Abdul Hakim Murad (terrorist)
Encyclopedia
Abdul Hakim Ali Hashim Murad born January 4, 1968) was an alleged conspirator in the Bojinka plot planned mujahid
attacks with Ramzi Yousef
who was one of the main perpetrators and creator of the bomb for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
. He was arrested trying to retrieve plans for the plot which was the forerunner to the September 11 attacks with airliners on US targets. In 1996, he was convicted in the United States of trying to blow up a dozen airliners and sentenced to life in prison.
He was found to have many aliases. A Pakistan
i passport found had "Abdul Hakim, student, age 26, Pakistani passport No. C665334, issued in Kuwait
." He used the alias Ahmed Saeed when Manila
police apprehended him. He was mentioned on Ramzi Yousef
's laptop
personal computer
as Obaid.
i-born son of a crane operator working for a petroleum company in Kuwait
. He graduated from a high school in Al-Jery|Al-Jery, Kuwait. He attained his commercial pilot's license after studying at the Continental Flying School in Pasay City
from November 1990 to January 1991, and continuing at the Emirates Flying School in Dubai
in November 1991.
Ramzi Yousef
, a friend of Murad's who attended Afghan training camp
s, taught Murad how to make bombs in Lahore
, Pakistan
. During one of the practice sessions, a bomb
exploded in Yousef's face, impairing vision in one eye.
While they were in Metro Manila
in the Philippines
, Murad and Yousef often went to two karaoke
bars, the XO on Adriatico Street, and the Firehouse on Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City. According to Murad, they never went to the mosque
.
He attended a series of flight schools, including Emirates Flying School
in Dubai
, United Arab Emirates
, the Alpha Tango Flying Service in San Antonio
, Texas
, and flight schools in Schenectady
, New York, New Bern
, North Carolina
, Louisiana
, and Pasay City
, Philippines
. He later told officials he had attended four different American flight schools. On June 8, 1992, he received a Commercial Pilot certificate
while at Coastal Aviation Incorporated, after completing 275 hours of required flight time.
who was one of the main perpetrators and creator of the bomb for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
. After moving to the Philippines
under the direction of his uncle Khalid Sheikh Mohammed planned the unsuccessful Bojinka Plot which would set the pattern for the later Al Queda Sept 11 attacks. The plan involved assassinating Pope John Paul II during a visit to the Philippines
then, while attention was drawn to the Pope's death, bombs would be placed inside toy cars and planted on airline flights out of Bangkok
, killing thousands.
After successfully testing and detonating his deadly bomb on Philippine Airlines Flight 434
, Yousef returned to Manila and began preparing at least a dozen bombs each with a higher concentration of explosive materials. But just weeks before the Bojinka Plot was due to be launched, Murad was mixing chemicals which started a fire on January 6, 1995. Yousef and Murad fled the fire, but Murad was sent back retrieve the laptop computer in the apartment, which contained the plans for the attack. He called himself Ahmed Saeed as he was being arrested. He offered 110,740 Philippine peso
s ($2,000 U.S. dollars
) to the Manila police if they let him go. Although they did not make that much money in a year, Aida Fariscal
, the watch commander, refused to let him go. Police grew suspicious after "Saeed" mumbled that, "two Satans that must be destroyed: the Pope and America." This led a further search of room 603, where they found a bomb factory and a computer with data relating to the plot.
His interrogations by Philippine National Police
Intelligence consisted of waterboarding
, being beaten with chairs and lumber, and having cigarettes extinguished on his penis and testicles. A Philippine National Police
raid in another Manila apartment also revealed evidence that Abdul Murad, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Yousef had drawn up plans for flying an airplane into the CIA headquarters. The information was passed on to the FAA who warned individual airlines. As part of the Bojinka plot, Murad was slated to bomb two United Airlines
aircraft, and was also slated to be the suicide pilot that would pilot a small plane filled with explosives into the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia
.
Information about plane bombings was sent to the FBI. Abdul Hakim Murad was sent to the United States on April 12, 1995 and would later help convict Yousef based on Murad's testimony. Murad was convicted on Sept 5, 1996 of seven counts of conspiring and attempting to bomb 12 planes. On May 16, 1998 Murad received a life sentence to prison. Murad, Federal Bureau of Prisons
#37437-054, is currently serving his time in ADX Florence
, the Federal ADX Supermax prison near Florence, Colorado
.
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
attacks with Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...
who was one of the main perpetrators and creator of the bomb for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
1993 World Trade Center bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993, when a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336 lb urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower into the South Tower , bringing...
. He was arrested trying to retrieve plans for the plot which was the forerunner to the September 11 attacks with airliners on US targets. In 1996, he was convicted in the United States of trying to blow up a dozen airliners and sentenced to life in prison.
He was found to have many aliases. A Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i passport found had "Abdul Hakim, student, age 26, Pakistani passport No. C665334, issued in Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
." He used the alias Ahmed Saeed when Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
police apprehended him. He was mentioned on Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...
's laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
as Obaid.
Life
He is the PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i-born son of a crane operator working for a petroleum company in Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
. He graduated from a high school in Al-Jery|Al-Jery, Kuwait. He attained his commercial pilot's license after studying at the Continental Flying School in Pasay City
Pasay City
The City of Pasay is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is bordered on the north by the country's capital, Manila, to the northeast by Makati City, to the east by Taguig City, and Parañaque City to the south.Pasay City was one of the original four...
from November 1990 to January 1991, and continuing at the Emirates Flying School in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
in November 1991.
Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...
, a friend of Murad's who attended Afghan training camp
Afghan training camp
An Afghan training camp is a camp or facility used for militant training located in pre-2002 Afghanistan. At the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Indian intelligence officials estimated that there were over 120 training camps operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, run by a variety of...
s, taught Murad how to make bombs in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. During one of the practice sessions, a bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
exploded in Yousef's face, impairing vision in one eye.
While they were in Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Murad and Yousef often went to two karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
bars, the XO on Adriatico Street, and the Firehouse on Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City. According to Murad, they never went to the mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
.
Flight training
Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills....
in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, the Alpha Tango Flying Service in San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and flight schools in Schenectady
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, New York, New Bern
New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern is a city in Craven County, North Carolina with a population of 29,524 as of the 2010 census.. It is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, and Pasay City
Pasay City
The City of Pasay is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is bordered on the north by the country's capital, Manila, to the northeast by Makati City, to the east by Taguig City, and Parañaque City to the south.Pasay City was one of the original four...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. He later told officials he had attended four different American flight schools. On June 8, 1992, he received a Commercial Pilot certificate
Commercial Pilot Licence
A Commercial Pilot License or, in the United States, a Commercial Pilot Certificate, is a qualification that permits the holder to act as the Pilot In Command of a single pilot aircraft, or as co-pilot of a multi-pilot aircraft and be paid for his/her work.The basic requirements to obtain the...
while at Coastal Aviation Incorporated, after completing 275 hours of required flight time.
Operation Bojinka
Murad was a co-conspirator with Ramzi YousefRamzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...
who was one of the main perpetrators and creator of the bomb for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
1993 World Trade Center bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993, when a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336 lb urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower into the South Tower , bringing...
. After moving to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
under the direction of his uncle Khalid Sheikh Mohammed planned the unsuccessful Bojinka Plot which would set the pattern for the later Al Queda Sept 11 attacks. The plan involved assassinating Pope John Paul II during a visit to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
then, while attention was drawn to the Pope's death, bombs would be placed inside toy cars and planted on airline flights out of Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, killing thousands.
After successfully testing and detonating his deadly bomb on Philippine Airlines Flight 434
Philippine Airlines Flight 434
Philippine Airlines Flight 434 was the route designator of a flight from Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Pasay City, the Philippines, to New Tokyo International Airport , Narita near Tokyo, Japan, with one stop at Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Cebu, the Philippines.On December 11, 1994...
, Yousef returned to Manila and began preparing at least a dozen bombs each with a higher concentration of explosive materials. But just weeks before the Bojinka Plot was due to be launched, Murad was mixing chemicals which started a fire on January 6, 1995. Yousef and Murad fled the fire, but Murad was sent back retrieve the laptop computer in the apartment, which contained the plans for the attack. He called himself Ahmed Saeed as he was being arrested. He offered 110,740 Philippine peso
Philippine peso
The peso is the currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 centavos . Before 1967, the language used on the banknotes and coins was English and so "peso" was the name used...
s ($2,000 U.S. dollars
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
) to the Manila police if they let him go. Although they did not make that much money in a year, Aida Fariscal
Aida Fariscal
Aida D. Fariscal is a former police officer and watch commander in the Manila Police Department in the Philippines. She is now a retired grandmother living on pension in a one bedroom apartment. Her name is largely unknown outside of the Philippines. She was depicted in the 2006 docudrama The Path...
, the watch commander, refused to let him go. Police grew suspicious after "Saeed" mumbled that, "two Satans that must be destroyed: the Pope and America." This led a further search of room 603, where they found a bomb factory and a computer with data relating to the plot.
His interrogations by Philippine National Police
Philippine National Police
The Philippine National Police is the national police force of the Republic of the Philippines. It is both a national and a local police force in that it does provides all law enforcement services throughout the Philippines...
Intelligence consisted of waterboarding
Waterboarding
Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over the face of an immobilized captive, thus causing the individual to experience the sensation of drowning...
, being beaten with chairs and lumber, and having cigarettes extinguished on his penis and testicles. A Philippine National Police
Philippine National Police
The Philippine National Police is the national police force of the Republic of the Philippines. It is both a national and a local police force in that it does provides all law enforcement services throughout the Philippines...
raid in another Manila apartment also revealed evidence that Abdul Murad, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Yousef had drawn up plans for flying an airplane into the CIA headquarters. The information was passed on to the FAA who warned individual airlines. As part of the Bojinka plot, Murad was slated to bomb two United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
aircraft, and was also slated to be the suicide pilot that would pilot a small plane filled with explosives into the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia
Langley, Virginia
Langley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.The community was essentially absorbed into McLean many years ago, although there is still a Langley High School...
.
Information about plane bombings was sent to the FBI. Abdul Hakim Murad was sent to the United States on April 12, 1995 and would later help convict Yousef based on Murad's testimony. Murad was convicted on Sept 5, 1996 of seven counts of conspiring and attempting to bomb 12 planes. On May 16, 1998 Murad received a life sentence to prison. Murad, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
#37437-054, is currently serving his time in ADX Florence
ADX Florence
The United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility is a supermax prison for men that is located in unincorporated Fremont County, Colorado, United States, south of Florence. It is unofficially known as ADX Florence, Florence ADMAX, Supermax, or The Alcatraz of the Rockies...
, the Federal ADX Supermax prison near Florence, Colorado
Florence, Colorado
The City of Florence is a Statutory City located in Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The population was 3,653 at the 2000 census.ADX Florence, the only federal Supermax prison in the United States, is located south of Florence in an unincorporated area in Fremont County...
.