FBI NATIONAL PRESS OFFICE	IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(202) 324-3691	AUGUST 27, 1998

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Attorney General Janet Reno, FBI Director Louis J. Freeh, and United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Mary Jo White, today announced the return of Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-'Owhali to the United States. He has been charged in a criminal complaint, unsealed this morning in New York, with the August 7 bombing at the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

In the aftermath of the two bombings at our embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the FBI dispatched personnel to assist the local authorities in the investigation of these attacks. Over 300 FBI personnel consisting of bomb technicians, laboratory personnel, investigators, Evidence Response Teams, and others have been in East Africa working side-by-side with Kenyan and Tanzanian authorities. More than 550 interviews have been conducted in Kenya and Tanzania supported by resources from 19 FBI field offices.

As a result of the outstanding cooperation afforded the FBI by Kenyan and Tanzanian law enforcement authorities, we have been able to interview suspects and quickly follow leads which has led to the charges filed against Al-'Owhali. Al-'Owhali was flown to New York in the custody of FBI Agents. The complaint charges him with the murder of 12 Americans; conspiracy to commit murder; and the use of weapons of mass destruction.

According to the complaint, Al-'Owhali was taken into custody by Kenyan officials. He was given his given his Miranda rights by FBI Agents, waived those rights, and made this statement: "That he was trained in a number of camps in Afghanistan, including a number of camps affiliated with al Qasda, an international terrorist group led by Usama Bin Laden, dedicated to opposing non-Islamic governments with force and violence."

Secretary Albright said, "The rendition and arraignment of a prime suspect in the Kenya bombing is a tribute to the hard work and long reach of our nation's law enforcement and diplomatic team. I congratulate the FBI for its outstanding work. And I remind terrorists that America will use every available diplomatic, judicial, economic and--when necessary--military tool to protect our people."

Attorney General Reno said, "A great wrong has been done. But we are not going to rest. We are not going to forget. We are going to pursue every last murderer. Justice will be done.

Director Freeh said, "The arrest and rendition of Al-'Owhali demonstrates the success that can be achieved when law enforcement authorities work together in the common pursuit of justice. FBI Legal Attaches stationed in embassies around the world work daily at establishing and strengthening links with foreign law enforcement authorities. Those relationships are invaluable as more and more crime affecting Americans is transnational."

United States Attorney Mary Jo White said, "Today's charges show this nation's commitment to track down and prosecute all those who commit heinous, cowardly acts of international terrorism. The law enforcement community speaks with one voice in promising that we will be unrelenting in our efforts. This investigation will not end until every terrorist involved in the bombings in Kenya and Tanzania is identified, taken into custody and custody and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. That is the least that we owe to those who gave their lives in the service of their country, to those foreign nationals who died in the mindless violence and the thousands of others who were injured."