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 Home > News & Policies > October 2001

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 10, 2001

Fact Sheet
The List of Most Wanted Terrorists

Overview

The President joined Attorney General John Ashcroft, Secretary of State Colin Powell and FBI Director Robert Mueller in announcing a new joint program to heighten global awareness of America’s efforts to locate known terrorists and bring them to justice.

The new program will be managed jointly by the Department of Justice and the State Department. The FBI portion of the program will be known as the list of “Most Wanted Terrorists.” The State Department facet of the program will be managed through the department’s Rewards for Justice Program.

As part of today’s announcement, the Bush Administration identified 22 known terrorists that have been placed on the list of “Most Wanted Terrorists.”

Visit the "Most Wanted" Terrorists Website

The List of “Most Wanted Terrorists”

WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBING
February 26, 1993
Indicted in the Southern District of New York

On February 26, 1993, a bomb exploded in the underground parking garage of the World Trade center in New York City, killing six persons and injuring hundreds. The following defendant is included in the Indictment returned in the Southern District of New York:

- Abdul Rahman Yasin

PLOT TO BOMB AIRCRAFT IN THE FAR EAST (MANILA AIR)
January, 1995
Indicted in the Southern District of New York

In January, 1995, the United States learned of a plot based in Manila to bomb 12 commercial jumbo jets of United States carriers flying Asian-Pacific routes. In December, 1994, the conspirators had engaged in a test on a Philippines airliner using only about 10 percent of the explosives that were to be used in each of the bombs to be planted on United States airliners. The test resulted in the death of a Japanese national on board a flight from the Philippines to Japan. The following defendant is included in the Indictment returned in the Southern District of New York:

- Khalid Shaikh Mohammed

KHOBAR TOWERS BOMBING
June 25, 1996
Indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia

On June 25, 1996, an explosive device contained within a mid-sized tanker truck detonated outside the perimeter of the Khobar Towers military housing complex in Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The explosion killed 19 United States Air Force personnel, wounded 280 persons, and severely damaged several military facilities in the complex. The following defendants are included in the Indictment returned in the Eastern District of Virginia:

- Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Mughassil
- Ali Saed Bin Ali El-Houri
- Ibrahim Salih Mohammed Al-Yacoub
- Abdelkarim Hussein Mohamed Al-Nasser

THE BOMBINGS OF UNITED STATES EMBASSIES IN KENYA AND TANZANIA
August 7, 1998

On August 7, 1998, bombs contained with large motor vehicles were detonated outside the United States Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Eleven United States nationals were killed in Nairobi; there were heavy casualties among Kenyan civilians and some foreign service nationals employed by the United States Embassy. In Dar ed Salaam, no United States nationals were killed but four were injured; several foreign service nationals who worked at that Embassy were killed. The following defendants are included in the Indictment returned by the Southern District of New York:

- Usama Bin Laden
- Muhammad Atef
- Ayman Al-Zawahiri
- Fazul Abdullah Mohammed
- Mustafa Mohamed Fadhil
- Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam
- Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani
- Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan
- Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah
- Anas Al-Liby
- Saif Al-Adel
- Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali
- Mushin Musa Matwalli Atwah

HIJACKING OF TWA 847
June 14, 1985
Indicted in the District of Columbia

On June 14, 1985, TWA 847 was hijacked while enroute from Athens, Greece to Rome, Italy. U.S. Navy Diver Robert Stethem was brutally tortured and murdered during the hijacking, his body dumped on the tarmac of Beirut International Airport. The following defendants are included in the Indictment returned in the District of Columbia.

- Imad Mugniyah
- Hassan Izz-Al-Din
- Ali Atwa

The State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program

The Rewards for Justice Program is a formidable weapon in the U.S. arsenal for combating international terrorism. Established by the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, Public Law 98-533, the Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

Under this program, the Secretary of State may offer rewards of up to $5 million for information that prevents, frustrates, or favorably resolves acts of international terrorism against U.S. interests worldwide or leads to the arrest or conviction in any country of an individual for the commission of such an act. Rewards may also be paid for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any individual conspiring or attempting to commit such a terrorist act, or aiding or abetting in the commission of such an act.

The Rewards for Justice Program has been an effective tool in the fight against international terrorism. In the past seven years, the United States has paid over $8 million in 22 cases to individuals who have come forward with credible information that puts terrorists behind bars or prevents acts of international terrorism worldwide.

The program played a significant role in the arrest of international terrorist Ramzi Yousef, whose capture is perhaps the textbook example of the effectiveness of the program. Yousef came to the United States prior to the bombing of the World Trade Center to coordinate the manufacture and placement of the bomb. He left the United States about the same time the bomb exploded, but his terrorist planning didn’t stop there. Yousef allegedly made arrangements to simultaneously blow up 12 U.S. commercial airliners as they flew over the Pacific Ocean.

Using pictures and identifiers, the State Department flooded the world with posters, matchbooks, flyers, and newspaper ads with information about Yousef and his role in the World Trade Center bombing. A little less than two years later, an informant appeared with one of our reward offers and pinpointed Yousef’s location in Pakistan. Yousef was arrested shortly thereafter.

People with information on the September 11th attacks or any past or planned act of international terrorism against the United States are urged to contact the FBI or the Bureau of Diplomatic Security via any one of the following avenues:

Internet: www.dssrewards.net or www.ifccfbi.gov
E-mail: mail@dssrewards.net
Telephone: 1-800-437-6371 (U.S. only) or 1-866-483-5137
Mail: Rewards for Justice
P.O. Box 96781
Washington, DC 20090-6781 USA

In addition, people located overseas may contact the Regional Security Officer at the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Terrorism threatens the security of all people, and our determination to fight it is greater than ever. Through the Rewards for Justice Program, we have tracked terrorists aggressively and made them pay for their crimes. Thousands of innocent lives around the world have been saved through the prevention of terrorist attacks. Without question, this program is one of the most valuable assets the U.S. Government has in the fight against international terrorism.