Feds: Al Qaeda Figure Plotted Killings in Captivity

Jan. 17, 2008 — -- A high-level al Qaeda associate in U.S. custody, who was allegedly plotting to kill U.S. agents he appeared to be cooperating with, has been sentenced to life in prison for terrorism conspiracy charges.

Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, who met Osama bin Laden during training in Afghanistan and was later dispatched by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed for al Qaeda operations, was arrested in 2002 in Oman.

Jabarah, now 26, was brought to the United States, pleaded guilty July in July of that year to charges related to plots on U.S. Embassies in Singapore and the Philippines.

"Jabarah's sentence is more than appropriate, given that there is little doubt that an attack on one of our Embassies in Southeast Asia would have been carried out, and lives would have been lost, had our foreign law enforcement counterparts not broken up the plot," U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said.

He initially cooperated with the FBI, according to prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office and counterterrorism officials at a U.S. safe house where an FBI security detail monitored him.

But according to a government sentencing memorandum unsealed Thursday, after initially agreeing to cooperate with U.S. officials, Jabarah was "secretly planning to exploit the perception of cooperation that he created."

"Weapons and papers seized from Jabarah seized during an impromptu search of his quarters left little doubt that Jabarah was bent on carrying out a martyrdom mission to murder 'infidel' agents and prosecutors whom he considered responsible for his capture," the memorandum stated.

According to FBI agents, they recovered hidden steak knives, rope, directions for making explosives, pictures of bin Laden, 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta and papers with the names of the FBI agents and prosecutors Jabarah regularly met with.

With his life sentence, he joins the ranks of other al Qaeda terrorists such as Ramzi Yousef, Zacarias Moussaoui and Blind Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones after making a lengthy statement in which he denounced violence.

Despite his plea for leniency, Jabarah's role in al Qaeda and alleged plots against investigators indicate that he was bent on carrying out terrorist operations even after pleaded guilty and agreed to provide information to the FBI and Justice Department.

Death of Childhood Qaeda Friend

Jabarah is a Canadian citizen of Iraqi descent who, according to the Justice Department and FBI, spanned the globe preparing operations for al Qaeda. Jabarah lived in Kuwait until the age of 12, when he moved to Canada.

According to the Justice Department's sentencing memorandum, Jabarah, also known as Abu Hafs al Kuwaiti and "Sammy," traveled to Kuwait during the summers in his childhood.

It was during several of those visits that a friend in Kuwait, Anas al-Kandari, allegedly introduced him to the ideology of al Qaeda. Al-Kandari was a student of Sulieman Abu Ghaith, the al Qaeda spokesman who was sometimes seen in al Qaeda videos seated next to Osama bin Laden following the 9/11 attacks.

Kandari's death in October 2002 apparently led Jabarah to want to kill his American FBI handlers. After he pleaded guilty, Jabarah learned that Kandari had been killed by U.S. Marines in Kuwait after Kandari and another man opened fire on Marines engaged in a training exercise.

"After Jabarah learned of the attack and resulting death of his friend, the agents began to notice changes in Jabarah's behavior and mood," the sentencing memorandum notes.

When Jabarah was out of his room, FBI agents found knives and Arabic writings. Jabarah was later transferred to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.

Upon further review of his belongings, agents discovered a USA Today article about his friend's death and the attack on the Marines, on which Jabarah allegedly wrote, "By Allah I will Revenge Your death." In other writings obtained during the searches, Jabarah wrote, "I swore to live in dignity or to die."

Global Operations with Al Qaeda

According to Justice Department documents and the criminal information that Jabarah pleaded guilty to, Jabarah, after graduating from high school in Canada in 2000, began to attend al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan.

Jabarah allegedly first met Osama Bin Laden in March 2001 and months later pledged loyalty, or "bayat," to the al Qaeda leader.

Jabarah also allegedly attended terrorist training with his brother Abdul Rahman Jabarah, who is believed to have been involved in the May 2003 bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that killed nine Americans.

In early August and September 2001, according to the documents, Jabarah was sent to meet 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who provided him with additional trade craft to undertake al Qaeda operations.

Mohammed developed Jabarah as an emissary between al Qaeda and Jemmah Islamiah, a southeast Asian terrorist group headed by Riduan Isomuddin, also known as Hambali. KSM dispatched Jabarah to meet other operatives associated with JI who were preparing attacks on the U.S. and Israeli embassies in the Philippines.

One of the operatives Jabarah allegedly planned attacks with was Faiz Bafana, who had previously dealt with Zacarias Moussaoui, the al Qaeda terrorist convicted for his role in the 9/11 attacks.

In 2000, Moussaoui and Bafana allegedly engaged in planning to attack U.S. warships that were docked in Singapore, but Moussaoui outraged Hambali and other JI leaders by obtaining too many explosives, potentially exposing their operations. Shortly afterward, Moussaoui was asked to leave Southeast Asia before heading to the United States, according to the federal documents, where he was arrested in August 2001.

Jabarah appeared to be more calculating than Moussaoui, who Hambali called "cuckoo," according to papers from Moussaoui's trial.

According to court documents, Jabarah and other operatives concluded that attacking the U.S. Embassy in Manila was too difficult, and they began to plan operations against the United States, United Kingdom and Israeli embassies, and large office buildings in Singapore. This plan was overruled by Hambali because the explosives were in the Philippines and would be difficult to transport to Singapore.

The operation was disrupted when Singaporean counterterrorism investigators arrested 15 JI operatives, including Bafana, in December 2001. In early 2002, Jabarah had learned of their arrest and eventually fled to the United Arab Emirates, where he was instructed by KSM to establish an al Qaeda safe house in Oman for al Qaeda operatives fleeing Afghanistan.

According to the recently unsealed sentencing memorandum, "Almost simultaneous with the arrival of fleeing al Qaeda members, Jabarah was arrested by Omani officials."

Hambali and Mohammed are now detained at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay after having been held in secret detention by the CIA.