Page 146 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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120———El-Hoorie, Ali Saed bin Ali (1965– )

KHAMIS MOHAMED; EL SAYYID NOSAIR; MOHAMED About three years before the Khobar attack,
SADEEK ODEH Ahmad Ibrahim al-Mughassil, the head of Saudi
Hezbollah’s military operations and a close associate
Further Reading of el-Hoorie, instructed him and two other group
Bergen, Peter L. Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of members to begin surveillance of Americans in Saudi
Osama bin Laden. New York: Free Press, 2001. Arabia. Al-Mughassil eventually selected the Khobar
Frontline. “Hunting bin Laden” PBS. http://www.pbs.org/ Towers as a bombing target. The service members
wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/, May 1, 2002. living in the towers were assigned to the King Abdul
Gunaratna, Rohan. Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Aziz Airbase in Saudi Arabia, and patrolled over the
Terror. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002. no-flight zone in southern Iraq that was declared after
Peraino, Kevin, Evan Thomas, Gretel C. Kovach, and Mark the Persian Gulf War. The towers housed approxi-
Hosenball. “Married to Jihad.” Newsweek, January 14, mately 2,000 U.S. military personnel.
2002, 40. During the first half of 1996, el-Hoorie worked to
Reeve, Simon. The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin procure and stockpile explosives (many smuggled from
Laden, and the Future of Terrorism. Boston: North- Beirut) for the attack. He buried 50-kilo bags and paint
eastern University Press, 1999.
Zill, Oriana. “A Portrait of Wadih el Hage, Accused cans filled with explosives at various sites near the town
Terrorist.” PBS Frontline. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ of Qatif, not far from the Khobar Towers. Early in June
pages/frontline/shows/binladen/upclose/elhage.html. 1996, el-Hoorie worked with al-Mughassil and others
at a farm near Qatif to build the truck bomb. Using
stolen ID, a conspirator had purchased a tanker truck
EL-HOORIE, ALI SAED BIN ALI from a Saudi car dealership. The men filled the truck
with explosives and wired a timing device.
(1965– ) According to the indictment, on the evening of June

aka Ali Saed bin Ali al-Houri 25, el-Hoorie rode to the Khobar Towers as passenger
in the tanker truck, with al-Mughassil driving. They
parked the truck, loaded with more than 5,000 pounds
Ali el-Hoorie allegedly played a key role in prepar- of explosives, near Building 131 of the high-rise Air
ing and carrying out the 1996 tanker truck bombing Force barracks. El-Hoorie and al-Mughassil then
of the Khobar Towers military barracks in Dhahran, escaped in a waiting car. The truck bomb exploded
Saudi Arabia. The explosion, attributed to the Saudi
within minutes.
Hezbollah group, killed 19 U.S. military personnel and
El-Hoorie was one of 14 charged by the United
wounded approximately 500. The FBI, citing his
States in the case. Al-Mughassil, Abdelkarim Hussein
involvement in the Khobar attack, has placed el-Hoorie
Mohamed al-Nasser, and Ibrahim Salih Mohammed
on its list of 22 “most wanted terrorists.”
al-Yacoub were also indicted and are also among the
According to the 2001 U.S. indictment, el-Hoorie,
FBI’s 22 “most wanted terrorists.” Eleven of the men
born in El Dibabiya, Saudi Arabia, was a member of
charged in the bombing are in Saudi custody; three
Saudi Hezbollah (also called Hezbollah al-Hijaz) and
remain fugitives. Saudi Arabia has challenged U.S.
worked as a major recruiter for the group. Saudi
jurisdiction in the case and has refused to extradite the
Hezbollah is largely made up of young men of Shiite
men it is holding. The U.S. State Department is offer-
Muslim faith who are loyal to Iran, not the Saudi gov-
ing a reward of up to $25 million for information lead-
ernment. The group is outlawed in Saudi Arabia; thus
ing directly to the arrest or indictment of el-Hoorie.
its operatives often work and recruit in Lebanon,
Syria, and Iran. See also AHMAD IBRAHIM AL-MUGHASSIL; ABDELKARIM
El-Hoorie worked as a liaison for Saudi Hezbollah HUSSEIN MOHAMED AL-NASSER; IBRAHIM SALIH MOHAMMED
with the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria. Saudi AL-YACOUB; HEZBOLLAH; KHOBAR TOWERS BOMBING
Hezbollah operatives frequently gathered at the
Sayyeda Zeinab shrine in Damascus, an important Further Reading
religious site for Shiite Muslims. The site was also a Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Most Wanted Terrorists.”
prime recruiting area for Saudi Hezbollah—operatives http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/terrorists/fugitives.htm,
approached men who were on religious pilgrimages. October 2001.