U.S. confirms, welcomes death of senior al-Qaeda leader Fazul

U.S. confirms, welcomes death of senior al-Qaeda leader Fazul

2011-06-12 07:30:41 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOGADISHU (BNO NEWS) -- The United States on Saturday confirmed the death of Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, the presumed leader of al-Qaeda in East Africa and a key suspect in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings that left hundreds killed.

Fazul was shot dead by Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces on Wednesday when he and another al-Qaeda militant approached a checkpoint in Mogadishu, but failed to stop. They were reportedly carrying currency worth tens of thousands of U.S. dollars.

"Fazul's death is a another huge setback to al-Qaeda and its extremist allies, and provides a measure of justice to so many who lost loved ones because of the actions of this terrorist," said John Brennan, the Assistant to U.S. President Barack Obama for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. "We commend the efforts of the Somali government forces, whose actions against Fazul struck a significant blow against those in the region seeking to carry out terrorist attacks."

Fazul is believed to have been the head of al-Qaeda in East Africa since 2009 and was previously indicted in New York for his alleged involvement in the bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, on August 7, 1998. The attacks killed 224 people and injured more than 5,000 others.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also welcomed Fazul's death, calling it a 'significant blow' to al-Qaeda and its allies. "It is a just end for a terrorist who brought so much death and pain to so many innocents in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, and elsewhere - Tanzanians, Kenyans, Somalis, others in the region, and our own embassy personnel," Clinton said.

Fazul was on the list of FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists and the U.S. government had put a $5 million reward for information leading directly to his apprehension or conviction. "Mohammed likes to wear baseball caps and tends to dress casually. He is very good with computers," his FBI poster read. It was later updated to note that he was killed.

The death of Fazul follows the death of global al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed on May 1st by U.S. forces during a secret operation in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad. Al-Qaeda was behind the attacks of September 11, 2011, which left nearly 3,000 people killed.

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