Ziyad Khaleel
Other namesKhalil Ziyad, Ziyad Sadaqa, and Ziyad Abdulrahman
CitizenshipU.S.
EducationColumbia College
Known forAl-Qaeda member, "procurement agent" for Osama bin Laden

Ziyad Khaleel, also known as Khalil Ziyad, Ziyad Sadaqa, and Ziyad Abdulrahman, was an American al-Qaeda member, based in the United States, primarily in Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Missouri. He had been identified as a "procurement agent" for Osama bin Laden,[1][2][3] arranging the purchase and delivery of "computers, satellite telephones, and covert surveillance equipment" for the leadership of al-Qaeda,[4] as well as administering a number of radical Islamic websites as webmaster, including the website of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.[5][6][7] Among the cities in which he resided at various times were Denver, Detroit, Columbia and Orlando.

In 1991, while living in Denver, he was vice president of the Denver Islamic Society.[8] By 1994 he was residing in Detroit and his name and address were reflected in ledgers taken from the Al Kifah Refugee Center, a financial and strategic arm of al-Qaeda.[7]

Upon moving to Columbia, Missouri, he was known as Ziyad Khaleel, but began using the surname Sadaqa as early as 1996. That year he was a fundraiser and one of eight regional directors of the Islamic African Relief Agency (IARA), which the government later determined was a front for al-Qaeda and Hamas.[9]

Late in 1996 he bought a $7,500 INMARSAT satellite telephone at the instruction of senior al-Qaeda lieutenant Khaled al-Fawwaz.[7][10] He delivered the satellite telephone and a battery pack to bin Laden in Afghanistan in May 1998.[11][12] Bin Laden used the phone to place phone calls around the world, directing al-Qaeda's operations and orchestrating the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.[9]

In 1998 and 1999, Khaleel lived in an apartment in the eastern part of Florida's Orange County, near Orlando.[13][14]

The FBI investigated Anwar al-Awlaki, later linked to three of the 9/11 hijackers, the Fort Hood shooter, and the Christmas Day 2009 bomber, beginning in June 1999 through March 2000, after it learned he had been contacted by Khaleel.[15][16]

On December 29, 1999, as he arrived in the Jordanian capital of Amman, local authorities arrested him on charges of being a procurement agent for bin Laden, but he was later released.[7][17] In 2000 Khaleel lived in Manchester, Missouri, and attended Columbia College in St. Louis.[18]

Khaleel is now dead.[19][20]

References

  1. ^ Inside Al Qaeda: global network of terror, p. 102, Rohan Gunaratna, Columbia University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-231-12692-1, ISBN 978-0-231-12692-2, accessed January 21, 2010
  2. ^ Why America slept: the failure to prevent 9/11, p. 83, Gerald Posner, Random House, Inc., 2004, ISBN 0-8129-6623-6, ISBN 978-0-8129-6623-7, accessed January 21, 2010
  3. ^ Josh Devon and Evan Kohlmann, "Terrorist State; Florida’s shadow of terrorism," National Review, June 26, 2002, accessed January 21, 2010
  4. ^ American Jihad, Steven Emerson, Simon & Schuster, 2003, ISBN 0-7434-7750-2, ISBN 978-0-7434-7750-5, accessed January 21, 2010
  5. ^ McGonigle, Steve, "Businessman indicted in Hamas funding case ordered freed; release delayed," The Dallas Morning News, December 20, 2002, accessed January 21, 2010
  6. ^ Katz, Rita, and Devon, Josh, "American servers of terror," San Francisco Chronicle, August 11, 2002, January 21, 2010
  7. ^ a b c d Kohlmann, Evan (January 2, 2003). "Axis of Evil; Indicted Hamas leader linked to al Qaeda activist in Midwest". National Review. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
  8. ^ Finley, Bruce, War divides Colorado Arabs, Denver Post, January 27, 1991, accessed January 21, 2010
  9. ^ a b Sandoval, Greg, "Olajuwon's Mosque Cited in Funding Link to Terrorists," The Washington Post, February 10, 2005, accessed January 21, 2010
  10. ^ Branch-Brioso, Karen, "Dead or Alive, Fund-Raiser Draws Interest of Federal Authorities," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 20, 2003, accessed January 21, 2010
  11. ^ The Social contract, Volume 12, p. 82, John Tanton, 2001, accessed January 21, 2010
  12. ^ "Testimony of Steven Emerson before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary", December 4, 2001, accessed January 21, 2010
  13. ^ Gutierrez, Pedro Ruz; Roy, Roger; Leusner, Jim "Bin Laden's men lived quietly in Orlando," The Orlando Sentinel, September 23, 2001, accessed January 23, 2010
  14. ^ Norman, Bob, "Admitting Terror", Miami New Times, November 8, 2001, accessed January 21, 2010
  15. ^ Schmidt, Susan; Imam From Va. Mosque Now Thought to Have Aided Al-Qaeda; The Washington Post, February 27, 2008, accessed November 20, 2009.
  16. ^ National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (2004). "Nine/eleven Commission report, final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States". W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393326710. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
  17. ^ Progress since 9/11: the effectiveness of the U.S. anti-terrorist financing efforts: hearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Eighth Congress, first session, March 11, 2003, U.S. G.P.O., accessed January 21, 2010
  18. ^ Branc-Brioso, Karen, Judge in Terror Case says She's Leaning Toward Granting Bond, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 9, 2003, January 21, 2010
  19. ^ Walberg, Matthew, Coen, Jeff, "U.S. says local man sent cash to Iraq: Palos Heights resident in Islamic charity case", Chicago Tribune, March 9, 2007, accessed January 21, 2010
  20. ^ U.S. v. Hamed, Government's Consolidated Response in Opposition to Defendants' Motions for Bill of Particulars, May 27, 2009, accessed January 21, 2010 Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
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