Page 43 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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16———Al-Mughassil, Ahmad Ibrahim (1967– )

involvement during his own guilty plea in October
2000. Mohamed also said that he and al-Liby AL-MUGHASSIL, AHMAD
reviewed other possible targets in Nairobi. The IBRAHIM (1967– )
indictment also charges that al-Liby conducted
aka Abu Omran
visual and photographic surveillance of the Kenyan
embassy.
In 1995, al-Liby relocated to Britain. The FBI In June 2001, the U.S. indicted Saudi national
maintains that he was granted political asylum, while Ahmad al-Mughassil for his role in coordinating and
British officials have said that his immigration status carrying out the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers
was never determined. Al-Liby was living in relative military barracks (which housed approximately
obscurity in England when bomb-laden cars exploded 2,000) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The explosion killed
at the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es 19 American service members and wounded approxi-
Salaam, Tanzania, on August 7, 1998. The bombs mately 500. Al-Mughassil is one of 22 men named
exploded just minutes apart, killing a combined total “most wanted terrorists” by the FBI.
of 224 people and turning both embassies into partial U.S. officials charge that al-Mughassil, born in
ruins. Qatif-Bab al Shamal, Saudi Arabia, is the leader of the
After al-Liby was indicted by the United States, military wing of the Saudi Hezbollah terrorist group.
British police raided his Manchester apartment to Saudi Hezbollah, also called Hezbollah al-Hijaz, is
find that he had fled. However, they discovered largely made up of young Shiite Muslim men who
a computer with a terrorist training manual called profess loyalty to Iran instead of the Saudi government.
Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants. The As Saudi Hezbollah is outlawed in Saudi Arabia, al-
manual included tutorials on car bombing, sabotage, Mughassil often met with the head of Saudi Hezbollah,
torture, and disguise. Abdelkarim Hussein Mohamed al-Nasser, and other
Al-Liby was captured during the 2001 assault on organization leaders in Lebanon, Syria, or Iran.
Al Qaeda’s cave systems in eastern Afghanistan. According to the indictment, al-Mughassil was in
Before being taken into U.S. custody, al-Liby was charge of planning and directing terror attacks against
listed by the FBI as one of its “most wanted ter- the U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia. He also worked
rorists” with 12 others linked to the East African as a recruiter for Saudi Hezbollah, arranging for mili-
embassy bombings. U.S. officials have not yet tary training for new members in camps in Lebanon
announced when and how al-Liby will be tried for his and Iran.
alleged involvement in the 1998 bombings or what if About three years before the Khobar attack, al-
any his suspected role was in the September 11, 2001, Mughassil ordered Saudi Hezbollah members to find
attacks. possible terrorism targets in Saudi Arabia. His goal,
according to U.S. officials, was to expel the U.S. mil-
See also AL QAEDA; OSAMA BIN LADEN; EAST AFRICAN
itary from Saudi Arabia. The service members living
EMBASSY BOMBINGS
in Khobar Towers were assigned to the King Abdul
Aziz Airbase in Saudi Arabia, and patrolled over the
Further Reading
no-flight zone in southern Iraq that was declared after
Bergen, Peter L. Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of the Persian Gulf War.
Osama bin Laden. New York: Free Press, 2001. In early June 1996, according to the U.S. indict-
Burke, Jason, Martin Bright, Anthony Barnett, Nick Paton ment, al-Mughassil and coconspirators worked at a
Walsh, and Burhan Wazir. “Investigation: The UK Con- farm in the Qatif area of Saudi Arabia to build the
nection.” The Observer, January 20, 2002. truck bomb used in the Khobar attack. A tanker truck,
Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Most Wanted Terrorists.” which had been purchased using stolen identification
http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/terrorists/fugitives.htm, from a Saudi Arabian car dealership, was filled with
October 2001.
Frontline. “Hunting bin Laden.” PBS. http://www. pbs.org/ explosives and wired with a timer.
wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/, May 1, 2002. On the evening of June 25, al-Mughassil drove the
“A Nation Challenged: The Hunted; The 22 Most Wanted truck loaded with more than 5,000 pounds of explosives
Suspects, in a Five-Act Drama of Global Terror.” and parked it near building No. 131 of the high-rise Air
New York Times, October 14, 2001, 1B. Force barracks. He and a passenger then jumped into a