Liby, Anas al (1964–)

Anas al Liby (aka Nazih Abdul Hamed al Raghie), born in Tripoli, Libya, is often described as the computer wizard of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. He was indicted in December 2000 for conspiring to kill Americans in the East African embassy attacks in 1998. He has also been linked to the Libyan Islamic Group, the militant anti-Qaddafi organization.

The international terror network al Qaeda, which planned and carried out the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, has also worked against non-Islamic governments in the Middle East. However, the extent of Anas al Liby's recent involvement with the group is unclear. Testimony in the East African embassy bombings trial suggested that Liby quarreled with bin Laden over financial matters and split with him in the late 1990s. The U.S. indictment in that case charges that Liby discussed the possibility of an attack on the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, with co-conspirator Ali Mohamed in 1993. Mohamed, who cooperated with U.S. prosecutors, described Liby's involvement during his own guilty plea in October 2000. Mohamed also said that he and Liby reviewed other possible targets in Nairobi. The indictment also charges that Liby conducted visual and photographic surveillance of the Kenyan embassy.

In 1995 Liby relocated to Britain. The FBI maintains that he was granted political asylum, while British officials have said that his immigration status was never determined. al Liby was living in relative obscurity in England when bomb-laden cars exploded at the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on August 7, 1998. The bombs exploded just minutes apart, killing a combined total of 224 people and turning both embassies into partial ruins.

After Liby was indicted by the United States, British police raided his Manchester apartment to find that he had fled. However, they discovered a computer with a terrorist training manual called Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants. The manual included tutorials on car bombing, sabotage, torture, and disguise.

Anas al Liby was reported captured on several different occasions—first by U.S. forces in January 2002 during an assault on the al Qaeda cave systems in eastern Afghanistan, and then in Sudan later that year. Reports of his capture have led some human rights groups to allege that he may be held in a secret prison. Officially, however, as of 2010 he remained on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists.