Abu Jandal is a former member of al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...

 and former chief bodyguard of Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...

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He is a Saudi citizen of Yemeni descent. Abu Jandal was arrested by Yemeni authorities in connection with the USS Cole bombing

USS Cole bombing

The USS Cole Bombing, or the USS Cole Incident, was a suicide attack against the United States Navy destroyer on October 12, 2000 while it was harbored and refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden. Seventeen American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured...

 in October 2000,

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks

September 11, 2001 attacks

The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...

 on New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

's World Trade Center

World Trade Center

The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...

, Abu Jandal was brought before FBI agent Ali Soufan

Ali Soufan

Ali H. Soufan is a Lebanese-American former FBI agent who was involved in a number of high-profile anti-terrorism cases both in the United States and around the world...

 for questioning in Aden

Aden

Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

, Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

. After five days of intense interrogation, Abu Jandal identified many of the hijackers and became a significant source to link the 9/11 attacks to al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...

. He then provided information for the United States war on Afghanistan

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...

 in October 2001. In May 2009, Ali Soufan spoke with Time Magazine's Bobby Ghosh

Bobby Ghosh

Aparisim "Bobby" Ghosh is a journalist and TIME Magazine's World Editor. An Indian national, he is the first non-American to be named World Editor in TIME's more than 80 years. He has previously been TIME's Baghdad bureau chief, and one of the longest-serving correspondents in Iraq. He has written...

 about his interrogation of Abu Jandal and said that because he was a diabetic, giving Jandal sugar free cookies helped convince Jandal to begin speaking with interrogators.

Abu Jandal is currently free from custody and lives in Yemen.

Abu Jandal told CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

 that bin Laden handed him a gun and told him: "In it are two bullets. You will never let me be captured alive." http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/arts/story.html?id=3fe24179-20ea-4993-9214-5c3b8007cc1b

He is said to have been born a few years before 1970, to be the father of two children and suffer from diabetes

Diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...

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This person is not to be confused with Ehsan a.k.a. Abu Jandal, an aide to Maulana Fazlullak, a militant commander thought to be operating in Pakistan. Ehsan a.k.a. Abu Jandal was reportedly killed in early July 2009 in Swat.

Abu Jandal was interviewed for the documentary film The Oath

The Oath (2010 film)

The Oath is a 2010 documentary from director Laura Poitras. It tells the cross-cut tale of two men, Abu Jandal and Salim Ahmed Hamdan, whose meeting launched them on juxtaposed paths with Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, 9/11, US military tribunals and the U.S. Supreme Court...

 about his recruitment into al Qaeda of his brother-in-law Salim Ahmed Hamdan

Salim Ahmed Hamdan

Salim Ahmed Hamdan is a Yemeni man, captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, and imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. He admits to being Osama bin Laden's personal driver claiming he needed the $200 monthly salary that came with the job....

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