The 50 Worst Terrorist Attacks (20 page)

On March 24, 1993, police arrested Bilal Alkaisi, 26, a resident of New York and New Jersey, and charged him with using explosives to cause the bombing. He was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where he pleaded not guilty. His case was joined with those of Halima, Ayyad, Salameh, and Ramzi Ahmed Yusuf.

On March 31, 1993, federal prosecutors in Manhattan indicted Yusuf, 25, a fugitive who was believed to have escaped to Egypt. He had resided at the same Jersey City address once occupied by Salameh. Yousef was arrested in Pakistan and deported to the United States in February 1995.

On May 5, 1993, Mohammad Ahmad Ajaj, 27, a Palestinian refugee who sought U.S. asylum, was placed in a cell attached to the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan. He entered the United States illegally at John F. Kennedy Airport on September 1, 1992, carrying 12 bomb-making and chemical manuals. Two manuals bore the fingerprints of Yusuf.

On May 26, 1993, Halima, Ajaj, Alkaisi, Ayyad, and Salameh were named with Yusuf in an eight-count indictment accusing them of planning and carrying out the blast.

The trial of Salameh, Halima, Ayyad, and Ajaj began in September 1993. Prosecutors said Ajaj brought the manuals, Ayyad was the chemical engineer, Halima “mixed and transported the chemicals,” and Salameh rented the warehouse, the laboratory apartment, and the van.

On October 15, 1993, a handcuffed Sheikh Abdel-Rahman was charged under a federal sedition law for encouraging the bombing and other plots.

On March 4, 1994, after five days of deliberation, the jury found the four Arab defendants guilty on all counts of conspiracy, explosives charges, and assault. They faced maximum sentences of life in prison without parole.

On May 24, 1994, U.S. district judge Kevin Duffy sentenced each of the convicts to 240 years in prison, a life term calculated by adding the life expectancy of each of the 6 people killed in the blast, plus 30 years for 2 other counts.

On February 7, 1995, Pakistani police arrested Yusuf from Sokawa rest house in Islamabad. The Islamabad-based
Pakistan
paper reported that Yusuf planned to bomb the Israeli Consulate in Bombay and the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi. He reportedly was also involved in the bombings of the Israeli embassies in London and Buenos Aires, and had contacts with the Afghan mujahideen and Kashmiri nationalists. Pakistani police also said that he intended to kill Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 24, 1993. Bhutto had earlier claimed that Yusuf had tried to kill her in September 1993 when he drove a car with explosives toward the Bilawal House in Karachi. On April 1, 1995, Philippine authorities indicted Yusuf on charges of plotting to assassinate the Pope and bombing the Philippine Airlines B-747 in December 1994. On April 13, 1995, U.S. prosecutors indicted Yusuf for the bombing of an airliner on December 11, 1994, that killed Japanese passenger Haruki Ikegami and injured 10 people, and of planning to bomb other U.S. airliners. Yusuf's group also planned a series of bombings of U.S. airliners and considered loading a plane with explosives and crashing it into the Central Intelligence Agency's headquarters.

On April 12, 1994,
Newsday
reported that the FBI had identified seven men—including three Egyptians and one Moroccan—with ties to Hamas and the Islamic group who helped to plan the WTC bombing. They lived in Denmark and were arrested in April 1994 by Danish police on suspicion of complicity in various arsons, attempted bombing, and plotting to disrupt a UN conference in Copenhagen. They were released. Fingerprints of two of the Egyptian men—Abdel Halim Mohammad Atim Soliman and Mohammed Shauban Mohammed Hassanein—were found on manuals and magazines confiscated from Ajaj when he was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport on September 2, 1992. The others were Mohammed Abdel Halim Mohammed Fahim, Talat Fouad Kassem, Mohammad alBanar, and Hassan Fathallah.

On April 13, 1995, federal officials in New York charged Yusuf and Abdul Hakim Murad (alias Saeed Ahmed) of conspiring with others to plant bombs on “numerous” commercial U.S. aircraft.

On April 10, 1996, the United States demanded the expulsion of Sudanese U.N. diplomat Ahmad Yusuf Mohamed for involvement with the WTC bombers and the New York landmark plotters.

On August 1, 1996 a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian who carried a Jordanian passport, Eyad Mahmoud Ismoil Najim, 24, was arrested in Jordan. On
August 3, 1996, he was charged in a New York federal court with planning and executing the WTC bombing.

Yusuf was charged with mixing the bomb's chemicals and organizing the bombing. Najim was charged with driving the van. They were found guilty on November 12, 1997. Yusuf was sentenced on January 8, 1998 to life plus 240 years, fined $4.5 million, and ordered to pay $250 million in restitution.

Prosecutors indicted Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, possibly a relative of Yusuf, who helped Yusuf finance and develop the bomb plot. Mohammed is currently in the Guantanamo Bay military prison, awaiting trial on numerous terrorism charges, including several related to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Overview:
The 1994 bombing of the Argentine–Israel Mutual Aid Society (AIMA) has been linked to the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in showing that even South America can host Middle East-based violence. Foreign terrorists able to blend into a prosperous local expatriate community can prove difficult to deter or apprehend. The Iranian hand was suspected in the case, but efforts to arrest and try top Iranian officials proved futile.

Incident:
On July 18, 1994, at 10:00
A.M.
, a Renault Trafic van bomb loaded with more than 200 kilograms of ammonal exploded at the AIMA in Buenos Aires, killing 96 and wounding 231. The Partisans of God (Al Sad Allah or Ansar Allah) claimed credit. Observers believed this was a cover name for Hizballah. The Islamic Command also claimed responsibility.

Al-Kabir Talcan (or Balkan), 33, a Moroccan, was arrested in the AIMA neighborhood. On July 20, 1994, Uruguay arrested an Iranian citizen, 30, on suspicion of involvement. The individual, whose residence documents had expired, had resided in Montevideo for the past six years.

On July 24, 1994, the Argentine government instructed Attorney General Oscar Fappiano to request that Judge Juan José Galeano issue an extradition for Sheikh Subhi al-Tufayli, the leader of the Followers of God, who lived in Lebanon. On July 29, 1994, London's
Al-Hayah
reported that Lebanon had rejected the request.

An individual in Caracas claiming to be a former Iranian diplomat, Manuchehr Motamar, 38, claimed that Iran was behind the blast. He said that he had been kidnapped by Iranian diplomats in Caracas, but escaped. Caracas declared Iranian ambassador Seyyed Reza Zargarbashi persona non grata. Motamar said an Iranian military officer was responsible for planning the attack and that the explosives entered the country via the diplomatic pouch.

On July 31, 1994,
La Nacion
reported that two people were arrested in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Argentine police, the evening before, had captured two intermediaries who bought the van from Carlos Alberto Telledin under the false name of Ramon Martinez. Telledin was the last buyer of the van, and asked Ariel Nitzcaner and Marcelo Jouce, two mechanics, to repair it. The description of Ramon Martinez coincided with the description of the purchaser of the Ford F-100 pickup used in the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires on March 17, 1992.

On August 1, 1994, police compiled an Identikit likeness of an alleged religious fanatic who may have driven the Renault Trafic van used as the car bomb. He was believed to be an Iranian member of Hizballah. His remains were found near the engine of the car.

On August 9, 1994, based on Motamar's testimony that they were Hizballah members, Galeano ordered the arrest of Iranian diplomats Third Secretary Ahmad Allameh Falsafi, Mahvash Monsef Gholamreza, Akbar Parvaresch, and First Secretary Abbas Zarrabi Khorasani.

Galeano noted that by the end of 1993, Mohsen Rabbani, an Iranian cultural attaché, visited car rental companies, looking to acquire a Trafic van.

Galeano also ordered proceedings and preventive arrest of Telledin for “concealment,” illegal replacement of an engine, and forgery of a private document. Telledin's assets were confiscated up to 100,000 pesos. Galeano also ordered criminal proceedings against the two mechanics for illegal replacement of a car engine.

On October 8, 1994, Argentine police detained ‘Ali al-Hasan, 25, a Syrian, who was carrying four sticks of dynamite and Iraqi Embassy military attaché credentials. The Iraqi Embassy denied knowledge of him. According to his passport, he had toured the Arab world over the past few years. He was arraigned in the Moron court headed by Judge Susana Morris Douglas for possession of explosives. Police were investigating whether he was involved in the July AIMA bombing; he was in possession of a large quantity of newspaper clippings on the blast. Al-Hasan told police that he did not know of the explosives and that a person who had stayed in his home might have left them there.

The next day, police arrested Syrians Ernesto Tanuz, 64, and his son Julio, 24, owners of the premises and the house where al-Hasan was arrested. So far, police had detained 20 individuals in connection with the bombing. The only person still under arrest was Telledin, the Argentine mechanic who sold the station wagon that was used as a car bomb. He was charged as an accessory.

Between January 25 and 27, 1995, following accusations by Telledin, Judge Galeano ordered the arrest of the man who allegedly purchased the Trafic van. Police in Mar del Plata arrested Jose Ramon Juan (or Juan Ramon) Martinez, 50, a Spaniard.

On January 29, 1995, five Lebanese and two Brazilians were detained in a suburb of Asuncion, Paraguay. All seven had entered through Ciudad
del Este on Brazilian passports and had overstayed their 30-day tourist visas. Police believed the three who were Hizballah members were linked to the AIMA bombing. Police confiscated an unlicensed .38 caliber Taurus revolver, ammunition, and 6 grams of cocaine. Valdirene Vieira Ferguglia, 23, had an Iberia airline ticket valid for Madrid and Brussels. They were charged with drug trafficking, violating immigration law, and illegal possession of weapons. Argentina requested extradition on February 24, 1995, for stockpiling explosives and combat weapons on an island in the Tigre River Delta. On March 23, 1995, Principal Superintendent Enrique Martinetti, chief of the Police Intelligence Department in Paraguay, told the press that Interpol had confirmed that one of the Lebanese had given a false name while another, Luis Alberto Nader, 22, a Brazilian of Lebanese origin, was a contact of the Cali cocaine cartel in Italy and Russia. Johannie Moraes Baalbaki, 24, was carrying a false birth certificate and illegal identity card. The other Lebanese in detention were Roberto Riveiro (or Ribiero) Ruiz, 22; Mohammad Hassan Alayan, 41; Fadi Abdul Karim Chekair, 23; and Sergio Rodrigo Salem, 26. Buenos Aires'
Telam
reported that Baalbaki, Nader, and Alayan were Hizballah members. Extradition of the seven was approved by Paraguayan Criminal Court Justice Jose Emilio Yaluk on May 30, 1995. On July 14, 1995, Argentine interior minister Carlos Corach announced that the extradition had been approved.

On January 31, 1995, Judge Galeano indicted Hugo Antonio Perez and Miguel Gustavo Jaimes on charges of “harboring” in the AIMA case. He embargoed their assets for 500,000 pesos, but released them. Galeano also released Martinez.

In February 1995, Buenos Aires Province police discovered a cache of weapons and empty shells similar to the caliber of rifles found in the home of Nazi sympathizer Alejandro Sucksdorf, a former civilian intelligence officer attached to the army, located in the Tigre River Delta. Police also found 25 kilograms of TNT, antitank grenades, and munitions. They determined that he was connected to six Lebanese males and one Lebanese female who were extradited from Paraguay. Police found a blank identity document that contained a small piece of ragged paper with the words “For Sergio.” The name belonged to Sergio Rodrigo Salem, one of the Lebanese arrested on drug trafficking charges. The land on which Sucksdorf's home is located is close to the island of businessman Mario Falak, which police believed was used for military exercises by Middle Easterners. Sucksdorf's estranged wife had implicated him in the 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy.

On February 19, 1995, Asuncion's
Noticias
reported that the Intelligence Department found a “red diary” in a luxurious house on Santisima Trinidad Street. Portions were decoded by Mossad, which learned that the seven Lebanese were planning a new attack on the Israeli Embassy in Argentina and another one against government officials, including President Carlos Menem, and members of the Jewish community.

On May 25, 1995, Tel Aviv's
Ma'ariv
reported that Israeli intelligence believed that three of the extradited Lebanese were involved, but another trio, possibly Iranian officials, had fled to Iran.

On June 25, 1995, Buenos Aires police arrested Erik Deprez (alias El Frances), who had in his possession a double-barrel shotgun, a “ballester Molina” 11.25-caliber pistol, and ammunition. He also had documents on vehicles and ID documents. Judge Galeano levied a fine of 60,000 pesos on him, concluding that “he knew about the illegal origin of the documents.” On July 18, 1995, Galeano ordered the preventive detention of Deprez and Antonio Avelino Aguero, who were connected with Telledin. The magistrate believed they were responsible for a cover-up. Tradesman Oscar Castro (alias El Sapito) was indicted on charges of violating the motor vehicle law, but was ordered released. Aguero was accused of being an accessory by helping Telledin “obtain, arm, and prepare the van used for the car bomb.” Three other suspects—Juan Carlos Almiron, Geronimo Agapito Martinez, and Roberto Jose Uhrig—were released for lack of evidence.

On July 19, 1995, Buenos Aires police chief Pedro Klodcczyk admitted that Buenos Aires Province police officers Diego Barreda and Mario Barreiro were linked to Telledin but had not been arraigned. The press in September 1995 noted that Telledin, a massage parlor operator, was involved with corrupt police officials in a car theft ring and that he had earlier lied about who had purchased the van. The press now claimed that corrupt policemen had bought the van.