Mohammed Odeh
Encyclopedia
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
.
In March 1993, Saif al-Adel
ordered Mohammed Odeh to Somalia
, telling him that his mission was to train tribes in fighting. He has been accused of training forces loyal to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid
in 1993, while other sources have suggested he was training Ittihad al-Islamiyya members. The following year he was sent to Mombassa, Kenya with money from Mohammed Atef
to purchase himself a 7-tonne trawler and start a fishing business.
An engineer with joint Kenyan and Jordanian citizenship, Odeh was arrested after departing his flight from Nairobi to Karachi
with a forged Yemeni passport with a photograph that clearly did not match his face. He was interrogated by ISI
agents when he listed his flight destination as "Afghanistan", and confessed to his role in the bombings, claiming that seven men had plotted them together. A week later he was returned to Nairobi, where he was taken into custody of the FBI.
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...
members sentenced to life imprisonment 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...
. He is in a 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...
.
In March 1993, Saif al-Adel
Saif al-Adel
Saif al-Adel is an Egyptian explosives expert and a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda.Adel is under indictment for his part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Africa...
ordered Mohammed Odeh to Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, telling him that his mission was to train tribes in fighting. He has been accused of training forces loyal to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid
Mohamed Farrah Aidid
General Mohamed Ali Farrah Aidid was a controversial Somali military leader, often described as a warlord. A former general and diplomat, he was the chairman of the United Somali Congress and later led the Somali National Alliance...
in 1993, while other sources have suggested he was training Ittihad al-Islamiyya members. The following year he was sent to Mombassa, Kenya with money from Mohammed Atef
Mohammed Atef
Mohammed Atef was the alleged military chief of al-Qaida, although his role in the organization was not well known by intelligence agencies for years...
to purchase himself a 7-tonne trawler and start a fishing business.
An engineer with joint Kenyan and Jordanian citizenship, Odeh was arrested after departing his flight from Nairobi to Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
with a forged Yemeni passport with a photograph that clearly did not match his face. He was interrogated by ISI
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
agents when he listed his flight destination as "Afghanistan", and confessed to his role in the bombings, claiming that seven men had plotted them together. A week later he was returned to Nairobi, where he was taken into custody of the FBI.