US offers $5M reward for 'Bomb Man' terror suspect
AP: ... Former CIA operatives who also tracked Ibrahim say he lived in Iraq, beyond the long reach of the spy agency and the FBI, for about three decades and thrived with the help of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. Before the 2003 Iraq invasion, Ibrahim - known as "The Bomb Man" - lived in a suburb of Baghdad, and his terrorist group received a monthly stipend from the IIS (Iraqi Intelligence Service - Mukhabarat), according to captured Iraqi documents.
The Iraqi government used him to conduct terrorism operations against Syria and Iran. In his book, former CIA spy master Duane R. Clarridge wrote that Ibrahim had a "talent for constructing ingenious machines of death, such as refrigerator trucks whose cooling pipes were filled with liquid explosives."
Ibrahim is accused of teaching the art of bomb-making to a slew of operatives, including Mohammed Rashed, who's behind bars at a maximum-security prison in Florence, Colo. Rashed was convicted in the 1982 Pan Am bombing. He is scheduled to be released in 2013.
In April, the AP published a story about Ibrahim, whom many people thought dead. (LINK)
Court documents indicate Rashed has agreed to cooperate in the case against Ibrahim as part of a plea agreement, meaning the FBI needs to catch Ibrahim before Rashed's release. But Rashed disputed he'll testify against Ibrahim. In a May letter to The Associated Press, he wrote: "I am not a witness against nobody."
In 2004, the military raided a bomb-making factory in Mosul and found telltale signs of Ibrahim and his devices, suggesting that he or his pupils were supporting the insurgency. Federal law enforcement officials also confirmed they had had no reason to believe Ibrahim had given up his deadly trade.
"Experts believe his bomb-making signature can be seen in other bombings or attempted bombing in the 25 years since his indictment," according to an FBI news release.
(Remember: The Iraq War had nothing to do with any "War on Terror"...nothing...it was a "distraction"....)
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RELATED: One stop from Baghdad: Saddam Hussein's 1982 Honolulu attack
AP: NEW YORK – As Pan Am Flight 830 descended toward Honolulu and passengers finished their breakfast, a blinding burst of light washed over them. And then, "BOOM!"
The 747 shuddered violently. Confusion erupted as the airliner nose-dived. Screams and thick smoke filled the cabin. Oxygen masks dropped.
In the rear of the plane, 16-year-old Toru Ozawa lay on his back in the aisle. His lower abdomen had been ripped open, his intestines seeping out. The explosion had also sheered off one of his legs. He called out for his mother and father; they watched in horror as he died.
The Aug. 11, 1982, explosion was no accident. Ozawa was murdered — killed by a sophisticated bomb, one of many that spread like a virus around the world in the 1980s, killing and injuring scores in more than two dozen terrorist attacks.
The man behind them: Abu Ibrahim, who controlled a web of dangerous operatives while living in Baghdad under the protection of Saddam Hussein.
Long forgotten and even presumed dead by some, Ibrahim is very much alive, according to an Associated Press investigation.
Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Ibrahim had managed to elude coalition forces — possibly while aiding the Sunni insurgency — before he recently crossed into Syria, federal law enforcement and former CIA officials believe....
With the assistance of Iraqi intelligence, Ibrahim carried out many attacks. He struck in London, Rome, Athens. In West Berlin, an infant was killed and 24 wounded after one of his bombs detonated at an Israeli-owned restaurant.
His most well-known plans, however, involved trying to sabotage Pan Am and El Al airlines.
On Aug. 11, 1982, Mohammed Rashed, a top 15 May lieutenant, boarded a flight from Baghdad to Tokyo along with his Austrian-born wife Christine Pinter and their child.
Before Rashed, Ibrahim's apprentice, disembarked in Tokyo, he activated a bomb under the cushion of window seat 47K. Once on the ground, Rashed and his wife got off the plane, which continued to Honolulu. Ozawa, who was on vacation with his family, sat in Rashed's seat.
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Rewards for Justice - Husayn Muhammed al-Umari Reward Offer
Office of the Spokesman, Washington, DC, November 24, 2009
The following is the text of a joint Rewards For Justice – Federal Bureau of Investigation statement on a reward offer for information about terrorist suspect Husayn Muhammed al-Umari:
The U.S. Department of State has authorized a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Husayn Muhammed al-Umari (also known as Abu Ibrahim).
Husayn Muhammed al-Umari is wanted by the FBI for his alleged participation in the August 11, 1982 bombing of Pan American World Airways flight 830, which resulted in the murder of one passenger, the wounding of 16 passengers, and the attempted murder of 267 passengers and the crew on board. Al-Umari was one of three people indicted for the terrorist act and is alleged to have designed and built the explosive device which detonated while the aircraft was in flight from Narita, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii.
Al-Umari was charged in the District of Columbia’s U.S. District Court with: (1) Conspiracy to commit assault and damage to property; (2) conspiracy to commit murder, (3) murder; (4) aircraft sabotage; (5) damaging aircraft used in foreign commerce (6) placing bombs on aircraft; (7) assault; (8) attempted aircraft sabotage, and (9) aiding and abetting. In 1998, a co-conspirator, Mohammad Rashed, who placed the bomb on the aircraft, was arrested and brought to the United States. He pleaded guilty to his role in the bombing and signed a cooperation agreement as part of his plea.
Believed to be a master bomb maker and one-time leader of the “15 May” terrorist group, al-Umari also has been indicted by the Government of France for his alleged role in the 1985 bombing of the Marks and Spencer Department store in Paris and the Leumi Bank.
Al-Umari was born in 1936 in Jaffa, in the former British mandate of Palestine. He is about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with a medium to large build and light complexion. He is believed to have black or graying hair and may be balding. He has brown eyes and is believed to wear glasses. He has scars on both hands and his right forearm. He may possess a passport from Lebanon, where his wife reportedly lives. He is the father of two sons and two daughters. He lived for several years in Iraq. While his current whereabouts are unknown, it is possible that he is residing in Lebanon or Iraq.
He reportedly travels at all times with a firearm and should be considered armed and dangerous. He is reported to have received training from various terrorist and intelligence groups including the defunct Soviet KGB, German Red Army Faction, Irish Republican Army, Basque Fatherland and Liberty, and the Japanese Red Army.
More information about Husayn Muhammed al-Umari is located on the Rewards for Justice website (www.rewardsforjustice.net/umari). The FBI also has placed al-Umari on its Most Wanted Terrorists website (www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/fugitives.htm).
We encourage anyone with information on Husayn Muhammed al-Umari’s location to contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate, any U.S. military commander, or the Rewards for Justice office via the website (www.rewardsforjustice.net), e-mail (RFJ@state.gov) or mail (Rewards for Justice, Washington, DC 20520-0303, USA).
All information will be kept strictly confidential.
Since its inception in 1984, the Rewards for Justice Program has paid more than $80 million to more than 50 persons who provided credible information that has resulted in the capture or death of terrorists or prevented acts of international terrorism.
The Pan Am Flight 830 investigation is being handled by the FBI’s Washington Field Office (WFO). Inquiries and information about this investigation should be directed to the FBI WFO’s public information office at 202-278-3519.
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