FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Rewards for Justice - al-Qaida Reward Offers
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
October 18, 2012
The Department’s Rewards for Justice program is offering rewards for information on two key Iran-based facilitators and financiers of the al-Qaida terrorist organization.
The U.S. Department of State has authorized a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to the location of Iran-based senior facilitator and financier Muhsin al-Fadhli and up to $5 million for information leading to the location of his deputy, Adel Radi Saqr al-Wahabi al-Harbi.
Al-Fadhli and al-Harbi facilitate the movement of funds and operatives through Iran on behalf of the al-Qaida terrorist network. Both men are wanted by Saudi authorities in connection with their terrorist activities, and al-Fadhli is wanted by authorities in Kuwait on terrorism-related charges.
Al-Fadhli reportedly has replaced Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil (better known as Yasin al-Suri) as al-Qaida’s senior facilitator and financier in Iran. Al-Fadhli was among the few trusted al-Qaida leaders who received advance notification that terrorists would strike the United States on September 11, 2001. He raised money to finance the October 6, 2002 attack on the French ship MV Limburg off the coast of Yemen, which killed one, injured four crew members, and released 50,000 barrels of crude oil along 45 miles of coastline.
In February 2003, al-Fadhli and three other suspects were convicted in a Kuwaiti court and sentenced to five years imprisonment for providing funding for terrorist activities and military training in Afghanistan for purposes of terrorism. In June 2005, Saudi authorities placed him on their list of wanted terrorists in connection with a series of al-Qaida attacks in Saudi Arabia. On February 15, 2005, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated al-Fadhli under E.O. 13224, which provides authority to sanction terrorists and those who support terrorists or terrorist acts.
Al-Qaida elements in Iran, led by al-Fadhli, are working to move fighters and money through Turkey to support al-Qaida-affiliated elements in Syria. Al-Fadhli also is leveraging his extensive network of Kuwaiti jihadist donors to send money to Syria via Turkey.
Additionally, he has assisted al-Qaida in moving multiple operatives from Pakistan via Iran and Turkey to destinations in Europe, North Africa, and Syria, and is believed likely to continue moving experienced al-Qaida operatives to reinforce and gain influence in these areas.
Al-Fadhli was born April 24, 1981 in Kuwait. He has used the aliases Muhsin Fadhil ‘Ayyid al Fadhli, Muhsin Fadil Ayid Ashur al Fadhli, Abu Majid Samiyah, and Abu Samia.
Adel Radi Saqr al-Wahabi al-Harbi is an Iran-based al-Qaida facilitator and deputy to al-Fadhli. In this role, al-Harbi facilitates the travel of extremists to Afghanistan or Iraq via Iran on behalf of al-Qaida and is believed to have sought funds to support al-Qaida attacks.
Al-Harbi was previously placed on the Saudi Ministry of the Interior’s January 9, 2011 list of wanted terrorists and was charged with traveling to Afghanistan to join al-Qaida and providing technical support on the Internet to the terrorist group. He was born on December 1, 1986 in Saudi Arabia and has used the aliases Abu Ali Muharib, Adel Radhi Sager Alharbi, and Muharib.
More information about these individuals is located on the Rewards for Justice web site at www.rewardsforjustice.net. We encourage anyone with information on these individuals to contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate, any U.S. military base, or Rewards for Justice via the website (www.rewardsforjustice.net), e-mail (RFJ@state.gov), or mail (Rewards for Justice, Washington, DC 20520-0303, USA). Individuals in Afghanistan may call the RFJ tip line at 0700 108 600. All information will be kept strictly confidential.
The Rewards for Justice program is administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid more than $100 million to more than 70 persons who provided actionable information that put terrorists behind bars or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide.
