Khalfan Khamis Mohamed
Encyclopedia
Khalfan Neaimi a Tanzania
n national, is one of numerous al-Qaeda
suspects who were indicted in 1998, and one of the four who were convicted and sentenced to life without parole in 2001, for their parts in the 1998 United States embassy bombings
. Convicted along with Mohamed were Wadih el Hage, Mohammed Saddiq Odeh
, and Mohamed Rashid al-Owhali.
It is believed that Mohamed assembled the bomb used against the embassy in the Dar es Salaam
, Tanzania, and flew to South Africa
shortly after the bombing. He was arrested in Cape Town
on October 5, 1999, after he was discovered to still be using the same alias
he had used during the bombings.
Khalfan Mohamed allegedly received training in Afghanistan
.
On November 2, 2000, Mohamed and Mamdouh Mahmud Salim
(also of al-Qaeda) attacked a federal prison guard in a failed escape attempt. The officer was critically injured, having been stabbed in the eye with a sharpened comb, and suffered severe brain damage from the attack. During the sentencing phase of his trial, prosecutors argued unsuccessfully for capital punishment
of Mohamed, due to the continuing threat he posed to prison guards.
Khalfan Khamis Mohamed is held in the supermax prison known as ADX Florence
.
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
n national, is one of numerous 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...
suspects who were indicted in 1998, and one of the four who were convicted and sentenced to life without parole in 2001, for their parts in the 1998 United States embassy bombings
1998 United States embassy bombings
The 1998 United States embassy bombings were a series of attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998, in which hundreds of people were killed in simultaneous truck bomb explosions at the United States embassies in the East African capitals of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. The date of the...
. Convicted along with Mohamed were Wadih el Hage, Mohammed Saddiq Odeh
Mohammed Odeh
A Palestinian, Mohammed Saddiq Odeh is one of the four former al-Qaeda members sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001 for their parts in the 1998 United States embassy bombings. He is in a supermax prison known as ADX Florence....
, and Mohamed Rashid al-Owhali.
It is believed that Mohamed assembled the bomb used against the embassy in the Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
, Tanzania, and flew to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
shortly after the bombing. He was arrested in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
on October 5, 1999, after he was discovered to still be using the same alias
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
he had used during the bombings.
Khalfan Mohamed allegedly received training in 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...
.
On November 2, 2000, Mohamed and Mamdouh Mahmud Salim
Mamdouh Mahmud Salim
Mamdouh Mahmud Salim is an alleged co-founder of the Islamist terrorist network al-Qaeda. He was arrested on 16 September 1998 near the German town Munich...
(also of al-Qaeda) attacked a federal prison guard in a failed escape attempt. The officer was critically injured, having been stabbed in the eye with a sharpened comb, and suffered severe brain damage from the attack. During the sentencing phase of his trial, prosecutors argued unsuccessfully for capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
of Mohamed, due to the continuing threat he posed to prison guards.
Khalfan Khamis Mohamed is held in the supermax prison known as 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...
.