Ali, Ahmed Mohamed Hamed (1965-)

Ahmed Mohamed Hamed Ali (aka Abu Fatima; Abu Islam; Abu Islam al Surir; Abu Khadiijah; Ahmad al Masri; Ahmed Ahmed; Ahmed Hamed; Ahmed Hemed; Ahmed Mohamed Abdurehman; Ahmed Mohamed Ali; Ahmed Shieb; Ahmed the Egyptian; Hamed Ali), an Egyptian, has been described as a top lieutenant in Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. In 1998 Ali was indicted in the United States for his involvement in the conspiracy to bomb U.S. embassies in East Africa, though he is not accused of playing a direct role in the attacks. He is, however, on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list. al Qaeda, from an Arabic word meaning “the base,” is an international network of terrorist groups that have committed violent acts against the United States, including the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.

According to the FBI, Ali may have formal training in agriculture. He fled from Kenya, where he lived, to Pakistan on August 2, 1998, just five days before the August 7 embassy bombings. On that date, the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were destroyed in synchronized truck bomb attacks that killed 224 people. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. government declared that bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives were responsible.

The 1998 U.S. indictment charges that Ali participated in other anti-U.S. activities in Africa prior to conspiring to bomb the two U.S. embassies. In 1993 he allegedly provided military training and assistance to Somali tribes, preparing them to violently oppose the U.N. and U.S. peacekeeping intervention during Somalia's civil unrest. In 1998 he told al Qaeda members in Kenya that bin Laden had formed a united front with other militant Islamic groups against the United States. Ali remains a fugitive, and the U.S. State Department has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.