Buffalo Six
Encyclopedia
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...
, based on the fact they had attended an Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan together in the Spring of 2001.
They are:
- Mukhtar Al-Bakri,
- Sahim Alwan,
- Faysal Galab,
- Shafal Mosed,
- Yaseinn Taher
- Yahya Goba.
All six are naturalized American citizens.
Background
They traveled to AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in spring 2001, before the September 11 attacks, while the country was still ruled by the Taliban, who were then giving sanctuary to 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...
, who in turn used it as a base for al-Qaeda training.
In June 2001, an anonymous two-page handwritten letter was received from an individual ostensibly living in Lackawanna who knew the Yemeni population intimately, It warned "I am very concern. I am an Arab-American... and I cannot give you my name because I fear for my life. Two terrorist came to Lackawanna... for recruiting the Yemenite youth... the terrorist group... left to Afghanistan to meet... bin Laden and stay in his camp for training", and gave the names of twelve local youths.
The group visited what later became known in the American media as the "al-Farooq terrorist training camp
Al Farouq training camp
The Al Farouq training camp, also known as "the airport camp", was an alleged Al-Qaeda training camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan. Camp attendees received small-arms training, map-reading, orientation, explosives training, and other training....
."
In the late summer of 2002, one of the members, Mukhtar al-Bakri
Mukhtar al-Bakri
Mukhtar al-Bakri is a Yemeni-American who grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo, New York. In 2002, he was arrested and charged as part of the War on Terror together with the other members of the "Lackawanna Six", based on the fact the group of friends had attended an Afghan training camp together...
, sent an e-mail in which he described his upcoming wedding and another in which he mentioned a "big meal" after the wedding, which is tradition in Islam. The Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA), who were monitoring him, sounded the alarm and al-Bakri was arrested by Bahrainian police
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
on the date of his wedding. They found him in his hotel room with his new wife, preparing to consummate his marriage, and stunned at the commando team that now held him at gunpoint.
The other five were arrested in Lackawanna, New York
Lackawanna, New York
Lackawanna is a city in Erie County, New York, U.S., located just south of the city of Buffalo in the western part of New York state. The population was 18,141 at the 2010 census. The name derives from the Lackawanna Steel Company...
, a suburb of Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
in September 2002. On September 14, 2002, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) held a press conference in Buffalo to announce the arrests of five of the local al-Qaeda suspects. The FBI Special Agent in charge of the investigation, Peter Ahearn (At the time head of the FBI's Buffalo Field Office
FBI Buffalo Field Office
The FBI Buffalo Field Office is the Federal Bureau of Investigation field office in Buffalo, New York, one of 56 field offices in the United States.The Buffalo Field Office is responsible for the Western New York region...
), stated that there was no specific event triggering the arrests, which followed four to eight months of investigations. Later, FBI counterterrorism chief Dale Watson told The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
that the bureau's response was that "we are probably 99 percent sure that we can make sure these guys don't do something – if they are planning to do something." Watson paraphrased the President's response as that "under the rules that we were playing under at the time, that's not acceptable. So a conscious decision was made, 'Let's get 'em out of here'".
Elbaneh's escape
Jaber A. Elbaneh
Jaber A. Elbaneh is a Yemeni-American who was labeled a suspected terrorist by the United States after it emerged that he had attended al-Farooq alongside the Lackawanna Six, and remained on at the camp after they returned home...
, never returned to the U.S. after his trip to Afghanistan and in September 2003, the FBI announced a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest. He escaped from a Yemeni prison in 2006 after joining a successful group prison break and was named as one of 23 people, 12 of them Al-Qaeda members, who escaped on February 3, 2006.
On February 23, 2006 the U.S. FBI confirmed the escape, as they issued a national Press Release naming Elbaneh as one of the first new additions, since inception in 2001, to the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted Terrorists is a list of fugitives who have been indicted by sitting Federal grand juries in the United States district courts, for alleged crimes of terrorism. The initial list was formed in late 2001 in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks...
list.
On May 20, 2007, Elbaneh turned himself in to Yemen authorities on the condition that his prison sentence would not be extended.
Ahmed Hijazi
Ahmed HijaziAhmed Hijazi
Kamal Derwish was an American citizen killed by the CIA as part of a covert targeted killing mission in Yemen on November 5, 2002...
aka Jalal aka Kamal Derwish, who was killed in a car with five others by a Hellfire
AGM-114 Hellfire
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile developed primarily for anti-armor use. It has multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike capability, and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100 lb-class air-to-ground precision...
targeted killing
Targeted killing
Targeted killing is the deliberate, specific targeting and killing, by a government or its agents, of a supposed terrorist or of a supposed "unlawful combatant" who is not in that government's custody...
from a CIA Predator
RQ-1 Predator
The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator is an unmanned aerial vehicle used primarily by the United States Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency...
in 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....
2002 November 3, may have been the ringleader/recruiter. He was sought after largely because he could clarify how serious a threat the Buffalo Six were. Hijazi held U.S. citizenship and was also a citizen of an unidentified Middle Eastern country. He was not born in the United States, but resided there for an unknown period of time. With him in the vehicle at the time of his death, was a senior al Qaeda leader, Abu Ali al-Harithi, who is suspected of masterminding the October 2000 attack on the destroyer USS Cole
USS Cole
Two United States Navy destroyers have borne the name USS Cole. The first Cole was named for Edward B. Cole. The second ship was named for Darrell S. Cole....
.
Trials
An anonymous voice message was being sent to households across Lackawanna, ostensibly from "BioFend", noting that "we believe that the goal of this terrorist cell was to detonate briefcase-sized dirty bombDirty bomb
A dirty bomb is a speculative radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. The purpose of the weapon is to contaminate the area around the explosion with radioactive material, hence the attribute "dirty"....
s right here in western New York". When then-Governor Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
had the company dissolved, it was still unclear whether the recordings were meant to lay the groundwork for a financial scam, or were an attempt to "taint the jury pool" by spreading untrue rumors suggesting there had been a violent plan in the works.
All six pleaded guilty in court to terrorism related charges. Yahya Goba and Mukhtar al-Bakri received ten-year prison sentences. Yaseinn Taher and Shafal Mosed received eight-year prison sentences. Sahim Alwan received a nine and a half year sentence. Faysal Galab received a seven year sentence. All sentences were for single counts of "providing support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization". In discussing the plea bargain agreements, US prosecutors commented the defendants had cooperated with federal terrorism investigators, providing detailed information on Al-Qaeda membership, training, and methods.
Guantanamo testimony
Guantanamo military commission
The Guantanamo military commissions are military tribunals created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for prosecuting detainees held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.- History :...
s.
Yassein Taher, Sahim Alwan and a third member of the group testified about being shown a two hour jihadist video that celebrated
the attack on the USS Cole
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...
while they were in al Qaeda guest houses and when they attended the al Farouq training camp
Al Farouq training camp
The Al Farouq training camp, also known as "the airport camp", was an alleged Al-Qaeda training camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan. Camp attendees received small-arms training, map-reading, orientation, explosives training, and other training....
.
Al Bahlul stands accused of producing the jihadist video.
The Buffalo men testified that they were terrified and appalled by the video.
According to the Miami Herald Taher and Alwan expected their testimony would be rewarded by being placed in the witness protection program, like the third man whose name was withheld from the Press.
Proposed capture by United States Army troops
In July 2009, it was reported that prior to sending in 130 federal and local members of theWestern New York Joint Terrorism Task Force it was suggested that federal troops
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
be used to capture the suspects.
At the time, Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
felt that the men should be declared enemy combatants and could have been tried by a military tribunal
Military tribunal
A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings. The judges are military officers and fulfill the role of jurors...
. President Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
rejected this proposal and the arrests proceeded without incident.
See also
- Detroit Sleeper CellDetroit Sleeper CellThe Detroit Sleeper Cell is a group of men of Middle-Eastern descent who the United States Department of Justice believed were plotting an attack on Disneyland. The members of the alleged cell were Farouk Ali-Haimoud, Ahmed Hannan, Karim Koubriti, and Abdel Ilah Elmardoudi.-Trial:While on a trip...
- Communications Management Unit (CMU) in Terre Haute, Indiana
- 2007 Fort Dix attack plot2007 Fort Dix attack plotThe 2007 Fort Dix attack plot involved a group of six radical Islamist men who conspired to stage an attack against U.S. Military personnel stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The alleged aim of the group was to "kill as many soldiers as possible"....
- Naser Jason AbdoNaser Jason AbdoNaser Jason Abdo is a Muslim US Army Private First Class who is currently being held without bond for possession of an unregistered firearm and allegedly planning to attack a restaurant frequented by soldiers from Fort Hood.-Early life:Abdo grew up in Garland, Texas and attended Richardson Terrace...
External links
- 'Lackawanna Six' Plead Not Guilty, CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, October 22, 2002 - Final 'Buffalo Six' Member Pleads Guilty, Fox News, May 19, 2003
- Buffalo terror suspect admits al Qaeda training, CNNCNNCable 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...
, May 20, 2003 - Terror-Cell Bail Hearing Continues, Fox News, May 20, 2003
- Frontline: Chasing the Sleeper Cell, PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
- An interview with Sahim Alwan, PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, July 24, 2003 - Profiles of members, PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, October 16, 2003 - 2nd member sentenced
- FBI Most Wanted Terrorists wanted poster for Elbaneh
- Courtroom drawings by Buffalo artist Ralph Sirianni