News

USIS Washington File

09 May 2000

Text: U.S. Indicts Suspects in East Africa Embassy Bombings

(Indictment affirms U.S. commitment to capture other terrorists)
(1850)

The United States May 8 indicted two Egyptians being held in London
for the deadly bombing of United States embassies in Nairobi, Kenya,
and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in August 1998, which resulted in more
than 200 deaths and more than 4,000 injuries.

The U.S. indictment was filed in New York City and supercedes a
previous indictment related to the bombing. The indictment brings to
17 the total number of persons charged, six of whom are in custody in
the United States and three in the United Kingdom.

The first count of the indictment charges that "Ibrahim Eidarous and
Adel Abdel Bary, along with co-defendants Usama Bin Laden, Muhammad
Atef, Ayman al Zawahiri, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, Khalid al-Fawwaz, Ali
Mohamed, Wadih el Hage, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, Mohamed Sadeek Odeh,
Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, Mustafa Fadhil, Khalfan Khamis
Mohamed, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailrni, Fahid Mohamed ally Msalam, and Sheikh
Ahmed Salim Swedan acted together with other members of "al Qaeda," a
worldwide terrorist organization led by Bin Laden, and the Egyptian
Islamic Jihad, a global organization led by Zawahiri, in a conspiracy
to murder United States nationals."

Last week a British magistrate ordered Eidarous and Abdel Bary
extradited to the United States. Both men have 15 days to appeal the
decision. Al-Fawwaz, who is also in jail in the United Kingdom, was
ordered extradited last year and his appeal is pending.

"This latest superseding indictment illustrates the commitment of the
United States, working with law enforcement agencies around the world,
to bring to the bar of justice every single person responsible for the
wanton murder of hundreds of innocent victims of every nationality,
religion and walk of life and injuries to thousands of others," said
Mary Jo White, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of
New York, who will prosecute the case when the trial begins September
5.

There is a $5 million reward for each of the eight fugitives,
including Usama Bin Laden, who remains at large and was recently added
to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

Following is the text of the press release:

(begin text)

MARY JO WHITE, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of
New York, and BARRY W. MAWN, Assistant Director in Charge of the New
York FBI Office, announced that a superseding indictment was filed in
Manhattan federal court today charging USAMA BIN LADEN and 16
co-defendants with conspiring to kill American nationals outside of
the United States and for the bombings of the United States embassies
in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in August 1998, which
resulted in more than 200 deaths and more than 4000 injuries.

The superseding indictment names two additional defendants, IBRAHIM
EIDAROUS and ADEL ABDEL BARY, who are presently in custody in London,
England.

The Indictment charges that EIDAROUS and ABDEL BARY at different times
led the London cell of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization. Many
of the leading members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad became influential
members of al Qaeda, including defendants AYMAN AL ZAWAHIRI and
MUHAMMAD ATEF, ZAWAHIRI and ATEF sat on the majlis al shura (or
consultation council) of al Qaeda, according to the Indictment.
Eventually, by at least February 1998, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad led
by AL ZAWAHIRI had effectively merged with al Qaeda and joined with al
Qaeda in targeting American civilians, it was charged. In February
1998, the defendants USAMA BIN LADEN and A YMAN AL ZAWAHIRI endorsed a
fatwah under the banner of the "International Islamic Front for Jihad
on the Jews and Crusaders", according to the superseding Indictment.
This fatwah stated that Muslims should kill Americans -- including
civilians -- anywhere in the world where they can be found and both
EIDAROUS and ABDEL BARY were found in possession of this it was
charged.

On August 4, 1998 -- just three days prior to the embassy bombings --
a statement was published by Egyptian Islamic Jihad threatening to
retaliate against America for its claimed involvement in the
apprehension of Egyptian Islamic Jihad members, according to the
charges. A copy of this statement was allegedly found in an office
used by EIDAROUS and ABDEL BARY.

According to the superseding Indictment, before serving as the cell
leader in London, EIDAROUS served as the cell leader in Baku,
Azerbaijan for Egyptian Islamic Jihad. In September 1997, EIDAROUS
moved from Baku to London, where he allegedly maintained close contact
with AL ZAWAHIRI. In his role as cell leader, EIDAROUS provided
operational support for the activities of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, it
was charged. For example, he engaged in efforts to facilitate the
delivery of false travel documents to other Egyptian Islamic Jihad
members in Holland and Albania, and served as a conduit for messages
to and from AYMAN AL ZAWAHIRI, according to the charges. Also, during
his time in London, EIDAROUS allegedly served as a member of the
Founding Council of Egyptian-Islamic Jihad.

ABDEL BARY allegedly previously served as the cell leader in London,
prior to EIDAROUS' arrival in September 1997. While in London, ABDEL
BARY pledged his commitment to pursue the goals of Egyptian Islamic
Jihad and to follow the orders of the leadership of the group,
according to the charges. As with EIDAROUS, ABDEL BARY provided
logistical support for Egyptian Islamic Jihad, assisting in the
provision of fake travel documents and in the delivery of messages
among members in the group, according to the superseding Indictment.

In 1998, ABDEL BARY maintained an office in London, England, it was
charged, and this office was found to contain the claims of
responsibility for the East Africa Embassy bombings that provide
certain details about these terrorist attacks. These claims of
responsibility were sent to London during the early morning hours of
August 7, 1998 the day of the embassy bombings. According to the
Indictment, the fingerprints of EIDAROUS and ABDEL BARY were allegedly
found on these claims of responsibility, which were sent from London,
England to three media organizations in France, Qatar and the United
Arab Emirates the day after the embassy bombings.

The first count of the Indictment charges that EIDAROUS and ABDEL
BARY, along with co-defendants USAMA BIN LADEN, MUHAMMAD ATEF, AYMAN
AL ZAWAHIRI, MAMDOUH MAHMUD SALIM, KHALID AL-FAWWAZ, ALI MOHAMED,
WADIH EL HAGE, FAZUL ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, MOHAMED SADEEK ODEH, MOHAMED
RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI, MUSTAFA FADHIL, KHALFAN KHAMIS MOHAMED, AHMED
KHALFAN GHAILRNI, FAHID MOHAMED ALLY MSALAM, and SHEIKH AHMED SALIM
SWEDAN acted together with other members of "al Qaeda," a worldwide
terrorist organizations led by BIN LADEN, and the Egyptian Islamic
Jihad, a global organization led by ZAWAHIRI, in a conspiracy to
murder United States nationals.

The objectives of this international terrorist conspiracy allegedly
included: killing members of the American military stationed in Saudi
Arabia and Somalia; killing United States nationals employed at the
United States Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania; and concealing the activities of the co-conspirators by,
among other things, establishing front companies, providing false
identity and travel documents, engaging in coded correspondence and
providing false information to the authorities in various countries.

The superseding Indictment also contains additional counts relating to
the murder of employees of the United States Government, including
Kenyan and Tanzanian citizens who worked at the American embassies in
Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, as well as diplomats protected by
international treaties. The Indictment also contains additional overt
acts not previously specified. The trial for this case has been set
for September 5, 2000.

Today's Indictment brings the total number of persons charged in this
case to date to 17, 6 of whom -- MAMDOUH MAHMUD SALIM, ALI MOHAMED,
WADIH EL HAGE, MOHAMED SADEEK ODEH, MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI
and KRALFAN KHAMIS MOHAMMED are in custody in the United States, and
three of whom, KHALID AL-FAWWAZ, EIDAROUS and ABDEL BARY are in
custody in the United Kingdom. There is a $5 million reward for each
of the eight fugitives, including USAMA BIN LADEN, who remains at
large and was recently named to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

Both ABDUL BARY and EIDAROUS were arrested by officials from the
United Kingdom last July, where they currently are detained. Last
week, Magistrate Nicholas Evans in the United Kingdom ordered EIDAROUS
and ASDEL BARY committed for extradition to the United States. They
have 15 days from the date of the ruling to appeal this order.
AL-FAWWAZ, who is also being detained in the United Kingdom, was
ordered extradited last year and his appeal is pending.

Ms. WHITE stated: "This latest superseding Indictment illustrates the
commitment of the United States, working with law enforcement agencies
around the world, to bring to the bar of justice every single person
responsible for the wanton murder of hundreds of innocent victims of
every nationality, religion and walk of life and injuries to thousands
of others. The harm and suffering done to the victims and their
families in the bombings of, our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on
August 7, 1998 will never be forgotten and they can rest assured that
efforts to apprehend those responsible will continue without letup."

Mr. MAWN stated: "The Indictment and pending extradition of Ibrahim
Eidarous and Adel Abdel Bary demonstrates once again the resolve of
the Joint Terrorist Task Force and our colleagues in the international
law enforcement community. We intend to see this investigation through
to the prosecution of all those responsible for the murders of 223
people at the U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam nearly two
years ago. The partnerships forged by law enforcement agencies
throughout the world are stronger than any criminal conspiracies that
seek to evade them. For the families of the victims of these
tragedies, we cannot undo the devastation; yet we can honor the memory
of the victims by bringing those responsible to justice."

Ms. WHITE and Mr. MAWN said the investigation of this case is being
conducted by the Joint Terrorist Task Force composed of the FBI, the
New York City Police Department, the United States Department of
State, the United States Secret Service, the United States Immigration
and Naturalization Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, the
United States Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and
Firearms, the New York State Police and the Port Authority of New York
and New Jersey.

Ms. WHITE and Mr. MAWN also noted that New Scotland Yard officials in
the United Kingdom have played, and continue to play, a critical role
in the investigation of the embassy bombings and thanked those
officials for their continued cooperation in this joint investigation.
Ms. WHITE and Mr. MAWN also thanked law enforcement authorities in
Kenya and Tanzania for their continued cooperation in this
investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys PATRICK J. FITZGERALD, KENNETH M.
KARAS, MICHAEL J. GARCIA and PAUL W. BUTLER are in charge of the
prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and
the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)