Habis Abdulla al Saoub
Encyclopedia
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
ian national and member of the Portland Seven, and later a member of an al Qaeda cell. In February 2003, he was added to the FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list
FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list
The FBI Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list is the third major "wanted" list to have been created by the United States Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Investigation to be used as a primary tool for publicly identifying and tracking down suspected terrorists operating against...
, wanted in connection with a federal grand jury indictment returned on October 3, 2002, in United States District Court for the District of Oregon
United States District Court for the District of Oregon
The United States District Court for the District of Oregon is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union...
at Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, in which he was charged with conspiracy to levy war against the United States, conspiracy to provide material support and resources to Al-Qaeda, conspiracy to contribute services to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and possessing firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence. The FBI offered a five million dollar reward for his capture.
He was killed by 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 forces in October 2003.
Portland Seven fugitive
On September 29, 2001, al Saoub and others were discovered while engaged in shooting practice in a gravel pit in Skamania County, Washington. The group was discovered by Deputy Sheriff Mark Mercer who was acting on a tip from a neighbor who had heard gunfire in the pit. Deputy Mercer let the men go after taking their names and reported the incident to the FBI. Al Saoub was believed by the FBI to have then fled the United States on October 17, 2001.Patrice Lumumba Ford
Patrice Lumumba Ford
Patrice Lumumba Ford has been accused of membership in a terrorist group dubbed the Portland Seven, members of which attempted to travel to Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 in order to aid the Taliban...
, Jeffrey Leon Battle
Jeffrey Battle
Jeffrey Leon Battle was a member of a terrorist group dubbed the Portland Seven, some members of which attempted to travel to Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 in order to aid the Taliban. He refused to cooperate with the government and was sentenced to eighteen years in prison after pleading guilty...
, October Martinique Lewis
October Lewis
October Martinique Lewis was a member of a terrorist group dubbed the Portland Seven, some members of which attempted to travel to Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 in order to aid the Taliban. Lewis was sentenced to three years in a federal prison camp after cooperating with the government and...
(Battle's ex-wife), Muhammad Ibrahim Bilal
Muhammad Bilal
Muhammad Ibrahim Bilal was a member of a terrorist group dubbed the Portland Seven, some members of which attempted to travel to Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 in order to aid the Taliban. In October 2002, Bilal was indicted and shortly thereafter arrested in Detroit...
, Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal
Ahmed Bilal
Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal was a member of a terrorist group dubbed the Portland Seven, some members of which attempted to travel to Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 in order to aid the Taliban. He was indicted and arrested in Malaysia in October of 2002...
, Maher "Mike" Hawash
Mike Hawash
Maher Mofeid "Mike" Hawash is a Palestinian-born American engineer who was convicted and sentenced to a seven-year prison sentence in 2003 for conspiring to aid the Taliban in fighting against U.S. forces and their allies in Afghanistan...
, and Habis Abdulla al Saoub made up the original seven members wanted by the FBI. The members of the Portland Seven "were all named in the 15-count superseding indictment that included charges of conspiracy to levy war against the United States, conspiracy to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda, conspiracy to contribute services to al Qaeda and the Taliban, conspiracy to possess and discharge firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence, possessing firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence and money laundering."
According to the indictment, on October 17, 2001, Battle and al Saoub flew out of Portland International Airport
Portland International Airport
Portland International Airport is a joint civil-military airport and the largest airport in the U.S. state of Oregon, accounting for 90% of passenger travel and more than 95% of air cargo of the state. It is located within Portland's city limits just south of the Columbia River in Multnomah...
enroute to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
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 November 2001 and January 2002, Ford wired money to al Saoub in China.
The six male members of the group travelled to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in early 2002, with the intent of entering Afghanistan to aid the Taliban. Lacking visas and other documentation, they were turned back, and all but al Saoub then returned again to the United States.
On Thursday, October 3, 2002, a federal grand jury in United States District Court for the District of Oregon
United States District Court for the District of Oregon
The United States District Court for the District of Oregon is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union...
, at Portland, Oregon, indicted Battle, Ford, the two Bilals, al Saoub and Lewis. On October 4, 2002 the FBI in Portland, Oregon announced the arrest of four of those original six on charges of aiding and, in some cases, trying to join Al-Qaida fighters. The remaining two, Ahmed Bilal and al Saoub were both considered fugitives.
Al Saoub remained in the Afghanistan region after the other members of the Portland Seven had left. He was subsequently wired $2,000 by Maher "Mike" Hawash.
Hawash indicated that he was moved to join the Portland Seven by al Saoub.
According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer, the indictment against Saoub said he discarded a bag containing a Jordanian passport and a document titled "A Martyr's Will," before traveling to Afghanistan to join forces with Taliban and al Qaida troops.
Al Saoub was killed in October 2003. Pakistani officials said the mission was aimed at an al Qaeda group suspected of crossing into Afghanistan to attack a U.S. base near the remote town of Shkin
Shkin
Shkin is a scattered village in Barmal District, Paktika Province, Afghanistan located about a kilometer west of the newer, much larger, and border-straddling village and bazaar of Angoor Adda. Angoor Adda is controlled by the Pakistan Frontier Guards...
. Three U.S. soldiers had been killed in that area in late August 2003.
Saoub was ultimately removed from the FBI list June 24, 2004.
Ford and Battle are each serving eighteen-year sentences. Lewis was sentenced to three years in a federal prison camp. Muhammad Bilal received an eight-year sentence, while Ahmed Bilal got ten years. Hawash was sentenced to seven years.