News

USIS Washington 
File

16 December 1998

TEXT: US ATTORNEY, FBI ISSUE NEW INDICTMENTS FOR ATTACK ON US EMBASSY

(Five million dollar reward offered for the arrest of the fugitives)
(1120)


Washington -- The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued the following release
on December 16 about the indictment of five new individuals for their
alleged participation in the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Dar es
Salaam in Tanzania last August.


The U.S. Department of State also announced today a $5 million reward
for information leading to the arrests and prosecution of these
fugitives. They were identified as being participants in the Osama Bin
Laden terrorist organization.


Following is text of US Attorney's press release: 



(Begin text)



United States Attorney Southern District of New York



DECEMBER 16, 1998



PRESS RELEASE



MARY JO WHITE, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of
New York, and LEWIS D. SCHILIRO, Assistant Director in Charge of the
New York FBI Office, announced that MUSTAFA MOHAMMED FADHIL, KHALFAN
KHAMIS MOHAMED, AHMED KHALFAN GHAILANI, FAHID MOHAMMAD ALLY MSALAM,
and SHEIKH AHMED SALIM SWEDAN were indicted today in Manhattan federal
court for the August 7, 1998, bombing of the United States embassy in
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and for conspiring to kill American nationals
outside of the United States.


The United States Department of State also announced today a reward of
up to $5 million for the arrest and/or conviction anywhere in the
world of FADHIL, MOHAMED, GHAILANI, MSALAM, and SWEDAN.


The superseding 238-count Indictment charges five new defendants --
FADHIL, MOHAMED, GHAILANI, MSALAM, and SWEDAN along with co-defendants
USAMA BIN LADEN, MUHAMMAD ATEF, WADIH EL HAGE, FAZUL ABDULLAH
MOHAMMED, MOHAMED SADEEK ODEH, and MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI,
with acting together with members of "al Qaeda," a worldwide terrorist
organization led by BIN LADEN, 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.


As part of their participation in the conspiracy to murder United
States nationals, and to achieve the particular objective of bombing
the American Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the Indictment
charges that the defendants committed various overt acts including:


(a) MOHAMED and FADHIL rented a certain residence in Dar es Salaam in
June 1998, where MOHAMED, FADHIL, and MSALAM allegedly met to make
final preparations for the bombing;


(b) SWEDAN and GHAILANI purchased the truck used to deliver the bomb,
on which SWEDAN arranged to have mechanical and welding work done;


(c) MSALAM and GRAILANI purchased oxygen and acetylene tanks;



(d) MOHAMED and MSALAM purchased a Suzuki Samurai, which allegedly was
used by the defendants as a utility vehicle and;


(e) GHAILANI fled Africa to Pakistan on August 6, 1998, as did MSALAM,
who along with co-defendant MOHAMED SADEEK ODEH, allegedly flew out of
Nairobi on a Pakistani Airways flight from Nairobi to Karachi,
Pakistan.


FADHIL, MOHAMED, GHAILANI, MSALAM and SWEDAN, along with BIN LADEN,
ATEF, ABDULLAR MOHAMMED, ODEH, and AL-'OWHALI, are also charged with
bombing the Dar es Salaam embassy and causing the deaths of at least
11 persons and injuring more than 80 others. Those ten defendants are
also charged with murdering all of the civilians killed in the Dar es
Salaam embassy bombing. The indictment names all of the victims of the
bombings and each victim is charged as a separate count of murder in
connection with the Dar es Salaam bombing for a total of 11 counts of
murder against FADHIL, MOHAMED, GRAILANli, MSALAM and SWEDAN, BIN
LADEN, ATEF, ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, ODEH, and AL-'OWHALI.


The Indictment also charges BIN LADEN, ATEF, ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, ODEH,
and AL-'OWHALI, with bombing the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya,
which resulted in the deaths of more than 200 persons and injuries to
more than 4,500 persons, and the murder of each of the victims of that
attack.


Ms. WHITE and Mr. SCHILIRO 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 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobaccos and
Firearms, the New York State Police and the Port Authority of New York
and New Jersey.


Ms. WHITE and Mr. SCHILIRO praised the Government of Tanzania, as well
as the Governments of Kenya and the Comoros Islands, for their
cooperation in this investigation and commended all of the
investigative efforts and cooperation of the agencies involved in the
case. In particular, they praised and thanked the Tanzanian Police
Force for their tireless efforts since the August 7th bombings in
working with American law enforcement officials in the investigation
that has led to this indictment. They also said that the investigation
is continuing.


United States Attorney General Janet Reno stated: "This Indictment
shows our continuing commitment to finding those responsible for these
heinous crimes. We will not let up."


Ms. WHITE stated: "This Indictment underscores the unrelenting
determination our government shares with the Tanzanian and Kenyan
Governments to ensure that all of those who perpetrated these cowardly
acts of mass murder are brought to justice. We are firmly united with
our colleagues in Tanzania and Kenya in the commitment to vindicating
the death of each and every victim of these senseless and random acts
of terrorism by charging, apprehending, and prosecuting each and every
participant in these terrorist crimes."


Mr. SCHILIRO stated: "Once again, the resolve and determination of the
entire law enforcement team to bring to justice all those responsible
for the murder of 224 innocent Americans, Kenyans, and Tanzanians is
demonstrated by the effort which led to the charges announced today.
The FBI, and our law enforcement partners, are committed to
identifying, locating and prosecuting any and all individuals who are
involved in these criminal acts of terror."


FADHIL, MOHAMED, GHAILANI, MSALAM and SWEDAN, all of whom are
fugitives, face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the
possibility of parole, or death.


Assistant United States Attorneys. PATRICK J. FITZGERALD, KENNETH M.
KARAS and MICHAEL J. GAPCIA 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)