Egyptian security officials said the man they arrested at Cairo airport on Tuesday believing him to be a senior Al-Qaeda leader Saif-al Adel is an Egyptian Islamist wanted in his homeland not an Al-Qaeda operative February 29, 2012.
Of the 21 suspects wanted for the August 7, 1998, Nairobi bombings that killed 213 people and injured more than 4,000, only one remains at large, while the other 20 have been accounted for.
Saif Al Adel, alias Mohammad Ibrahim al-Makkawi, is the only suspect whose whereabouts remain a mystery following the bombing outside the US embassy in Nairobi.
A similar attack took place almost simultaneously in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 11 people and wounding more than 80.
He is an Egyptian and is currently the head of al-Qaeda - a position he took over from Ayman Al Zawahiri after the latter's death on 31 July 2022.
Al Adel is on the Federal of Bureaus Investigations (FBI) most wanted list and has a reward of $10 million (Sh1,571,800,000.00) for information leading to his capture.
The terrorist is known to use two dates of birth, 11 April 1963 and 11 April 1960.
This is a tactic he has used to evade arrest as he has moved between countries to carry out terrorist activities.
"Al-Adel is a senior al-Qa'ida leader based in Iran and a leader of the Hittin Committee, which directs and coordinates the group's transnational activities. Saif Al-Adel is wanted in connection with the 7 August 1998 bombings of the United States embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya," the FBI said in a statement.
The aftermath of the bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi on August 7, 1998.
The FBI is asking people to be careful when dealing with him, saying he is armed and dangerous.
"If you have any information about this individual, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American embassy or consulate," the FBI added.
For years, Al Adel worked closely with Osama bin Laden, the fallen Al-Qaeda mastermind. During that time they had their differences, but at no point did Al Adel's loyalty change.
According to the Combating Terrorism Centre, an organization that deals with matters of terrorism and also tries to dig deep into the operations of various groups, Al Adel is not an easy man to deal with.
It states that he Is one of the most experienced professional soldiers as he served in the Egyptian army before he joined terrorism amongst terror circles.
“His body bears the scars of battle: a wound under his right eye from a bursting illumination shell; a scar on his right hand; an arm injury from his time fighting the United States and its allies in Somalia. But he is no simple-minded thug. On the contrary, he Is said to be ‘highly educated [with] good English’. Former colleagues describe him as a ‘shrewd diplomat’ with a poker face,” Combating Terrorism states.
It adds that his temper has also become too notorious in recent times and that he never hides to tell anyone in the face when he dislikes them.
It is also said that when he is happy, he plays football and jokes with his friends.
Currently, his whereabouts remain a mystery, with some quarters believing he is under house arrest in Iran, while others say he could be in Afghanistan.
Al Adel took over the leadership of al-Qaeda from Ayman Al Zawahiri, who was killed on Sunday, July 31, 2022.
On that fateful day, a remotely piloted aircraft operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) fired missiles at a house in Kabul, Afghanistan, and the sole victim of the attack was none other than Ayman Al Zawahiri.
He died 11 years after taking over from al-Qaeda's first leader, bin Laden.
“With the operation that delivered justice to Ayman al-Zawihiri, the leader of al-Qaida, we have made good on that commitment and we will continue to do so in the face of any future threats. We were able to do so in this instance — and will be positioned to do so going forward — as a result of the skill and professionalism of our intelligence and counterterrorism community colleagues,” the US Department of State that counters terrorism said in a statement.
It also revealed that he was being hosted by the Taliban in Kabul, which the US said violated the Doha agreement that Afghan territory would not be used by terrorists to threaten the security of other countries around the world.
“The world is a safer place following the death of Zawahiri, and the United States will continue to act resolutely against those who would threaten our country, our people, or our allies and partners,” the statement further read.
It is worth noting that another terrorist linked to the planning and execution of the 1998 Nairobi bombing was recently killed, Abu Muhammad al- Masri, who was gunned down by two assassins on the streets of Tehran on August 7, 2023.
Al-Masri was gunned down by two assassins on a day which interestingly was the anniversary of the embassy bombings in Nairobi and Tanzania.
The other suspect Mohamed Atef was killed in 2001 following an airstrike that targeted his home.
During the planning of the 1998 Nairobi bombing, Atef was the first terrorist to be sent to Mombasa where he met Mohammed Odeh, also a mastermind of the attack.
Fazul Mohammed was killed in Somalia in 2011. He was fluent in five languages and also had several aliases. At the time of his death, he was the military commander of al- Shabaab.
The other attacker was Ahmed Mohamed Hamed Alui, who was killed in Pakistan. He had fled to Pakistan after the bombings.
Muhsin Musa, believed to have built the bombs that were used during the attack, was also killed in Pakistan.
Ahmed Khalfain Ghailani, a Tanzanian found guilty in Manhattan federal court of conspiring to destroy US embassies in East Africa in 1998, was jailed in the US.
Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, also a Tanzanian, was also jailed in the US for his role in the 1998 bombing. He is imprisoned in the ADX Florence Prison.
Mohamed Odeh was among those who met with top al-Qa'ida terrorists in the days before the bombings. He is being held at the US prison in Coleman, Florida.
