Former Terrorist Says He Warned Officials of Attacks
N E W Y O R K, Feb. 7 -- A former terrorist and associate of Osama bin Laden testified today that he warned government officials about possible attacks on U.S. embassies two years before the fatal 1998 bombings in Africa.
Jamal Ahmed Mohmamed Al-Fadl, the first witness in the trial of four men charged in the deadly bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, returned to the stand today to continue to provide a rare glimpse at the inner workings of bin Laden's terrorist group, al-Qaeda. In meetings in 1996, Al-Fadl said he told embassy officials, and later FBI agents, that bin Laden and his followers wanted to wage waragainst America and warned of possible attacks within the UnitedStates and on U.S. military forces overseas.
Al-Fadl said he told officials he had heard talk that al-Qaeda would"make bombs against your embassies." He also recalled once buying $1.5 million worth of uranium for al-Qaeda.
Twelve Americans were among the 224 people killed when bombs were detonated almost simultaneously in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Aug. 7, 1998. Federal prosecutors hope to prove the bombings were the work of al Qaeda as part of a worldwide conspiracy to kill Americans.
A former member of al Qaeda, Al-Fadl testified today that he fell out of favor with his associates when he stole $110,000 from them by taking a commission for selling some goods. Ultimately, he had a meeting with bin Laden about the theft.
"We don't care about the money, we care about you," Al-Fadl recalled bin Laden telling him. "You are one of the best members of al Qaeda. … Why did you steal the money?"
Al-Fadl said he told bin Laden that he did not make much money and that most Egyptians made more than he did. Bin Laden told Al-Fadl that he should have come to him with this problem. When he asked for forgiveness, Al-Fadl testified, bin Laden told him he would not be forgiven until all of the money was returned.
Al-Fadl paid back $30,000 but he said bin Laden insisted on full payment. Soon, Al-Fadl said he left al Qaeda, leaving the Sudan and eventually showing up at a U.S. embassy in an unnamed country. He arranged to meet with three U.S. officials and told them that if they could help him he would give them information about a group that was plotting attacks against the United States.
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