Omar al-Faruq
Encyclopedia
Omar al-Faruq (24 May 1971 - 25 September 2006) was a Kuwait
i of Iraqi descent, and a senior al-Qaeda
member. He was a liaison between al-Qaeda and Islamic terrorists in the Far East, particularly Jemaah Islamiyah
. He was captured in Bogor
, Indonesia
in 2002 by an Indonesian security agent who handed him over to the United States. Al-Faruq's capture was based on information derived from the capture of Abu Zubaydah
. Al-Faruq in turn revealed information about a plot to bomb embassies in the Southeast Asia, giving rise the "yellow alert" of 10 September 2002.
In July 2005, al-Faruq escaped from Bagram prison with three other al Qaeda suspects; see Bagram escape. The U.S. did not acknowledge his escape until November when they were unable to produce him as a witness called by defense attorney Michael Waddington
, in the trial of a U.S. sergeant, Alan Driver, accused of abuse at the prison
.
On September 25, 2006, Al-Faruq was killed by British troops operating in the Iraq
i city of Basra
. The operations took place in pre-dawn hours and involved over 200 soldiers. There were no British casualties.
Former Indonesian state intelligence Coordinating Board (BAKIN
) chief A. C. Manulang in a September 2002 interview with Indonesian TEMPO magazine alleged that Al-Faruq was a CIA agent assigned to infiltrate Islamic radical groups and recruit local agents within these groups. Manulang concluded this based on analysis of the pattern used by Al-Faruq of having a Kuwaiti citizenship but holding a Pakistani passport, entering Indonesia as a refugee and marrying an Indonesian woman.
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
i of Iraqi descent, and a senior 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...
member. He was a liaison between al-Qaeda and Islamic terrorists in the Far East, particularly Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiah , is a Southeast Asian militant Islamic organization dedicated to the establishment of a Daulah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia incorporating Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, Singapore and Brunei...
. He was captured in Bogor
Bogor
Bogor is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency , 60 kilometers south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
in 2002 by an Indonesian security agent who handed him over to the United States. Al-Faruq's capture was based on information derived from the capture of Abu Zubaydah
Abu Zubaydah
Abu Zubaydah is a Saudi Arabian citizen, sentenced to death in Jordan and currently held in U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.Not neutral: Arrested in Pakistan in March 2002, he has been in US custody for more than eight years, four-and-a-half of them spent incommunicado in solitary confinement...
. Al-Faruq in turn revealed information about a plot to bomb embassies in the Southeast Asia, giving rise the "yellow alert" of 10 September 2002.
In July 2005, al-Faruq escaped from Bagram prison with three other al Qaeda suspects; see Bagram escape. The U.S. did not acknowledge his escape until November when they were unable to produce him as a witness called by defense attorney Michael Waddington
Michael Waddington
Michael Stewart Waddington is an American Criminal Defense lawyer specializing in serious felonies, court martial cases, and war crimes....
, in the trial of a U.S. sergeant, Alan Driver, accused of abuse at the prison
Bagram torture and prisoner abuse
In 2005, The New York Times obtained a 2,000-page United States Army report concerning the homicides of two unarmed civilian Afghan prisoners by U.S. armed forces in 2002 at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility in Bagram, Afghanistan. The prisoners, Habibullah and Dilawar, were chained to the...
.
On September 25, 2006, Al-Faruq was killed by British troops operating in the Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i city of Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
. The operations took place in pre-dawn hours and involved over 200 soldiers. There were no British casualties.
Former Indonesian state intelligence Coordinating Board (BAKIN
Bakin
Bakin may refer to:*Kyokutei Bakin*the Indonesian intelligence service Bakin *the Esperanto name adopted by Li Yaotang, aka Ba Jin...
) chief A. C. Manulang in a September 2002 interview with Indonesian TEMPO magazine alleged that Al-Faruq was a CIA agent assigned to infiltrate Islamic radical groups and recruit local agents within these groups. Manulang concluded this based on analysis of the pattern used by Al-Faruq of having a Kuwaiti citizenship but holding a Pakistani passport, entering Indonesia as a refugee and marrying an Indonesian woman.