Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan
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) (4 April 1979,
Mombasa, Kenya Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
– 14 September 2009, near Baraawe, Somalia) was the leader of
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
in Somalia. He was listed on the FBI's third major "wanted" list, the
FBI Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
, for his association with multiple attacks in Kenya in 2002,Seeking Information: Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan
, FBI, US Justice Department
as well as his possible involvement in the
1998 United States embassy bombings The 1998 United States embassy bombings were attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998. More than 200 people were killed in nearly simultaneous truck bomb explosions in two East African cities, one at the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, ...
, in which over 250 people lost their lives. In September 2009, he was killed in a raid undertaken by United States Navy SEALs.


Activity

He became wanted in 2006 by the United States Department of Justice's FBI, "for questioning in connection with the 2002 attacks in Mombasa, Kenya, against a hotel and an airliner." The
Kenyan hotel bombing The 2002 Mombasa attacks was a two-pronged terrorist attack on 28 November 2002 in Mombasa, Kenya against an Israeli-owned hotel and a plane belonging to Arkia Airlines. An all-terrain vehicle crashed through a barrier outside the Paradise Hote ...
followed the airliner shoot down attempt, in near-simultaneous attacks against two Israeli-owned targets. Nabhan was also wanted in KenyaKenya Police wanted poster
on Salih Nabhan
for those crimes, as well as for his alleged involvement in the
1998 United States embassy bombings The 1998 United States embassy bombings were attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998. More than 200 people were killed in nearly simultaneous truck bomb explosions in two East African cities, one at the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, ...
. The main suspects in all three cases are affiliated with
al Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...
, which claimed responsibility. For his role in the plot Nabhan became listed on the FBI's third major "wanted" list, the
FBI Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
. On 28 November 2002, an unsuccessful attempt was made to shoot down an
Arkia Israel Airlines Arkia, legally incorporated as Arkia Israeli Airlines Ltd ( he, ארקיע, ''I will soar'', ar, خطوط أركيا), is an Israeli airline. Its head office is on the grounds of Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. It is Israel's second-largest ...
Boeing 757-chartered tourist plane taking off from
Moi International Airport Moi International Airport is an international airport in Mombasa, the second-largest city in Kenya. In 2020 the airport was heralded as the "Best Airport in Africa" (with under 2 million passengers annually) by Airports Council International. ...
in Mombasa using surface-to-air missiles. No one was hurt on the plane, which landed safely in Tel Aviv. About 20 minutes later, in Mombasa, Kenya, three suicide bombers detonated an SUV in the lobby of the Israeli-owned beachfront Paradise Hotel, killing three Israelis and ten Kenyans, and injuring 80. US and Israeli officials suspected a Somali group linked to al-Qaeda was responsible for the bombing and speculated that the suspects had smuggled the missiles into Kenya from Somalia. On 24 February 2006, the FBI added Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan among three names to the Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list.FBI Updates Most Wanted Terrorists and Seeking Information – War on Terrorism Lists
, FBI press release, 24 February 2006
With these three additions, as of 24 February 2006 the total count on the outstanding Seeking Information list stood at ten. Nabhan might have been protected in Somalia by the Islamic Courts Union prior to their ouster in late 2006. An American air gunship attack near Ras Kamboni on 7 January 2007 targeted al-Qaeda suspects, who might have included Nabhan. On 9 March 2007 the ''
International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...
'' reported that someone connected with the 2002 Mombasa bombing had been apprehended, and speculated that it was Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan. However it turned out to be Abdulmalik Mohammed, who was transferred to Guantanamo about a month later. On 2 March 2008, a U.S. Navy vessel fired two missiles in an attack on an Al Qaeda training camp in southern Somalia. The attack reportedly targeted Nabhan.


Death

Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan was killed following a raid by Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) forces including U.S. Navy SEALs in four helicopters (including at least two AH-6s) on Monday 14 September 2009. Nabhan was driving south of the capital Mogadishu near Baraawe in a two vehicle convoy when attacked by assault helicopters. The raid, code-named Operation Celestial Balance, took place around 1:00 pm local time, with the helicopters arriving from a ship offshore, firing on the vehicles, and landing briefly to take bodies. President Barack Obama is reported to have signed an "Execute Order" for the operation ten days before the attack was launched. Members of Al-Shabaab were also killed. JSOC and the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
had been trying to kill Nabhan for some time; an AC-130 Gunship was called in during a January 2007 attempt. An American intelligence source stated that CIA paramilitary teams from Special Activities Division were directly embedded with Ethiopian forces in Somalia, allowing for the tactical intelligence to launch these operations. Nabhan's body was buried at sea, a practice later repeated with the disposal of
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
's corpse. On 14 February 2010, the MSNBC cable news channel reported that three alternatives were presented to President Barack Obama: (1) assassination via a missile attack from a drone, or other airplane; (2) assassination by fire from helicopters, which could then land for DNA samples, to confirm his identity; and (3) live capture. MSNBC suggested that this killing represents a trend, since remote targeting continues to be more reliable—while locations where captives can be detained without complications have dwindled.


See also

* Targeted killing * Extrajudicial execution


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nabhan, Saleh Ali Saleh 1979 births 2009 deaths Kenyan al-Qaeda members People murdered in Somalia Deaths by American airstrikes Extrajudicial killings Assassinated al-Qaeda members People from Mombasa 2009 murders in Somalia