Latest Al Qaeda Terror News | 91��

CIA whistleblower claims Obama-era espionage charges against him were a test run for targeting Trump

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:01:31 -0400

Former CIA counterterrorism chief John Kiriakou said his 2012 prosecution was a trial run for the Democratic Party's "template" for lawfare later used against President Donald Trump.

Kiriakou, the CIA officer who led the team that captured al Qaeda terrorist Abu Zubaydah, blew the whistle on the agency’s waterboarding program over a decade ago. He was jailed for nearly two years after the Obama administration charged him under the Espionage Act and the Intelligence Identities Protection Act (IIPA) for disclosing the identity of a covert CIA officer.

Kiriakou claims his conviction was a test case for federal prosecutors. He argues that by testing it on a former CIA officer, the government refined the legal tactics it would later use against President Donald Trump and members of his circle.

"Brett Tolman, the former U.S. attorney from Trump One, former U.S. attorney for Utah, said the Kiriakou case was the template," Kiriakou said on the "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" podcast, adding, "The template for the Democratic Party's policy of lawfare."

JIM JORDAN SAYS PROBE INTO FORMER CIA DIRECTOR JOHN BRENNAN IS 'HEATING UP' AS DOJ SEEKS TESTIMONY RECORDS

Kiriakou claims federal prosecutors wanted to test the tactics on a "nobody" before targeting larger political rivals, including General Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort and eventually President Donald Trump.

He described a system that he says bankrupts targets and ruins their reputations, leaving them unable to fight back.

"The next thing you know, you're drowning in millions of dollars of legal debt, your reputation is ruined," Kiriakou explained, adding, "Of course there's a deep state and it's dangerous."

Kiriakou cited what he described as a classified memo exchange among senior Obama administration officials. He alleged that then-CIA Director John Brennan pushed for espionage charges against him, despite what he said were concerns from the Justice Department. He said the effort was meant to force him into a costly legal defense.

OBAMA CIA CHIEF UNDER DOJ SCRUTINY PUSHES FRINGE TRUMP OUSTER PLAN

It’s a technique he claims was later used against Trump, and that there are people in the federal bureaucracy who know how to "ruin" even a president.

"There are people in places like the CIA, the FBI, NSA, who are there for 25, 30, even 35 years and they know presidents come and go every four or eight years and they can outwait this president," Kiriakou said.

"If this president does something that they don't like, they know exactly how they can ruin him," he added.

GREGG JARRETT: CIA REPORT MAKES IT CLEAR TRUMP WAS FRAMED

While Kiriakou maintains his prosecution was a political test run, a 2013 press release from the Justice Department accused him of revealing the identity of a covert CIA officer to a journalist.

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"John Kiriakou betrayed the trust bestowed upon him by the United States and he betrayed his colleagues whose secrecy is their only safety," then-U.S. Attorney MacBride said in a statement.

"John Kiriakou put the life of a covert officer at risk; he put the officer’s family in danger; and he exposed our nation’s vital secrets," he added.

Watch the full interview with John Kiriakou on YouTube.

US launches wave of strikes in Somalia targeting ISIS, al-Shabab terror threats

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 20:56:15 -0500

The U.S. stepped up airstrikes in Somalia in January, targeting al-Shabab and the local affiliate of the Islamic State group, ISIS, according to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).

In a Jan. 12 release, AFRICOM said U.S. forces, working with the Somali federal government, carried out airstrikes against al-Shabab militants.

AFRICOM said the operation was part of ongoing efforts to "degrade the group’s ability to threaten the U.S. homeland, U.S. forces and Americans overseas."

Airstrikes against ISIS—Somalia were also reported on Jan. 11 and Jan. 9 in northern Somalia, including the Golis Mountains region of Puntland, southeast of Bosaso.

TRUMP VOWS 'VERY SERIOUS RETALIATION' AGAINST ISIS AFTER DEADLY SYRIA AMBUSH KILLS US SOLDIERS

Additional airstrikes targeting al-Shabab were reported on Jan. 8, including one in the vicinity of Buur Heybo, about 154 kilometers northwest of Mogadishu.

The command said between the evening of Jan. 3–4, strikes were also conducted "in coordination with Somali authorities."

AFRICOM said in a release the strikes were part of a broader campaign conducted with Somali partners. No casualty figures were released.

The latest spate of operations comes amid a broader intensification of U.S. airstrikes in Somalia.

According to information released by AFRICOM, between Feb. 1, when the Trump administration conducted its first strike in Somalia in 2025, and June 10, the U.S. carried out 38 airstrikes against al-Shabab and the Islamic State in Somalia.

DEADLY STRIKE ON US TROOPS TESTS TRUMP’S COUNTER-ISIS PLAN — AND HIS TRUST IN SYRIA’S NEW LEADER

AFRICOM has said additional strikes have been conducted since June 10.

Independent monitoring organizations have reported a rise in strikes since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2024, according to a report by the Combating Terrorism Center.

The report cited an April 2025 statement by AFRICOM commander Gen. Michael E. Langley before the Senate Armed Services Committee, in which he referenced the potential threat posed by jihadi groups in Africa to the U.S. homeland.

"We are acutely aware that if ISIS and al Qaeda groups continue their expansion, they will pose a direct threat to the U.S. homeland," Langley said.

"Given this environment, US AFRICOM will work collaboratively with the intelligence community and inter-agency partners to keep the risk to U.S. national security interests low," Langley said in a statement.

WAR SEC. HEGSETH ISSUES STATEMENT AFTER TWO U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN SYRIA ARE IDENTIFIED

Al-Shabab, an al Qaeda affiliate, has waged war on Somalia’s government since 2007 and continues to control territory in south-central Somalia.

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ISIS-Somalia is a smaller faction concentrated largely in Puntland’s mountainous northeast, where it is also said to compete with al-Shabab for influence.

According to the U.S.-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Somalia’s conflict with armed groups was the third-deadliest in Africa through 2024, killing an estimated 7,289 people.

91�� Digital has reached out to AFRICOM for comment.

Mamdani taps controversial lawyer who defended al Qaeda terrorist for top role: 'Powerful advocate'

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:29:48 -0500

Socialist New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced on Tuesday that he is appointing controversial lawyer Ramzi Kassem, who defended al Qaeda terrorist Ahmed al-Darbi in court, as the city’s top attorney.

Mamdani, who will take office on Jan. 1, announced he was appointing Kassem as New York City’s chief counsel, the top legal role in the city. He also shared that he is appointing Steven Banks a self-proclaimed "social justice attorney" as corporation counsel and Helen Arteaga as deputy mayor for health and human services.

Kassem’s record includes serving as a senior policy advisor for immigration on the White House Domestic Policy Council under former President Joe Biden.

Kassem served as lead counsel in al-Darbi’s defense. In 2014, al-Darbi pled guilty before a U.S. military commission to conspiracy in connection with an al Qaeda terrorist plot to bomb the French oil tanker MV Limburg off the coast of Yemen. One civilian was killed in the attack and several others were injured. He was convicted of the crime in 2017 and was transferred by the Trump administration in 2018 to Saudi Arabia's custody.

FLASHBACK: INSIDE THE POLITICAL MOVEMENT THAT PUT A SOCIALIST IN CHARGE OF NEW YORK CITY

"While it may not make him whole, my hope is that repatriation at least marks the end of injustice for Ahmed," Kassem said at the time of the transfer, adding he had "16 long and painful years in captivity."

In 2025, Kassem represented anti-Israel activist and Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil who was arrested by ICE for his alleged role in leading antisemitic demonstrations on campus. Khalil has since been released, though his legal case is ongoing.

Announcing the appointment, Mamdani said, "I will turn to Ramzi for his remarkable experience and his commitment to defending those too often abandoned by our legal system."

The mayor-elect said that "City Hall will be stronger with him in it, and our work of building a more prosperous city for all will have a powerful advocate."

AOC TO DELIVER OPENING REMARKS AT MAMDANI'S INAUGURATION, BERNIE SANDERS TO ADMINISTER OATH OF OFFICE

"My sincere hope is that New Yorkers who have long felt on the margins of this city, the homeless veteran straining to survive, the patient searching for the care that they need, an immigrant trying to get by will feel that they now have leaders in their corner who understand their struggles and care to fight for them," Mamdani went on, adding, "That is the city I want to build. The prosperity I intend to deliver and the leadership that has too long been lacking."

Kassem thanked Mamdani for the appointment, saying he considers it a "call of duty to serve the city that I've called home, the city that embraced me."

"I grew up in war-torn countries in the Middle East, authoritarian regimes, and New York City was really my first stable and permanent home," said Kassem. "This is an opportunity for me to repay that debt. I've been trying to repay that debt ever since I came to this country, ever since I immigrated."

20% OF NYC MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI TRANSITION APPOINTEES HAVE ANTI-ZIONIST TIES: ADL

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Kassem is the founder of the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) law clinic, a project that, according to its website, has a mandate "to support Muslim and all other client, communities, and movements in the New York City area and beyond that are targeted by local, state, or federal government agencies under the guise of national security and counterterrorism."

Foreign terror labels curb ISIS, but US radicals face fewer limits online, study finds

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 08:00:54 -0500

Extremist groups in America are exploiting social media’s chaos and cashing in on it, as violent rhetoric spreads faster than platforms can contain it, according to a new report and security experts who warn the problem is no longer limited to foreign terrorist networks.

A study from New York University’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, titled "Digital Aftershocks: Online Mobilization and Violence in the United States," found that violent Islamist groups’ shrinking online presence shows how terrorist designations, when paired with platform enforcement, can push extremists into smaller corners of the internet, successfully limiting their recruitment and propaganda.

But that same legal framework doesn’t apply to domestic extremist movements, creating what the report calls an "enforcement asymmetry" that allows far-right, far-left, nihilistic groups and antisemitic networks to thrive on mainstream platforms.

ONLINE ‘GORE’ FORUMS ARE ‘GATEWAY TO EXTREMISM’ IN MASS SHOOTINGS, NORMALIZING HORROR FOR KIDS: EXPERTS

Dr. Casey Babb, terrorism professor and director of the Promised Land Project with Canada’s Macdonald-Laurier Institute, told 91�� Digital that policymakers already have the authority to curb homegrown extremism.

"Despite the First Amendment, and, of course, some of this is in a gray zone, but not all speech is protected," Babb said. "There are already tools there that enable policymakers, law enforcement, intelligence agencies and so on to crack down on domestic extremists." "Statements that are intended to provoke unlawful action, incitement, that’s not protected speech. Or statements where the person making [them] intensely communicate[s] some sort of intent to commit an unlawful act or violence, or says something that could be perceived as a legitimate threat, that’s not protected."

READ THE REPORT – APP USERS, CLICK HERE

DAVID MARCUS: DEMOCRATS MUST STOP THEIR DEADLY ANTI-FASCISM COSPLAY

The NYU report mirrors that frustration, concluding that the U.S. has "ample tools" to confront extremism but applies them unevenly. It found that when foreign terrorist designations restrict groups like al Qaeda and ISIS, their online reach collapses.

"The ability to designate organized nations and individuals as terrorist entities is a very useful tool," Babb said. "It’s a tool that policymakers should really lean into and think about, possibly modernizing and reforming to better address a lot of what we’re seeing domestically."

Babb said extremists are "learning from one another," adopting propaganda and recruitment methods once pioneered by Islamist organizations.

"Groups like ISIS, al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood were some of the early adopters of these platforms," he said. "They recognized many, many years ago the power of these social-media outlets to recruit, to disseminate harmful messaging and to really undermine the populations that they target."

STUDENT ARRESTED AFTER DISRUPTING DAVE PORTNOY’S PIZZA REVIEW WITH ANTISEMITIC RANT CAUGHT ON VIDEO: POLICE

He also blamed social-media companies for enabling the spread of hate.

"There’s frankly no reason that I should be seeing much of what I’m seeing online," Babb said. "Free speech is one thing; giving a platform for nefarious state and non-state actors to spread divisive language deliberately with the intent of dividing Americans and endangering certain minorities, that’s something else entirely. These platforms reward outrage and they reward divisive content. A lot of people are monetizing this."

"You shouldn’t be making thousands of dollars a month by spreading the same messages that Adolf Hitler or Yahya Sinwar would spread," he added.

WATCH: Trump takes Antifa fight abroad with foreign terrorist designation

President Trump once floated designating Antifa a domestic terrorist group, an idea Babb believes deserves renewed attention.

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"Designation opens a whole suite of tools," he said. "It makes adversaries’ lives much more difficult."

The Digital Aftershocks report concludes that U.S. policymakers and tech platforms must coordinate more aggressively to combat online extremism.

ICE arrests Russian national accused of being member of Al Qaeda

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 12:36:27 -0400

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Philadelphia have arrested a Russian national accused of being a member of Al Qaeda.

The 39-year-old man detained on May 23 was born in Tajikistan and is a fugitive who is wanted overseas, ICE announced this week.

"Arresting individuals linked to terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda reaffirms our unwavering commitment to safeguard the homeland," ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia Field Office Director Brian McShane said in a statement.

"Through close collaboration with our outstanding partners at the FBI, we have taken decisive action to make our communities safer and prevent potential threats to the American people," he added.

US CONDUCTS AIRSTRIKE AGAINST AL QAEDA-LINKED MILITANTS IN SOMALIA

ICE said the man was first detained at the San Ysidro Pedestrian West point of entry in California in March 2023 and "charged as an inadmissible alien under the Immigration and Nationality Act because he didn’t have an immigrant visa."

LARGEST EVER ICE OPERATION RESULTS IN NEARLY 1,500 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED IN BLUE STATE

"He was served a notice to appear before an immigration judge and paroled into the United States," according to ICE.

Then this month, officials in Tajikistan declared the man a fugitive.

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"It is alleged that he is or was a member of Al-Qaeda," ICE said. "After his arrest, this individual was detained in ICE custody, where he will remain pending removal from the U.S."

Former New York firefighters dead from 9/11-related illnesses, group says

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 08:33:43 -0500

Two former firefighters who heroically responded to the 9/11 terror attacks in New York City have died due to illnesses related to that fateful day, according to the Uniformed Firefighters Association.

The group announced on Sunday that firefighter Thomas Dunn of Engine 234 in Brooklyn passed away from a World Trade Center-related illness.

The news came just three days after retired Battalion Chief Dennis Collopy died on Jan. 30 from cancer, related to his rescue efforts.

NYC FIREFIGHTERS DEAD FROM 9/11 RELATED ILLNESSES SURPASSES 300 AS WORLD TRADE HEALTH FUND SITS AT $3B DEFICIT

"Thomas served the FDNY with honor and dedication, answering the call when his city needed him most," the group wrote announcing Dunn’s death via social media.

"His family has already endured great loss, as his brother, firefighter Jimmy Dunn of L114, passed away eight years ago. Please keep his father and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. A private service will be held in Florida. NEVER FORGET."

Some of Thomas Dunn’s colleagues reacted to the news of his death by leaving a message of condolences.

"On 9/11 I met Tommy as we survived the collapse of the South Tower by making it down the parking ramp on Albany Street," Joseph Pasquarello wrote.

"Tommy was just out of the Academy and conducted himself as a seasoned professional. He was helping people before the debris stopped landing."

"Tommy, YOU DID GOOD. REST EASY BROTHER and MAY GOD BLESS YOU and MAY HIS PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON YOU."

A private service in Florida will be held for Dunn.

9/11 MEMORIAL SPEAKER WARNS DEMOCRATS: DON'T ‘FORGET HISTORY’ BY BACKING SOFT-ON-CRIME, ‘OPEN BORDER’ POLICIES

Others thanked him for his service and his heroic reactions at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, when Al-Qaeda terrorists flew hijacked planes into the Twin Towers, killing nearly 3,000 people, including 343 firefighters.

Retired Battalion Chief Dennis Collopy died after "a courageous battle with cancer," according to his obituary.

He was a 36-year FDNY veteran and a U.S. Army veteran, the Uniformed Firefighters Association said.

Collopy is survived by his wife of 60 years, his two daughters and four grandsons.

A Bronx native, he later lived in West Nyack, in upstate New York. He worked for the FDNY until he retired in 2002.

"A truly great man, blessed that I had the honor of knowing him. RIP. Brother," John Murphy wrote on a Facebook firefighter group.

"RIP Chief, thank you for your service to country, and community," wrote Michael Richard. "Thank you for your ultimate sacrifice. Hooah. Your tour's over. Rest easy."

Collopy’s funeral mass is being held on Tuesday in West Nyack.

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More than 370 firefighters died after the attacks due to 9/11-related illnesses, which include liver cancer and laryngeal cancer. Other illnesses first responders suffered include Mesothelioma, musculoskeletal disorders, chronic rhinosinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), asthma, sleep apnea, other cancers, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic respiratory disease.

The collapse of the towers in Manhattan created a massive dust cloud, consisting of pulverized building materials, asbestos, silica, metals and concrete that blanketed the World Trade Center site and the surrounding area.

New documentary reveals antisemitic hostage siege captured on camera at Texas synagogue

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 09:37:24 -0500

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MIKE POMPEO: The threat from radical Islam is now inside our gates. Biden ignored it. Trump must act

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 13:09:43 -0500

Stopping the spread of radical Islamism within America's borders and abroad must be a focal point for the incoming Trump administration

Andy Card recalls moment he told Bush of 9/11 attacks: 'That was the day he became president'

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 17:30:46 -0400

The man who broke the news to President George W. Bush that America had been attacked by terrorists on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 recalled the moment on "Your World" Friday.

"That day, the president thought he was going into a classroom to talk about his favorite topic ... education and reforming our education system," Andy Card, then White House chief of staff, told host Neil Cauvto. "We thought it was going to be an easy day."

Bush had just arrived at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla., when he was informed a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City.

CHRIS WALLACE DESCRIBES 9/11 AS 'STILL AN OPEN WOUND' AFTER 19 YEARS

Initial reports stated that the aircraft was believed to be a "small, twin-engine prop plane," Card remembered. "I remember his [Bush's] reaction hearing that was, 'Oh, what a horrible accident, the pilot must have had a heart attack or something.'"

While standing outside the second grade classroom where Bush was listening to a reading of the children's book "The Pet Goat," Card was told that a second plane had hit the other World Trade Center Tower.

EMOTIONAL KARL ROVE RECALLS AFTERMATH OF 9/11 ATTACKS

"That's when I knew it couldn't have been an accident. It couldn't have been a coincidence," Card told Cavuto. "So, I had to pass a test that chiefs of staff have to pass all the time: Does the president need to know? ... I thought about what I would say, I walked into the classroom ... I walked up to the president -- he did not see me coming -- I leaned over and whispered into his right ear, 'A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack.'

"I then stood back so that he [Bush] would not ask a question or start a dialogue," Card recalled. "I imagine there was a boom microphone picking up everything, and I didn't want to have a dialogue with him, but it was an unbelievable message to deliver to a president, but even more absurd is that it had happened in a classroom of second graders."

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The former White House official recalled Bush's shocked but calm expression after he received the unfathomable news.

"I honestly believe the words that most impacted [him] was when I said 'America is under attack'. And I say this -- I don't know that this is what the president thought, but that was the day he realized the real burden of being a president," Card said. "You know, that was the day he became president. He took the oath on January 20th, but I think it was September 11, 2001 that the magnitude of the responsibility, really, he acknowledged was his responsibility, and I think he lived up to the expectations that we all had."

Ex-FBI informant in 1993 Islamic terror cell says they would pray for God to ‘enhance the explosion’ of their bombs

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 09:28:00 -0400

A former FBI informant who was embedded in an Islamic jihadic terror cell in New York City following the 1993 World Trade Center bombing said they constantly prayed to God to enhance the explosion of their bombs in their upcoming attacks.

"We used to fantasize about how great that the Hudson River will leak into the Lincoln Tunnel and the whole long tunnel immediately, simultaneously together, my God, Manhattan would be drowning," Emad Salem, the ex-FBI asset, says in Fox Nation's series "The Rising Crescent," which details the decade before September 11, 2001.

In the series, Salem recounts how a loose-knit terror cell connected to Al-Qaeda was operating in the New York area and officials missed many clues that could have prevented 9/11, the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHARGES 2 WITH PLOTTING TO SUPPORT HAMAS, SHOOT COPS IN MINNESOTA

Three months after the 1993 bombing, which killed six people and injured more than 1,000, the then-informant requested a safe house where he could help the jihadists build the bombs for the next attack.

"You could see them mixing fuel oil and the fertilizer," said Bill Gavin, former FBI deputy assistant director. "They had to pray so many times a day and they’d kneel down and pray and then come back and mix the bombs again."

TEXAS MAN TURNED WANNABE ISIS FIGHTER PLEADS GUILTY TO TERROR CHARGES

Salem recounted that, during his time embedded in the terror cell, at least five bombs were planned to go off: across Manhattan at the United Nations, the FBI's building, the Lincoln Tunnel, the Holland Tunnel, and the George Washington Bridge. "They [would] all go off simultaneously to teach America a hard lesson," he said.

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"If these five bombs, God forbid, went off, you got five, six city blocks that will be dust," Salem added. "You saw what one bomb did in Oklahoma."

Secretly monitoring the cell mixing the bomb components, the FBI switched out the explosive material with fake material.

Andrew McCarthy, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the FBI decided to get as many of them aiding in the mixing of the bomb in the warehouse before they fled, fearing if they had, "we would never have been able to get them again."

To watch all of this episode of "The Rising Crescent," go to Fox Nation and sign up today.

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Illegal immigrant charged in June knife attack that wounded multiple NYPD officers

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 18:29:51 -0400

The Justice Department announced robbery and firearms charges Wednesday against a 20-year-old Bosnian man accused of stabbing, slashing and shooting NYPD officers in Brooklyn in early June.

Dzenan Camovic, who investigators said was in the country illegally, allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” while stabbing two officers, taking one of their guns and using it to shoot at additional police responding to the attack.

Attorney General William Barr said that investigators found some evidence of Camovic’s alleged support for the Islamic State group, but that he had covered his tracks with encrypted communications.

NYPD RELEASES KNIFE-ATTACK VIDEO: 'IT WAS A PLANNED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT'

“Despite engaging in technical tradecraft that covered some of his tracks, this defendant cannot escape the reach of the investigators and prosecutors who are committed to making sure that he faces justice for his extremely serious crimes,” acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme said.

The indictment alleges that Camovic, using protests in the city as cover, ambushed two NYPD members around 11:30 p.m. June 3. Surveillance video shows a man pass the two uniformed officers on the street, then creep around the block and get behind them.

“As fellow Americans were exercising their rights to demonstrate, these brave law enforcement officers were brutally attacked to further a violent agenda associated with ISIS and al-Qaeda,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

2 NYPD COPS SHOT, ANOTHER STABBED DURING 'UNPROVOKED' ATTACK

When Camovic reached them, investigators said he stabbed one officer in the neck and chased the other down, slashing him multiple times. Then he returned to the first victim, renewed his attack and stole the officer’s handgun, according to the indictment.

He opened fire on responding police, injuring “several” of them, and also shot one of the initial stabbing victims, according to prosecutors.

Police returned fire and wounded Camovic in the shootout before taking him into custody, authorities said.

“If not for the heroism and bravery of the responding NYPD officers who returned fire and took the assailant down early in the attack, untold additional officers and innocents could have been killed or injured,” Barr said.

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Camovic faces a maximum penalty of life in prison on robbery and felony federal firearms charges. He is currently in custody.

Justice Department seizes millions in cryptocurrency from 3 terrorist organizations

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 12:07:08 -0400

The Department of Justice announced Thursday the "dismantling of three terrorist financing cyber-enabled campaigns," targeting efforts by the al-Qassam Brigades -- the military wing of Hamas – Al Qaeda and ISIS.

U.S. officials said these terror groups used cryptocurrency and social media to raise funds from around the world for their operations. American authorities have now used judicially-authorized warrants to seize millions of dollars from over 300 cryptocurrency accounts, four websites, and four Facebook pages related to the terror groups’ "criminal enterprise."

“It should not surprise anyone that our enemies use modern technology, social media platforms, and cryptocurrency to facilitate their evil and violent agendas,” said Attorney General William Barr. “We will prosecute their money laundering, terrorist financing, and violent illegal activities wherever we find them. And, as announced today, we will seize the funds and the instrumentalities that provide a lifeline for their operations whenever possible."

AS THE US MOVES OUT OF AFGHANISTAN, IRAN CEMENTS TIES WITH THE TALIBAN AND OFFICIALS

The DOJ said funds forfeited with a connection to a state sponsor of terrorism may be directed to the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund after the conclusion of the investigation.

"Terrorist networks have adapted to technology, conducting complex financial transactions in the digital world, including through cryptocurrencies," said Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin. "Today's actions demonstrate our ongoing commitment to holding malign actors accountable for their crimes.”

Overall, the Justice Department seized $2 million from cryptocurrency accounts linked to the three groups, according to John Demers, a senior official with its National Security Division.

“Two million is a lot of equipment, a lot of tickets to fly people around the world... this represents a significant dent, this is going to make a big difference in their operations,” he told 91��.

FAKE DRIVER'S LICENSES FLOODING INTO AMERICA FROM CHINA, OTHER COUNTRIES, US SAYS

The Justice Department, in a press release, said the al-Qassam Brigades launched their online financing efforts last year with “a call on its social media page for bitcoin donations to fund its campaign of terror.”

The request was then moved to three of their official websites, where the terrorist group “boasted that bitcoin donations were untraceable and would be used for violent causes.”

“Their websites offered video instruction on how to anonymously make donations, in part by using unique bitcoin addresses generated for each individual donor,” the release said.

However, the Justice Department says the donations weren’t anonymous and investigators "tracked and seized all 150 cryptocurrency accounts that laundered funds to and from the al-Qassam Brigades’ accounts.”

Investigators, with judicial authorization, then seized the infrastructure of the three websites and “during that covert operation, [one of the websites] received funds from persons seeking to provide material support to the terrorist organization, however, they instead donated the funds [into] bitcoin wallets controlled by the United States,” the release added.

QATAR'S ALLEGED FINANCE OF HEZBOLLAH PUTS US TROOPS AT RISK, DOSSIER CLAIMS

As for Al Qaeda, the Justice Department says it ran a scheme with other affiliated terrorist groups, largely out of Syria.

“As the forfeiture complaint details, these terrorist organizations operated a bitcoin money laundering network using Telegram channels and other social media platforms to solicit cryptocurrency donations to further their terrorist goals,” the release said. “In some instances, they purported to act as charities when, in fact, they were openly and explicitly soliciting funds for violent terrorist attacks.”

The Justice Department also said the ISIS effort was run by a “facilitator” who claimed to sell “FDA-approved N95 respirator masks” for protection against the spread of the coronavirus.

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The administrators behind a website created for that scam “offered to sell these items to customers across the globe, including a customer in the United States who sought to purchase N95 masks and other protective equipment for hospitals, nursing homes, and fire departments,” the release said.

“There’s a clear indication that the target of this fraud scheme was people in the United States,” a senior Justice Department official told 91��.

Report: Taliban allowing Al Qaeda training camps and providing support, despite U.S. agreement to cut all ties

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 12:22:30 -0400

Just months after the U.S. signed a controversial deal with the Taliban to end the long-running war in Afghanistan – predicated on the notion that the insurgent group would not offer safe haven to Al Qaeda – local officials worry that terrorists still reign in parts of the country.

According to Afghan news outlet Tolo, Yasin Khan, the governor of the southern province of Helman, has pointed to an increasing Al Qaeda footprint in the district along the Durand Line with Pakistan as well as the border pockets between Afghanistan and Iran. Helmand has long been a bloody battleground for U.S. and Afghan troops, and has emerged as a Taliban stronghold.

"The Helmand governor said that it was worrying that the Taliban would not cut ties with al-Qaeda and other foreign fighters," Tolo reported on Friday, citing several officials who claimed that "there is a presence of Al Qaeda and other foreign fighters ranging from Disho district of Helmand towards some districts in Herat," an area spanning many miles.

DID CORONAVIRUS KILL THE TALIBAN LEADER?

Khan also stressed that Al Qaeda currently has a presence in Bahramcha region of Disho district of Helmand toward Herat province and that its operatives "are providing training and support to the Taliban," in addition to supplying materials.

Other Afghan military top brass said the Taliban has "changed tactics" in recent weeks, relying on material imports from outside the country to make its own mines and projectiles.

Nonetheless, the U.S. government has vowed to continue forging ahead with the Taliban agreement inked in February. The deal involves the drawdown of American troops on the ground, even as Afghanistan remains wracked by high levels of violence – sustaining the highest number of deaths by terrorism by far across the world.

WHAT HAPPENED TO PSYCHOTHERAPIST MAJD KAMALMAZ AFTER DISAPPEARING AT SYRIAN REGIME CHECKPOINT 3 YEARS AGO?

There were almost 8,500 terrorist attacks globally in 2019, killing more than 20,300 people; about 5,460 were known perpetrators, and 14,840 were victims, according to a report earlier this month from the University of Maryland's National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).

According to the data, the number of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan increased 2 percent between 2018 and 2019. The number of victims killed in attacks carried out by the Taliban increased 9 percent between 2018 and 2019, "essentially sustaining the escalation that has taken place in Afghanistan in recent years."

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"While the Taliban engaged in peace talks with the United States, Afghanistan experienced 21 percent of all terrorist attacks worldwide in 2019, and 41 percent of all people killed in terrorist attacks (including assailants) in 2019 were killed in Afghanistan," the report surmised. "The Taliban in Afghanistan was responsible for more terrorist attacks in 2019 than any other group by a wide margin, and those attacks resulted in more deaths than the next ten deadliest perpetrator groups combined."

Arizona woman arrested after using prepaid gift card to send $500 to Al Qaeda, DOJ says

Fri, 24 Jul 2020 20:29:10 -0400

A woman was arrested this week for attempting to provide material support to the terrorist group al Qaeda, the Justice Department announced Friday.

Jill Marie Jones was taken into custody July 22 after she sent $500 using a prepaid gift card to an undercover FBI employee who was posing as a member of al Qaeda. During conversations with that agent and another undercover employee, it was agreed that the money would be used to buy scopes for rifles meant to be used against American soldiers.

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The discussions also revealed that Marie Jones wanted to travel abroad to help the terrorist organization: She bought a ticket to fly overseas to join al Qaeda in Afghanistan, according to the Justice Department statement, but was forced to change flights to go to Turkey because of coronavirus closures.

One in Turkey, Marie Jones would travel to Syria. The woman traveled to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in Arizona July 22 to board a flight but was intercepted by FBI agents and arrested.

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The prosecution is being headed by Lisa Jennis, assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Arizona and Katie Sweeten, a trial attorney with the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Arizona woman tried sending money to Al Qaeda for weapons to 'kill Americans': FBI

Fri, 24 Jul 2020 13:12:02 -0400

An Arizona woman was busted earlier this week – while awaiting a flight on her way to Syria – for sending money to someone who she thought was an Al Qaeda operative to support an effort to "kill Americans," the Justice Department announced Friday.

Jill Marie Jones arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on Wednesday allegedly expecting to board a flight to Turkey, and then travel to Syria, where she would begin her new life working with Al Qaeda. Instead, she was greeted at her gate by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to a Friday morning press release.

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Jones, a 35-year-old Chandler resident, began speaking with someone who was actually an undercover agent on March 4. Their communications continued into the beginning of May, when the undercover agent connected with a second person, also an undercover agent, who told her “that he facilitated the movement of people," according to the criminal complaint pertaining to her arrest.

When the second agent asked Jones about her support for Al Qaeda and her desire to move to Afghanistan, she allegedly responded: “I am aware of the dangers involved in it. But I know it's worth it.”

“I don’t know what will happen to me there, or what I can do to help,” she told the person, court papers allege. “But I want to try, and supporting AQ against the oppressors would be an honor.”

BRIAN MICHAEL JENKINS: DEADLY TERRORIST THREATS ABOUND IN US AND ABROAD — HERE ARE KEY DANGERS

She spoke about how she had once considered “acting” in Arizona, and referenced how there was a “base” nearby, court papers show. In May, when the agent asked if she had any money to spare that “would be used to kill Americans” through the purchase of weaponry, she ultimately obliged and sent the undercover agent a $500 Visa pre-paid gift card, according to the court documents.

“The timing is interesting,” she said during a mid-May conversation about the transaction. “Since because of coronavirus we all got government money. Free money basically. We would be delayed without it anyway, and it would be most ironic the money from that goes for this … They give us free money, and I turn it around on them.”

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Jones was charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Al Qaeda leader in Islamic Maghreb killed by French military

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 18:28:19 -0400

French military forces killed the leader of an Al Qaeda north Africa affiliate during an operation in Mali, France said Friday.

Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly announced over Twitter the death of Abdelmalek Droukdel and several of his associates.

"On June 3, French army forces with the support of their local partners, killed al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's emir, Abdelmalek Droukdel, and several of his closest collaborators, during an operation in northern Mali," she tweeted.

Parly also announced the May 19 capture of Mohamed el Mrabat, whom she called a veteran militant who served in a senior role for the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The group has been active in active in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

She said the operations dealt a “severe blow” to terrorist groups in the region.

Droukdel was a key militant fighter who has been the subject of a yearslong manhunt. His group, Islamic Maghreb, known as AQIM, was part of an Islamic militant takeover of Mali before French troops intervened in 2013 in the Sahel region in nothern Africa. The group made millions from kidnapping foreigners for ransom and made large parts of West Africa too dangerous for aid groups.

Also known as Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, Droukdel fought in Algeria's civil war in the 1990s and rose to prominence as the top emir of the main Algerian insurgency movement in 2004.

He later transformed the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, known as the GSPC, into al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, spreading the movement across Africa’s Sahel region under the umbrella of the global terror network.

As a top Al Qaeda leader, he commanded affiliates in north Africa. The Islamic group operates in northern Mali, Niger, Algeria and Mauritania. He was believed to be hiding in the mountains of northern Algeria.

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The French military numbers about 5,200 in the region and intervened after jihadist militants captured parts of northern Mali. The territory has since been recaptured but violence has spread to neighboring countries, creating insecurity in the region, the BBC reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Dan Bongino: Protest agitators 'ready to burn your city down' should be charged as domestic terrorists

Sat, 30 May 2020 11:48:05 -0400

Riot organizers and agitators with the pre-meditated purpose of chaos and destruction of property should be charged as domestic terrorists, former NYPD officer and Secret Service agent Dan Bongino argued Saturday.

In an interview on "Fox & Friends Weekend" with hosts Griff Jenkins, Pete Hegseth, and Jedidiah Bila, Bongino argued that individuals who show up to protests with the purpose of rioting, with chemical incendiary devices "ready to burn your city down," can no longer be called protesters.

MINNEAPOLIS COP WHO KNELT ON HANDCUFFED BLACK MAN ARRESTED

"These are not protesters; these are domestic terrorists. They are showing up with weapons specifically designed to fracture glass and windows, to then go walk in, loot the place, place a chemical incendiary device, and burn your city to the ground," he stated.

"They are no different than Al Qaeda terrorists. That's what these people are. They are terrorists. They use violence, disruption, chaos, theft, and the potential of death," Bongino told the "Friends Weekend" hosts.

MINNESOTA GOVERNOR AUTHORIZES 'FULL MOBILIZATION' OF STATE'S NATIONAL GUARD, SAYS PROTESTS NO LONGER ABOUT DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD

Bongino cited the death of a federal officer in Oakland.on Friday night. Nearly 10,000 people took to the streets of the East Bay city, at one point stopping traffic, looting stores like Target and Walgreens, and setting fire to a Chase bank.

"These people should be tracked down, video should be used, and...if it takes two years, three years, or five years, anyone involved in this -- again, I'm a constitutionalist, your right to assemble is always a big “R” God-given right and should be protected -- but if you showed up with an incendiary device to burn someone's business down, with weapons to destroy people and property, then you should be tracked down to the end of this Earth," he remarked.

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"And, you should do time in jail - not for disorderly conduct where you get out in a day, but for a conspiracy charge to commit terror," Bongingo concluded. "And, you should go to jail for a long time and maybe that'll send a message."

Naval Air Station Corpus Christi shooting: FBI officials say only 1 attacker

Tue, 26 May 2020 22:17:33 -0400

The FBI said Tuesday that its investigation points to only one attacker in the shooting at a Texas naval air base, days after the agency suggested another person involved might be on the loose.

FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Leah Greeves said last week that investigators were working to determine whether a second person of interest was at large following the shooting at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. The Thursday attack left a sailor wounded and the gunman dead.

But the agency's Houston office said on Twitter Tuesday that "while there was initial concern about a potential second person of interest, intense investigation leads us now to believe there was not."

The FBI also repeated that the shooting is being investigated as a "terror-related incident," without elaborating on what that means. Two officials familiar with the investigation previously told The Associated Press that agents were examining social media posts they believe the shooter made expressing support for extremist groups, including Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

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Officials have identified the gunman as 20-year-old Adam Salim Alsahli, a Corpus Christi resident who had been a student at a local community college. Security officers shot and killed him after he opened fire while trying to drive a truck through a base entry gate.

The FBI said Tuesday that Alsahli was a Syria-born American citizen. An agency spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Steve Hayes warns 'Al Qaeda is not dead' in wake of Pensacola, Corpus Christi naval air station attacks

Thu, 21 May 2020 19:44:48 -0400

91�� contributor Steve Hayes warned on "Special Report" Thursday that Americans are "nearing a point of complacency" about the the threat of Islamic terrorism following attacks on U.S. military installations in Pensacola, Fla., and Corpus Christi, Texas.

Earlier Thursday, authorites say, an unidentified gunman tried to drive through a security gate at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi before opening fire and wounding a sailor who was a member of base security. Security personnel killed the shooter during an exchange of gunfire.

NAVAL AIR STATION CORPUS CHRISTI SHOOTING INVESTIGATED AS 'TERRORISM-RELATED': FBI REPORTS

Thursday's attack followed Monday's announcement by the Justice Department that a Saudi Air Force officer who killed three American sailors and wounded eight other people at Naval Air Station Pensacola this past December had communicated with Al Qaeda operatives about planning and tactics in the months before the shooting.

"The news of the past couple days about the shooting in Pensacola [by] a terrorist named [Mohammed Saeed] Alshamrani and his ties to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula does provide the reminder ... that Al Qaeda is not dead," Hayes said on the "Special Report" All-Star panel.

NAS PENSACOLA SHOOTER HAD PRIOR CONTACT WITH AL QAEDA, FBI SAYS

"I think we are nearing a point of complacency in this country about the threat from radical jihad terrorism and it's not a good place to be," he said. "Al Qaeda is still very active around the world and you could make an argument that in terms of pure numbers, Al Qaeda rivals the strength that it was ten years ago or 20 years ago."

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Hayes added that the terror network founded by Usama bin Laden "continues to build networks, it operates in new places around the world, and it still has a strong presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan, despite what you her from the U.S. government."

91��' Bradford Betz and Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

Sen. Lankford on Pensacola terrorist's phone: 'We lost a lot of valuable time' waiting for Apple to cooperate

Tue, 19 May 2020 13:21:07 -0400

The FBI and the United States government "lost a lot of valuable time" waiting for Apple to cooperate with their requests to unlock the Pensacola shooter's iPhones, Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford said Tuesday.

Lankford's statements come following Attorney General William Barr's Monday announcement that the December 6 shooting that killed three sailors and wounded eight others was an act of terror and that the gunman, Second Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani — a Saudi Air Force cadet training with the American military — had displayed extremist leanings.

In an interview on "America's Newsroom" with host Ed Henry, Lankford decried Apple's alleged refusal to help unlock certain facial recognition software, noting that the time lost between suspecting the shooting was a terror attack and Barr's confirmation was substantial and critical to a U.S. response.

NAS PENSACOLA SHOOTER HAD PRIOR CONTACT WITH AL QAEDA, FBI SAYS, AFTER FINALLY ACCESSING GUNMAN'S PHONES

"If you’ve got Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula -- what’s called AQAP -- [who are] actually coordinating [and] working with someone [who is a] Saudi citizen in the United States to be able to prepare for, train for, set the individual targets and the timing then [of an attack], we need to know that immediately so we can obviously respond," he explained.

"[And,] try to be able to wrap up those individuals [who] are in Yemen…helping them coordinate this attack," Lankford noted further. "And, we lost a lot of valuable time waiting on Apple to be able to help us cooperate. The FBI was able to finally crack the phone on it, but it would've been helpful to be able to go back and reach out and to be able to get those folks faster."

In his news conference, Barr told reporters that the situation "perfectly illustrates" why it is critical the public is able to access digital evidence.

"We don’t want to get into a world where we have to spend months and even years exhausting efforts when lives are in the balance,” Barr stated. “We should be able to get in when we have a warrant that establishes that criminal activity is underway.”

The Justice Department head also called on other technology companies to find a solution and complained that Apple had provided no “substantive assistance,” a charge that the company strongly denied on Monday night, saying it had been working with the FBI since the day of the shooting.

"The false claims made about our company are an excuse to weaken encryption and other security measures that protect millions of users and our national security,” Apple said in a statement. It also reiterated that it would not build a backdoor into iPhones, saying that it would “make every device vulnerable to bad actors who threaten our national security and the data security of our customers.”

"Yeah, I don’t think we’re looking to weaken encryption. Quite frankly, we need encryption to be strong for our banking protections, for our phones and communications. We need that to stay exceptionally strong," Lankford responded.

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The senator told Henry that Apple's unwillingness to engage even with a court order and a request from President Trump was really what was at issue

"They help China in what their requests are. We want them to be able to help the United States in the same way when we have a…law enforcement investigation," he concluded. "Again, this is not about weakening encryption. We need strong encryption but we need apple to be able to be engaged to be able to help us get to terrorists faster."

NAS Pensacola shooter had prior contact with Al Qaeda, FBI says, after finally accessing gunman's phones

Mon, 18 May 2020 09:36:04 -0400

After being denied help from Apple, FBI investigators have been able to access the contents of the phones that belonged to the Saudi aviation student who shot and killed three American sailors in December 2019 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Attorney General Bill Barr said Monday.

Barr said the FBI now has confirmed the shooter had been in contact with Al Qaeda before carrying out the attack.

The breakthrough surrounding the devices once owned by Mohammed Alshamrani, a 21-year-old 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force, came as a result of the "relentless efforts and ingenuity of FBI technicians," Barr said.

"The phones contained information previously unknown to us that definitively establishes Alshamrani's significant ties to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) — not only before the attack but before he even arrived in the United States," he said. "We now have a clearer understanding of Alshamrani’s associations and activities in the years, months, and days leading up to his attack."

Following the Dec. 6 shooting, the FBI asked Apple for help in accessing data from a pair of iPhones owned by the gunman, as investigators had been unsuccessful in unlocking the devices.

NAS PENSACOLA SHOOTING WAS AN 'ACT OF TERRORISM', BARR SAYS

"It was clear at the time that the phones were likely to contain very important information," Barr said Monday. "Indeed, Alshamrani attempted to destroy both of the phones, even going so far as to disengage from the gunfight long enough to fire a bullet into one of the phones."

He added, "Unfortunately, Apple would not help us unlock the phones."

The information eventually recovered from the phones indicated that Alshamrani's "preparations for terror began years ago," according to a statement from the Justice Department.

"He had been radicalized by 2015, and having connected and associated with AQAP operatives, joined the Royal Saudi Air Force in order to carry out a 'special operation,'" the Justice Department said. "In the months before the Dec. 6, 2019 attack, while in the United States, Alshamrani had specific conversations with overseas AQAP associates about plans and tactics. In fact, he was communicating with AQAP right up until the attack, and conferred with his associates until the night before he undertook the murders."

NAS PENSACOLA SHOOTER 'JUST SHOT THROUGH THE DOOR' DURING RAMPAGE, SURVIVOR SAYS

FBI Director Christopher Wray said the "evidence we have been able to develop from the killer’s devices shows that the Pensacola attack was actually the brutal culmination of years of planning and preparation by a longtime AQAP associate."

"He was meticulous in his planning. He made pocket cam videos as he cased his classroom building," Wray added. "He wrote a final will purporting to explain himself and saved it in his phone — the exact same will that AQAP released two months later when they initially claimed responsibility."

Barr said the U.S. also has used information from the phone to launch a recent counterterrorism operation against one of Alshamrani's overseas associates based in Yemen.

"We will not hesitate to act against those who harm Americans," Barr added.

NAS PENSACOLA SHOOTER 'INFURIATED' AFTER INSTRUCTOR NICKNAMED HIM 'PORN STASH', REPORT SAYS

Apple responded in a statement Monday afternoon: "As a proud American company, we consider supporting law enforcement’s important work our responsibility. The false claims made about our company are an excuse to weaken encryption and other security measures that protect millions of users and our national security."

The statement also read: "We sell the same iPhone everywhere, we don't store customers' passcodes and we don't have the capacity to unlock passcode-protected devices. In data centers, we deploy strong hardware and software security protections to keep information safe and to ensure there are no backdoors into our systems. All of these practices apply equally to our operations in every country in the world."

The FBI previously battled the tech giant for access to data stored on an iPhone following the 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. Like in the Pensacola shooting case, Apple did not help investigators, but the FBI eventually succeeded in accessing the device's contents.

Acting Department of Homeland Security [DHS] Secretary Chad Wolf responded Monday, "The FBI findings from the tragic Pensacola navy base shooting last December illustrate that the enduring threat from terrorist organizations, such as Al Qaeda, continues. This incident is a stark reminder that terrorist organizations are just as determined to attack us today as on September 11, 2001. DHS continues to support the investigation and, in the wake of the attack, DHS supported the Departments of State and Department of Defense in reviewing screening and vetting procedures for foreign military students."

Barr in January called the attack an "act of terrorism," noting that Alshamrani was "motivated by jihadist ideology."

"During the course of the investigation, we learned that the shooter posted a message on September 11, [2019] stating, 'the countdown has begun,'" Barr also said that month. "During the Thanksgiving weekend, he then visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York City.

"He also posted other anti-American, anti-Israeli, and jihadi messages on social media, including two hours before his attack," Barr added.

Senior law enforcement officials told 91�� the attack lasted 15 minutes and Alshamrani used a Glock 9mm that had five extended magazines. The gun, they added, was purchased legally in Florida.

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A deputy from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office ultimately shot and killed Alshamrani.

NAS Pensacola is home to the Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Activity's International Training Center, which Navy officials said was "established in 1988 to meet the aviation-specific training needs of international officers and enlisted students from allied nations."

91��' Ashley Cozzolino, David Spunt and Fox Business' Susan Li and Hillary Vaughn contributed to this report.

This Navy SEAL killed Usama bin Laden 9 years ago: 'We met for a second -- that's it'

Sat, 02 May 2020 18:35:23 -0400

On May 1, 2011, an elite team of U.S. special operators, known as SEAL Team 6, killed the world's most wanted terrorist -- Usama bin Laden.

In Fox Nation's "The Man Who Killed Usama bin Laden," the former Navy SEAL who pulled the trigger, Rob O'Neill, told 91��’ Peter Doocy in an exclusive interview how his team trained and executed one of the most daring and profound missions in American history.

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In the two-part special, O'Neill described the thoughts that were going through his head as he and his team flew through the night to a compound deep inside Pakistan.

"After weeks of training, 82 minutes into the flight, I'm like 'I'm on this mission and we're going to kill him,'" O'Neill told Doocy.

It was an assignment that O'Neill assumed that he may not return from, calling it a "one-way mission." But to him and his teammates, it was worth it if they had the opportunity to take out the man responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks.

"The doors open and it's not a training site in the mountains in the United States. And it's not a desert. It's lights. It's a city," O'Neill continued. "One minute out. And I'm thinking, 'Man, this is some serious Navy SEAL stuff we're about to do.'"

The documentary detailed how SEAL Team 6 would land inside of bin Laden's walled compound, assault the home and eventually move upstairs to bin Laden's bedroom.

"The two of us went up the stairs and into the room," O'Neill recalled, detailing the team's movements. "We hadn't seen the big guy yet, so he's left and if he's here, he's in there."

O'Neill said that when the time came to complete their mission, a fellow SEAL was willing to die to guarantee their success.

"There was a curtain," O'Neill said, describing how he and his team member moved in single file, encountering a group of women that they assumed were wearing explosives vests.

NAVY SEAL WHO KILLED BIN LADEN ON WHAT YOU MISSED IN VIDEO OF AL-BAGHDADI RAID

"He went through the curtain and most of the women were right there -- the daughters and one of the wives -- and grabbed them, sort of tackled them, walking them down the hallway and he laid on top of them assuming that they were going to blow up," O'Neill said.

"He gave his life, so the guy -- that he didn't know who it was -- could get a shot because he knew that bin Laden was in there."

"I had my hand on him, I kind of pushed him down the hallway and I turned to the right and standing on two feet in front of me, with his hands on his wife's shoulder's behind her, was the face that I had seen thousands of times -- it was UBL," O'Neill said, referring to Usama bin Laden.

"Do you say anything?" Doocy asked.

"No," O'Neill said. "We met for a second -- that's it."

To watch all of "The Man Who Killed Usama bin Laden," go to Fox Nation and sign up today.

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Fox Nation programs are viewable on-demand and from your mobile device app, but available only for Fox Nation subscribers. Go to Fox Nation to start a free trial and watch the extensive library from Tomi Lahren, Pete Hegseth, Abby Hornacek, Laura Ingraham, Greg Gutfeld, Judge Andrew Napolitano and many more of your favorite 91�� personalities.

Pompeo: Al Qaeda a 'shadow' of its former self, time to 'turn the corner' in Afghanistan

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 08:50:50 -0500

The Taliban peace agreement marks a "historic opportunity" to "turn the corner" and make sure the United States is "never attacked again from Afghanistan," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday.

In an interview on "Fox & Friends" with hosts Steve Doocy, Pete Hegseth, and Jedediah Bila, Pompeo said that violence in the country is "actually significantly down," prompting President Trump to take action.

"President Trump has seized the moment," he said, though noting that Afghanistan is a "difficult place."

"Look, we are not naive," he said. "We all know who the Taliban are and what they have done to America. But, it's time. It is time to seize this opportunity."

US MILITARY TARGETS TALIBAN FORCES IN 'DEFENSIVE' AIRSTRIKE, FIRST STRIKE SINCE HISTORIC PEACE DEAL

However, the agreement with the Taliban was pre-conditioned to hold only if the terrorist group met their end of the bargain, and on Wednesday the U.S. carried out its first airstrike on the Islamist militant group since announcing the deal.

U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said in a tweet that the "defensive" airstrike Wednesday was conducted against four Taliban fighters who he said were “actively attacking” an Afghan National Defense and Security Force (ANDSF) checkpoint.

“To be clear – we are committed to peace, however, we have the responsibility to defend our ANDSF partners,” Leggett continued. “Afghans & US have complied (with) our agreements; however, Talibs appear intent on squandering this (opportunity) and ignoring the will of the people for peace.”

"Yes, there were significant numbers of attacks, small attacks," Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.

"But the Taliban have signed up to a whole series of conditions," he said. "There's no attacks on 34 provincial capitals, there's no attacks on Kabul, there's no suicide bombers, there's no vehicle-borne suicides, no attacks against U.S. forces, no attacks against coalition [forces] — there's a whole laundry list of these things that aren't happening."

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"We did what President Obama had tried to do," Pompeo told the "Friends" hosts, "which was to get the Taliban to make a public break with Al Qaeda. The very reason we went there -- the reason we went there after this city was attacked, was to go destroy Al Qaeda. We have largely taken it down."

"Al Qaeda is a shadow of its former self," he stated. "it's now time to turn the corner to make sure that we [are] never attacked again from Afghanistan."

Liz Cheney: 'My concerns remain' about Trump's peace deal with Taliban

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 17:05:32 -0500

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., continued to express concern about the Trump administration’s peace deal with the Taliban during a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

“I’ve read the documents and my concerns remain,” Cheney said during a House Armed Services Committee panel with top Army brass.

In an interview Monday with Bret Baier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told 91�� that the final agreement included "a commitment to break with Al Qaeda" by the Taliban.

But after reviewing two classified documents included in the peace deal, Cheney says she sees no evidence the Taliban have broken with Al Qaeda.

POMPEO SAYS US ACCOMPLISHED WHAT OBAMA 'TRIED TO DO, BUT COULD NOT' WITH TALIBAN PEACE DEAL

“I’m not going to talk about what’s in the documents, a number of them are classified, as you know, but the documents that have been sent to the Hill do not include those things,” Cheney said during the hearing.

“Those documents do not include in them the things that Secretary Pompeo said they would. So, my concerns still remain,” she added.

TRUMP SAYS HE HAD 'GOOD TALK' WITH TALIBAN LEADER

Congresswoman Cheney issued a statement over the weekend saying that the deal with the Taliban includes concessions that could threaten the security of the United States more than 18 years after the 9/11 attacks.

Last week, Cheney and more than 20 of her House Republican colleagues sent a letter to Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper seeking specific assurances as a part of any agreement with the Taliban.

Pompeo denied that “secret side deals” exist in the U.S.-Taliban peace deal, but admitted there are some classified portions.

“There’s no secret side deals. Members of Congress will get to see the two classified implementation military elements of this, but the deal is laid out there for the world to see,” Pompeo told Bret Baier Monday.

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President Trump said he spoke with the leader of the Taliban on Tuesday.

“We had a good conversation. We've agreed there's no violence. We don't want violence. We'll see what happens,” Trump said.

Pompeo says US accomplished what Obama 'tried to do, but could not' with Taliban peace deal

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 20:05:36 -0500

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joined "Special Report with Bret Baier" Monday to discuss the peace deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan, saying the Trump administration has been able to do what the Obama administration could not.

"What we've done is fundamentally different than what the Obama administration did. Indeed, we accomplished what they tried to do, but could not," Pompeo said. "They never got the Taliban to break with Al Qaeda and they never got a commitment that says, 'If you execute the following conditions based -- That is, if the violence levels come down. That is, if the security posture for the United States of America is reduced, then and only then will we begin to deliver a commensurate footprint inside of your country.'"

VETERANS REACT TO FORTHCOMING AFGHANISTAN-TALIBAN ‘PEACE AGREEMENT’

The United States signed a historic peace treaty with Taliban militants on Saturday, aimed at ending the 18-year war in Afghanistan that began after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Baier pressed Pompeo on whether or not the Taliban was making a true break from Al Qaeda.

"Al Qaeda is mentioned twice in the passages, in the report, in the language. It says, 'it will not allow any of its members or other individuals or groups, including Al Qaeda, to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States and its allies,'" Baier said. "But that's not really a break."

Pompeo pushed back saying, "They're not going to let them operate [there] anymore... That is a central provision."

The Secretary also responded to conflicting comments and statements by parties in Afghanistan.

"I've seen lots of remarks. Just watch what really happens. Pay less attention to statements. Pay less than attention to things people say. Watch what happens on the ground there," Pompeo said. "There's been a lot of work done at detailed levels about how this will proceed. So far, so good. We're just hours into this. I'm sure we'll have days when we start and say that the problems are big. But we're determined and the president's made this commitment."

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Pompeo said he was "hopeful" all would work out adding that the end goal was to look out for the troops, stop terrorism and cut costs.

"Our mission set is to protect America from the threat of terrorism from Afghanistan, to reduce our cost," Pompeo said. "I was a CIA director. I was a soldier. I want to see fewer Americans having to make their third, fourth and fifth trip there and fewer Americans coming home injured, maimed or worse yet never having a chance to be with their loved ones again. That's the president's mission. That's what this agreement is aiming to achieve."

91��' Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.

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