The FBI's "Most Wanted Terrorists" list is quite a roster of wanted men! From the TWA Flight 847 and Khobar Towers bombing to the 1998 US Embassy bombings, it has now added many new names. Two more have recently been added and one is a U.S. citizen who supported the terrorist monsters who masterminded the Westgate Mall slaughter in Kenya. The other wanted man partook in the overseas kidnapping of an American. A third man is wanted by the FBI for questioning in connection with providing material support to terrorists.
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| Hammami |
Hammami left the beautiful eastern deciduous woodlands of Alabama, traveled to Somalia and joined al Shabaab’s military wing, eventually becoming a leader in the organization. Hammami was indicted in the U.S. on various terrorism charges and the FBI and CIA knew he ventured to Somalia.
Most interesting to me is that recent intelligence reports indicate Hammami may have been killed in Somalia last week by his former allies, the al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabaab. Apparently, these monsters have killed other American citizens who joined their ranks but turned out to be chicken-hearted warriors who couldn't slit the throats or slice the heads off of innocents...or kill infants and their mothers in shopping malls.
The other Most Wanted Terrorist is Raddulan Sahiron, a native of the Philippines. He is wanted for his alleged involvement in the 1993 kidnapping of an American in the
Philippines by the Abu Sayyaf Group, designated a foreign terrorist organization in 1997. Sahiron, believed to be the leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group, was indicted on federal hostage-taking charges and may currently be in the area of Patikul Jolo, Sulu, Philippines.The third man, Shaykh Aminullah, is wanted for questioning in connection with providing material support to terrorists…with the aid of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2001). Among other activities, Aminullah allegedly provided assistance, including funding and recruits, to the Al Qaeda network; provided funding and other resources, including explosive vests, to the Taliban; and facilitated the activities of anti-coalition militants operating in Afghanistan by raising money in support of terrorist activities. He is believed to be in the Ganj District of Peshawar, Pakistan.
The FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorists List” was created in October 2001 and helps authorities to publicize their efforts to locate terrorism suspects not yet indicted in the U.S. To get on it, one must
- have threatened the security of U.S. nationals or U.S. national security;
- be considered a dangerous menace to society;
- have indicated a willingness to commit or indicate to commit an act to cause death or serious injury; prepare or plan terrorist activity; gather information on potential targets for terrorist activity; or solicit funds or other things of value for terrorist activity;
- have provided material support such as currency or financial services or assistance to a terrorist organization but do not necessarily have to belong to that organization;
- be subject to lawful detention, either by the U.S. government based on an active federal warrant for a serious felony offense or by any other lawful authority; and
- be the subject of a pending FBI investigation.
There is also the “Individuals on the Seeking Information— Terrorism” list. This list of suspects are being sought for questioning in connection with terrorist threats against the U.S. Unlike those on the “Most Wanted Terrorists” list, these individuals have not been indicted by the U.S. government.
With the growing numbers of native-born Americans becoming radicalized into Islamic terrorists, I believe the FBI and CIA should, collectively, conduct robust counter-intelligence and counterterrorists activities within the U.S. Just look at the internal threats we face and the numbers of "Americans" who are growing radicalized. Adam Yahiye Gadahn was born Adam Pearlman in 1978 and is now an American senior operative, cultural interpreter, spokesman and media advisor for the terrorist group Al-Qaeda . Since 2004, he appeared in a number of videos produced by Al-Qaeda as " Azzam the American." Gadahn converted to Sunni Islam in 1995, at the age of 17, at a California mosque and is described as a "homegrown", meaning that he has converted to an ideology so firmly that he is now willing to harm his country of origin. He is believed to have inspired bin Laden's September 2007 video. How could such an American, the son of a musician who converted to Christianity and grandchild of a prominent urologist who was on the Board of Directors of the Anti-Defamation League...turn into a radical Islamist warrior, bent on harming the U.S.?In 2004, Gadahn was added to the "FBI Seeking Information War on Terrorism" list . On October 11, 2006 he was removed from that list, and placed on the Bureau of
Diplomatic Security Rewards for Justice Program list of wanted criminals. On the same day, Gadahn was indicted based on the testimony of the FBI case agent E.J. Hilbert II, in the Southern Division of the United States District Court for the Central District of California by a federal grand jury for the capital crime of treason for aiding an enemy of the United States; i.e. Al-Qaeda. Gadahn is the first American charged with treason since Tomoya Kawakita in 1952.
Unfortunately, I think the list of homegrown terrorists and radicalized Americans will grow. I felt this way ever since listening to Charles "Charlie" Allen, the well-known counterterrorism expert, speak at an AFIO seminar in Tyson Corner, Va., 8 years ago. He lectured on how Americans become radicalized on the Internet. Anwar Al-Awlaki, José Padilla, Adam Yahiye Gadahn, Bryant Neal Vinas, Ali Mohamed, Ziyad Khaleel, the Buffalo Six, and Wadih El-Hage are only the beginnings of a growing trend.
If you have information about any information on a person on the FBI's "Most Wanted Terrorists", press HERE to submit your tip about them to the FBI. If you are overseas, press HERE to find the nearest overseas FBI Legal Attache office.Press HERE to view photos and read information about 30 suspects on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list.
Learn more about al-Shabaab:
Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S. is a member of the Association Of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes about the online spy series "Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster in the Caribbean". His ideas are his own and do not represent those of any organization he's a member of. Contact him on the Secure Contact Form
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