http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143956441 Inside the plot of the 1998 bombing _____
By Murithi Mutiga The attack on the US embassy in Nairobi was executed in just under 30 minutes. Yet the bombing had been planned for more than four years According to a 3,000-word FBI report on the bombing seen by The Standard, Osama bin Laden dispatched key members of Al Qaeda to East Africa "some time in 1993 to early 1994." Among the first to arrive in Nairobi was Wadih El-Hage, a Lebanese Christian by birth, who later became a naturalised American citizen and converted to Islam and was to be the prime mover in the initial stages. El-Hage and his band of militants employed the classic terrorists' tactic of hiding in plain sight. El-Hage set up 'Help Africa People' an NGO based in Nairobi and allegedly originally set up in Germany. House isolated by high walls The NGO, where he rapidly employed his associates, Haroun Fazul and Muhammed Sadiq Odeh, served as a perfect foil for Al Qaeda's activities in Kenya and Tanzania. Another key player in the plot was one Khalid al Fawwaz, who arrived in Kenya in 1993 and set up a dummy business running under the trade name Asma Limited. The plans to attack the US embassy gathered pace around May 1998. Fazul rented a house in the upmarket Runda estate. House number 43, the FBI report notes, "was isolated by high walls that surrounded the property, making it nearly impossible for any passerby to observe activity in and around the house. Moreover, the gated driveway was large enough to accommodate trucks, as was the garage. It is believed that the bomb used to destroy the US Embassy at Nairobi may have been constructed and actually stored at this location." Meticulous modification of truck The Dyna truck, which was to carry the deadly payload, had been purchased in July 1998 by two Al Qaeda operatives, Fahid Mohammed Ali and Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan. With the truck having undergone meticulous modification at Runda, it was time to perform a dry run on the embassy to ensure the operation went according to plan. On August 4 1998, Saleh and Mohamed Rashed Al-Owhali (who had been sent to Kenya by Osama on August 2 to serve as one of the suicide bombers on the mission) conducted reconnaissance of the US Embassy, in part to finalise the plan concerning the bomb-delivery truck's placement. "It was decided," the FBI report says, "to locate the truck as close as possible to the rear of the building, instead of attempting to drive it into the embassy's underground garage or place it in the front of the embassy building." Plan to scare away people The previous day, the terrorists had made the final connection between the bomb and the detonation device, which was located in the passenger compartment of the bomb-delivery truck. D-day dawned on August 7. "Prior to the bombing, two light colored vehicles exited 43 Runda Estate. In the first, a pick-up truck, was Harun, who led the second vehicle, a truck, containing the passenger Al-Owhali and the driver Azzam to the US embassy. At that time, Al-Owhali was armed with a pistol and a number of homemade stun grenades. Once in the embassy parking lot, Al-Owhali's role was to 'scare away' people in the vicinity of the embassy compound. The objective was allegedly to reduce the number of potential Kenyan casualties. Al-Owhali was also to manually detonate the bomb, in the event that the detonation device malfunctioned. Biggest explosion in Kenya However, upon exiting the bomb delivery vehicle, Al-Owhali forgot his pistol in the truck and was left only with the stun grenades. Instead of returning to the bomb vehicle, Al-Owhali brandished a stun grenade before throwing it in the direction of a security guard. Al-Owhali then fled the scene. At about the same time, Azzam (the driver) manually detonated the bomb. It is believed that Azzam was killed instantly." The bomb caused what the FBI describes as the biggest explosion in Kenya since independence. The principal ingredient in the bomb was about 6kg of TNT mixed with ammonium nitrate. Many of the conspirators still at large Many lives were, however, saved by the bravery of the duty guard at the US embassy that morning, Joash Okindo. Okindo defied orders by Al-Owhali to open the security barrier at the US embassy, meaning the pickup was not able to make a direct hit of the US embassy. If the terror duo had succeeded in getting in, geologists later explained, the impact of the blast would have been akin that of a major earthquake and would have covered a far greater radius of destruction. Eight years down the line, and despite the concerted efforts of Kenyan and international security agencies, many of the conspirators involved in the bombing are still at large. International terrorism campaign Some measure of progress has been made, particularly in Lamu, where the Kenyan and US government have taken a number of steps to improve the economic infrastructure and ensure the likes of Haroun Fazul, who operated clandestinely out of the Island for several years, are not welcomed in those parts again. However, the continuing freedom of these operatives still casts a long shadow over the countries in the region, which bore the brunt of the spectacular attack, which properly started Al Qaeda's modern campaign of international terrorism. The attack on the US embassy in Nairobi was executed in just under 30 minutes. Yet the bombing had been planned for more than four years According to a 3,000-word FBI report on the bombing seen by The Standard, Osama bin Laden dispatched key members of Al Qaeda to East Africa "some time in 1993 to early 1994." Among the first to arrive in Nairobi was Wadih El-Hage, a Lebanese Christian by birth, who later became a naturalised American citizen and converted to Islam and was to be the prime mover in the initial stages. El-Hage and his band of militants employed the classic terrorists' tactic of hiding in plain sight. El-Hage set up 'Help Africa People' an NGO based in Nairobi and allegedly originally set up in Germany. House isolated by high walls The NGO, where he rapidly employed his associates, Haroun Fazul and Muhammed Sadiq Odeh, served as a perfect foil for Al Qaeda's activities in Kenya and Tanzania. Another key player in the plot was one Khalid al Fawwaz, who arrived in Kenya in 1993 and set up a dummy business running under the trade name Asma Limited. The plans to attack the US embassy gathered pace around May 1998. Fazul rented a house in the upmarket Runda estate. House number 43, the FBI report notes, "was isolated by high walls that surrounded the property, making it nearly impossible for any passerby to observe activity in and around the house. Moreover, the gated driveway was large enough to accommodate trucks, as was the garage. It is believed that the bomb used to destroy the US Embassy at Nairobi may have been constructed and actually stored at this location." Meticulous modification of truck The Dyna truck, which was to carry the deadly payload, had been purchased in July 1998 by two Al Qaeda operatives, Fahid Mohammed Ali and Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan. With the truck having undergone meticulous modification at Runda, it was time to perform a dry run on the embassy to ensure the operation went according to plan. On August 4 1998, Saleh and Mohamed Rashed Al-Owhali (who had been sent to Kenya by Osama on August 2 to serve as one of the suicide bombers on the mission) conducted reconnaissance of the US Embassy, in part to finalise the plan concerning the bomb-delivery truck's placement. "It was decided," the FBI report says, "to locate the truck as close as possible to the rear of the building, instead of attempting to drive it into the embassy's underground garage or place it in the front of the embassy building." Plan to scare away people The previous day, the terrorists had made the final connection between the bomb and the detonation device, which was located in the passenger compartment of the bomb-delivery truck. D-day dawned on August 7. "Prior to the bombing, two light colored vehicles exited 43 Runda Estate. In the first, a pick-up truck, was Harun, who led the second vehicle, a truck, containing the passenger Al-Owhali and the driver Azzam to the US embassy. At that time, Al-Owhali was armed with a pistol and a number of homemade stun grenades. Once in the embassy parking lot, Al-Owhali's role was to 'scare away' people in the vicinity of the embassy compound. The objective was allegedly to reduce the number of potential Kenyan casualties. Al-Owhali was also to manually detonate the bomb, in the event that the detonation device malfunctioned. Biggest explosion in Kenya However, upon exiting the bomb delivery vehicle, Al-Owhali forgot his pistol in the truck and was left only with the stun grenades. Instead of returning to the bomb vehicle, Al-Owhali brandished a stun grenade before throwing it in the direction of a security guard. Al-Owhali then fled the scene. At about the same time, Azzam (the driver) manually detonated the bomb. It is believed that Azzam was killed instantly." The bomb caused what the FBI describes as the biggest explosion in Kenya since independence. The principal ingredient in the bomb was about 6kg of TNT mixed with ammonium nitrate. Many of the conspirators still at large Many lives were, however, saved by the bravery of the duty guard at the US embassy that morning, Joash Okindo. Okindo defied orders by Al-Owhali to open the security barrier at the US embassy, meaning the pickup was not able to make a direct hit of the US embassy. If the terror duo had succeeded in getting in, geologists later explained, the impact of the blast would have been akin that of a major earthquake and would have covered a far greater radius of destruction. Eight years down the line, and despite the concerted efforts of Kenyan and international security agencies, many of the conspirators involved in the bombing are still at large. International terrorism campaign Some measure of progress has been made, particularly in Lamu, where the Kenyan and US government have taken a number of steps to improve the economic infrastructure and ensure the likes of Haroun Fazul, who operated clandestinely out of the Island for several years, are not welcomed in those parts again. However, the continuing freedom of these operatives still casts a long shadow over the countries in the region, which bore the brunt of the spectacular attack, which properly started Al Qaeda's modern campaign of international terrorism. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. 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