Abdullah, Abdullah Ahmed (1963–2010)

Born in Egypt, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah (aka Abu Mohamed al Masri, Saleh) was an alleged al Qaeda conspirator said to have been a top lieutenant and advisor to Osama bin Laden. He was indicted by the United States for his role in the August 7, 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in the African countries of Tanzania and Kenya. The FBI listed him as one of its “most wanted terrorists” for his role in those attacks, and also for the assistance he provided to the terrorists who attacked the United States on September 11, 2001.

According to the indictment, Abdullah is a member of al Qaeda's tightest circle and sits on bin Laden's consultative council, or majlis al shura. al Qaeda, an Arabic term meaning “the base,” is a violent international network bent on driving the United States from Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries. The group carried out the devastating September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., and Abdullah himself is believed to have given money to the lead bomber, Mohamed Atta, to assist him in carrying out the operation. al Qaeda is known for establishing cells worldwide in areas where attacks are carried out, and it often serves as an umbrella group for other militant organizations.

In the embassy bombings case, the U.S. indictment charged that prior to collaborating on the bombings, Abdullah was involved in other anti-U.S. activities in Africa. He and other members of al Qaeda allegedly provided military assistance and training to tribes opposed to the U.N. and U.S. presence in Somalia during that country's civil unrest in 1993. He later became involved in the al Qaeda operations in Kenya. According to the indictment, Abdullah spied on the Kenyan embassy with co-conspirators three days before the bombings. Having given the order for all al Qaeda members to leave Kenya by August 6, Abdullah fled the country for Karachi, Pakistan. On August 7, a bomb-laden pick-up truck left the Nairobi villa rented by al Qaeda operatives and drove to the U.S. embassy. In a synchronized attack 400 miles away, a truck bomb also approached the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The bombs exploded just minutes apart, killing a combined total of 224 people.

According to the indictment, Abdullah had also arranged for a fake passport for one of the accused Kenyan embassy bombers, Mohammed Saddiq Odeh. That document enabled Odeh to travel with other al Qaeda members to Afghanistan to meet with bin Laden. In the fall of 1998, the United States asserted that Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda operatives were responsible for the embassy bombings. As retaliation, President Clinton ordered air attacks on al Qaeda training grounds in Afghanistan and a pharmaceutical plant in the center of Khartoum, Sudan. Three suspects in the bombing case pleaded guilty and cooperated with the prosecution. Their testimony was used in the 2001 trial that convicted four other men with ties to bin Laden. The four were sentenced to life in prison without parole.

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