of Qutbism, an ideology that is believed to have influenced numerous violent extremist groups including al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Maududi was born in Aurangabad, British India (now Maharashtra, India), in 1903. As a child, he was homeschooled in subjects including the Quran and Hadith, as well as Arabic and Persian. He then studied at the prominent Deobandi school Dar ul-Ulum (also spelled Darul Aloom). At 17 years old, Maududi moved to Delhi and edited two prominent Deobani newspapers, Muslim and al-Jamiyat. He then became the editor and a key writer for the Muslim revivalist journal Tarjuman al-Qur’an.Nikhat Ekbal, Great Muslims of Undivided India (Delhi: Kalpaz Publications: 2009), 141; Haroon K. Ullah, Vying for Allah’s Vote, (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press: 2014), 78; Nadeem F. Paracha, “Abul Ala Maududi: An existentialist history,” Dawn (Karachi), January 1, 2015, http://www.dawn.com/news/1154419.
Maududi initially expressed admiration for Mahatma Gandhi’s Indian National Congress. In the late 1930s Maududi began to denigrate the Congress for its nationalism, which he saw as the evil responsible for the destruction of the Ottoman Empire. In order to combat such evil, Maududi contended, humanity must live under the sovereignty of God and his laws, or sharia (Islamic law).
“Islam is not merely a religious creed or compound…but a comprehensive system which envisages to annihilate all tyrannical and evil systems in the world,” Maududi declared to a crowd at Lahore’s town hall in 1939. In this speech, titled “Jihad in Islam,” Maududi preached that Islam was a program that sought to “alter the social order of the whole world” and “rebuild it in conformity with its own tenets and ideals.” Jihad, he reasoned, was the “revolutionary struggle and utmost exertion” that would bring about Islam’s revolutionary program.Abul A’la Maududi, “Jihad in Islam,” April 13, 1939, 5, http://muhammadanism.com/Terrorism/jihah_in_islam/jihad_in_islam.pdf; Nadeem F. Paracha, “Abul Ala Maududi: An existentialist history,” Dawn (Karachi), January 1, 2015, http://www.dawn.com/news/1154419.
Maududi insisted that sharia would eradicate what he referred to as modern jahiliyya, the state of ignorance afflicting the world’s Muslims. Such modern jahiliyya—in the form of socialism, secularism, or liberal democracy, for example—resembled the ancient variety under which Arabia was ruled prior to the divine message of the Prophet Mohammad. According to Maududi, the only way to defend against jahiliyya was to Islamize society, first by introducing Islamic regulation to politics and economy, and eventually the entire state. Muslim Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb went on to popularize these notions in the 1960s. Nadeem F. Paracha, “Abul Ala Maududi: An existentialist history,” Dawn (Karachi), January 1, 2015, http://www.dawn.com/news/1154419; Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower (New York: Random House, 2011), 34-35; Dale C. Eikmeier, “Qutbsim: An Ideology of Islamic-Facism,” 2007, U.S. Army War College, 89, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a485995.pdf.
By the early 1940s, Maududi had declared the All India Muslim League—a political party advocating for a separate Muslim-majority nation state on the subcontinent—to be a “party of pagans” and “nominal Muslims.” A Muslim-majority nation was insufficient in protecting Muslims and eradicating jahiliyya, according to Maududi.Nadeem F. Paracha, “Abul Ala Maududi: An existentialist history,” Dawn (Karachi), January 1, 2015, http://www.dawn.com/news/1154419.
In 1941 Maududi founded JeI, hoping to organize a group of pious and learned Muslims that would eventually take total political power. These Muslims, Maududi envisioned, would bring sharia to the Indian subcontinent and erect an Islamic state. Maududi was elected emir of JeI and served in that position until his health declined in 1972.Nikhat Ekbal, Great Muslims of Undivided India (Delhi: Kalpaz Publications: 2009), 141-142; Haroon K. Ullah, Vying for Allah’s Vote (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press: 2014), 78-80.
After the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent, Maududi moved to Pakistan and remodeled JeI as a political opposition party in that country. Pakistani authorities jailed Maududi between 1948 and 1950 for denouncing Pakistan’s operations in Kashmir. He was again imprisoned between 1953 and 1955.Haroon K. Ullah, Vying for Allah’s Vote (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press: 2014), 80; “Mawdūdī, Abūʾl-Aʿlā,” Britannica, accessed April 28, 2016, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Abul-Ala-Mawdudi.
In 1960, Maududi wrote in his book The Islamic Law & Constitution about his vision of an Islamic state where “no one can regard any field of his affairs as personal and private.” The totalitarianism of God’s sovereignty, Maududi wrote, would “[bear] a resemblance to the Fascist and Communist states.” Scholars have adopted the term Islamic-Fascism, or Islamofascism, to describe Maududi’s and others’ Islamist vision. Retired Colonel Dale C. Eikmeier wrote that Maududi “reminded Muslims that Islam [was] more than a religion; it [was] a complete social system that guide[d] and [controlled] every aspect of life including government.”Sayyid Abul A’La Maududi, The Islamic Law & Constitution (Lahore: Islamic Publications Ltd.: 1960), 146; Dale C. Eikmeier, “Qutbism: An Ideology of Islamic-Fascism,” Parameters: U.S. Army War College Quarterly, Spring 2007, 87, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a485995.pdf.
In 1972, Maududi stepped down from JeI’s leadership due to poor health. In 1979, he moved to the United States and received medical care from his son, a physician. He died in Buffalo, New York, on September 22, 1979.Nikhat Ekbal, Great Muslims of Undivided India (Delhi: Kalpaz Publications: 2009), 142.
Political leader, propagandist. Islamic theologian and prolific author whose theories helped form the tenets of Qutbism, an ideology based on the teachings of deceased Muslim Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb that is believed to have influenced numerous violent extremist groups including al-Qaeda and ISIS. Founded the political Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in British India in 1941. Moved to the United States in 1979 for medical care. Died in Buffalo, New York, that September.
U.S. Army War College, Dawn, Great Muslims of Undivided India, Vying for Allah’s Vote
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers.
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