Saif al-Adel

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Saif al-Adel
(FBI photo)
Born	1960-63 Egypt

Saif Al-Adel (or Seif Al Adel, or Seif al-Adl) (Arabic: سيف العدل ‎, meaning sword of justice) is one of the aliases of a certain Egyptian senior member of the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation. It is possible, but disputed, that he is a former colonel by the name Muhammad Ibrahim Makkawi ( محمد إبراهيم مكاوي ). Al-Adel has also used the alias^[1] Ibrahim Al-Madani ( إبراهيم المدني ) and the alias Omar al-Sumali^[2] ( عمر الصومالي ). Two dates of birth used by al-Adel are April 11, 1960 and April 11, 1963.^[1]

Al-Adel is under indictment^[3] for his part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Africa. According to the indictment, al-Adel is a member of the majlis al shura of al-Qaeda and a member of its military committee, and he provided military and intelligence training to members of al-Qaeda and Egyptian Islamic Jihad in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan, and to anti-UN Somali tribes.^[3] It is possible that his trainees included the Somalis of the first Battle of Mogadishu.^[4] It is now known (from captured letters^[2]) that al-Adel established the al-Qaeda training facility at Ras Kamboni in Somalia near the Kenyan border. (See also Battle of Ras Kamboni.)

Since al-Qaeda's military chief Mohammed Atef was killed in 2001, it has sometimes been said that al-Adel would be his natural successor in that role.^[4]^[5] But it is no longer clear whether al-Qaeda still has a person with that title.

In his native Egypt al-Adel was suspected, but not convicted, of involvement in the assassination of President Sadat. Al-Adel's fellow Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri, founder of EIJ, has been sentenced to death for his part in that crime. Al-Adel left Egypt in 1988^[5] and joined the anti-Soviet mujahideen in Afghanistan in some capacity. (See Soviet-Afghan War.)

There has been speculation^[6] that al-Adel and other al-Qaeda members fled Afghanistan to Iran and are still there. The others include Kuwaiti-born spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, and Saad bin Laden, son of al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden.

Saif al-Adel was a key source in a 2005 book on al-Qaeda's global strategy by journalist Fouad Hussein.^[7]

Al-Adel has been on the FBI's list of Most Wanted Terrorists since its inception in 2001. The State Department's Rewards for Justice Program is offering up to US$5 million for information on his location.^[8]

[edit] Writings of al-Adel

In February of 2006 the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point published a number of declassified documents from the Harmony database, some of which are known or believed to have been written by Saif al-Adel. One is a letter^[2] signed "Omar al-Sumali, previously known as Saif al-Adl", about the author's activities in southern Somalia during UNOSOM II (1993-1995). It identifies Ras Kamboni as a suitable site for an al-Qaeda base. It mentions an accomplice of al-Adel called "Mukhtar".

In a letter^[9]^[10] from "‘Abd-al-Halim Adl" to "Mukhtar", dated 13 June 2002, the author strongly criticises the leadership of Osama bin Laden, blaming al-Qaeda's preceding disastrous six months on bin Laden's recklessness and unwillingness to listen to advice.

If someone opposes [bin Ladin], he immediately puts forward another person to render an opinion in his support, clinging to his opinion and totally disregarding those around him...
Perhaps, brother Abu Mattar has warned you that his opinion [of bin Ladin's leadership] has changed a lot since he got out of his previous situation.

In March of 2007 the Pentagon posted on the Internet a transcript^[11] of part of the hearing into the combatant status of detainee Ramzi Binalshibh. Some of the evidence against Binalshibh came from a diary of Saif al-Adel:

Sayf al-Adl is a senior al Qaida military commander with a long-term relationship with Usama bin Laden. Sayf al-Adl's role in the organization has been as a trainer, military leader, and key member of Usama bin Laden's security detail.
The diary of Sayf al-Adl was recovered during a raid in Saudi Arabia in 2004. The diary details the Detainee's involvement in the 11 September 2001 terrorist plot and subsequent attack. The Detainee is listed as a "highly professional jihadist" along with "9/11 hijackers", Mohammed Atta and Ziad Jarrah. The diary states that the three were briefed on an operation involving aircraft by Abu Hafs, a senior al Qaida planner.