The FBI Most Wanted Terrorists is a list created and first released on October 10, 2001, with the authority of United States president George W. Bush, following the September 11 attacks. Initially, the list contained 22 of the top suspected terrorists chosen by the FBI, all of whom had earlier been indicted for acts of terrorism between 1985 and 1998. None of the 22 had been captured by US or other authorities by that date. Of the 22, only Osama Bin Laden was by then already listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
No particular legal consequences flowed from the creation of and inclusion on the list. On January 17, 2002, the FBI released a third major FBI wanted list, which has now become known as the FBI Seeking Information – Terrorism list, to enlist the public's help in reporting information which may prevent future terrorist attacks. The information sought to be reported is not necessarily relating to any person on any of the FBI wanted lists.
Initial persons alleged to be terrorist fugitives On the fugitive group wanted poster, the FBI did not list the persons in any particular stated order, except perhaps for the consistent placing of bin Laden in the number one position of the top row. However, the 22 can easily fit into distinct categories over the two decades, based on the terrorist attacks in which they were, according to US authorities, involved.
For organization and ease of reference here, the 22 on the list are grouped by the attack for which they were placed on the list.
Photo Name Alleged terrorist activity Date of activity Status Imad MughniyehTWA Flight 847 June 14, 1985KilledKilled on February 12, 2008, by a car bomb that was detonated by the Mossad and the CIA as he passed by on foot in Damascus, Syria. Ali AtwaTWA Flight 847 June 14, 1985DeceasedDied of cancer in Lebanon in October 2021. Hassan Izz-Al-DinTWA Flight 847 June 14, 1985At large Abdul Rahman Yasin 1993 World Trade Center bombing November 17, 1996At largeAccused of constructing bombs in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Yasin was allegedly a prisoner of Saddam Hussein in 2002, but has since gone missing from Iraq. He was not located during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Bojinka plot 1994–1995CapturedCaptured in Pakistan on March 1, 2003. Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Mughassil Khobar Towers bombing June 25, 1996At largeAl-Mughassil was captured in Lebanon on August 7, 2015, and extradited to Saudi Arabia. However, he was not taken into US custody and is still wanted by the FBI. Ali Saed Bin Ali El-Hoorie Khobar Towers bombing June 25, 1996At large Ibrahim Salih Mohammed Al-Yacoub Khobar Towers bombing June 25, 1996At large Abdelkarim Hussein Mohamed Al-Nasser Khobar Towers bombing June 25, 1996At large Alleged by the U.S. government to be the leader of Hezbollah Al-Hejaz. Mohammed Atef 1998 United States embassy bombings August 7, 1998KilledKilled in Afghanistan on November 14, 2001, by a Predator missile attack on his home outside of Kabul. Osama bin Laden 1998 United States embassy bombings and the September 11th Attacks August 7, 1998KilledKilled by U.S. Navy Seals in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan; announced dead May 2, 2011. He was placed on the Most Wanted Terrorists list for his involvement in the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Ayman al-Zawahiri 1998 United States embassy bombings August 7, 1998KilledOsama bin-Laden's successor as Al-Qaeda's chieftain, Ayman al-Zawahiri was under indictment in the United States for his suspected role in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. The Rewards for Justice Program of the U.S. Department of State was offering a reward of up to US$25 million for information about his location and capture. On July 31, 2022, he was killed by a drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan carried out by the U.S. He is listed as deceased by the FBI. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed 1998 United States embassy bombings August 7, 1998KilledReports surfaced on June 11, 2011, that he was killed in Somalia. Kenyan police stated, through DNA testing, that they were certain he was killed by Somalian forces on June 8. Officially listed as deceased on the FBI website by June 12. Mustafa Mohamed Fadhil 1998 United States embassy bombings August 7, 1998KilledKilled in Afghanistan in March 2002. He was removed from the list in May 2005. Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam 1998 United States embassy bombings August 7, 1998KilledKilled January 1, 2009, in an unmanned aerial strike in Pakistan along with Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan. Ahmed Ghailani 1998 United States embassy bombings August 7, 1998CapturedCaptured in Pakistan on July 25, 2004, and later held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Ghailani was tried by a civilian court in New York in 2010 and convicted of conspiring to bomb the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. The jury however acquitted him of all other 284 charges, including attempted murder. Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan 1998 United States embassy bombings August 7, 1998KilledKilled January 1, 2009, in an unmanned aerial strike in Pakistan along with Fahid Mohammed Ali Msalam. Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah 1998 United States embassy bombings August 7, 1998Killed Abdullah, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Masri, was reportedly killed in Tehran, Iran, on August 7, 2020, by Israeli Mossad operatives acting on behalf of the United States government. His death was confirmed by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on January 12, 2021, after being reported three months earlier. Abu Anas al-Libi 1998 United States embassy bombings August 7, 1998Died in captivityAl-Libi was captured in Tripoli, Libya on October 5, 2013, by Delta Force commandos. Abu Anas al-Libi died on January 2, 2015, at a hospital in New York, aged 50, while in United States custody. He had liver disease as a result of hepatitis C. Saif al-Adel 1998 United States embassy bombings August 7, 1998At large Believed to be the current de facto leader of al-Qaeda as of 2023. Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali 1998 United States embassy bombings August 7, 1998KilledReported as killed in a drone strike in 2010 in Pakistan by the National Counterterrorism Center. He was removed from the list in 2012. Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah 1998 United States embassy bombings August 7, 1998KilledKilled April 12, 2006, along with 6 other alleged militants by Pakistani forces in a helicopter gunship raid on the village of Naghar Kalai near the Afghan border. Villagers reported that armed men removed the bodies. Atwah's death was confirmed by US officials on October 24, 2006, following DNA testing, and he was removed from the list.
FBI Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list Whereas the Most Wanted Terrorists list is reserved for terrorist fugitives who have been indicted by federal grand juries, the FBI recognized a further need to achieve a much quicker response time in order to prevent any future attacks which may be in the current planning stages. To enlist the public's help in this effort, the FBI sought a way to deliver the early known suspected terror attack information, often very limited, out to the public as quickly as possible. So, on January 17, 2002, the third major FBI wanted list was first released, which has now become known as the FBI Seeking Information – Terrorism list.
As the name of this list implies, the FBI's intent is to acquire any critical information from the public, as soon as possible, about the suspected terrorists, who may be in the planning stages of terror attacks against United States nationals at home and abroad. The first such list profiled five persons about whom little was known, but who were suspected of plotting terrorist attacks in martyrdom operations. The main evidence against the five was five videos they had produced, found in the rubble of Mohammed Atef's destroyed home outside Kabul, Afghanistan.
Additions to the list By 2006, more than four years had passed since the FBI had listed the original 22 alleged terrorists on the Most Wanted Terrorist list. Of those 22, by then four had been qualified for removal from the list, due to death or capture. Also by then, the FBI determined that other people qualified for the list. Some were indicted for attacks and plots that had taken place since the original list had been compiled. The original indictments had been for incidents only through 1998. The US had been victim to at least two significant terror attacks, which had generated new indictments, notably:
USS Cole bombing in 2000, which killed 17 American sailors and wounded 40 on October 12, 2000, off the port coast of Aden, Yemen September 11, 2001 attacks in Manhattan, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania
In addition, after the original 2001 list had been compiled and released to the public, the US had foiled and issued indictments for numerous other plots, involving some new listed Most Wanted Terrorists. Those notable other plots involved:
The Lackawanna Six, a Buffalo, New York cell that was exposed September 2002 Palestinian Islamic Jihad, on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges for plots based from Syria since 1995 Abu Sayyaf kidnappings and murders of foreign nationals in the Philippines
In February 2006, the FBI completed two groups of additions to the Most Wanted Terrorists list, the first additions in over four years. On February 24, 2006, the day after adding two names to the list, the FBI added an additional six fugitive terrorists, for various plots and attacks. One of the entries was for an indictment dating back to the June 14, 1985, hijacking of TWA flight 847 by Hezbollah (see above).
Additionally, the FBI also added to the Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list an additional three people, most notably, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. This marked the first time that al-Zarqawi had appeared on any of the three major FBI wanted lists. On June 8, 2006, ABC News reported that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was confirmed to have been killed in Baghdad in a bombing raid by a United States task force. His death was confirmed by multiple sources in Iraq, including the United States government.