Al-Qaeda on the loose: the FBI’s most wanted

(Above: Channel 4 News illustration of how US forces al-Qaeda training cards might look for current FBI most wanted. L-R: Ayman al-Zawahiri, Saif al-Adel, and Abdul Rahman Yasin.)

The US has shut down embassies across Africa and the Middle East after picking up ‘pre-9/11’ levels of intelligence chatter that may indicate an upcoming terrorist attack. The US is still on the hunt for some of al-Qaeda’s leading lights, including the man who succeeded Osama bin Laden.

Inspired by the ‘pack of cards’ listing top al-Qaeda targets, issued to US forces after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Channel 4 News takes a look at today’s most wanted US terror suspects.

Linked to al-Qaeda

Ayman Al-Zawahiri

• Became leader of al-Qaeda after bin Laden was killed by US forces in 2011.

• Founded the Egyptian Islamic Jihad which merged with al-Qaeda in 1998.

• The FBI has indicted Al-Zawahiri for his alleged role in the bombings of the US embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya in August 1998.

• Reward for information leading to capture: up to $25 million

Adnan G El Shukrijumah

• Indicted in July 2010 for his alleged role in a terrorist plot to attack targets in the UK and US. According to the charges, the plot uncovered in September 2009 targeted New York city’s subway system and was directed by senior al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan.

• The plot was also linked to an al-Qaeda plot originating in Pakistan to use Western operatives to attack a US target.

• Reward: $5 million

Saif Al-Adel

• Believed to be a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda.

• Wanted in connection with the bombings of the US embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya in August 1998.

• Reward: $5 million

Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi

• Wanted in connection with the bombing of the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen in October 2000 which resulted in the deaths of 17 American sailors, an attack which is thought to be linked to al-Qaeda.

• Al-Badawi was being held by Yemeni authorities in connection with the attack when he escaped from prison in April of 2003. He was recaptured in March of 2004 but escaped again two years later.

• Reward: $5 million

Abdul Rahman Yasin

• Wanted for alleged involvement in the 1993 terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center in New York, which was linked to al-Qaeda. The attack resulted in the death of six people.

• Reward: $5 million

Other groups

Hakimullah Mehsud

• Leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Mehsud was charged in 2010 for conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction against a national of the United States while outside the US.

• Also wanted for his alleged involvement in the bombing of a US military base near the Afghan town of Khost, on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, in December 2009 which killed seven US citizens and injured six more United States citizens.

• Reward: $5 million

Isnilon Totoni Hapilon

• Wanted for his alleged involvement in terrorist acts against US and other foreign nationals in and around the Republic of the Philippines.

• He allegedly served as deputy or second in command for Abu Sayyaf Group, a foreign terrorist organisation.

• Reward: $5 million

Ibrahim Salih Mohammed Al-Yacoub

• Indicted for the 1996, bombing of the Khobar Towers military housing complex in Saudi Arabia. Allegedly a member of the terrorist organization Saudi Hizballah.

• Reward: $5 million

Raddulan Sahiron

• Sought by the FBI for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a US citizen in 1993 who was taken from his home in the Philippines by about 14 armed members of the terrorist organization Al Harakat al Islamiyyah, also known as Abu Sayyaf.

• He was held captive in the jungle for 23 days until his release in December 1993.

• Reward: $1 million