News


APPROVED:

DAVID M. KELLEY

MICHAEL J. GARCIA

Assistant United States Attorneys



BEFORE:

HONORABLE SHARON E. GRUBIN

United States Magistrate Judge

Southern District of New York



UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA



- v -



MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI,

a/k/a "Khalid Salim Saleh Bin Rashed,"

Defendant.



SEALED COMPLAINT



Violation of Title 18, United

States Code, Sections 1111, 1117, 2332a and 2



SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, ss.:



DANIEL J. COLEMAN, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a
Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), and
charges as follows:


COUNTS ONE THROUGH TWELVE:  MURDER



1. On or about August 7, 1998, in the special maritime and territorial
jurisdiction of the United States, as that term is defined in Title
18, United States code, Section 7(3), and outside the jurisdiction of
any particular state or district, MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI,
a/k/a "Khalid Salim Saleh Bin Rashed," the defendant, together with
others known and unknown, unlawfully, deliberately, and with malice
aforethought, murdered the United States nationals identified below,
as well as hundreds of non Americans, at the United States Embassy
Compound, Nairobi, Kenya (the "Embassy").


COUNT                    VICTIM

ONE                      NATHAN ALIGANGA

TWO                      JULIAN HARTLEY

THREE                    JAY HARTLEY

FOUR                     JEAN DALIZU

FIVE                     MOLLY HARDY

SIX                      KEN HOBSON

SEVEN                    PRABHI GUPTARA KAVALIER

EIGHT                    ARLENE KIRK

NINE                     LOUISE MARTIN

TEN                      MICHELLE O'CONNOR

ELEVEN                   SHERRY OLDS

TWELVE                   UTTAMLAL SHAH



(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 7(3), 1111, and 2.)



COUNT THIRTEEN:  MURDER CONSPIRACY



2. From in or about March 1998 through the date of the filing of this
Complaint, outside the jurisdiction of any particular state or
district, MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI, a/k/a "Khalid Salim Saleh
Bin Rashed," the defendant, together with others known and unknown,
unlawfully, willfully and knowingly combined, conspired, confederated
and agreed together and with each other to murder the occupants of the
United States Embassy Compound, Nairobi, Kenya, in the special
maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, as that
term is defined in Title 18, United States Code, Section 7(3).


3. In furtherance of the conspiracy and to effect the object thereof,
the defendant and others committed the following overt acts, among
others:


a. On or about July 31, 1998, MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI, a/k/a
"Khalid Salim Saleh Bin Rashed," the defendant, travelled from Lahore,
Pakistan to Nairobi, Kenya;


b. On or about August 4, 1998, MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI, a/k/a
"Khalid Salim Saleh Bin Rashed," the defendant, together with others
known and unknown, reconnoitered the Embassy.


c. On or about August 7, 1998, MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI, a/k/a
"Khalid Salim Saleh Bin Rashed," the defendant, along with a
coconspirator not charged herein, travelled in a vehicle containing an
improvised explosive device from a location in Nairobi, Kenya to the
Embassy.


d. On or about August 7, 1998, MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI, a/k/a
"Khalid Salim Saleh Bin Rashed," the defendant, threw a small
grenade-like device toward a guard stationed outside the Embassy.


(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1117.)



COUNT FOURTEEN:  USE OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION



4. From in or about March 1998 through the date of the filing of this
Complaint, in Nairobi, Kenya and outside the jurisdiction of any
particular state or district, MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI, a/k/a
"Khalid Salim Saleh Bin Rashed," the defendant, together with others
known and unknown, unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly, and without
lawful authority, combined, conspired, confederated and agreed
together and with each other to use and threaten to use, weapons of
mass destruction, against property that is owned, leased, and used by
the United States, to wit, the defendant conspired to detonate an
improvised explosive device inside and in the vicinity of the United
States Embassy Compound, Nairobi, Kenya.


(Title 18, United States Code, Section 2332a.)



The bases for my knowledge and the foregoing charges are as follows:



5. I have participated in the investigation of the above-captioned
matter, and have spoken with other individuals, including federal
agents, other law enforcement officials, and other witnesses. When I
rely on statements made by others, such statements are related in part
and in substance unless otherwise indicated. Moreover, because this
affidavit is submitted for the limited purpose of establishing
probable cause supporting the arrest of the defendant, I have not set
forth each and every fact learned during the course of this
investigation.


6. On August 7, 1998 , at approximately 10:30 a.m. local time, a
massive explosion occurred in the vicinity of the United States
Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, demolishing a secretarial college adjacent
to the rear of the Embassy and severely damaging both the Embassy and
a nearby building. At least 258 persons were killed, including 12
United States nationals.


7. On or about August 9, 1998, the defendant was contacted in Nairobi
by Kenyan officials. At the time the defendant was contacted, he
appeared to have suffered several injuries, including lacerations and
abrasions about the hands and face, as well as a large wound on his
back. The defendant was subsequently taken into custody by Kenyan
officials.


8. On or about August 12, 1998, after having been arrested by Kenyan
officials, MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI, a/k/a "Khalid Salim Saleh
Bin Rashed," the defendant, was advised of his Miranda rights by
Special Agents of the FBI. After waiving those rights, the defendant
stated, among other things, that he was standing in the bank near the
Embassy on the day of the bombing with a companion. Defendant also
claimed that the clothes he was wearing when arrested were the same
clothes that he was wearing on the day of the bombing, despite the
fact that his clothes bore no traces of blood from defendant's
injuries. The defendant later admitted, however, that the clothes he
was wearing at the time of his arrest were not the clothes he was
wearing an the day of the bombing. On or about August 20, 1998, again
after having been read his rights, and after having waived those
rights, the defendant made additional statements concerning the
bombing of the Embassy.


9. On or about August 20, 1998, the defendant stated among other
things, the following:


a. That he was trained in a number of camps in Afghanistan, including
a number of camps affiliated with al Qaeda, an international terrorist
group, led by Usama Bin Laden, dedicated to opposing non-Islamic
governments with force and violence.


b. The defendant stated that, while in the Afghanistan camps, he was
trained in explosives, hijacking, and kidnapping.


c. He attended conferences and meetings with Usama Bin Laden,
including a press conference, in Khost, Afghanistan, which followed a
recent interview of Bin Laden by ABC News.(1) The defendant also
stated that he was aware of a fatwah against the United States by the
International Islamic Front which was signed by Usama Bin Laden and
the leaders of other jihad groups, stating that it was proper to kill
Americans worldwide.


d. His role in the August 7, 1998 bombing of the Embassy included,
among other things: travelling in late July from Lahore, Pakistan to
Nairobi, Kenya; reconnoitering the Embassy on August 4; travelling
with a coconspirator in a vehicle containing an improvised explosive
device from a location in Nairobi, Kenya to the Embassy on the morning
of the bombing; and tossing a grenade-like device (which did not
include fragmentation casing) at a guard stationed at the Embassy.


e. The defendant also stated that the operation was supposed to be a
martyrdom operation, which he did not expect to survive.


10. The defendant also stated that, while being treated at a local
hospital for the injuries he sustained from the blast, he discarded in
a hospital bathroom 2 keys that fit the padlock on the rear of the
bomb-laden vehicle, and 3 bullets for a gun he had left behind in the
vehicle. Employees of the hospital where the defendant was treated
recovered 2 keys and 3 bullets in the area described by the defendant.


WHEREFORE, your deponent respectfully requests that an arrest warrant
be issued for the defendant MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI, a/k/a
"Khalid Salim Saleh Bin Rashed," and that he be imprisoned or bailed
as the case may be.


DANIEL J. COLEMAN

Special Agent,

Federal Bureau of Investigation



Sworn to before me this 25th day of August, 1998



UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE



(1) I understand that the interview aired on ABC in May 1998.



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