Photo courtesy of globalsecurity.org
by Thomas Joscelyn
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) built an extensive rolodex of terrorist allies during the many years he devoted to mass murder. None was more dangerous than a man born in Indonesia named Riduan bin Isomuddin, better known as “Hambali.” After the September 11 attacks, KSM relied on Hambali to help orchestrate al Qaeda’s next round of attacks on American soil. Knowing that immigrants from the Middle East would be under additional scrutiny after September 11 because the hijackers were all from that region, KSM planned to use recruits from Southeast Asia to carry out his terror. Hambali promised to deliver.
Together, KSM and Hambali formed a cell of terrorist operatives who were slated to take part in future operations against the United States. However, constant vigilance by American authorities and their international allies stopped KSM and Hambali from launching al Qaeda’s next attack against the America Homeland. After KSM and Hambali were arrested in 2003, according to declassified CIA documents, authorities discovered a cell of fourteen trained terrorists living in Karachi, Pakistan. KSM and Hambali had been grooming them to take part in an operation inside the U.S. Among their ranks were trained pilots capable of steering hijacked planes into al Qaeda’s desired targets.
While KSM and Hambali’s planned post-9/11 attack against America was stopped in its tracks, Hambali had devastating success in Southeast Asia. In 2003, Hambali helped finance the Jakarta Marriott Hotel bombing, which killed twelve people and wounded 150 more. In 2002, Hambali helped plan the Bali bombings, which killed more than 200 people. And, according to a short biography
Hambali is currently a “high value” detainee at Gitmo.
