Abu Sayed was the emir of ISIS’s province in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Wilayat Khorasan. He died in a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan on July 11, 2017.Ryan Browne, “US kills leader of ISIS in Afghanistan,” CNN, July 14, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/14/politics/us-kills-isis-leader-afghanistan/index.html.

Militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan pledged allegiance to ISIS in November 2014. ISIS accepted the pledge in January 2015, officially forming Wilayat Khorasan, and appointed former Pakistani Taliban commander Hafiz Saeed Khan as leader.“Islamic State moves in on al-Qaeda turf,” BBC News, June 25, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-31064300. There were approximately 1,300 ISIS fighters in Afghanistan as of September 2016, according to General John Nicholson, the highest ranking U.S. military commander in the country. Nicholson said on September 23, 2016, that ISIS leaders in Syria provide the Afghanistan fighters with money, guidance, and communications support. According to Nicholson, ISIS’s fighters are largely former members of the Pakistani Taliban and primarily based in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar region.“U.S. General Says Taliban Controls 10 Percent Of Afghanistan,” Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, September 23, 2016, https://www.rferl.org/a/28009576.html.

A U.S. airstrike killed Abu Sayed on July 11, 2017, at ISIS-Khorasan’s headquarters in Kunar province, Afghanistan. The Pentagon confirmed his death three days later.“Statement by Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Dana W. White on death of ISIS-K leader in Afghanistan,” U.S. Department of Defense, July 14, 2017, https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1248198/statement-by-chief-pentagon-spokesperson-dana-w-white-on-death-of-isis-k-leader/. Abu Sayed was the third ISIS-Khorasan leader to be killed within a year. Previous ISIS leader Abdul Hasib was killed in a joint U.S.-Afghan operation in Afghanistan’s Nanghahar province on April 27, 2017. His predecessor Hafiz Saeed Khan was killed in a July 2016 U.S. drone strike.“Head of Islamic State in Afghanistan killed: Pentagon,” Reuters, July 14, 2017, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-islamic-state-idUSKBN19Z26G?il=0.

U.S. Secretary of Defense James reportedly called Abu Sayed’s death “a victory on our side in terms of setting them back, it’s the right direction.”Ryan Browne, “US kills leader of ISIS in Afghanistan,” CNN, July 14, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/14/politics/us-kills-isis-leader-afghanistan/index.html.

Saleh al-Arouri was a U.S.-designated Hamas military leader and financier who was reportedly expelled from Qatar in June 2017.Sue Surkes and agencies, “Hamas commander involved in kidnap of Israeli teens expelled from Qatar,” Times of Israel, June 5, 2017, http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-chief-said-involved-in-kidnap-of-israeli-teens-faces-expulsion-from-qatar/;
“Press release issued by Hamas concerning the claims of media outlets regarding the Qatari list,” Hamas website, June 5, 2017, http://hamas.ps/en/post/771/press-release-issued-by-hamas-concerning-the-claims-of-media-outlets-regarding-the-qatari-list. Hamas elected Arouri as deputy leader of its political bureau in October 2017.Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams, “Hamas picks new deputy chief whom Israel blames for helping spark Gaza war,” Reuters, October 5, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-israel-hamas/hamas-picks-new-deputy-chief-whom-israel-blames-for-helping-spark-gaza-war-idUSKBN1CA1NM. Arouri had facilitated money and weapons transfers for Hamas since the 1980s and helped found the West Bank branch of Hamas’s military wing.Ali Waked, “Hamas: Prisoner release unrelated to Shalit deal,” YNet, March 18, 2010, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3864782,00.html;
Matthew Levitt, “Hamas’ Not-So-Secret Weapon,” Foreign Affairs, July 9, 2014, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/israel/2014-07-09/hamas-not-so-secret-weapon. Arouri allegedly coordinated the June 2014 kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, which sparked that summer’s conflict between Israel and Hamas.“In First, Hamas Official Takes Credit for Kidnap and Murder of Israeli Teens,” Jerusalem Post, August 20, 2014, http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/In-first-Hamas-official-takes-credit-for-kidnap-and-murder-of-Israeli-teens-371703. He also reportedly created and ran Hamas’s bureau in Turkey until his expulsion from the country in 2015.Elhanan Miller, “Hamas official denies directing attacks from Turkey,” Times of Israel, December 22, 2014, http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-official-denies-directing-attacks-from-turkey/;
Smadar Perry and Itamar Eichner, “Hamas leader expelled from Turkey,” YNet, December 22, 2015, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4742831,00.html. The U.S. Treasury accused Arouri of serving as “a key financier and financial facilitator for Hamas military cells planning attacks and fomenting unrest.”“Treasury Sanctions Major Hamas Leaders, Financial Facilitators and a Front Company,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, September 10, 2015, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0159.aspx. In November 2018, the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Arouri’s arrest.“Rewards for Justice - Reward Offer for Information on Hamas and Hizballah Key Leaders,” U.S. Department of State, November 13, 2018, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/11/287330.htm. Arouri also served as Hamas’s leader in the West Bank.Reuters and Jerusalem Post staff, “Haniyeh reelected to lead Hamas in internal elections – report,” Jerusalem Post, August 1, 2021, https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/haniyeh-reelected-to-lead-hamas-in-internal-elections-report-675521. Arouri died in an alleged Israeli drone strike in Lebanon on January 2, 2024.Jacob Magid and Emanuel Fabian, “Reports: Hamas deputy leader abroad Saleh al-Arouri killed in alleged Israeli strike in Lebanon,” Times of Israel, January 2, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-deputy-leader-abroad-saleh-al-arouri-killed-in-alleged-israeli-strike-in-lebanon/; “Israeli strike in Lebanon kills senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri -security sources,” Reuters, January 2, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-strike-lebanon-kills-senior-hamas-official-saleh-al-arouri-security-2024-01-02/.

Arouri became active with Hamas during the first Palestinian intifada (“uprising”) against Israel in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He became a founding member of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, in 1991 and helped establish it in the West Bank.Anna Ahronheim and Khaled Abu Toameh, “U.S. offers $5m. reward for the capture of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri,” Jerusalem Post, November 14, 2018, https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/us-department-of-state-offers-rewards-for-info-on-hamas-and-hezbollah-571882; “Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades,” Australian National Security, accessed August 5, 2021, https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/HamassIzzal-Dinal-QassamBrigades.aspx; Ali Waked, “Hamas: Prisoner release unrelated to Shalit deal,” YNet, March 18, 2010, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3864782,00.html. Arouri became involved with Islamist groups while a student at Hebron University in the West Bank in 1985. He joined Hamas after its 1988 founding and began recruiting other university students. Israeli authorities first arrested Arouri in 1990. He was released five months later and returned to work for Hamas raising money.Matthew Levitt, “Hamas’ Not-So-Secret Weapon,” Foreign Affairs, July 9, 2014, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/israel/2014-07-09/hamas-not-so-secret-weapon. In 1992, he admittedly received $96,000 from a Hamas member and provided $45,000 to Hamas operative Musa Dudin for the purchase of weapons.Matthew Levitt, “Hamas’ Not-So-Secret Weapon,” Foreign Affairs, July 9, 2014, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/israel/2014-07-09/hamas-not-so-secret-weapon. Israeli authorities arrested him later that year, and an Israeli military court convicted Arouri for his “leadership role” in Hamas.“Treasury Sanctions Major Hamas Leaders, Financial Facilitators and a Front Company,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, September 10, 2015, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0159.aspx;
“Starved of Justice,” Amnesty International, June 2012, 35-36, https://www.amnestyusa.org/files/israelopt_starved_of_justice_060612-final.pdf.

Arouri would spend the next 15 years in an Israeli prison. In 1997, authorities issued two six-month extensions of Arouri’s sentence after accusing him of “conducting unlawful activities” from inside the prison, including maintaining “illegal contact” with Hamas operatives.Matthew Levitt, “Hamas’ Not-So-Secret Weapon,” Foreign Affairs, July 9, 2014, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/israel/2014-07-09/hamas-not-so-secret-weapon. In 1998, Arouri was convicted of a new charge of membership in Hamas.“Treasury Sanctions Major Hamas Leaders, Financial Facilitators and a Front Company,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, September 10, 2015, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0159.aspx;
“Starved of Justice,” Amnesty International, June 2012, 35-36, https://www.amnestyusa.org/files/israelopt_starved_of_justice_060612-final.pdf. In August 2004, a U.S. federal grand jury in Chicago indicted Arouri as a co-conspirator in a U.S. racketeering conspiracy to providing funding to Hamas.“Chicago and Washington, D.C., Area Men Among Three Indicted in Racketeering Conspiracy in U.S. to Finance Hamas Terror Abroad,” U.S. Department of Justice, https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2004/August/04_crm_571.htm.

Upon Arouri’s release in March 2007, he renounced terrorism in an interview with the London-based Telegraph newspaper. He professed that there could be only a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Joshua Mitnick, “Freed Hamas leader shuns terror tactics,” Telegraph (London), March 18, 2007, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1545919/Freed-Hamas-leader-shuns-terror-tactics.html. Israeli authorities rearrested Arouri three months later, reportedly on an administrative detention order.Matthew Levitt, “Hamas’ Not-So-Secret Weapon,” Foreign Affairs, July 9, 2014, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/israel/2014-07-09/hamas-not-so-secret-weapon;
Terrence McCoy, “The enigmatic Hamas leader allegedly behind the Israeli kidnappings that ignited war,” Washington Post, July 10, 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/10/the-enigmatic-hamas-leader-allegedly-behind-the-israeli-kidnappings-that-ignited-war/?utm_term=.1dc8ec71533b. While in prison, Arouri was elected to Hamas’s prison shura (leadership) council.Matthew Levitt and Stephanie Papa, “Reality Contradicts New Hamas Spin,” Washington Institute for Near East Policy, August 7, 2009, http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/reality-contradicts-new-hamas-spin. Arouri was released in March 2010 on the condition that he leave Israel and the Palestinian territories. His wife and child had reportedly been stopped at the Jordanian border while trying to leave the West Bank, and Arouri accepted the terms in order to reunite with his family. He joined other Hamas leaders in Syria, which was then hosting Hamas’s political bureau.“Treasury Sanctions Major Hamas Leaders, Financial Facilitators and a Front Company,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, September 10, 2015, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0159.aspx;
“Starved of Justice,” Amnesty International, June 2012, 35-36, https://www.amnestyusa.org/files/israelopt_starved_of_justice_060612-final.pdf. Hamas has denied that Arouri’s release was related to negotiations over the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, whom Hamas had captured in 2006.Ali Waked, “Hamas: Prisoner release unrelated to Shalit deal,” YNet, March 18, 2010, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3864782,00.html.

In 2012, Hamas’s leadership fled Syria after the outbreak of that country’s civil war. Arouri first relocated to Turkey.Smadar Perry and Itamar Eichner, “Hamas leader expelled from Turkey,” YNet, December 22, 2015, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4742831,00.html. Arouri is suspected of building a Hamas bureau in Istanbul, from which he directed and financed Hamas military cells in the West Bank and Jordan, according to the U.S. Treasury. The Treasury accuses Arouri of facilitating the transfer of hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hamas’s militant activities.“Treasury Sanctions Major Hamas Leaders, Financial Facilitators and a Front Company,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, September 10, 2015, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0159.aspx. Arouri denied he was coordinating Hamas military operations from Turkey, but nonetheless stands accused of planning attacks against Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank.Elhanan Miller, “Hamas official denies directing attacks from Turkey,” Times of Israel, December 22, 2014, http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-official-denies-directing-attacks-from-turkey/.

In June 2014, a Hamas cell in the West Bank kidnapped and murdered Israeli teenagers Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Shaer, and Naftali Fraenkel and Israeli authorities suspected Arouri of coordinating the abductions from Turkey.Avi Issacharoff, “Israeli official names Hamas leader abroad as suspect behind kidnappings,” Times of Israel, June 19, 2014, http://www.timesofisrael.com/security-official-hamas-leader-abroad-likely-behind-abduction/. Hamas initially denied responsibility. That August, Arouri publicly praised the kidnappings as a “heroic operation” and claimed responsibility for them on behalf of Hamas.“In First, Hamas Official Takes Credit for Kidnap and Murder of Israeli Teens,” Jerusalem Post, August 20, 2014, http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/In-first-Hamas-official-takes-credit-for-kidnap-and-murder-of-Israeli-teens-371703. Israeli NGO Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center has made several unanswered requests to U.S. officials to extradite Arouri for his role in the murder of Fraenkel, who held dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship.Gil Hoffman, “Lawyers Ask Clinton, Trump to Back Extraditing Terrorist Leader,” Jerusalem Post, March 28, 2016, http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Lawyers-ask-Clinton-Trump-to-back-extraditing-terrorist-leader-449379.

Arouri has also directed Hamas cells in the West Bank to attack the PA, Hamas’s political rival. In August 2014, Israeli security services alerted PA officials that Arouri was allegedly planning a Hamas coup against the government.Mitch Ginsburg and Associated Press, “Abbas orders probe into Hamas coup plot revealed by Israel,” Times of Israel, August 19, 2014, http://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-orders-investigation-into-hamas-coup-plot-revealed-by-israel/. In July 2015, PA security forces broke up several Hamas cells in the West Bank and arrested 250 people. Arouri was purportedly coordinating the cells to attack Israeli and PA targets.Avi Issacharoff, “Hamas plot to attack Israel, PA in West Bank foiled by mass arrests,” Times of Israel, July 19, 2015, http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-plot-to-attack-israel-pa-in-west-bank-foiled-by-mass-arrests/.

In September 2015, the U.S. government designated Arouri as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) for his role in directing Hamas financial support and military operations.“Treasury Sanctions Major Hamas Leaders, Financial Facilitators and a Front Company,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, September 10, 2015, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0159.aspx. That December, the Turkish government expelled Arouri, reportedly at Israel’s request as part of a reconciliation agreement between the two countries.Smadar Perry and Itamar Eichner, “Hamas leader expelled from Turkey,” YNet, December 22, 2015, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4742831,00.html. Arouri moved to Qatar, which was hosting Hamas’s political delegation, including then-leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal.Avi Issacharoff, “PA security raids Hamas cell planning attacks against Israelis,” March 8, 2016, http://www.timesofisrael.com/pa-security-raids-hamas-cell-planning-attacks-against-israelis/.

In early June 2017, international media reported that the Qatari government had expelled Arouri and other high-level Hamas leaders.Sue Surkes and agencies, “Hamas commander involved in kidnap of Israeli teens expelled from Qatar,” Times of Israel, June 5, 2017, http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-chief-said-involved-in-kidnap-of-israeli-teens-faces-expulsion-from-qatar/. Hamas denied the reports, claiming that Arouri and other Hamas leaders voluntarily left the country.“Press release issued by Hamas concerning the claims of media outlets regarding the Qatari list,” Hamas website, June 5, 2017, http://hamas.ps/en/post/771/press-release-issued-by-hamas-concerning-the-claims-of-media-outlets-regarding-the-qatari-list. Arouri reportedly relocated to Malaysia, but Malaysian Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said that there is no evidence that Arouri is in the country. He added that Hamas leaders would be welcome in Malaysia if they “come in peace.”Timothy Achariam, “IGP: Nothing wrong with Hamas leaders visiting if they come in peace,” The Sun (Selangor Darul Ehsan), June 8, 2017, http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/06/08/igp-nothing-wrong-hamas-leaders-visiting-if-they-come-peace.

Less than a week after Arouri left Qatar, Israeli officials said he had relocated to Lebanon and was working with Qasem Soleimani, leader of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Israeli Defense Ministry accused Arouri of trying to strengthen ties between Hezbollah and Hamas while planning attacks on Israel from Lebanon.“Liberman: Top Hamas operative is now in Lebanon, plotting attacks,” Times of Israel, June 9, 2017, http://www.timesofisrael.com/liberman-top-hamas-operative-in-lebanon-plotting-attacks/. Hamas elected Arouri as its deputy political leader on October 5, 2017. Despite his ascension, Hamas did not reveal Arouri’s location.Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams, “Hamas picks new deputy chief whom Israel blames for helping spark Gaza war,” Reuters, October 5, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-israel-hamas/hamas-picks-new-deputy-chief-whom-israel-blames-for-helping-spark-gaza-war-idUSKBN1CA1NM. According to the U.S. government in November 2018, Arouri continued to live freely in Lebanon as of 2018.Amir Tibon, Jack Khoury, and Reuters, “Hamas Says Deputy Leader Will Remain in Position After U.S. Offers Up to $5m for Info,” Haaretz (Tel Aviv), November 14, 2018, https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/u-s-offers-up-to-5-million-for-information-leading-to-hamas-and-hezbollah-leaders-1.6654544. According to some reports, Arouri returned to Turkey in 2020.Ioannis E. Kotoulas, “Turkey continues to tolerate Hamas’ operations against Israel,” Jewish News Syndicate, November 30, 2022, https://www.jns.org/opinion/turkey-continues-to-tolerate-hamas-operations-against-israel/.

In September 2020, Arouri was part of a delegation that met with members of several militant factions in Beirut, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)’s Ziad al-Nakhalah and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.Joe Truzman, “Hamas Admits Senior Official Salah al-Arouri has Contracted COVID-19,” Long War Journal, October 3, 2020, https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2020/10/hamas-admits-senior-official-salah-al-arouri-has-contracted-covid-19.php. Later that month, he reportedly traveled to Turkey to meet with officials from Hamas’s political rival, Fatah.Joanne Serrieh, “Coronavirus: Hamas’ Deputy Chief Saleh al-Arouri Tests Positive for COVID-19,” Al-Arabiya, October 3, 2020, https://english.alarabiya.net/coronavirus/2020/10/03/Coronavirus-Hamas-deputy-chief-Saleh-al-Arouri-tests-positive-for-COVID-19. On October 1, 2020, Hamas announced that Arouri tested positive for COVID-19, and that he “has taken all necessary health measures, and shall remain isolated until his recovery.”Joanne Serrieh, “Coronavirus: Hamas’ Deputy Chief Saleh al-Arouri Tests Positive for COVID-19,” Al-Arabiya, October 3, 2020, https://english.alarabiya.net/coronavirus/2020/10/03/Coronavirus-Hamas-deputy-chief-Saleh-al-Arouri-tests-positive-for-COVID-19.

In February 2021, Arouri led the Hamas faction at a meeting of several Palestinian factions Cairo, Egypt, on achieving “national dialogue” on the upcoming Palestinian general elections.Khaled Abu Toameh, “Hamas Urges Abbas to Lift Gaza Sanctions to Facilitate Elections,” Jerusalem Post, February 3, 2021, https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/hamas-urges-abbas-to-lift-gaza-sanctions-to-facilitate-elections-657667; “Palestinian factions begin election talks in Cairo,” Times of Israel, February 8, 2021, https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-factions-begin-election-talks-in-cairo/. The meeting concluded with a commitment by Palestinian factions to hold the first Palestinian legislative elections since Hamas swept to power in 2006.“Palestinian elections on track after factions meet in Cairo,” Associated Press, February 9, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/israel-cairo-elections-mahmoud-abbas-west-bank-d73be39b2a1220a1cf8042e3183e027c/. Elections were scheduled for May 22, but Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas indefinitely posted the elections on April 29. Abbas cited Israel’s refusal to allow Palestinian in east Jerusalem to vote, but local analysts suspected the delay was because Abbas feared a Hamas political victory.Adnan Abu Amer, “Hamas rallies opposition to Abbas after elections pushed back,” Al-Monitor, April 29, 2021, https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/05/hamas-rallies-opposition-abbas-after-elections-pushed-back; “Fatah intensifies efforts to postpone elections fearing a Hamas win,” Middle East Monitor, April 20, 2021, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210420-fatah-intensifies-efforts-to-postpone-elections-fearing-a-hamas-win/; “Hamas: Delaying election will affect future of Palestine reconciliation,” April 28, 2021, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210428-hamas-delaying-election-will-affect-future-of-palestine-reconciliation/.

In 2021, Hamas elected Arouri to serve as its leader in the West Bank during secretive internal elections. The appointment is for four years.Reuters and Jerusalem Post staff, “Haniyeh reelected to lead Hamas in internal elections – report,” Jerusalem Post, August 1, 2021, https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/haniyeh-reelected-to-lead-hamas-in-internal-elections-report-675521. It is unclear when exactly Arouri’s election took place. Hamas began announcing its election results that March.Nidal Al-mughrabi, “Sinwar re-elected as Hamas chief in Gaza,” Reuters, March 10, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/sinwar-re-elected-hamas-chief-gaza-2021-03-10/. Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal was elected to lead Hamas’s foreign office and serve as Hamas’s deputy leader that April.Nidal Al-mughrabi, “Hamas elects former chief Meshaal to head diaspora office,” Reuters, April 12, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-elects-former-chief-meshaal-head-diaspora-office-2021-04-12/; Aaron Boxerman, “Khaled Mashaal tapped as Hamas’s diaspora director,” Times of Israel, April 12, 2021, https://www.timesofisrael.com/khaled-mashaal-tapped-as-hamass-international-director/. It is unclear when, but Arouri relocated to Turkey prior to November 2021. After Israeli forces broke up a Hamas cell in the West Bank on November 22, Israel’s Shin Bet security service accused Arouri and Turkey-based Hamas operative Zacharia Najib—released during the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner swap—of directing the cell from Turkey.Judah Ari Gross, “Shin Bet: Forces thwart major Hamas terror plans, nab more than 50 cell members,” Times of Israel, November 22, 2021, https://www.timesofisrael.com/shin-bet-forces-thwart-major-hamas-terror-plans-nab-dozens-of-members/; “After Jerusalem killing and 50 terror arrests, Lapid urges Turkey to shut down Hamas,” Times of Israel, November 23, 2021, https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-jerusalem-killing-and-50-terror-arrests-lapid-urges-turkey-to-shut-down-hamas/.

Arouri reportedly divided his time between Lebanon, Turkey, and Qatar. In December 2021, reports circulated in Israeli media that Hamas had created an official branch in Lebanon led by Arouri. The Lebanon branch was allegedly responsible for a pair of four rockets fired toward Israel from Lebanon during the May 2021 war between Israel and Hamas. According to news reports, Hamas decided to create the Lebanon branch after its 2014 conflict with Israel because Hezbollah declined to intervene on Hamas’s behalf. Based in Tyre, Lebanon, the branch reportedly recruits Palestinians living in Lebanon. Hezbollah has allegedly agreed to allow the branch to operate, though it reportedly maintains veto power over its actions.“Hamas said to form Lebanon branch to open new front against Israel,” Times of Israel, December 3, 2021, https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-said-to-form-lebanon-branch-to-open-new-front-against-israel/.

Following an August 22, 2023, Israeli security cabinet meeting to discuss a series of recent terror attacks, Netanyahu announced the cabinet agreed on “a series of decisions to target terrorists and authorized the prime minister and the defense minister to act on the matter.”“Security cabinet meets as far-right advocates sharp crackdown in West Bank,” Times of Israel, August 22, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/security-cabinet-meets-as-far-right-advocates-sharp-crackdown-in-west-bank/. The government did not provide further details, but on August 27 Arouri warned Israel against resuming targeted assassinations of terrorist leaders. Arouri said resuming the assassinations could spark a regional war. He also said Hamas is preparing for a regional war alongside other parties, noting recent threats by Hezbollah leaders against Israel.“Senior Hamas official threatens ‘regional war’ if Israel resumes targeted killings,” Times of Israel, August 27, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/senior-hamas-official-threatens-regional-war-if-israel-resumes-targeted-killings/. On August 28, 2023, reports circulated in Lebanese media that Israel intended to target Hamas leaders—Arouri specifically—inside Lebanon. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned of a strong Hezbollah response if it targets any Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, or Iranian individual in Lebanon. Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al-Watan reported on August 28 that an intelligence delegation from a “friendly Arab country” planned to advise Hamas to have Arouri leave Lebanon.Tzvi Joffre, “Nasrallah warns Israel against targeting Hamas leaders in Lebanon,” Jerusalem Post, August 29, 2023, https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-756625. That month, Arouri told Lebanese news channel Al Mayadeen that Hamas was preparing for war. He dismissed threats against his life and warned that Israel would face an unprecedented defeat at the hands of the resistance axis.“Exclusive - Al Arouri: Resistance Axis preparing for all-out war,” Al Mayadeen, August 25, 2023, https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/exclusive---al-arouri:-resistance-axis-preparing-for-all-out.

Arouri’s prediction of a regional war manifested on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise mass attack on Israel. Hamas sent hundreds of fighters into Israeli towns and military bases within 15 miles of the Gaza border while simultaneously launching a rocket barrage toward Israel.Josef Federman and Issam Adwan, “Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation,” Associated Press, October 7, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2; Josef Federman and Issam Adwan, “Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation,” Associated Press, October 7, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2. Hamas labeled the attack Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.“Operation Al Aqsa Flood,” Hamas Online Telegram channel, October 7, 2023. As Hamas forces continued attacking Israel that day, Arouri told Al Jazeera the terrorist group had killed and captured many soldiers. He claimed Hamas had captured enough soldiers to secure the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israel.“Hamas says it has enough Israeli captives to free all Palestinian prisoners,” Al Jazeera, October 7, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/7/hamas-says-it-has-enough-israeli-captives-to-free-all-palestinian-prisoners.

Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis in the attack and took hostage approximately 240 Israeli civilians and soldiers in Gaza.Peter Saidel and Dov Lieber, “Hamas Took More Than 200 Hostages From Israel. Here’s What to Know.,” Wall Street Journal, November 6, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hamas-hostages-israel-gaza-41432124; Lauren Frayer, “Israel revises down its death toll from the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks to about 1,200,” NPR, November 11, 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/11/11/1212458974/israel-revises-death-toll-hamas-attacks-oct-7. Speaking to Al Jazeera on October 12, Arouri insisted Hamas had preemptively struck Israel to prevent a larger Israeli attack against Gaza. He denied that Hamas had targeted civilians despite eyewitness accounts and video footage to the contrary. He stated that Hamas saw no alternative to victory.Gianluca Pacchiani, “Hamas deputy chief lies: We don’t target civilians, we only attacked IDF,” Times of Israel, October 12, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-deputy-chief-lies-we-dont-target-civilians-we-only-attacked-idf/; “This is What Happened in the First Three Hours of ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’: Saleh al-Arouri Reveals,” Palestine Chronicle, October 12, 2023, https://www.palestinechronicle.com/this-is-what-happened-in-the-first-three-hours-of-al-aqsa-flood-saleh-al-arouri-reveals/. Written orders recovered from the bodies of dead Hamas fighters as well as video testimonials of Hamas attackers showed that Hamas fighters had been directed to kill as many people as possible. The orders contradicted statements from Hamas leaders that the terrorist group targeted only soldiers.Dov Lieber and David S. Cloud, “Hamas Fighters’ Orders: ‘Kill as Many People as Possible,’” Wall Street Journal, October 14, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hamas-fighters-orders-kill-as-many-people-as-possible-2a6abff8.

Following the October 7 attack, Arouri remained one of Israel’s top targets, though he reportedly remained in Lebanon. On October 30, Israel demolished a home owned by Arouri in the West Bank town of ‘Arura. The IDF reportedly left a banner comparing Hamas to ISIS.Emanuel Fabian and staff, “IDF demolishes West Bank home of exiled senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri,” Times of Israel, October 31, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-demolishes-west-bank-home-of-exiled-senior-hamas-official-saleh-al-arouri/. On October 25, Arouri and other Hamas leaders met in Lebanon with leaders from Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hezbollah. The three groups reportedly discussed how to achieve victory over Israel. According to a statement on Hezbollah-run and Lebanese state media, the groups sought to achieve “a real victory for the resistance in Gaza and Palestine” and halt Israel’s “treacherous and brutal aggression against our oppressed and steadfast people in Gaza and the West Bank.”“Nasrallah, senior Hamas and PIJ leaders talk of achieving ‘victory’ over Israel,” Times of Israel, October 25, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/nasrallah-senior-hamas-and-pij-leaders-talk-of-achieving-victory-over-israel/.

During a November 22, 2023, press conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed he had instructed Israel’s Mossad spy agency to act against all of Hamas’s leaders abroad.“Netanyahu: ‘I’ve told Mossad to act against the heads of Hamas wherever they are,’” Times of Israel, November 22, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-ive-told-mossad-to-act-against-the-heads-of-hamas-wherever-they-are/. On January 2, 2024, the Hezbollah-linked al-Mayadeen reported that Arouri had been killed in an Israeli drone strike in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh in Lebanon.Jacob Magid and Emanuel Fabian, “Reports: Hamas deputy leader abroad Saleh al-Arouri killed in alleged Israeli strike in Lebanon,” Times of Israel, January 2, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-deputy-leader-abroad-saleh-al-arouri-killed-in-alleged-israeli-strike-in-lebanon/; “Israeli strike in Lebanon kills senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri -security sources,” Reuters, January 2, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-strike-lebanon-kills-senior-hamas-official-saleh-al-arouri-security-2024-01-02/.

Abu Anas al-Ghandour is the U.S.-designated military commander of the northern branch of Hamas’s military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.Adnan Abu Amer, “Another Hamas leader added to US terror list,” Al-Monitor, April 21, 2017, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/hamas-military-leader-us-terror-list-israel.html#ixzz4fCdBO5cX;
“State Department Terrorist Designation of Abu Anas al-Ghandour,” U.S. Department of State, April 6, 2017,  https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/04/269504.htm. He is a member of the al-Qassam Brigades’ Supreme Military Council, and a close confidant of Hamas’s overall military commander Mohammed Deif.Adnan Abu Amer, “Another Hamas leader added to US terror list,” Al-Monitor, April 21, 2017, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/hamas-military-leader-us-terror-list-israel.html#ixzz4fCdBO5cX;
“State Department Terrorist Designation of Abu Anas al-Ghandour,” U.S. Department of State, April 6, 2017,  https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/04/269504.htm. Ghandour has served on the Shura Council, Hamas’ decision-making body, as well as in the group’s political bureau.“State Department Terrorist Designation of Abu Anas al-Ghandour,” U.S. Department of State, April 6, 2017, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/04/269504.htm. He has plotted and overseen the execution of several terrorist operations, including the kidnapping of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006.Adnan Abu Amer, “Another Hamas leader added to US terror list,” Al-Monitor, April 21, 2017, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/hamas-military-leader-us-terror-list-israel.html#ixzz4fCdBO5cX.

Ghandour is believed to have survived two alleged Israeli assassination attempts in 2002 and 2012.Adnan Abu Amer, “Another Hamas leader added to US terror list,” Al-Monitor, April 21, 2017, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/hamas-military-leader-us-terror-list-israel.html#ixzz4fCdBO5cX. He was also reportedly detained by Israel from 1988 to 1995, and by the Palestinian Authority from 1995 to 2000—though there is little detail on his arrests.Adnan Abu Amer, “Another Hamas leader added to US terror list,” Al-Monitor, April 21, 2017, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/hamas-military-leader-us-terror-list-israel.html#ixzz4fCdBO5cX. In February 2003, the IDF demolished Ghandour’s home in retaliation for his suspected role in a roadside bomb that killed four Israeli soldiers earlier that month.Dan Collins, “Israel Kills Top Hamas Operative,” CBS News, February 28, 2003, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-kills-top-hamas-operative/;
“Gaza bomb kills four Israeli soldiers,” BBC February 18, 2003, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2765545.stm.

Reportedly viewed by Palestinians as a hardline commander, Ghandour oversaw a three-week battle against the IDF in northern Gaza in October 2004.Adnan Abu Amer, “Another Hamas leader added to US terror list,” Al-Monitor, April 21, 2017, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/hamas-military-leader-us-terror-list-israel.html#ixzz4fCdBO5cX;
“State Department Terrorist Designation of Abu Anas al-Ghandour,” U.S. Department of State, April 6, 2017,  https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/04/269504.htm. In 2006, Ghandour was involved in an attack on the IDF base at Kerem Shalom border crossing, during which Hamas operatives kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, a dual French-Israeli citizen. The assault left two IDF soldiers dead and four others wounded. Shalit was held until October 2011, when Hamas released him to Israel in exchange for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.“State Department Terrorist Designation of Abu Anas al-Ghandour,” U.S. Department of State, April 6, 2017, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/04/269504.htm;
Ethan Bronner and Stephen Farrell, “Israeli Soldier Swapped for Hundreds of Palestinians,” New York Times, October 18, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/world/middleeast/israel-and-palestinians-begin-prisoner-exchange.html.

Ghandour was also active in offenses during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict. On July 9, 2014, the IDF destroyed Ghandour’s house for his role in launching rockets from the northern Gaza Strip.Adnan Abu Amer, “Another Hamas leader added to US terror list,” Al-Monitor, April 21, 2017, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/hamas-military-leader-us-terror-list-israel.html#ixzz4fCdBO5cX;
“LIVE UPDATES: Operation Protective Edge, Day 2,” Haaretz, July 9, 2014,  http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.603913. Ghandour was also included by name in a March 2015 U.S. lawsuit against Hamas, filed by the Israel Law Centre, for alleged war crimes during the 2014 conflict.AFP-JIJI, “U.S. brands Hamas Gaza brigade leader ‘global terrorist’,” Japan Times, April 7, 2017, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/04/07/world/u-s-brands-hamas-gaza-brigade-leader-global-terrorist/#.WP-ikPnyv3g. The Israel Law Centre, known as Shurat HaDin, filed a complaint on behalf of 26 Americans and dual Israeli-American citizens who were in Ben-Gurion Airport when Hamas fired rockets at that airport in July 2014.Ruta Kupfer, “American Passengers to Sue Hamas for Rockers on Ben-Gurion Airport,” Haaretz, March 31, 2015, http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.649819.

On April 6, 2017, the U.S. Department of State designated Ghandour as a global terrorist for his membership in Hamas and his involvement in terrorist activities. In response to the designation, Hamas released a statement that called the Treasury’s decision “unethical.”“State Department Terrorist Designation of Abu Anas al-Ghandour,” U.S. Department of State, April 6, 2017, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/04/269504.htm;
Adnan Abu Amer, “Another Hamas leader added to US terror list,” Al-Monitor, April 21, 2017, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/hamas-military-leader-us-terror-list-israel.html#ixzz4fCdBO5cX.

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri is an al-Qaeda recruiter and planner responsible for plotting various al-Qaeda attacks on the Arabian Peninsula, and is considered the mastermind of the USS Cole bombing in October 2000, which left seventeen American soldiers dead.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 3-4, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11;
Carol Rosenberg, “In a first, former CIA captive appeals Guantanamo trial to Supreme Court,” Miami Herald, March 18, 2017, http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article139424468.html;
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. Nashiri was captured in November 2002 and transferred to Guantanamo in 2006 after four years in CIA custody.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 6, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11. In September 2011, he was charged by a military commission on nine counts related to his involvement in planning al-Qaeda attacks.Carol Rosenberg, “Alleged al Qaida bomber emerges from CIA shadows, waves,” Miami Herald, November 9, 2011, http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article1938976.html. His trial has repeatedly faced delays, primarily owing to claims by the defense related to the torture that he underwent while in CIA detention.Carol Rosenberg, “In a first, former CIA captive appeals Guantanamo trial to Supreme Court,” Miami Herald, March 18, 2017, http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article139424468.html.

Nashiri was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 1, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11. Little is known about his early life. According to the 9/11 Commission, he participated in the Afghan jihad against the Soviets in the 1980s.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. According to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF), he also waged violent jihad in Tajikistan from 1992 to 1993, when he met al-Qaeda operatives, including Hamza al-Ghamdi, bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. In 1993, Nashiri went to train at the Jihad-Wal Camp, an al-Qaeda training camp near Khowst, Afghanistan. The following year, Nashiri met bin Laden for the first time while staying at one of his guesthouses in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 2, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11.

Nashiri attempted to return to fight in Tajikistan in 1995, but was unable to enter the country and traveled to Afghanistan instead. While in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 1996, he saw bin Laden for the second time and heard him talk about his plans to fight the United States.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 2-3, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11. He was encouraged to swear loyalty to bin Laden, but according to the 9/11 Commission, “found the notion distasteful and refused.” He then returned to Saudi Arabia and Yemen, where he reportedly first conceived of the idea to attack a ship.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.): 233, http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf. At some point he returned to Afghanistan, where he fought for the Taliban against the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan in 1997. He reportedly contracted malaria on the front lines and returned to Kandahar, where he recovered while staying in bin Laden’s guesthouse.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 2-3, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11.

Nashiri formally joined al-Qaeda in 1998, after he learned that his cousin, Jihad Harazi, was one of the suicide bombers in the August 1998 al-Qaeda attack on the U.S. embassy in Nairobi.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 3, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11. According to the 9/11 Commission, earlier that year, he had helped one of the embassy bombing operatives obtain a Yemeni passport, and also led a plot to smuggle missiles into Yemen.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.): 233, http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf. Later that year, Nashiri met privately with bin Laden, who suggested the idea of attacking a warship off of the coast of Yemen. The JTF’s report that such an attack was bin Laden’s idea conflicts with the 9/11 Commission’s claim that it was Nashiri himself who conceived the idea. He traveled to Yemen a week later, but returned to Afghanistan in late 1998 or early 1999 after an associate of his was arrested by Yemeni officials. Nashiri returned to Yemen in the spring of 1999, tasked by bin Laden to purchase a boat and observe U.S. ships off of the coast. Nashiri returned to Afghanistan that fall and reported his findings to bin Laden.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 3, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11.

In February 2000, Nashiri reportedly attempted to lead an attack on USS ship The Sullivans, which failed because the explosives used on board were too heavy and capsized the craft. Bin Laden instructed him to attempt the operation a second time. In September 2000, Nashiri returned to Yemen, selecting two suicide operatives for the operation. Nashiri learned that bin Laden disapproved of his choices, but instructed the suicide operatives to carry out the attack anyway. Nashiri returned to Afghanistan to tell bin Laden that he could not replace the operatives, and the operatives carried out the attack on the next U.S. ship to enter the port of Aden––the USS Cole on October 12, 2000.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 3-4, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11. According to the 9/11 Commission, the success of the attack brought Nashiri “instant status” within al-Qaeda, and he was later recognized as the head of al-Qaeda operations in the Arabian Peninsula.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.): 153, http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf.

In 2001, as instructed by bin Laden, Nashiri began planning an attack on a ship in the Straight of Hormuz. Nashiri spent time in Pakistan recruiting operatives and researching boats for the operation. Following the 9/11 attacks, Nashiri returned to Afghanistan, where he met with 9/11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) in Kandahar to discuss the Straight of Hormuz operation. In the following months, Nashiri traveled around Afghanistan and Pakistan, meeting with al-Qaeda associates and helping plan other attacks. In April 2002, Nashiri was denied entry into Saudi Arabia. Around this time, for an unspecified reason, the Straight of Hormuz operation was cancelled. That summer, Nashiri rented an apartment in Dubai, and began plotting an attack on Dubai’s Port Rashid.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 4-6, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11. On October 6, the French oil tanker M/V Limburg was targeted in an al-Qaeda operation. Prosecutors later accused Nashiri of helping to plan this operation in a claim also made by the 9/11 Commission; however, the charges were discarded in 2014 due to lack of evidence.Charlie Savage, “Guantanamo Detainee Pleads Guilty in 2002 Attack in Tanker off Yemen,” New York Times, February 20, 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/us/guantanamo-detainee-ahmed-muhammed-haza-al-darbi.html; Carol Rosenberg, “New Guantanamo judge throws out Limburg charges in USS Cole case,” Miami Herald, August 11, 2014, http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article1979349.html; 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.): 153, http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf. Nonetheless, Nashiri was known to have celebrated the success of the attack with another al-Qaeda associate in October 2002.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 6, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11.

Nashiri was captured in November 2002, while living in the United Arab Emirates. As of November 21, he was in U.S. custody.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 6, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11. After his capture, Nashiri was kept in several undisclosed CIA black sites in Eastern Europe, including in Poland, Romania, and Lithuania, where he was subjected to various torture techniques, including waterboarding.Peter Beaumont, “Bombshell report on CIA interrogations is leaked,” Guardian, August 22, 2009, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/22/cia-interrogation-report-leaked; Charlie Savage, “Accused Al-Qaeda Leader Is Arraigned in U.S.S. Cole Bombing,” New York Times, November 9, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/us/abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri-arraigned-in-uss-cole-bombing.html; Charlie Savage, “C.I.A. Torture Left Scars on Guantanamo Prisoner’s Psyche for Years,” New York Times, March 17, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/us/politics/guantanamo-bay-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri.html. Nashiri was transferred to Guantanamo Bay on September 4, 2006.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 6, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11. That December, the JTF concluded that Nashiri posed a high risk and was of high intelligence value.“The Guantanamo Docket: Abd al Rahim al Nashiri: JFT – GTMO Assessment,” New York Times, accessed August 16, 2017, 2, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10015-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri/documents/11.

In February 2009, the United States dropped its charges against Nashiri after an order from President Barack Obama to freeze the proceedings of all cases involving Guantanamo inmates pending their review.“U.S. drops Guantanamo charges per Obama order,” Reuters, February 5, 2009, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-guantanamo-dropped-idUSTRE5150IL20090206. On April 20, 2011, federal prosecutors reopened the case and levied eleven different charges against Nashiri related to his direction of the USS Cole attack and other al Qaeda plots, with the intent of seeking the death penalty.Carol Rosenberg, “Pentagon seeks death for accused USS Cole bomber,” Miami Herald,  April 20, 2011, http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article1938015.html. In July 2011, Nashiri’s lawyers moved to have the death penalty revoked as an option, claiming that in using torture on Nashiri, the United States forfeited the right to try, convict, and put him to death.Charley Keyes, “Guantanamo detainee lawyers ask that death penalty case be dropped,” CNN, July 19, 2011, http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/07/19/guantanamo.detainee/. In September, the Guantanamo war court that would try Nashiri issued nine of the prosecutors’ initial eleven charges against Nashiri for the trial.Carol Rosenberg, “Alleged al Qaida bomber emerges from CIA shadows, waves,” Miami Herald, November 9, 2011, http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article1938976.html.

Nashiri made his first court appearance on November 9, 2011, for his arraignment.Carol Rosenberg, “Alleged al Qaida bomber emerges from CIA shadows, waves,” Miami Herald, November 9, 2011, http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article1938976.html. The start of Nashiri’s trial has since been repeatedly delayed owing to efforts by the defense to argue against the legitimacy of the case and to acquire evidence about his torture while in CIA detention.Carol Rosenberg, “In a first, former CIA captive appeals Guantanamo trial to Supreme Court,” Miami Herald, March 18, 2017, http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article139424468.html. In February 2013, the court heard testimony from Dr. Vincent Iacopino, an expert on torture, in light of the defense’s allegations that Nashiri suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from his CIA interrogations.Carol Rosenberg, “Judge orders mental health exam for waterboarded Guantánamo captive,” Miami Herald, February 4, 2013, http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article1946950.html. In December 2014, Nashiri submitted a petition for habeas corpus, claiming that that the attempt to try him in a war court was unlawful given that Nashiri’s criminal actions did not take place in the context of a recognized war due to claims that at the time, the armed conflict between the United States and al-Qaeda had not yet officially begun.“Al-Nashiri v. Obama, 76 F. Supp. 3d 218,” District Court for the District of Columbia, December 29, 2014, https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=In+re+Al-Nashiri&hl=en&as_sdt=2006&case=17913061328848492746&scilh=0; Jonathan Hafetz, “The DC Circuit’s Latest Ruling in Al-Nashiri: Why the Military Commissions Cannot Escape the Taint of CIA Torture,” Just Secturity, September 9, 2016, https://www.justsecurity.org/32820/dc-circuits-latest-ruling-al-nashiri-military-commissions-escape-taint-cia-torture/.

In August 2016, a panel of judges from the United States Court of Appeals rejected the defense’s appeals to have Nashiri prosecuted in a civilian court instead of a military court, stating that the case had to run its course before Nashiri could appeal his conviction.Charlie Savage, “C.I.A. Torture Left Scars on Guantanamo Prisoner’s Psyche for Years,” New York Times, March 17, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/us/politics/guantanamo-bay-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri.html. In March 2017, newly declassified documents from the National Security Council revealed that Nashiri suffers from long-term psychological damage from torture.Charlie Savage, “C.I.A. Torture Left Scars on Guantanamo Prisoner’s Psyche for Years,” New York Times, March 17, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/us/politics/guantanamo-bay-abd-al-rahim-al-nashiri.html.

In May 2018, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the Romanian government had violated the rights of Nashiri by hosting one of the CIA “black sites” where he was detained and reportedly tortured. The ECHR characterized his 2003-2005 detention in Romania as an “extremely harsh detention regime” where he suffered “inhumane treatment . . . which Romania had enabled by co-cooperating with the CIA.” The ruling held that Nashiri’s detention in Romania was in contravention of Article Three of the European Convention on Human Rights, “Prohibition of Torture,” and awarded Nashiri damages in the amount of €100,000 ($117,000).“Lithuania and Romania Complicit in CIA Torture – European Court,” BBC News, May 31, 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44313905.

On April 16, 2019, the District of Columbia Circuit Court threw out more than two years’ worth of decisions issued by the military judge overseeing the U.S. government’s death penalty case against Nashiri. The decision stemmed from concern that the military judge on the case, Colonel Vance Spaeth, failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest. The situation was found “especially troubling” to Nashiri’s due process rights, and the court invalidated all of the judge’s decisions on the Nashiri case between November 2015 and February 2018.Carol Rosenberg, “Court Rejects 2 Years of Judge’s Decisions in Cole Tribunal,” New York Times, April 16, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/16/us/politics/cole-bombing-case-judge.html.

On May 18, 2021, the military judge presiding over the case agreed to consider information obtained during Nashiri’s torture by CIA interrogators to support an argument in pretrial proceedings at Guantánamo Bay. It was the first publicly known time that prosecutors had been allowed to use information gained from torture in the proceedings at Guantánamo Bay.Carol Rosenberg, “Judge Permits Information from C.I.A. Torture in Terror Case,” New York Times, June 3, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/03/us/politics/cia-torture-terror-guantanamo-bay.html.

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 17^th 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.

Gholamhossein Gheybparvar is the commander of Iran’s Imam Ali Central Security Headquarters, a position he has held since September 2019. The unit is tasked with confronting public protests and riots.“Iran Guards Appoint New Security Chief In Possible Move To Be Ready For Unrest,” Radio Farda, September 7, 2019, https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-guards-appoint-new-security-chief-in-possible-move-to-be-ready-for-unrest/30151950.html. He was formerly commander of the Basij Resistance Force from December 2019 through July 2019, where he replaced longtime Basij commander Mohammad Reza Naqdi.“Leader Appoints New Commander of Basij,” Tasnim News Agency, December 7, 2016, https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2016/12/07/1261346/leader-appoints-new-commander-of-basij. The Basij is the domestic arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), responsible for internal security to protect against perceived threats to the Iranian regime.Ali Alfoneh, “The Basij Resistance Force | The Iran Primer,” United States Institute of Peace, accessed February 27, 2015, http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/basij-resistance-force.

Gheybparvar has been affiliated with the IRGC since 1979, when he joined the group following Iran’s Islamic Revolution. He fought alongside the IRGC in the Iran-Iraq war between 1980 and 1988, and was placed in charge of training the IRGC’s ground forces in 2000. In October 2015, Gheybparvar traveled to Syria to oversee the IRGC’s brigades there.Arash Karami, “The remilitarization of Iran’s Basij,” Al-Monitor, December 19, 2016, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/12/iran-gholamhossein-gheybparvar-basij-appointment.html.

Gheybparvar was reportedly endorsed by IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari to assume leadership of the Basij.Arash Karami, “The remilitarization of Iran’s Basij,” Al-Monitor, December 19, 2016, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/12/iran-gholamhossein-gheybparvar-basij-appointment.html. According to journalist Arash Karami, Gheybparvar had spent years building a reputation as a regional IRGC commander who was quick to clamp down on dissidents. Upon Gheybparvar’s December 2016 promotion, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei tasked him with organizing Iranian youth, culturally promoting the Basij, strengthening cooperation with other state institutions, and preventing penetration by enemies, according to Iranian media.“سردار «غلامحسین غیب پرور» به ریاست سازمان بسیج منصوب شد,” Mehr News, December 9, 2016, http://www.mehrnews.com/news/3844113/%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%BA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%B3%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%BA%DB%8C%D8%A8-%D9%BE%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%AC-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%A8-%D8%B4%D8%AF; “Arash Karami, “The remilitarization of Iran’s Basij,” Al-Monitor, December 19, 2016, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/12/iran-gholamhossein-gheybparvar-basij-appointment.html.

On July 2, 2019, Khamenei replaced Gheybparvar as commander of the Basij with Gholamreza Soleimani. On September 7, 2019, IRGC commander Hossein Salami appointed Gheybparvar as Salami’s deputy where he will serve as commander of Imam Ali Central Security Headquarters. The unit was created in 2011 and is responsible for confronting riots and protests.“Iran Guards Appoint New Security Chief In Possible Move To Be Ready For Unrest,” Radio Farda, September 7, 2019, https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-guards-appoint-new-security-chief-in-possible-move-to-be-ready-for-unrest/30151950.html; “Gholamhossein Gheib Parvar,” Justice for Iran – Faces of Crime, December 17, 2020, https://facesofcrime.org/profile/81/gholamhossein-gheib-parvar/.

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/.

Iranian-born Mustafa Mughniyeh is a U.S.-designated Hezbollah commander based in Lebanon. He previously oversaw Hezbollah’s operations in the Golan Heights, where he helped organize the group’s “infrastructure,” according to the U.S. Department of State.“State Department Terrorist Designations of Ali Damush and Mustafa Mughniyeh,” U.S. Department of State, January 9, 2017, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/01/266729.htm. Mughniyeh was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224 on January 9, 2016, alongside fellow Hezbollah operative Ali Damush.“State Department Terrorist Designations of Ali Damush and Mustafa Mughniyeh,” U.S. Department of State, January 9, 2017, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/01/266729.htm.

Mughniyeh has extensive family ties to Hezbollah. He is the nephew of Mustafa Badreddine, the late Hezbollah military commander who oversaw the group’s external operations—including the launching of attacks on Israel from the West Bank and Gaza, and attacking Sunni forces in Iraq. Badreddine is believed to have been targeted and killed in a January 2015 Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah members in Syria.U.S. Department of State, “State Department Terrorist Designations of Ali Damush and Mustafa Mughniyeh,” January 9, 2017, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/01/266729.htm;
Ronen Bergman, “The Hezbollah Connection,” New York Times, February 10, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/the-hezbollah-connection.html?_r=0.

Mughniyeh is the son of late Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh who, according to the Associated Press, was killed in a 2008 car bombing in Damascus attributed to Israel. Mustafa Mughniyeh’s brother was believed to be Jihad Mughniyeh, who was killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Quneitra, Syria, in 2015. At the time, Jihad Mughniyeh was reportedly Hezbollah’s commander in the Syrian Golan Heights.U.S. Department of State, “State Department Terrorist Designations of Ali Damush and Mustafa Mughniyeh,” January 9, 2017, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/01/266729.htm;
Associated Press, “US adds 2 members of Hezbollah to terrorism list,” Ynet News, January 10, 2017, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4905498,00.html.

On April 15, 2020, a vehicle carrying Mughniyeh and other passengers—identified as Hezbollah members—was targeted in an airstrike attributed to Israel. The first missile reportedly struck the ground near the vehicle, while the four men were driving through the Syrian town of Jdeidat Yabous toward the Lebanese border. Mughnieyh and the others abandoned the vehicle, which was then destroyed by a second missile strike. All four passengers survive the airstrike. It is unclear if the first missile accidentally missed its target, or if it was an intentional warning to force the occupants out of the vehicle before destroying it.Judah Ari Gross, “Man Who Escaped Strike on Car in Syria Named as Slain Hezbollah Leader’s Son,” Times of Israel, April 16, 2020, https://www.timesofisrael.com/man-who-escaped-strike-on-car-in-syria-named-as-slain-hezbollah-leaders-son/.

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.

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi is the military, spiritual, and political leader of the Houthis in Yemen.“Yemen’s Abd-al-Malik al-Houthi,” BBC News, October 3, 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/monitoring/yemens-abd-almalik-alhouthi;
Tom Finn, “Abdel-Malek Al-Houthi: from Shadow Rebel Leader to Kingmaker,” Middle East Eye, September 26, 2014, http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/abdel-malek-al-houthi-shadow-rebel-leader-kingmaker-988988591. He has served as the group’s military leader since 2004, when then-military leader Hussein Badr-al-Din al-Houthi—Abdul-Malik’s brother—was killed by Yemeni security forces.Tom Finn, “Abdel-Malek Al-Houthi: from Shadow Rebel Leader to Kingmaker,” Middle East Eye, September 26, 2014, http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/abdel-malek-al-houthi-shadow-rebel-leader-kingmaker-988988591. Badr-al-Din—Abdul-Malik’s father—remained the group’s spiritual and political head until his death in 2010, at which point Abdul-Malik al-Houthi became the group’s leader in every regard.“Yemen’s Abd-al-Malik al-Houthi,” BBC News, October 3, 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/monitoring/yemens-abd-almalik-alhouthi.

Since assuming military control over the Houthis in 2004, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi has commanded the Iranian-backed rebel group through numerous cycles of conflict with the Yemeni military.Ahmed Mamdouh, “Abdul Malik Al Houthi: The Shiite Thorn on Yemen’s Side,” AlBawaba (Egypt), March 25, 2015, http://www.albawabaeg.com/52258. He became the commander in charge of negotiations with the Yemeni government in 2007.“Yemen’s Abd-al-Malik al-Houthi,” BBC News, October 3, 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/monitoring/yemens-abd-almalik-alhouthi. Following the Arab Spring in 2011, Houthi shifted his rhetoric from rants disparaging the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to speeches that appealed to a broad range of Yemeni citizens. His popularity grew as he began to criticize high gasoline prices and Saudi drone strikes.Tom Finn, “Abdel-Malek al-Houthi: from shadow rebel leader to kingmaker,” Middle East Eye, last modified February 13, 2015, http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/abdel-malek-al-houthi-shadow-rebel-leader-kingmaker-988988591.

In September 2014, the Houthis—under Houthi’s leadership—attempted to overthrow the Sanaa-based government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour. In order to quell the violent protests and Houthi blockades in the capital, the government chose to consult with the rebels in appointing new government officials.Shuaib Almosawa, “U.N. Reports Yemen Deal With Rebels,” New York Times, September 20, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/world/middleeast/peace-talks-with-rebels-falter-in-yemen.html. In November 2014, Hadi announced a new list of government ministers that included Houthi officials and supporters.“Yemen’s President Forms a New Government,” Stratfor, November 17, 2014, https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/yemens-president-forms-new-government. However, the Houthis rejected the proposed government structure, disapproving of certain appointees who had served in previous governments.“Yemen’s President Forms a New Government,” Stratfor, November 17, 2014, https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/yemens-president-forms-new-government.

In January 2015, the Houthis overthrew Hadi’s government in Sanaa, seizing government buildings and the presidential palace. The group put Hadi and his cabinet under house arrest, demanding their resignations.“Yemen’s Houthis form own government in Sanaa,” Al Jazeera, February 6, 2015, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/02/yemen-houthi-rebels-announce-presidential-council-150206122736448.html. The next month, the Houthis replaced Hadi’s parliament with their interim government, the Supreme Revolutionary Committee (SRC).Rod Nordland, “Rebels in Yemen Say They Intend to Form a New Government,” New York Times, February 6, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/07/world/middleeast/yemen-rebels-say-they-will-dissolve-parliament.html?_r=1. By the spring of 2015, the Houthis controlled 16 Yemeni provinces in north and northwest Yemen.”Mapping the Yemen Conflict,” European Council on Foreign Relations, accessed October 26, 2016, http://www.ecfr.eu/mena/yemen. The United States and the United Nations imposed sanctions on Houthi on April 14, 2015, for threatening Yemen’s stability.“Security Council Demands End to Yemen Violence, Adopting Resolution 2216 (2015), with Russian Federation Abstaining,” United Nations, April 14, 2015, http://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc11859.doc.htm;
“Treasury Sanctions Instigators of the Violent Takeover of Yemen,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, April 14, 2015, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl10021.aspx.

Houthi reportedly maintains a guarded lifestyle, moving regularly between safe-houses and refusing most interviews due to safety concerns.Tom Finn, “Abdel-Malek al-Houthi: from shadow rebel leader to kingmaker,” Middle East Eye, last modified February 13, 2015, http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/abdel-malek-al-houthi-shadow-rebel-leader-kingmaker-988988591. He is notorious among analysts and journalists for his insistence on privacy.“Abdel-Malek al-Houthi: provincial rebel turned Yemen powerbroker,” Reuters, January 21, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-houthi-idUSKBN0KU1MF20150121.

On January 19, 2021, the U.S. State Department designated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO),“Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” U.S. Department of State Bureau of Counterterrorism, https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/; Lara Jakes, “U.S. to Declare Yemen’s Houthis a Terrorist Group, Raising Fears of Fueling a Famine,” New York Times, January 10, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/10/us/politics/us-yemen-houthis-terrorist-group.html?searchResultPosition=2. and declared Abdul-Malik al-Houthi and two other Houthi leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.Robert Edwards, “How Yemen’s Houthis’ Well-Deserved Terrorist Label Gives Biden Important Leverage,” Arab News, January 21, 2021, https://www.arabnews.com/node/1796401/middle-east. On February 16, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reversed his predecessor’s course and revoked the Houthis designation. However, he announced that Houthi and the two other leaders would remain sanctioned under Executive Order 13611 for acts “that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Yemen.”Antony J. Blinken, “Revocation of the Terrorist Designations of Ansarallah,” U.S. Department of State, February 12, 2021, https://www.state.gov/revocation-of-the-terrorist-designations-of-ansarallah/.

On June 21, 2021, Houthi made a commitment to an Omani delegation to enter into ceasefire discussions with the Saudi-led coalition immediately after the blockade on Houthi-held ports is lifted.Aziz Yaakoubi, “End of Yemen quagmire? Saudi-led coalition, Houthis near peace deal,” Reuters, June 21, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/end-yemen-quagmire-saudi-led-coalition-houthis-near-peace-deal-2021-06-21/.

On August 25, 2021, Yemen’s military court labeled the Houthis a terrorist organization. The court also sentenced Abdul-Malik al-Houthi and 173 others to death by firing squad for staging a military coup against the government and committing military offences and war crimes.“Yemen court sentences Houthi leader, 173 others to death,” Middle East Monitor, August 27, 2021, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210827-yemen-court-sentences-houthi-leader-173-others-to-death/.

On October 7, 2023, Iran-backed Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing at least 1,200 people. Israel subsequently launched airstrikes and a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.Lauren Frayer, “Israel revises down its death toll from the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks to about 1,200,” NPR, November 11, 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/11/11/1212458974/israel-revises-death-toll-hamas-attacks-oct-7; Ibrahim Dahman and Abeer Salman, “Hamas announces ‘Al-Aqsa Storm,’ claims to have fired 5,000 rockets,” CNN, October 7, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/al-aqsa-storm-militants-infiltrate-israel-after-gaza-rockets-10-07-intl-hnk/h_644aa5e5d02286051f5cc307e229566a. The Houthis joined other Iranian proxies in targeting Israel and U.S. interests in the region. On October 10, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi warned that the Houthis would respond to any U.S. intervention in the Gaza Strip with drones, missiles, and other military options.“Iran’s allies in Iraq, Yemen threaten U.S. over intervention in Israel,” Reuters, October 10, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/senior-iraqi-political-figure-threatens-target-us-interests-if-it-backs-israel-2023-10-10/. Over the course of October and November, the Houthis launched multiple drones and missiles toward the Israeli Red Sea city of Eilat. The Houthis also targeted Israel-linked shipping vessels in the Red Sea. On November 14, Houthi warned that his forces were actively searching for Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.Mohammed Alghobari, “Yemen’s Houthis leader says group will target Israeli ships in Red Sea,” Reuters, November 14, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-leader-says-group-will-target-israeli-ships-red-sea-2023-11-14/.

The Houthis continued their attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes into 2024. On February 18, the Houthis fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles at the Belize-flagged and British-owned bulk carrier MV Rubymar in the Red Sea, forcing the crew to abandon ship after one of the missiles struck the vessel.“‘The attack on the ship appeared to be one of the Houthis’ most damaging.,” New York Times, February 20, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/02/19/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news/houthi-ship-crew-rubymar. The damage to the Rubymar cause it to completely sink on March 2, making it the first ship to sink from a Houthi attack.Mohammad Ghobari, “Ship sunk by Houthis threatens Red Sea environment, Yemen government and US military say,” Reuters, March 2, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/freighter-rubymar-has-sunk-red-sea-yemen-internationally-recognised-government-2024-03-02/; Eleanor Watson, “Ship sunk by Houthis likely responsible for damaging 3 telecommunications cables under Red Sea,” CBS News, March 6, 2024, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/houthis-ship-cutting-red-sea-telecommunications-cables/. On March 6, a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile struck the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier True Confidence in the Red Sea. The crew abandoned ship, but the attack killed three, wounded at least four, and caused significant damage. The attack marked the first civilian fatalities since the Houthis began striking vessels in the Red Sea in November 2023.Jon Gambrell and Tara Copp, “Houthi missile attack kills 3 crew members in Yemen rebels’ first fatal assault on shipping,” Associated Press, March 7, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-attacks-us-israel-palestinians-gaza-89c5440d9943216a787b39912bd969e0; Jonathan Saul, “Three killed in first fatal Houthi attack on Red Sea shipping, CENTCOM says,” Reuters, March 7, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/three-missing-bulk-carrier-off-yemen-after-incident-reported-shipping-source-2024-03-06/; “Houthis Kill Innocent Civilians with Missile Attack,” U.S. Central Command, March 6, 2024, https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PRESS-RELEASES/Press-Release-View/Article/3698591/houthis-kill-innocent-civilians-with-missile-attack/.

At the end of February 2024, Houthi warned that his group had “surprises” planned to counter U.S. and international forces patrolling the Red Sea to defend against Houthi attacks on international shipping lanes.“Sayyed Abdul-Malik says Yemen has surprises in store for enemies beyond what anyone can expect,” Yemen News Agency, February 29, 2024, https://www.saba.ye/en/news3309151.htm. A March 14, 2024, report by the Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported that the Houthis had successfully tested a hypersonic missile capable of reaching Mach 8 and “intend to begin manufacturing it for use during attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as well as against targets in Israel.”Jon Gambrell, “Yemen’s Houthis reported to have a hypersonic missile, possibly raising stakes in Red Sea crisis,” Associated Press, March 14, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-hypersonic-missile-red-sea-e2bc170ff4470712f314fbb80bf24716. The report provided no evidence to support the Houthis’ claim.Jon Gambrell, “Yemen’s Houthis reported to have a hypersonic missile, possibly raising stakes in Red Sea crisis,” Associated Press, March 14, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-hypersonic-missile-red-sea-e2bc170ff4470712f314fbb80bf24716.