Amadou Kouffa is a U.S.-designated radical preacher and a senior member in Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate active in the Sahel region of Africa. On November 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of State designated Kouffa as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224.“U.S. Department of State Terrorist Designation of Amadou Kouffa,” U.S.  Department of State, November 7, 2019, https://www.state.gov/u-s-department-of-state-terrorist-designation-of-amadou-kouffa/. Kouffa is one of the top deputies to Iyad Ag Ghali, the leader of JNIM, a group which has repeatedly attacked soldiers and civilians in Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso.Tiemoko Diallo, “Mali says it confirms death of veteran jihadist leader Koufa,” November 24, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mali-security-france/mali-says-it-confirms-death-of-veteran-jihadist-leader-koufa-idUSKCN1NT0EJ. As well as ties with Ghali, Kouffa reportedly has links to Mokhtar Belmoktar, who founded al-Mourabitoun after leaving al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in late 2012.Conor Gaffey, “Mali Hotel Attack: What Is The Macina Liberation Front, Mali's Boko Haram,” Newsweek, November 24, 2015, https://www.newsweek.com/mali-hotel-attack-who-are-macina-liberation-front-malis-boko-haram-397727.

Born in Niafunke, Amadou Kouffa was born Amadou Diallo. “Kouffa” refers to the locality where his father officiated as an imam. Kouffa’s popularity came in part from his mastery of radio as a tool for communication in his native Fulani language.Conor Gaffey, “Mali Hotel Attack: What Is The Macina Liberation Front, Mali's Boko Haram,” Newsweek, November 24, 2015, https://www.newsweek.com/mali-hotel-attack-who-are-macina-liberation-front-malis-boko-haram-397727. In January 2015, Kouffa founded and led the militant group Macina Liberation Front (FLM), which went on to claim responsibility for a number of attacks in central and southern Mali. Given the popularity of Kouffa’s radio sermons, many of Kouffa’s recruits are Fulanis, and the FLM is often considered in Malian media to be a “Fulani movement.”Pauline Le Roux, “Confronting Central Mali’s Extremist Threat,” Africa Center for Strategic Studies, February 22,2019, https://africacenter.org/spotlight/confronting-central-malis-extremist-threat/. His calls for more equality of opportunity and political reform resonated among young Fulani herders aggrieved over the theft of their livestock, abuses by administrative authorities, and certain traditional leaders, as well an identity crisis over their role in the religious, ethnic, and intergenerational crosscurrents buffeting many Sahelian communities.Pauline Le Roux, “Confronting Central Mali’s Extremist Threat,” Africa Center for Strategic Studies, February 22,2019, https://africacenter.org/spotlight/confronting-central-malis-extremist-threat/. However, there is little evidence to suggest that the FLM incorporates Fulanis in West Africa beyond Mali and its borderlands.Jacob Zenn, “The Sahel’s Militant ‘Melting Pot’: Hamadou Kouffa’s Macina Liberation Front (FLM),” Jamestown Foundation, November 13, 2015, https://jamestown.org/program/the-sahels-militant-melting-pot-hamadou-kouffas-macina-liberation-front-flm/#.VlQ8n-nVvzK.

On March 1, 2017, Kouffa appeared alongside Ag Ghali, Yahya Abou Al Hamem of AQIM, Abu Hassan al-Ansari of Al-Mourabitoun, and Abu Abderrahman El Shenhadji of AQIM, to announce the merger of their jihadist groups into a single movement, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Mouslimin (JNIM).“In Central Mali, Civilian Populations Are Caught Between Terrorism and Counterterrorism,” Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’Homme, November 2018, https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/fidh_centre-of-mali_population-sized-between-terrorism-and-counter-terrorism_727_en_november2018.pdf.

On November 23, 2018, French forces conducted a raid against jihadists in Mopti, central Mali. The forces claimed the raid killed over 30 Islamist militants, including Kouffa.Tiemoko Diallo, “Mali says it confirms death of veteran jihadist leader Koufa,” Reuters, November 24, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mali-security-france/mali-says-it-confirms-death-of-veteran-jihadist-leader-koufa-idUSKCN1NT0EJ. However, a few months later on February 29, 2019, video footage was released which showed Kouffa denying and mocking reports of his death.“Exclusive: Key Mali jihadist Amadou Koufa resurfaces to deny reports of his death,” France 24, February 28, 2019, https://www.france24.com/en/video/20190228-exclusive-key-mali-jihadist-amadou-koufa-resurfaces-deny-reports-death.

Ali Maychou was a U.S.-and U.N.-designated radical imam and senior leader in Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliated group in Mali. A Moroccan, Maychou joined al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in 2012 before co-founding JNIM with Iyad Ag Ghaly and masterminding its expansion in the Sahel in March of 2017.“In Central Mali, Civilian Populations Are Caught Between Terrorism and Counterterrorism,” Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’Homme, November 2018, https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/fidh_centre-of-mali_population-sized-between-terrorism-and-counter-terrorism_727_en_november2018.pdf. Maychou along with his brother, Youssef Maychou, led a network that recruited and sent Moroccan fighters to northern Mali via Libya.“Ali Maychou,” United Nations Security Council, August 14, 2019, https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/ali-maychou. It was reported that Maychou was killed by French forces in an operation in Mali on October 9, 2019.“France claims death of top jihadist leader in Mali,” France 24, November 5, 2019, https://www.france24.com/en/20191105-france-claims-death-of-top-jihadist-leader-in-mali.

In May 2012, Ali Maychou joined the ranks of al-Mourabitoun, headed by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, and became a member of its religious police. In October 2012, he went to Timbuktu, at that time under the control of AQIM. He provided theological training to around 60 fighters, who were placed under the orders of Djamel Akkacha (a.k.a. Yahia Abou el Hammam).“Ali Maychou,” United Nations Security Council, August 14, 2019, https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/ali-maychou.

After Operation Serval in 2014—a French military offensive to rout armed rebels and Islamist militants from Mali’s northern territories“France in Mali: A year of hunting jihadists in West Africa,” France 24, Janaury 11, 2014, https://www.france24.com/en/20140111-france-mali-military-intervention-operation-serval-anniversary-timeline.—Maychou took refuge in Ajdabiya, where he worked to establish contacts between AQIM and Libyan radical groups.“Ali Maychou,” United Nations Security Council, August 14, 2019, https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/ali-maychou. Maychou then served as the main media personality of AQIM in the Sahel. He made multiple statements, published by Al-Andalus, the media agency of AQIM. On January 20, 2017, Ali Maychou claimed, in an audio message, responsibility for the attack perpetrated on January 18, 2017 inside the camp of the MOC (Mécanisme Opérationnel de Coordination) in Gao which led to the death of over 50 people.“Al-Qaeda affiliate claims Mali car bomb attack in Gao,” BBC News, January 18, 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38663693. The camp hosts elements of the Malian Armed Forces and members of the Platform and Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) who take part in mixed patrols, as put forward by the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali.“Ali Maychou,” United Nations Security Council, August 14, 2019, https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/ali-maychou.

On March 1, 2017, Maychou appeared alongside Ag Ghaly, Yahya Abou Al Hamem of AQIM, Abu Hassan al-Ansari of Al-Mourabitoune, and Amadou Kouffa of the Macina Liberation Front (FLM), to announce the merger of their jihadist groups into a single movement, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Mouslimin (JNIM).“In Central Mali, Civilian Populations Are Caught Between Terrorism and Counterterrorism,” Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’Homme, November 2018, https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/fidh_centre-of-mali_population-sized-between-terrorism-and-counter-terrorism_727_en_november2018.pdf.

On July 16, 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in concert with the Department of State, designated Bah Ag Moussa as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.“Terrorist Designation of Ali Maychou,” U.S. Department of State, July 16, 2019, https://www.state.gov/terrorist-designation-of-ali-maychou/. On August 14, 2019, the United Nations ISIL (Da’esh) and al Qaeda Sanctions Committee imposed sanctions against Bah Ag Moussa pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 4 of resolution 2368 (2017) as being associated with ISIL or Al-Qaida and otherwise supporting the groups’ acts or activities.“Ali Maychou,” United Nations Security Council, August 14, 2019, https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/ali-maychou.

On November 5, 2019, Florence Parly, France’s Minister for the Armed Forces, announced that French forces killed Ali Maychou in an operation inside Mali in early October. No other details are reported regarding the specifics of Maychou’s death.“France claims death of top jihadist leader in Mali,” France 24, November 5, 2019, https://www.france24.com/en/20191105-france-claims-death-of-top-jihadist-leader-in-mali.

Abu Walaa is a radical Islamic preacher based in Hildensheim, Germany. He preached at the Deutschsprachiger Islamkreis Hildesheim eV (DIK) mosque from its founding in 2012 until his arrest in 2016. The mosque has since been shut down. Walaa’s lectures were popularized through online videos released through Facebook.Lizzie Dearden, “German Terror Network Sending Isis Fighters to Syria Arrested,” Independent, November 08, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/isis-supporters-terror-cell-germany-hildesheim-saxony-nord-rhein-westphalia-abu-walaa-five-arrested-a7405171.html; “Trial of German 'IS Leader' Begins,” Gulf, September 27, 2017, https://www.gulf-times.com/story/565273/Trial-of-German-IS-leader-begins. Walaa claimed to be teaching an “authentic understanding of Islam” through his online speeches, videos, and texts.Lizzie Dearden, “German Terror Network Sending Isis Fighters to Syria Arrested,” Independent, November 08, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/isis-supporters-terror-cell-germany-hildesheim-saxony-nord-rhein-westphalia-abu-walaa-five-arrested-a7405171.html. He became known as “preacher without a face,” as he hid his face from the camera during his viral teachings. The Facebook page where Walaa posted his sermons had more than 25,000 followers at its peak around 2015 to 2016.Lizzie Dearden, “German Terror Network Sending Isis Fighters to Syria Arrested,” Independent, November 08, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/isis-supporters-terror-cell-germany-hildesheim-saxony-nord-rhein-westphalia-abu-walaa-five-arrested-a7405171.html.

Walaa arrived in Germany in 2001 as a teenager from Iraq.“Germany Puts on Trial 'Abu Walaa,' Radical Preacher and Accused IS Recruiter,” Deutsche Welle, September 26, 2017, https://www.dw.com/en/germany-puts-on-trial-abu-walaa-radical-preacher-and-accused-is-recruiter/a-40684714. He originally lived in the town of Tönisvorst in Germany’s northwestern state of North Rhine-Westphalia before setting up his proselytizing base in Hildesheim in Lower Saxony state.“Germany Puts on Trial 'Abu Walaa,' Radical Preacher and Accused IS Recruiter,” Deutsche Welle, September 26, 2017, https://www.dw.com/en/germany-puts-on-trial-abu-walaa-radical-preacher-and-accused-is-recruiter/a-40684714.

Walaa is believed to be the head of an Islamic group focused on recruiting young Muslims in Germany to fight for ISIS.Lizzie Dearden, “German Terror Network Sending Isis Fighters to Syria Arrested,” Independent, November 08, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/isis-supporters-terror-cell-germany-hildesheim-saxony-nord-rhein-westphalia-abu-walaa-five-arrested-a7405171.html. Walaa’s official Facebook page contained tacit references to jihad violence. “The Arabs fight us with their religion and they call it terrorism,” says one post, with an altered picture of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and other American politicians.Lizzie Dearden, “German Terror Network Sending Isis Fighters to Syria Arrested,” Independent, November 08, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/isis-supporters-terror-cell-germany-hildesheim-saxony-nord-rhein-westphalia-abu-walaa-five-arrested-a7405171.html. Walaa was also active on al-manhaj.de, an online Quranic instruction website which is closely tied to the Hildesheim mosque.Georg Heil, “The Berlin Attack and the ‘Abu Walaa’ Islamic State Recruitment Network,” CTC Sentinel, February 2017, pp. 1-11, https://ctc.usma.edu/february-2017/. He also ran a YouTube channel and app called AbuWalaa which was supported on both Android and iOS devices.Georg Heil, “The Berlin Attack and the ‘Abu Walaa’ Islamic State Recruitment Network,” CTC Sentinel, February 2017, pp. 1-11, https://ctc.usma.edu/february-2017/. Walaa’s content also appeared on the social media accounts of ISIS members and supporters.>Georg Heil, “The Berlin Attack and the ‘Abu Walaa’ Islamic State Recruitment Network,” CTC Sentinel, February 2017, pp. 1-11, https://ctc.usma.edu/february-2017/.

Walaa’s main base for his proselytization was the DIK mosque in Hildesheim, where he preached regularly on Fridays.Georg Heil, “The Berlin Attack and the ‘Abu Walaa’ Islamic State Recruitment Network,” CTC Sentinel, February 2017, pp. 1-11, https://ctc.usma.edu/february-2017/. The mosque’s attendance rates for Friday prayers were regularly around 350 people, with German intelligence officials estimating as many as 10 percent of attendees were radicalized so that “they were willing to use violence.”Georg Heil, “The Berlin Attack and the ‘Abu Walaa’ Islamic State Recruitment Network,” CTC Sentinel, February 2017, pp. 1-11, https://ctc.usma.edu/february-2017/.

In November 2016, German federal prosecutors arrested Walaa and five other men in the small northern city of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony.Jack Moore, “ISIS’s Leader in Germany, the ‘preacher without a Face,’ Charged with Terrorism Offenses,” Newsweek, July 20, 2017, https://www.newsweek.com/isis-leader-germany-preacher-without-face-charged-over-jihadi-recruitment-ring-639796. The men were arrested for being part of a “national Salafist-jihadi network,” which supported ISIS, and for funding terrorism.Lizzie Dearden, “German Terror Network Sending Isis Fighters to Syria Arrested,” Independent, November 08, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/isis-supporters-terror-cell-germany-hildesheim-saxony-nord-rhein-westphalia-abu-walaa-five-arrested-a7405171.html. The indictment claimed Walaa had direct contact with ISIS leadership circles, and he could face up to ten years in prison for the charges.“Germany Puts on Trial ‘Abu Walaa,’ Radical Preacher and Accused IS Recruiter,” Deutsche Welle, September 26, 2017, https://www.dw.com/en/germany-puts-on-trial-abu-walaa-radical-preacher-and-accused-is-recruiter/a-40684714. CNN reported that 19 Germans who successfully joined ISIS, and seven others who attempted to travel, had ties to the network of which Walaa was the central figure.Paul Cruickshank, “A Look inside the Abu Walaa ISIS Recruiting Network,” CNN, December 29, 2016, https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/22/world/isis-abu-walaa-investigation/index.html; Georg Heil, “The Berlin Attack and the ‘Abu Walaa’ Islamic State Recruitment Network,”  CTC Sentinel, February 2017, pp. 1-11, https://ctc.usma.edu/february-2017/. Similar to Khalid Zerkani’s ISIS recruiting network in Belgium, Walaa raised money for jihad travel through fraudulent loans and robberies.Paul Cruickshank, “A Look inside the Abu Walaa ISIS Recruiting Network,” CNN, December 29, 2016, https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/22/world/isis-abu-walaa-investigation/index.html.

According to investigators, Abu Walaa’s network had a clear hierarchy. Hasan Celenk, a 51-year-old Turkish-Kurdish preacher, and Boban Simeonovic, a Serbian and German national who had converted to Islam, were appointed as regional leaders. Walaa was in charge of the federal level operations of a “nationwide network of salafi-jihadi indoctrinators, which are closely interlinked and act in a work sharing manner.”Georg Heil, “The Berlin Attack and the ‘Abu Walaa’ Islamic State Recruitment Network,” CTC Sentinel, February 2017, pp. 1-11, https://ctc.usma.edu/february-2017/. Investigators have said that Walaa alleged that he was the only person in Germany authorized by ISIS to issue fatwas (religious decree).Georg Heil, “The Berlin Attack and the ‘Abu Walaa’ Islamic State Recruitment Network,” CTC Sentinel, February 2017, pp. 1-11, https://ctc.usma.edu/february-2017/.

Walaa is also thought to have connections with Anis Amri, the Tunisian asylum seeker who carried out a terrorist attack in Berlin in December 2016. Amri hijacked a truck, driving it into the Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people.“Germany Puts on Trial ‘Abu Walaa,’ Radical Preacher and Accused IS Recruiter,” Deutsche Welle, September 26, 2017, https://www.dw.com/en/germany-puts-on-trial-abu-walaa-radical-preacher-and-accused-is-recruiter/a-40684714.

The trial of Walaa began in September 2017, with the proceedings due to occur over the course of 29 days through January 2018.“Germany Puts on Trial ‘Abu Walaa,’ Radical Preacher and Accused IS Recruiter,” Deutsche Welle, September 26, 2017, https://www.dw.com/en/germany-puts-on-trial-abu-walaa-radical-preacher-and-accused-is-recruiter/a-40684714. On February 24, 2021, the Higher Regional Court in Celle sentenced Walaa to 10-and-a-half years in prison for his role in planning an attack in Germany and collecting funds and fighters for ISIS. Walaa allegedly recruited seven individuals who eventually traveled to the Middle East where they fought alongside ISIS. Additionally, two of Walaa’s recruits reportedly killed more than 150 Iraqi soldiers in suicide bombings.Martin Schlicht, “German court sentences Islamic State recruiter,” Reuters, February 24, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-security-trial-walaa/german-court-sentences-islamic-state-recruiter-idUSKBN2AO1A4?il=0.

Zabiullah Mujahid is a senior Taliban official who previously served as the spokesman of the Taliban. Mujahid reported on Taliban activity in central, eastern, and northern Afghanistan.TALIBAN PROPAGANDA: WINNING THE WAR OF WORDS?, International Crisis Group, Asia Report No 158, July 24, 2008, http://www.genocidewatch.org/images/Afghanistan_08_07_24_Taliban_Propaganda_Winning_the_War_of_Words.pdf. Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, on September 7, it was announced that Mujahid will serve as the deputy minister of information and broadcasting of the Taliban’s caretaker government in Afghanistan.“Taliban forms 33-member cabinet in Afghanistan: Full list,” Hindustan Times, September 8, 2021, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/taliban-forms-33-member-cabinet-in-afghanistan-full-list-101631066722518.html.

While serving as spokesman of the Taliban, Mujahid regularly spoke to national and foreign journalists via SMS and telephone and frequently posted on Twitter, where he has over 30,000 followers. Mujahid tweets in both English and Pashto and is often quoted by major news organizations.“Taliban announce surprise talks with US in Pakistani capital,” Al Jazeera, February 13, 2019, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/taliban-announce-surprise-talks-pakistan-capital-190213174437142.html; Kathy Gannon, “Taliban name negotiating team ahead of new talks with US,” January 24, 2019, https://www.apnews.com/39bc926d2ae148d4b33023a59f3babfe. In a series of interviews with the New York Times, Mujahid claimed to hold a master’s degree in religious studies and have served in a low-level position in the Taliban’s Culture and Information Department before the U.S.-led intervention.Rod Nordland, “One Voice or Many for the Taliban, but Pegged to a Single Name,” New York Times, June 14, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/world/asia/15zabiullah.html.

Mujahid reportedly succeeded Muhammad Hanif in January 2007 after Hanif was arrested by NATO forces in Afghanistan.“Taliban spokesman arrested,” Al Jazeera, January 19, 2007, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2007/01/200852512617616290.html. While Afghan intelligence officials claim that Mujahid is a Pakistani man named Hajji Ismail, U.S. intelligence officials claim he is actually a persona run by a team of Taliban members.Rod Nordland, “One Voice or Many for the Taliban, but Pegged to a Single Name,” New York Times, June 14, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/world/asia/15zabiullah.html. The U.S. claim is supported by the fact that journalists report that Mujahid responds to their inquiries at all of times of the day.TALIBAN PROPAGANDA: WINNING THE WAR OF WORDS?, International Crisis Group, Asia Report No 158, July 24, 2008, http://www.genocidewatch.org/images/Afghanistan_08_07_24_Taliban_Propaganda_Winning_the_War_of_Words.pdf.

The Taliban signed the Doha peace agreement with the U.S. government on February 29, 2020.Kathy Gannon, “Mullah’s rise charts Taliban’s long road back to power,” Associated Press, August 18, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-abdul-ghani-baradar-e80165eb6c65fc7ea8fae50212ba56c8. The terms of the agreement stated that the United States would draw its forces down to 8,600 from 13,000 in the next three to four months, with the remaining U.S. forces withdrawing in 14 months. In exchange, the Taliban agreed to renounce al-Qaeda and prevent al-Qaeda and other groups from using Afghanistan as a base for terrorism against the United States. The Taliban also agreed to negotiate a permanent ceasefire with other Afghan militants and the Afghan government.Asad Hashim, “Pakistan warns US of ‘spoilers’ on US-Taliban deal in Afghanistan,” Al Jazeera, March 1, 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/pakistan-warns-spoilers-taliban-deal-afghanistan-200302093650382.html; Matthew Lee and Kathy Gannon, “US and Taliban sign deal aimed at ending war in Afghanistan,” Associated Press, February 29, 2020, https://apnews.com/491544713df4879f399d0ff5523d369e; “Susannah George and Dan Lamothe, “Afghan government objects to elements of U.S.-Taliban peace deal,” Washington Post, March 1, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghan-government-questions-aspects-of-us-taliban-peace-deal/2020/03/01/0a973228-5a68-11ea-8efd-0f904bdd8057_story.html.

On August 6, 2021, the Taliban began an offensive against major Afghan cities with the seizure of Zaranj, capital of Nimruz province.Susannah George and Ezzatullah Mehrdad, “Taliban fighters overrun an Afghan provincial capital for the first time since withdrawal of foreign forces,” Washington Post, August 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/06/afghanistan-taliban-nimruz/. By August 13, the Taliban controlled 17 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals and more than two-thirds of the country.Rahim Faiez, and Joseph Krauss, “Taliban sweep across Afghanistan’s south; take 4 more cities,” Associated Press, August 13, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-taliban-c6c8d4a41c554f36031a8131538d1402. On August 15, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan and thousands of Afghans poured into Kabul’s airport as Taliban fighters entered the city. By August 16, the Taliban laid siege to the presidential palace and took complete control of Kabul, after which the Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan had ended.“Taliban declares ‘war is over’ as president and diplomats flee Kabul,” Reuters, August 15, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/talibans-rapid-advance-across-afghanistan-2021-08-10/. At an August 17 news conference in Kabul, Mujahid made his first-ever public appearance.Ahmad Seir, Rahim Faiez, Kathy Gannon and Joseph Krauss, “Taliban vow to respect women, despite history of oppression,” Associated Press, August 17, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-kabul-1d4b052ccef113adc8dc94f965ff23c7. Mujahid claimed that the Taliban would take on a more “moderate” approach in their ruling of the country, and that women are allowed to have roles in public life in observance of “Islamic law.”“Factbox: Taliban seek to present a moderate face as they take control in Afghanistan,” Reuters, August 15, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-seek-present-moderate-face-they-take-control-afghanistan-2021-08-15/. The U.S. remains committed to full withdrawal from Afghanistan by August 31, 2021. However, the evacuation of American citizens, U.S. personnel, and highly vulnerable Afghans has been chaotic. As of August 25, over 70,000 people have been evacuated with many more still at Kabul airport. The Taliban have claimed “there would be consequences” if the U.S. does not abide to the August 31st deadline.Amanda Macias, “Biden says Afghanistan evacuation on track to finish by Aug. 31 deadline as threats to Kabul airport grow,” CNBC, August 24, 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/24/biden-sticks-to-aug-31-afghanistan-withdrawal-deadline.html; Sally Lockwood, “Afghanistan: Taliban warns there will be 'consequences' if Biden delays withdrawal of US troops,” August 24, 2021, https://news.sky.com/story/afghanistan-taliban-warns-there-will-be-consequences-if-biden-delays-withdrawal-of-us-troops-12388436.

On August 24, 2021, Mujahid told a news conference that the U.S. must stick to its deadline of full withdrawal from Afghanistan by August 31, after which the Taliban “won’t let Afghans be taken out” on evacuation flights. Although Mujahid has reassured Afghans that the Taliban will bring peace and security to the country, reports on the ground have contradicted these claims as there have been accounts of reprisal killings and restrictions on the rights of women.Jonathan Lemire, Robert Burns and Rahim Faiez, “Biden holds to Kabul Aug 31. Deadline despite criticism,” Associated Press, August 24, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-taliban-a0f7cfd98704e6c2fca340324699a129.

On September 7, 2021, the Taliban announced the official appointments within their caretaker government. Mujahid was named deputy minister of information and broadcasting. The government is exclusively male, with many positions filled with veterans from their hardline movement in the early nineties.Matthieu Aikins and Jim Huylebroek, “Taliban Appoint Stalwarts to Top Government Posts,” New York Times, September 7, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/07/world/asia/taliban-women-protest-kabul-afghanistan.html; Kathy Gannon, “Taliban form all-male Afghan government of old guard members,” Associated Press, September 8, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-pakistan-afghanistan-arrests-islamabad-d50b1b490d27d32eb20cc11b77c12c87; “Taliban forms 33-member cabinet in Afghanistan: Full list,” Hindustan Times, September 8, 2021, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/taliban-forms-33-member-cabinet-in-afghanistan-full-list-101631066722518.html.

Husam Badran is a Qatar-based senior political officer and spokesman for Hamas.“Hamas denies Qatar asked its leaders to leave,” Middle East Monitor, June 5, 2017, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170605-hamas-denies-qatar-asked-its-leaders-to-leave/. He previously served as a Hamas military commander in the West Bank. Badran allegedly oversaw multiple suicide bombings that resulted in the deaths of over 100 people during the second Palestinian intifada in the early 2000, including the 2001 Sbarro pizzeria bombing in Jerusalem, the 2001 Dolphinarium discotheque bombing in Tel Aviv, the 2002 suicide bombing of a Passover seder at the Park Hotel in Netanya, and the 2002 bombing of the Matza restaurant in Haifa. Israel arrested Badran for his role in coordinating these attacks, but he was released in 2011 as part of a prisoner swap with Hamas for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.“Murderers’ Row: Who are the terrorists being freed in the Shalit deal?,” Jewish Telegraph Agency, October 18, 2011, https://www.jta.org/2011/10/18/israel/murderers-row-who-are-the-terrorists-being-freed-in-the-shalit-deal.

Badran was born and grew up in the Askar refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus. While in high school, Badran helped create Hamas’s student wing.“Husam Badran – Member of Hamas Political Bureau,” Hamas, accessed April 5, 2022, https://hamas.ps/en/leader/181/Husam-Badran. He then attended al-Najah University in Nablus, where he became involved in student politics and, in 1985, became a leader of the Islamist student bloc.Mapping Palestinian Politics – Husam Badran, European Council on Foreign Relations, accessed February 3, 2022, https://ecfr.eu/special/mapping_palestinian_politics/husam_badran/; “Husam Badran – Member of Hamas Political Bureau,” Hamas, accessed April 5, 2022, https://hamas.ps/en/leader/181/Husam-Badran. Badran earned bachelor’s degrees in history and archaeology. He also completed studies for a master’s degree. According to his Hamas biography, Badran did not receive a degree because of his frequent arrests by Israel.“Husam Badran – Member of Hamas Political Bureau,” Hamas, accessed April 5, 2022, https://hamas.ps/en/leader/181/Husam-Badran. After the start of the second Palestinian intifada in 2000, Badran headed Hamas’s military wing in the West Bank and directed multiple bombings that killed scores of Israelis.“Murderers’ Row: Who are the terrorists being freed in the Shalit deal?,” Jewish Telegraph Agency, October 18, 2011, https://www.jta.org/2011/10/18/israel/murderers-row-who-are-the-terrorists-being-freed-in-the-shalit-deal. On April 18, 2002, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli Security Agency arrested Badran during Israel’s Operation Defensive Shield. Israel launched the largescale West Bank security operation in response to the March 27 Park Hotel bombing, one of the bombings in which Badran was implicated. The operation resulted in reportedly thousands of arrests and fierce fighting around the West Bank.“Arrest of Husam Ataf Ali Badran- Head of the Hamas military wing in Samaria-18-Apr-2002,” Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 18, 2002, https://mfa.gov.il/MFA/PressRoom/2002/Pages/Arrest%20of%20Husam%20Ataf%20Ali%20Badran-%20Head%20of%20the%20Hamas.aspx; “Operation Defensive Shield,” Israel Defense Forces, October 30, 2017, https://www.idf.il/en/minisites/wars-and-operations/operation-defensive-shield/; “Report of Secretary-General on Recent Events in Jenin, Other Palestinian Cities,” United Nations, August 1, 2002, https://www.un.org/press/en/2002/SG2077.doc.htm#:~:text=%2D%2D%20Arbitrary%20arrests%20and%20detention,ages%20of%2015%20and%2045.

At the time of his arrest, Israeli authorities accused Badran of responsibility for every major Hamas bombing in Israel in recent years. The IDF called Badran’s arrest “a significant blow to the military infrastructure of” Hamas, which prevented planned attacks.“Arrest of Husam Ataf Ali Badran- Head of the Hamas military wing in Samaria-18-Apr-2002,” Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 18, 2002, https://mfa.gov.il/MFA/PressRoom/2002/Pages/Arrest%20of%20Husam%20Ataf%20Ali%20Badran-%20Head%20of%20the%20Hamas.aspx. In 2004, Badran was sentenced to almost 18 years in prison.Uri Friedman, “The most notorious names in the Shalit prison swap,” Foreign Policy, October 20, 2011, https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/20/the-most-notorious-names-in-the-shalit-prison-swap/. He remained active in Hamas during his incarceration, leading the group’s prisons bureau.Mapping Palestinian Politics – Husam Badran, European Council on Foreign Relations, accessed February 3, 2022, https://ecfr.eu/special/mapping_palestinian_politics/husam_badran/.

On June 25, 2006, Palestinian militants from multiple groups crossed the Gaza border into Israel using an underground tunnel and attacked an IDF military outpost. They killed two soldiers and took 19-year-old Corporal Gilad Shalit hostage.Tim Butcher, “Soldier Kidnapped and Two Killed in Gaza Tunnel Attack,” Telegraph (London), June 26, 2006, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1522370/Soldier-kidnapped-and-two-killed-in-Gaza-tunnel-attack.html. In October 2011, Israel negotiated a prisoner swap agreement with Hamas for Shalit in exchange for the release of 1,027 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Badran was released on October 18, 2011, as part of the first group of 477 prisoners released.Jeffrey Heller and Nidal al-Mughrabi, “Israel and Hamas Agree Prisoner Swap to Free Shalit,” Reuters, October 11, 2011, https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-israel-palestinians-shalit/israel-and-hamas-agree-prisoner-swap-to-free-shalit-idUKTRE79A64E20111011; “Full list: The Palestinian prisoners,” Al Jazeera, October 16, 2011, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/10/16/full-list-the-palestinian-prisoners; Ethan Bronner and Stephen Farrell, “Israeli Soldier Swapped for Hundreds of Palestinians,” New York Times, October 18, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/world/middleeast/israel-and-palestinians-begin-prisoner-exchange.html. Israel released another 550 prisoners that December.“Israel releases 550 Palestinian prisoners,” France 24, December 18, 2011, https://www.france24.com/en/20111218-israel-frees-550-palestinian-prisoners-swap-deal-gilad-shalit-release.

As part of the agreement, Israel deported Badran to Syria. From there, he was expelled to Qatar.Uri Friedman, “The most notorious names in the Shalit prison swap,” Foreign Policy, October 20, 2011, https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/20/the-most-notorious-names-in-the-shalit-prison-swap/; “Husam Badran – Member of Hamas Political Bureau,” Hamas, accessed April 5, 2022, https://hamas.ps/en/leader/181/Husam-Badran. There, he continued to work in support of Hamas’s extremist activities. On July 1, 2015, Israel’s Shin Bet security agency revealed it had recently uncovered a Hamas cell in and around the West Bank city of Nablus, as well as an armed cell in the Jenin area of the West Bank. The cells were reportedly planning terror attacks inside Israel. Badran allegedly directed the Nablus cell from Qatar. According to the Shin Bet, Badran sent the cell orders and hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding. Badran allegedly transferred the money as gold and jewelry to Jordan, where a known Hamas money launderer and gold merchant from Nablus allegedly helped smuggle the valuables into the West Bank.Ben Hartman, “Shin Bet: Hamas attempt to build terror network in West Bank thwarted,” Jerusalem Post, July 1, 2015, https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Shin-Bet-Hamas-attempt-to-build-terror-network-in-West-Bank-thwarted-in-raids-407674. Badran has also acted as an international spokesman for Hamas from Qatar, openly voicing support for the group’s violence. Following an April 18, 2016, Hamas bus bombing wounded 21 people in Jerusalem, Badran called the attack an affirmation the Palestinians “will not abandon the resistance path.”Ian Deitch, “Jerusalem bus bombing wounds 21 Israelis,” Associated Press, April 18, 2016, https://apnews.com/article/cfa9d8e5cd954f0f9e8679555c272d26.

In May 2017, Hamas elected Badran to its political bureau. Badran received the National Relations portfolio, responsible for diplomatic affairs between Hamas and other Palestinian factions.Elhanan Miller, “Between War and Peace: An Interview With Senior Hamas Leader Husam Badran,” Tablet, September 17, 2018, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/interview-hamas-leader-husam-badran. Nonetheless, Badran has been critical of the Palestinian Authority, which oversees the West Bank. After PA security forces arrested 108 Hamas members in overnight raids in July 2015, Badran accused the Palestinian security forces of working for Israel. According to Badran, Hamas held PA President Mahmoud Abbas personally responsible for the “persecution and terror” employed by his forces.Avi Issacharoff and staff, “PA arrests 108 Hamas members in West Bank,” Times of Israel, July 3, 2015, https://www.timesofisrael.com/pa-arrests-108-hamas-members-in-west-bank/. He further pledged Hamas would continue attacks against Israelis in the West Bank and “use all means to stop the crimes against our senior members in the West Bank.”Avi Issacharoff and staff, “PA arrests 108 Hamas members in West Bank,” Times of Israel, July 3, 2015, https://www.timesofisrael.com/pa-arrests-108-hamas-members-in-west-bank/.

In a 2018 interview with the U.S. Jewish news website Tablet, Badran blamed Gaza’s economic and humanitarian crises on both Israel and Abbas’s Fatah party. He accused the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority of cutting off Gaza financially to force Hamas to relinquish control of the territory. He accused Israel of poor decision-making and allowing politicians to go unchecked. Badran claimed Israeli politicians were acting out of personal motivations, a sign of Israel’s growing weakness.Elhanan Miller, “Between War and Peace: An Interview With Senior Hamas Leader Husam Badran,” Tablet, September 17, 2018, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/interview-hamas-leader-husam-badran. After the Ramallah Magistrate’s Court blocked 59 social media pages and news sites in October 2019, Badran accused the Palestinian Authority of working with Israel to wage “war against written and photographed Palestinian works that have exposed the occupation’s violations, corruption and crimes.”Adam Rasgon, “PA court orders dozens of social media pages and news sites blocked,” Times of Israel, October 22, 2019, https://www.timesofisrael.com/pa-court-orders-dozens-of-social-media-pages-and-news-sites-blocked/. According to the court, the sites were with the Palestinian Information Ministry and were “publishing materials that threaten national security and public order.”Adam Rasgon, “PA court orders dozens of social media pages and news sites blocked,” Times of Israel, October 22, 2019, https://www.timesofisrael.com/pa-court-orders-dozens-of-social-media-pages-and-news-sites-blocked/.

After conferring with Hamas and other Palestinian factions, the Palestinian Authority was set to hold long-delayed legislative elections in May 2021. However, Abbas indefinitely postponed the elections that April, citing Israel’s refusal to allow Palestinian in east Jerusalem to vote. Regional analysts suggested Abbas delayed the elections out of fear of 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.counterextremism.com/threat/hamas#:~:text=Adnan%20Abu%20Amer,com/2021%E2%80%A6. That October, Badran accused the Palestinian Authority of attacking Hamas through PA media outlets.https://hamas.ps/en/post/3654/Partial-local-vote-won-t-grant-PA-any-legitimacy-says-Hamas-official. In a December 2021 appearance on Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV, Badran called Palestinian national unity “essential,” and Israel would be the only “loser” if unity is achieved.“‘Hamas is committed to intra-Palestinian unity,’ says Hamas official,” Hamas, December 10, 2021, https://hamas.ps/en/post/3785/Hamas-is-committed-to-intra-Palestinian-unity-says-Hamas-official.

The Palestinians were set to hold municipal elections starting in December 2021. However, Hamas boycotted the first phase of municipal elections that month. According to Badran, Hamas had demanded written guarantees Abbas would not cancel the election at the last minute. The Palestinian Central Elections Commission called Hamas’s demands political.https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-691423. That January, Badran joined a Hamas delegation to Algeria for inter-Palestinian faction negotiations.Khaled Abu Toameh, “PA minister panned for blaming Hamas for floods,” Jerusalem Post, January 18, 2022, https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-693860. In April 2022, Badran called on the Palestinian Authority to release all political prisoners.“Hamas calls for PA to release political prisoners,” Middle East Monitor, April 2, 2022, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220402-hamas-calls-for-pa-to-release-political-prisoners/.

Badran has also sought to raise the profile of Hamas prisoners in Israel. According to Badran, Hamas is willing to “sacrifice everything” to win the release of its members from Israeli prisons.“Hamas official says group wants ‘significant achievement’ in swap deal,” Times of Israel, May 3, 2020, https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-official-says-group-wants-significant-achievement-in-swap-deal/. In his 2018 Tablet interview, Badran insisted any new prisoner swap deal with Israel must include at least as many Palestinians as were released in the 2011 Shalit prisoner agreement. He further called for the release of 26 veteran security prisoners in Israel who were sentenced before the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords, as well as more than 40 Hamas members who had since been rearrested after their release in the Shalit deal.https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/interview-hamas-leader-husam-badran.

Badran has been critical of Arab normalization with Israel, which he has equated with a “stab in the back” of the Palestinian people.“Hamas slams Facebook for blocking Palestinian activists' accounts,” Middle East Monitor, January 8, 2017, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170108-hamas-slams-facebook-for-blocking-palestinian-activists-accounts/; “Normalising ties with Israeli occupation is ‘stab in the back of the Palestinian people,’ Badran states,” Hamas, April 15, 2019, https://hamas.ps/en/post/2044/Normalising-ties-with-Israeli-occupation-is-stab-in-the-back-of-the-Palestinian-people-Badran-states. After Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf bin Alawi met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February 2019, for example, Badran issued Hamas’s rejection of “all forms of normalization with” Israel.“Hamas condemns Omani FM’s meeting with Netanyahu,” Hamas, February 14, 2019, https://hamas.ps/en/post/1917/Hamas-condemns-Omani-FM-s-meeting-with-Netanyahu. He also condemned the “Deal of the Century” peace plan put forward by then-U.S. President Donald Trump, referring to it as “an illusion the Israeli occupation has been chasing.”“Press release on Trump-drawn map of Palestine in Deal of Century,” Hamas, April 7, 2019, https://hamas.ps/en/post/2027/Press-release-on-Trump-drawn-map-of-Palestine-in-Deal-of-Century.

Badran remains a high-level member of Hamas’s political bureau and regularly participates in Hamas’s international diplomacy. In January 2022, for example, Badran traveled to Algiers, Algeria, with Hamas official Khalid al-Hayya for inter-Palestinian faction negotiations. The Hamas delegation was headed by Azzam al-Ahmed.Khaled Abu Toameh, “PA minister panned for blaming Hamas for floods,” Jerusalem Post, January 18, 2022, https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-693860.

Badran remains based in Qatar where there are no restrictions on his activities or movement. He was one of several Hamas officials to attend the September 2022 funeral of Muslim Brotherhood ideologue Yusuf al-Qaradawi in Qatar.“Senior Hamas officials attend funeral of prominent Islamic scholar,” Hamas, September 27, 2022, https://hamas.ps/en/post/4293/Senior-Hamas-officials-attend-funeral-of-prominent-Islamic-scholar. However, he is named in a 2020 U.S. civil lawsuit accusing Qatar of financing Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Relatives of 10 Americans who were either killed or seriously wounded during terrorist attacks in Israel and the West Bank between 2014 and 2016 filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Qatari royal family. According to the lawsuit, Qatar attempted to evade U.S. sanctions on the two terror groups by directing money through the Qatar Charity, the U.S.-sanctioned charity Union of Good, Qatar National Bank (QNB), and Masraf Al-Rayan bank. The lawsuit also accuses QNB of maintaining a bank account for Badran.Ray Hanania, “Lawsuit names Qatar’s royal family in killings of 10 Americans in Israel,” Arab News, June 12, 2020, https://www.arabnews.com/node/1688051/middle-east.

Khairullah Khairkhwa is a U.N.-sanctioned senior Taliban leader who served as governor of the Taliban-run Herat Province prior to the 9/11 attacks. Herat province is where former al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ran a training camp.“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 2, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11. Khairkhwa was arrested by Pakistani border patrol officials in February 2002 and detained in the U.S. Guantanamo Bay detention center from May 2002 to May 2014.“S E C R E T / / NOFORN / / 20330223,” U.S. Department of Defense, February 23, 2008, http://media.miamiherald.com/static/images/escenic-images/gitmopdfs/us9af-000007dp.pdf. He was one of five Taliban senior leaders transferred to Qatar as part of the Qatar-mediated exchange for captive U.S. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.“Report on the Inquiry into: The Department of Defense’s May 2014 Transfer to Qatar of five law-of-war detainees in connection with the recovery of a captive U.S. soldier,” Committee on Armed Services, December 9, 2015, https://armedservices.house.gov/sites/republicans.armedservices.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/Report%20on%20the%20Inquiry%20into%20the%20Taliban%20Five%20Transfer_0.pdf. Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, Khairkhwa was named minister of information and broadcasting of the Taliban government on September 7.“Taliban forms 33-member cabinet in Afghanistan: Full list,” Hindustan Times, September 8, 2021, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/taliban-forms-33-member-cabinet-in-afghanistan-full-list-101631066722518.html.

According to documents from Guantanamo, Khairkhwa was “directly associated” with former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and former Taliban leader Mohammed Omar. The U.S. House Committee on Armed Forces has also noted that Khairkhwa is closely acquainted with current al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.“Report on the Inquiry into: The Department of Defense’s May 2014 Transfer to Qatar of five law-of-war detainees in connection with the recovery of a captive U.S. soldier,” Committee on Armed Services, December 9, 2015, https://armedservices.house.gov/sites/republicans.armedservices.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/Report%20on%20the%20Inquiry%20into%20the%20Taliban%20Five%20Transfer_0.pdf.

Khairkhwa has served in a variety of roles for the Taliban in Afghanistan. He served as a spokesperson for the Taliban government from 1995 to 1996, as the Taliban’s Minister of Interior from 1996 to late October 1999, and as the governor of Herat Province from late October 1999 to December 2001.“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 2, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Khairkhwa represented the Taliban in meetings with Iranian officials in an effort to rally support against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. A 2008 assessment from the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) further suggests that Khairkhwa was a former drug trafficker who had previously been “one of the major opium drug lords in Western Afghanistan.”“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 1-2, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11. Khairkhwa is also allegedly an acquaintance and “long-time family friend” of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai.“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 3-5, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11.

Prior to taking up with the Taliban in Afghanistan, Khairkhwa had spent time as a refugee in Pakistan, according to records from Guantanamo. Records indicate that Khairkhwa was previously the leader of his tribe, the Popalzai. While serving as the Taliban’s governor of Herat Province from 1999 to 2001, Khairkhwa’s deputy was allegedly responsible for all Arab and military affairs in that province. Khairkhwa denied knowledge of any militant activities in Herat Province during his tenure as governor, including training camps, recruitment, and weapons procurement.“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 2-3, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11. Nonetheless, Khairkhwa allegedly met with Mullah Omar twice while serving as governor of Herat Province, including one occasion where he allegedly discussed militant recruitment strategies in Herat.“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 3, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11. Khairkhwa also allegedly controlled access to and from a militant base in Herat Province, described by the JTF as “one of UBL [Osama bin Laden’s] most important bases” in Herat.“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 6-7, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11.

On October 3, 2001, Khairkhwa traveled with three other Taliban representatives to the Afghan-Iranian border to meet with Iranian officials.“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 3, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11. According to findings by the JTF, the meeting was set up by Tehran and may even have been set up by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in particular. During the meeting, Iranian officials allegedly offered to organize a coalition of Northern Alliance and Taliban fighters to counter U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Iran also allegedly offered to allow foreign fighters to travel through Iran into Afghanistan to join the fight against U.S. forces there.“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 3, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11.

In January 2002, Khairkhwa claims to have traveled to Chaman, Pakistan, and contacted Wali Karzai, brother of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, to negotiate his surrender to U.S. and coalition forces.“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 3, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11. The following month, Khairkhwa was arrested by Pakistani border patrol officials while at the home of another Taliban official. After more than two weeks in Pakistani custody, Khairkhwa was transferred to U.S. custody in Quetta.“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 3-4, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11. On May 1, 2002, Khairkhwa was transferred to Guantanamo.“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 4, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11.

Khairkhwa spent 12 years in Guantanamo, and was repeatedly assessed to be an enemy combatant, posing a high risk to the United States, its allies, and interests. In 2008, the JTF recommended Khairkhwa for continued detention under supervision of the U.S. Department of Defense.“JTF-GTMO Assessment,” New York Times Guantanamo Docket, March 6, 2008, 1, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa/documents/11. On May 31, 2014, however, Khairkhwa was transferred from the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay to Qatar alongside four other Taliban detainees. The move came as part of a negotiated exchange for the release of U.S. captive soldier Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

At the time of the their transfer, the so-called Taliban Five—including Khairkhwa—were considered to be sufficiently dangerous as to require them to remain in detention.“Report on the Inquiry into: The Department of Defense’s May 2014 Transfer to Qatar of five law-of-war detainees in connection with the recovery of a captive U.S. soldier,” Committee on Armed Services, December 9, 2015, https://armedservices.house.gov/sites/republicans.armedservices.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/Report%20on%20the%20Inquiry%20into%20the%20Taliban%20Five%20Transfer_0.pdf. As of June 2013, Khairkhwa was considered to be “the least likely of the five to become involved in military operations” if able to reengage, but would probably “remain a Taliban political leader.”“Report on the Inquiry into: The Department of Defense’s May 2014 Transfer to Qatar of five law-of-war detainees in connection with the recovery of a captive U.S. soldier,” Committee on Armed Services, December 9, 2015, https://armedservices.house.gov/sites/republicans.armedservices.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/Report%20on%20the%20Inquiry%20into%20the%20Taliban%20Five%20Transfer_0.pdf. Although the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and Qatar was classified regarding the terms for Taliban detainees released to Qatar, the U.S. House Committee on Armed Forces was able to note that the MOU specified “monitoring” efforts to be undertaken by Qatar, as well as the prohibition against detainees’ “travel outside Qatar,” “engaging in conduct that will raise money for prohibited causes,” and “threatening American interests.”“Report on the Inquiry into: The Department of Defense’s May 2014 Transfer to Qatar of five law-of-war detainees in connection with the recovery of a captive U.S. soldier,” Committee on Armed Services, December 9, 2015, 76, https://armedservices.house.gov/sites/republicans.armedservices.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/Report%20on%20the%20Inquiry%20into%20the%20Taliban%20Five%20Transfer_0.pdf.

The U.S. House Committee on Armed Forces determined in December 2015 that members of the Taliban Five have been engaged in “threatening activities” since their transfer to Qatar “not unlike their activities before they were detained on the battlefield.”“Report on the Inquiry into: The Department of Defense’s May 2014 Transfer to Qatar of five law-of-war detainees in connection with the recovery of a captive U.S. soldier,” Committee on Armed Services, December 9, 2015, https://armedservices.house.gov/sites/republicans.armedservices.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/Report%20on%20the%20Inquiry%20into%20the%20Taliban%20Five%20Transfer_0.pdf. In January 2015, the U.S. Pentagon said that there was reason to believe that “at least one” member of the Taliban Five was involved in “some activities… centered around potential reengagement.” In March 2015, a news outlet reported that “at least three of the five Taliban leaders… have tried to plug back into their old terror networks.”“Report on the Inquiry into: The Department of Defense’s May 2014 Transfer to Qatar of five law-of-war detainees in connection with the recovery of a captive U.S. soldier,” Committee on Armed Services, December 9, 2015, 75, https://armedservices.house.gov/sites/republicans.armedservices.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/Report%20on%20the%20Inquiry%20into%20the%20Taliban%20Five%20Transfer_0.pdf.

As of 2015, Taliban leaders were reportedly living in an exclusive neighborhood in suburban Doha, receiving luxury SUVs, free medical care, air-conditioned homes “the size of small castles,” and fresh produce delivered daily to their homes, according to a report by Newsweek journalist Sami Yousafzai.Sami Yousafzai, “Taliban Leaders Are Living in Luxury in Qatar,” Newsweek, March 24, 2015, http://www.newsweek.com/2015/04/03/taliban-leaders-are-living-luxury-qatar-316122.html.

In 2019, the Taliban began peace negotiations with the U.S. and Afghan governments. Crucial issues included the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, and a commitment that the Taliban would start negotiations with the Afghan government as well as agree to a ceasefire and renounce all its ties to al-Qaeda. Khairkhwa, along with four other former Guantanamo detainees, was part of the Taliban negotiating team.Mujib Mashal, “Once jailed in Guantanamo, 5 Taliban Now Face U.S. at Peace Talks,” New York Times, March 26, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/world/asia/taliban-guantanamo-afghanistan-peace-talks.html.

On August 6, 2021, the Taliban began an offensive against major Afghan cities with the seizure of Zaranj, capital of Nimruz province.Susannah George and Ezzatullah Mehrdad, “Taliban fighters overrun an Afghan provincial capital for the first time since withdrawal of foreign forces,” Washington Post, August 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/06/afghanistan-taliban-nimruz/. By August 13, the Taliban controlled 17 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals and more than two-thirds of the country.Rahim Faiez, and Joseph Krauss, “Taliban sweep across Afghanistan’s south; take 4 more cities,” Associated Press, August 13, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-taliban-c6c8d4a41c554f36031a8131538d1402. On August 15, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan and thousands of Afghans poured into Kabul’s airport as Taliban fighters entered the city. By August 16, the Taliban laid siege to the presidential palace and took complete control of Kabul, after which the Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan had ended.“Taliban declares ‘war is over’ as president and diplomats flee Kabul,” Reuters, August 15, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/talibans-rapid-advance-across-afghanistan-2021-08-10/. The Taliban has claimed that it would take on a more “moderate” approach in their ruling of the country, and that women are allowed to have roles in public life in observance of “Islamic law.”“Factbox: Taliban seek to present a moderate face as they take control in Afghanistan,” Reuters, August 15, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-seek-present-moderate-face-they-take-control-afghanistan-2021-08-15/.

On September 7, 2021, the Taliban announced the official appointments within their caretaker government. Khairkhwa was appointed minister of information and broadcasting of the Taliban government.“Taliban forms 33-member cabinet in Afghanistan: Full list,” Hindustan Times, September 8, 2021, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/taliban-forms-33-member-cabinet-in-afghanistan-full-list-101631066722518.html. The government is exclusively male, with many positions filled with veterans from their hardline movement in the early nineties.Matthieu Aikins and Jim Huylebroek, “Taliban Appoint Stalwarts to Top Government Posts,” New York Times, September 7, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/07/world/asia/taliban-women-protest-kabul-afghanistan.html; Kathy Gannon, “Taliban form all-male Afghan government of old guard members,” Associated Press, September 8, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-pakistan-afghanistan-arrests-islamabad-d50b1b490d27d32eb20cc11b77c12c87.

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.

Egyptian national Gehad El-Haddad is the imprisoned spokesman of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Before his September 2013 arrest, Haddad served as the main point of contact between the Brotherhood and the international media. He also served as chief of staff to the Brotherhood’s now-imprisoned Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat el-Shater. Haddad was arrested in an apartment in Cairo on September 17, 2013, on charges of inciting to kill protesters of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.“Egypt detains Brotherhood spokesman Haddad – officials,” Reuters, September 17, 2013, http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-egypt-protests-haddad-idUKBRE98G0OL20130917;
Ed Payne, “Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood spokesman,” CNN, September 18, 2013, http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/world/meast/egypt-muslim-brotherhood-arrest/.

Prior to Mohammed Morsi’s June 2012 election, Haddad reportedly volunteered for the Muslim Brotherhood as a media strategist. He also worked at the Cairo office of the Clinton Climate Initiative—founded by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Directly following Morsi’s election, Haddad began working full-time on the Brotherhood’s “Renaissance Project,” chaired by Khairat el-Shater and described by Egypt Independent as “a 25-year project to reform state, business and civil society, rooted in the Brotherhood’s Islamic values….”Nadine Marroushi, “Renaissance man: Gehad El Haddad works as the Islamist project’s pragmatist,” Egypt Independent, July 31, 2012, http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/renaissance-man-gehad-el-haddad-works-islamist-project-s-pragmatist.

Haddad comes from a family of Brotherhood members and sympathizers. Born in the early 1980s and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, Haddad is the son of Essam El-Haddad, a senior advisor on foreign affairs to former President Morsi. Between 2005 and 2006, Gehad El-Haddad studied strategic marketing and filmmaking in the United Kingdom, where he met and produced a television program with the Islamist Egyptian television personality Amr Khaled. According to Haddad, the program, Sunna al-Hayat, “was about drawing values from the Quran and connecting them with the type of social work that wealthy Egyptians could do to help their societies.”Nadine Marroushi, “Renaissance man: Gehad El Haddad works as the Islamist project’s pragmatist,” Egypt Independent, July 31, 2012, http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/renaissance-man-gehad-el-haddad-works-islamist-project-s-pragmatist. Haddad then worked for a multinational firm, but returned to Egypt in 2006-2007.Nadine Marroushi, “Renaissance man: Gehad El Haddad works as the Islamist project’s pragmatist,” Egypt Independent, July 31, 2012, http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/renaissance-man-gehad-el-haddad-works-islamist-project-s-pragmatist;
“Gehad El-Haddad,” Muslim Brotherhood Daily Watch, accessed February 24, 2017, https://www.globalmbwatch.com/gehad-el-haddad/. According to Haddad’s LinkedIn profile, he began working on the Brotherhood’s Renaissance Project in February 2012, and as the Brotherhood’s “senior adviser & media spokesperson” in January 2013.“Gehad El-Haddad,” LinkedIn profile, accessed February 24, 2017, https://www.linkedin.com/in/gelhaddad/.

In February 2017, the New York Times published an op-ed by Haddad in which he insisted that the Muslim Brotherhood was a purely peaceful organization, following “the values of social justice, equality and the rule of law.” The op-ed came amid increased pressure on the Trump administration to sanction-designate the Muslim Brotherhood under Executive order 13224. Haddad is in “solitary confinement in Egypt’s most notorious prison,” according to the op-ed.Gehad El-Haddad, “I Am a Member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Not a Terrorist,” February 22, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/opinion/i-am-a-member-of-the-muslim-brotherhood-not-a-terrorist.html?_r=0. Following the publication of Haddad’s op-ed, his family stated in May 2017, that Haddad was placed in a “punishment cell,” which has no ventilation, beds, toilets, or light.“UN Panel Presses Egypt for Immediate Release of Senior Muslim Brotherhood Figures,” Middle East Eye, October 24, 2019, http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/un-panel-calls-immediate-release-essam-and-gehad-el-haddad-egypt.

A May 2018 Amnesty International report concluded that Haddad’s prison treatment amounts to torture given the time he spent in solitary confinement and other abuses he has been subjected to.“Egypt: End Gehad El-Haddad`s Solitary Confinement and Denial of Medical Care,” Amnesty International, May 28, 2018, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/05/gehad-elhaddads-solitary-confinement-and-denial-of-medical-care/. Haddad had been in solitary confinement since September 2013.“Egypt: End Gehad El-Haddad`s Solitary Confinement and Denial of Medical Care,” Amnesty International, May 28, 2018, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/05/gehad-elhaddads-solitary-confinement-and-denial-of-medical-care/.

Haddad was acquitted in September 2019 of espionage charges.Maged Mandour, “Egypt Behind Bars,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, February 11, 2020, https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/81045#_ftnref1. However, he remained in custody after new charges were brought against him.Maged Mandour, “Egypt Behind Bars,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, February 11, 2020, https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/81045#_ftnref1.

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/.

Syrian national Taha Sobhi Fahla—known by his alias Abu Muhammad al-Adnani—was the spokesman of ISIS and the group’s emir (leader) in Syria.“Terrorist Designation of Abu Mohammed al-Adnani,” U.S. Department of State, August 18, 2014, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/230676.htm; “NARRATIVE SUMMARIES OF REASONS FOR LISTING: QI.A.325.14. ABOU MOHAMED AL ADNANI,” United Nations, August 15, 2014, https://www.un.org/sc/suborg/en/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/individual/abou-mohamed-al-adnani. He also reportedly led ISIS’s Emni unit, a cell responsible for exporting terror attacks internationally, including to Paris and Brussels.Rukmini Callimachi, “How a Secretive Branch of ISIS Built a Global Network of Killers,” New York Times, August 3, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/world/middleeast/isis-german-recruit-interview.html?_r=0. In June 2014, Adnani publicly proclaimed an Islamic caliphate on ISIS’s behalf, and named Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as its so-called caliph (leader of the Caliphate).Edith M. Lederer, “UN approves measure to combat al-Qaida fighters,” Associated Press, August 15, 2014, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/un-approves-measure-combat-al-qaida-fighters; Aaron Y. Zelin, “ISIS Is Dead, Long Live the Islamic State,” Washington Institute, June 30, 2014, http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/isis-is-dead-long-live-the-islamic-state.

On August 30, 2016, ISIS’s Amaq news agency reported that Adnani had been “martyred” near Aleppo while “surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns.”Amaq Agency, Telegram post, 1:50 p.m, https://web.telegram.org/#/im?p=c1077979077_8373715439778760227. On September 12, 2016, the Pentagon confirmed that a “U.S. precision airstrike” on August 30 had targeted and killed Adnani. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook referred to Adnani as ISIS’s “chief propagandist, recruiter and architect of external terrorist operations.”“Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on Strike Against ISIL Senior Leader,” Department of Defense, September 12, 2016, http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/941733/statement-from-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-strike-against-isil-senio. The Pentagon’s announcement directly contradicted Russia’s claim on August 31 that its forces had carried out the strike.“IS leader Adnani: Russia says its air strike killed him,” BBC News, August 31, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37234207.

According to the U.S. State Department, Adnani was one of the first foreign fighters to battle Coalition forces in Iraq alongside al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in the early 2000s.“Terrorist Designation of Abu Mohammed al-Adnani,” U.S. Department of State, August 18, 2014, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/230676.htm. During this time, Adnani reportedly met and formed a close relationship with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader of AQI who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2006. Zarqawi reportedly recruited Adnani into his jihadist group, Ansar al-Islam, in 2002. Adnani was one of the first members of AQI when the group formed in 2004.Michael Weiss, “The ISIS Attack Dog Reported Dead,” Daily Beast, August 30, 2016, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/30/the-isis-attack-dog-reported-dead.html?via=desktop&source=twitter.

Adnani was reportedly captured by U.S. troops in 2005 and held until 2010. During this time, he was imprisoned at the U.S.-run Camp Bucca in Iraq, where he reportedly met Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.Tara John, “Everything We Know About ISIS Spy Chief Abu Mohammad al-Adnani,” TIME, August 4, 2016, http://time.com/4438388/abu-mohammad-al-adnani-isis-emni-profile/;
Ali Hashem, “The many names of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” Al Monitor, March 23, 2015, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/en/originals/2015/03/isis-baghdadi-islamic-state-caliph-many-names-al-qaeda.html. Adnani was appointed ISIS’s emir in Syria in early 2013 after ISIS split with the Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s former affiliate in Syria.“NARRATIVE SUMMARIES OF REASONS FOR LISTING: QI.A.325.14. ABOU MOHAMED AL ADNANI,” United Nations, August 15, 2014, https://www.un.org/sc/suborg/en/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/individual/abou-mohamed-al-adnani. He became known as ISIS’s spokesman in June 2014, when he announced the group’s declaration of the caliphate.Matt Bradley and Ghassan Adnan, “ISIS Spokesman Adnani Wounded in Airstrike Iraq Says,” Wall Street Journal, January 7, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/isis-spokesman-adnani-wounded-in-airstrike-iraq-says-1452203409?cb=logged0.8802728686616703;
Tara John, “These are the Most Wanted Members of ISIS,” TIME, March 15, 2016, http://time.com/4259075/isis-most-wanted-leaders-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-islamic-state/;
Hania Mourtada and Rick Gladstone, “Iraq’s Branch of Al Qaeda Merges With Syria Jihadists,” New York Times, April 9, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/world/middleeast/Iraq-and-Syria-jihadists-combine.html;
Amaq Agency, Telegram post, 1:50 p.m, https://web.telegram.org/#/im?p=c1077979077_8373715439778760227.

Adnani was believed to control nearly all of ISIS’s operations in Syria.Michael Weiss, “The ISIS Attack Dog Reported Dead,” Daily Beast, August 30, 2016, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/30/the-isis-attack-dog-reported-dead.html?via=desktop&source=twitter. He was tasked with leading ISIS’s Emni unit, which, according to Western intelligence documents, was behind nearly all major ISIS attacks in the West since at least early 2014, including the Paris attacks in November 2015 and the Brussels attacks in March 2016. Adnani was also believed to coordinate the movement of ISIS fighters, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.“Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on Precision Airstrike Targeting Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani,” Department of Defense, August 30, 2016, http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/930843/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-precision-airstrike-targeti. According to former ISIS member Harry Sarfo, Adnani was the head of ISIS’s so-called “special forces.” “Everything goes back to [Adnani],” Sarfo told the New York Times in early August 2016.Rumini Callimachi, “How a Secretive Branch of ISIS Built a Global Network of Killers,” New York Times, August 3, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/world/middleeast/isis-german-recruit-interview.html.

In addition to leading the Emni unit inside ISIS-controlled territory, Adnani was known for his fiery rhetorical skills and for urging ISIS sympathizers in the West to carry out lone-wolf attacks.“Islamic State: Abu Muhammad al-Adnani ‘killed in Aleppo,’” BBC News, August 30, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37224570. In September 2014, ISIS released a speech by Adnani in which he called on Muslims in the West to target civilians and military personnel in their own countries. Adnani declared: “If you can kill a disbelieving American or European – especially the spiteful and filthy French – or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner or way however it may be.”Caleb Weiss, “Islamic State spokesman again threatens West in new speech,” Long War Journal, September 21, 2014, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/09/islamic_state_spokesman_again.php.

Adnani again called on followers to attack civilians in the West in May 2016. In a speech titled “That They Live by Proof,” Adnani said, “The smallest bit of work that you can carry out in their countries is far better and beloved to us than any major [operations] here. [These operations] would be of much success and more harmful to them.”“ISIS Spokesman Al-'Adnani Urges 'Caliphate Soldiers,' ISIS Supporters To Target Civilians In Europe, U.S. During Ramadan,” MEMRI, May 21, 2016, http://www.memrijttm.org/isis-spokesman-al-adnani-urges-caliphate-soldiers-isis-supporters-to-target-civilians-in-europe-us-during-ramadan.html.

When Adnani announced the formation of the so-called caliphate in June 2014, he was reported to be the only Syrian among ISIS’s top leaders, the rest of whom were Iraqi.“Who are ISIS’ top 20 leaders?” Al Arabiya English, September 19, 2014, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/09/19/Meet-ISIS-top-20-leaders.html. Before Adnani’s death, analysts suggested that he would lead ISIS in the case of Baghdadi’s death.Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister, and Michael Weiss, "Who might lead ISIS if al-Baghdadi dies?," CNN, July 2, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/11/middleeast/isis-leadership/. He was designated as a terrorist by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Treasury Department, the United Nations, and the United Kingdom.“Counter Terrorism Designations,” US Department of the Treasury, August 18, 2014, http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20140818.aspx;
“Terrorist Designation of Abu Mohammed al-Adnani,” U.S. Department of State, August 18, 2014, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/230676.htm;
“Security Council Adopts Resolution 2170 (2014) Condemning Gross, Widespread Abuse of Human Rights by Extremist Groups in Iraq, Syria,” UNSCR Press Release, August 15, 2014, http://www.un.org/press/en/2014/sc11520.doc.htm;
“CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK,” GOV.UK, last modified September 3, 2014, http://hmt-sanctions.s3.amazonaws.com/sanctionsconlist.htm.