An Al Qaeda member, who pleaded guilty to a bomb plot against U.S. embassies in Singapore and the Philippines six years ago, has been sentenced to life in prison.
Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, 26, a Canadian citizen of Iraqi descent, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court on January 18, 2008, for conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens, conspiracy to kill U.S. officials and employees engaged in their official duties, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S. nationals, conspiracy to destroy U.S. property by means of fire or explosives and making false statements to FBI agents in connection with a terrorism investigation.
In 2002, Jabarah was arrested in Oman, extradited to Canada, and then brought to the U.S. A few months later, authorities reportedly found jihadist writings, instructions on how to make explosives and a list of agents that he allegedly intended to murder. He secretly pleaded guilty shortly after his arrest, cooperating with U.S. authorities as a government informant.
Jabarah trained in Afghanistan in 2000 and early 2001 at Al Qaeda camps where he completed training courses in city warfare, mountain warfare and advanced shooting. He also learned how to use various weapons and identify explosives, according to court documents. During that time, Jabarah pledged Al Qaeda’s oath of allegiance to Osama bin Laden personally.
In the summer of 2001, Jabarah traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, to receive advanced terrorist training in stealth travel and surveillance techniques. According to court documents, he lived with senior Al Qaeda operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, mastermind behind the September 11 terrorist attacks. Mohammad gave Jabarah $20,000 and promised him at least $30,000 more, to fund a terrorist operation against American and Israeli Embassies in the Philippines, and instructed Jabarah to leave Pakistan and travel to Malaysia no later than September 11, 2001.
Jabarah worked closely with Riduan Isomuddin, a leading figure in the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), to plan the terrorist operation, which included target selection, funding, procurement and transportation of explosives, operational surveillance and meeting with JI experts to construct bombs to be used in the operation.
During Jabarah’s interrogations by U.S. authorities, he reportedly revealed that both he and Richard Reid, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2003 for trying to blow up a U.S. passenger jet with explosives in his shoes, took orders from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
