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Jamal Ahmad Mohammad Ali Al Badawi aka Jamal Abu Abed Al Rahman Al Badawi (Arabic: جمال أحمد محمد علي البدوي) (1960 or 1963 – 1 January 2019) was a Yemeni who was indicted as an accomplice for his role in the 2000 USS Cole bombing off the coast of Aden, Yemen, which killed 17 American sailors on 12 October 2000.[1][2] He was captured in Yemen and sentenced to death on 29 September 2004. Al-Badawi was also indicted on 15 May 2003, by the United States for the USS Cole bombing and the attempted attack on USS The Sullivans. He is thought to have travelled to Saudi Arabia and purchased a small boat and then a truck and trailer to transport it. This boat sank from the weight of the explosives while preparing the USS The Sullivans plot. Al-Badawi is also thought to have leased the safehouses used in these endeavors. Fox News called Al-Badawi a "mastermind" of the Cole bombing.[3]
Jamal Ahmad Mohammad Ali Al Badawi | |
|---|---|
 Jamal al-Badawi | |
| Born | Jamal Ahmad Mohammad Ali Al Badawi 1960 or 1963 |
| Died | 1 January 2019 (aged 55 or 58) Ma'rib Governorate, Yemen |
| Nationality | Yemeni |
| Other names | Jamal Muhsin al-Tali, Abu Abdul Rahman al-Badawi, Abu Abdul Rahman al-Adani, Jamal Mohammad Ahmad Ali al-Badawi, Jamal Mohammad Ahmad |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Al-Qaeda
|
Only two of the six charged by Yemen in the attack were sentenced to death; the other four were sentenced to 5–10 years imprisonment. After hearing his sentence, Al-Badawi declared "This is an unjust verdict, this is an American verdict. There are no human rights in the world, except for the Americans. All the Muslims in the world are being used to serve American interests." His family announced they would appeal. Because he was being held by U.S. forces, the other defendant sentenced to death, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, was tried and sentenced in absentia.
Al-Badawi twice escaped from Yemeni prison, once after his death sentence was issued, and was being sought as an FBI Most Wanted Terrorist fugitive. He was killed by an American drone strike by a kinetic Hellfire variant with pop-up blades on 1 January 2019, that was conducted in Ma'rib Governorate, Yemen.[4][5][6]
Escape from Yemeni prison
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Al-Badawi was one of the Cole defendants who had previously escaped from Yemeni custody during a prisoner transfer in April 2003, but he was later recaptured in March 2004.[1][7][8]
By June 2003, al-Badawi had been added to the FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list.[9]
Once again in custody, al-Badawi was removed from FBI Seeking Information wanted list on 10 October 2004.[10][11]
According to a BBC report, al-Badawi was one of 23 people who escaped from a Yemeni jail on 3 February 2006, 12 of them Al-Qaeda members.[12]
On 23 February 2006, the U.S. FBI confirmed the latest escape, as they issued a national Press Release naming al-Badawi as one of the first new additions, since inception in 2001, to the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list.[13] He appeared on the FBI list with three new photos, including an enhanced black and white of the original grainy color photo. He was listed by the FBI on his new wanted poster under the name Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi.[1]
On 17 October 2007, al-Badawi surrendered to Yemeni authorities as part of an agreement with al-Qaeda militants. Following his surrender, Yemeni authorities released him in return for a pledge not to engage in any violent or al-Qaeda-related activity, despite a $5 million reward for his capture.[14][15][16]
Al-Badawi was mentioned frequently during Guantanamo captive Abd Al Rahim Hussein Mohammed Al Nashiri's Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[17][18]
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Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi, 1st FBI photo -
Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi, 2nd FBI photo -
Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi, 3rd FBI photo
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "FBI Most Wanted Terrorists, wanted poster, Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi". FBI. Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- ^ See the indictment.
- ^
"USS Cole Bombing Mastermind Escapes Prison". Fox News. February 6, 2006. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008.
Yemeni officials said Jamal al-Badawi – a man convicted of plotting, preparing and helping carry out the Cole bombing – was among the fugitives, Interpol said. Al-Badawi was among those sentenced to death in September 2004 for plotting the attack, in which two suicide bombers blew up an explosives-laden boat next to the destroyer as it refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden on Oct. 12, 2000.
- ^ Ryan Browne and Barbara Starr; Starr, Barbara (January 4, 2019). "US official: airstrike kills terrorist behind USS Cole bombing". CNN. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ "USCENTCOM confirms the death of Jamal al-Badawi".
- ^ Gordon Lubold and Warren P. Strobel (May 9, 2019). "Secret U.S. Missile Aims to Kill Only Terrorists, Not Nearby Civilians". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Temple-Raston, Dina. "The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in the Age of Terror", 2007
- ^ "Did Qaeda Fugitives Get Inside Help?". CBS News. February 6, 2006. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- ^ FBI Seeking Information, War on Terrorism list archive, Internet Archive Wayback Machine, June 3, 2003
- ^ FBI Seeking Information archive, Internet Archive Wayback Machine, October 10, 2004
- ^ "Most wanted terrorists: Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi". FBI. Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- ^ "Hunt on for Yemeni jailbreakers". BBC. February 4, 2006. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- ^ "FBI Press Release: Recent Escapees from Yemen Prison Added to Most Wanted Terrorists and Seeking Information – War on Terrorism Lists". FBI. February 23, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
- ^ Agence France-Presse. Top al-Qaeda suspect turns himself in Archived December 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. October 17, 2007.
- ^ "Yemen Frees USS Cole Bomb Plotter: Al Qaeda Mastermind Of 2000 Attack On Ship Pardoned After Turning Himself In". CBS News. October 26, 2007. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- ^ "USS Cole plotter freed by Yemen". BBC. October 27, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
- ^ OARDEC (February 8, 2007). "Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal – Al Nashiri, Abd Al Rahim Hussein Mohammed" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. pp. 1–2. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
- ^ OARDEC (March 14, 2007). "Verbatim transcript for Combatant Status Review Tribunal ISN 10015" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. pp. 1–36. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
External links
edit- Probe of USS Cole Bombing Unravels Washington Post May 4, 2008, Jamal's disciple Stanley Fox.