16 December 1998
(Five million dollar reward offered for the arrest of the fugitives) (1120) Washington -- The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued the following release on December 16 about the indictment of five new individuals for their alleged participation in the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania last August. The U.S. Department of State also announced today a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrests and prosecution of these fugitives. They were identified as being participants in the Osama Bin Laden terrorist organization. Following is text of US Attorney's press release: (Begin text) United States Attorney Southern District of New York DECEMBER 16, 1998 PRESS RELEASE MARY JO WHITE, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and LEWIS D. SCHILIRO, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York FBI Office, announced that MUSTAFA MOHAMMED FADHIL, KHALFAN KHAMIS MOHAMED, AHMED KHALFAN GHAILANI, FAHID MOHAMMAD ALLY MSALAM, and SHEIKH AHMED SALIM SWEDAN were indicted today in Manhattan federal court for the August 7, 1998, bombing of the United States embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and for conspiring to kill American nationals outside of the United States. The United States Department of State also announced today a reward of up to $5 million for the arrest and/or conviction anywhere in the world of FADHIL, MOHAMED, GHAILANI, MSALAM, and SWEDAN. The superseding 238-count Indictment charges five new defendants -- FADHIL, MOHAMED, GHAILANI, MSALAM, and SWEDAN along with co-defendants USAMA BIN LADEN, MUHAMMAD ATEF, WADIH EL HAGE, FAZUL ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, MOHAMED SADEEK ODEH, and MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI, with acting together with members of "al Qaeda," a worldwide terrorist organization led by BIN LADEN, in a conspiracy to murder United States nationals. The objectives of this international terrorist conspiracy allegedly included: killing members of the American military stationed in Saudi Arabia and Somalia; killing United States nationals employed at the United States Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and concealing the activities of the co-conspirators by, among other things, establishing front companies, providing false identity and travel documents, engaging in coded correspondence and providing false information to the authorities in various countries. As part of their participation in the conspiracy to murder United States nationals, and to achieve the particular objective of bombing the American Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the Indictment charges that the defendants committed various overt acts including: (a) MOHAMED and FADHIL rented a certain residence in Dar es Salaam in June 1998, where MOHAMED, FADHIL, and MSALAM allegedly met to make final preparations for the bombing; (b) SWEDAN and GHAILANI purchased the truck used to deliver the bomb, on which SWEDAN arranged to have mechanical and welding work done; (c) MSALAM and GRAILANI purchased oxygen and acetylene tanks; (d) MOHAMED and MSALAM purchased a Suzuki Samurai, which allegedly was used by the defendants as a utility vehicle and; (e) GHAILANI fled Africa to Pakistan on August 6, 1998, as did MSALAM, who along with co-defendant MOHAMED SADEEK ODEH, allegedly flew out of Nairobi on a Pakistani Airways flight from Nairobi to Karachi, Pakistan. FADHIL, MOHAMED, GHAILANI, MSALAM and SWEDAN, along with BIN LADEN, ATEF, ABDULLAR MOHAMMED, ODEH, and AL-'OWHALI, are also charged with bombing the Dar es Salaam embassy and causing the deaths of at least 11 persons and injuring more than 80 others. Those ten defendants are also charged with murdering all of the civilians killed in the Dar es Salaam embassy bombing. The indictment names all of the victims of the bombings and each victim is charged as a separate count of murder in connection with the Dar es Salaam bombing for a total of 11 counts of murder against FADHIL, MOHAMED, GRAILANli, MSALAM and SWEDAN, BIN LADEN, ATEF, ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, ODEH, and AL-'OWHALI. The Indictment also charges BIN LADEN, ATEF, ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, ODEH, and AL-'OWHALI, with bombing the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, which resulted in the deaths of more than 200 persons and injuries to more than 4,500 persons, and the murder of each of the victims of that attack. Ms. WHITE and Mr. SCHILIRO said the investigation of this case is being conducted by the Joint terrorist Task Force composed of the FBI, the New York City Police Department, the United States Department of State, the United States Secret Service, the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobaccos and Firearms, the New York State Police and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Ms. WHITE and Mr. SCHILIRO praised the Government of Tanzania, as well as the Governments of Kenya and the Comoros Islands, for their cooperation in this investigation and commended all of the investigative efforts and cooperation of the agencies involved in the case. In particular, they praised and thanked the Tanzanian Police Force for their tireless efforts since the August 7th bombings in working with American law enforcement officials in the investigation that has led to this indictment. They also said that the investigation is continuing. United States Attorney General Janet Reno stated: "This Indictment shows our continuing commitment to finding those responsible for these heinous crimes. We will not let up." Ms. WHITE stated: "This Indictment underscores the unrelenting determination our government shares with the Tanzanian and Kenyan Governments to ensure that all of those who perpetrated these cowardly acts of mass murder are brought to justice. We are firmly united with our colleagues in Tanzania and Kenya in the commitment to vindicating the death of each and every victim of these senseless and random acts of terrorism by charging, apprehending, and prosecuting each and every participant in these terrorist crimes." Mr. SCHILIRO stated: "Once again, the resolve and determination of the entire law enforcement team to bring to justice all those responsible for the murder of 224 innocent Americans, Kenyans, and Tanzanians is demonstrated by the effort which led to the charges announced today. The FBI, and our law enforcement partners, are committed to identifying, locating and prosecuting any and all individuals who are involved in these criminal acts of terror." FADHIL, MOHAMED, GHAILANI, MSALAM and SWEDAN, all of whom are fugitives, face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, or death. Assistant United States Attorneys. PATRICK J. FITZGERALD, KENNETH M. KARAS and MICHAEL J. GAPCIA are in charge of the prosecution. The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. (End text)