Overview
Sultane Room Salim is a U.S. citizen who, between 2005 and 2012, conspired to send money and equipment to now-deceased AQAP terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki. Salim acted alongside three other men including his brother Asif Ahmed Salim, as well as Indian brothers Yahya Farooq Mohammad and Ibrahim Zubair Mohammad.“Four Men Charged with Providing Material Support to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” U.S. Department of Justice, November 5, 2015, http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/four-men-charged-providing-material-support-al-qaeda-arabian-peninsula. Salim was arrested in November 2015 in Ohio, and was indicted on one count of conspiracy to provide and conceal material support and resources to terrorists, one count of providing material support and resources to terrorists, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.Andrew Tobias, “Four men, including two former Ohio State students, charged with assisting Al Qaeda,” Cleveland.com, November 5, 2015, http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2015/11/four_men_including_two_former.html. He pled not guilty.PTI, “Indian Man Indicted In US For Helping Al-Qaeda Arrested From Texas,” Huffington Post, July 11, 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2015/11/07/al-qaeda-financial-support_n_8497258.html.
In July 2009, Farooq Mohammad reportedly traveled to Yemen and gave $22,000 to one of al-Awlaki’s associates.“Four Men Charged with Providing Material Support to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” U.S. Department of Justice, November 5, 2015, http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/four-men-charged-providing-material-support-al-qaeda-arabian-peninsula. According to the indictment, the four men “agreed to provide and did provide funds, equipment, and expert advice and assistance to Anwar Al-Awlaki to be used in furtherance of ‘violent jihad’ against the United States and the United States military in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the world.”“United States of America v. Yahya Farooq Mohammad, Ibrahim Zubair Mohammad, Asif Ahmed Salim, and Sultane Roome Salim,” United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, September 30, 2015, 13, http://www.justice.gov/opa/file/790971/download.
In April 2018, Salim, as well as his brother Asif and Ibrahim Zubair Mohammad, pled guilty to one count of concealment of financing of terrorism.“Three Men Plead Guilty to Concealing Sending Funds to Anwar Al-Awlaki,” United States Department of Justice, April 12, 2018, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/three-men-plead-guilty-concealing-sending-funds-anwar-al-awlaki. On January 16, 2019, Salim was sentenced to five years in prison. Following his term in prison, Salim will be on supervised release for 15 years.Kate Snyder, “Toledo Man Gets Five Years for Hiding Terror Funding,” Toledo Blade, January 16, 2019, https://www.toledoblade.com/local/courts/2019/01/15/man-funding-terrorism-sentenced-to-five-years-in-prison/stories/20190115099.
Associated Groups
- Extremist entity
- AQAP
- Read Threat Report
- Type(s) of Organization:
- Insurgent, non-state actor, religious, terrorist, transnational, violent
- Ideologies and Affiliations:
- Al-Qaeda affiliated group, Islamist, jihadist, Qutbist, Salafist, Sunni, takfiri
- Position(s):
- Financier, facilitator
AQAP is the union of al-Qaeda’s affiliated branches in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. AQAP has claimed responsibility for terror attacks and plots worldwide, including the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris.
History
Daily Dose
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers.