'Known Wolf' Terrorists: Here's A List Of Terror Attacks From Individuals Previously Known To Authorities
We're learning new details about Ahmad Khan Rahami, the suspect behind this weekend's bombing attacks in New York City and Elizabeth, New Jersey. Amongst the most interesting facts to have emerged since Rahami's capture on Monday, is that the suspected terrorist had been on the FBI's radar since at least 2014.
Fox News' Catherine Herridge originally reported on Monday that Rahami was "known to authorities":
Fox News' Catherine Herridge reports NYC/NJ bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami was known to authorities.pic.twitter.com/mXVNofBGDP
According to reports, authorities first took notice of Rahami after his father referred to his son as a "terrorist" during a domestic dispute. USA Today reports:
Mohammad Rahami, [Ahmad's] father, made the terrorist claim during a domestic quarrel in which Ahmad Rahami was allegedly brandishing a knife in a confrontation with a brother, according to the official. During the incident, the official said, a neighbor heard Mohammad Rahami order his son out of the house, calling him a terrorist.
Local police were called and, as part of the investigation, the neighbor’s statement was passed to the FBI as part of the bureau’s "guardian" program, which pursues tips from the public about possible terror activity.
The subsequent investigation of Ahmad Rahami failed to turn up any significant connections to terrorism, and authorities failed to put the 28-year old on any watch lists.
Rahami is just the latest in a long list of what some have begun to refer to as "known wolf" terrorists; individuals previously known to authorities who nevertheless ended up committing acts of terror.
PJ Media has compiled a list of so-called known wolf terrorists, which stretches all the way back to 2009:
2009
Carlos Leon Bledsoe attacks an Arkansas recruiting center, gunning two U.S. Army soldiers. Bledsoe, also known as Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, had attended two terrorist training camps in Yemen. The FBI interviewed Bledsoe four months before his attack.
Major Nidal Hassan kills 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood. Reports indicate that the FBI was aware of Hassan's email correspondence with radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to down Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas day in 2009 using explosives hidden in his underwear, earning him the nickname the "underwear bomber". According to a report by CBS News, Abdulmutallab's father reached out to U.S. officials, telling them he was concerned about his son's extremism.
2014
Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother Dzhokhar detonated two pressure cooker bombs at the Boston Marathon, killing thee and injuring 264. Russian intelligence tipped off the FBI twice about Tamerlan. The FBI let him go due to a clerical error, as the bureau misspelled his name.
Ali Muhammad Brown killed four individuals in a cross-country killing spree. Brown was on the terror watch list at the time of the murders.
Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi were killed in a shootout with police outside of Pam Geller's "Draw Mohammed" contest in Garland, Texas. Simpson was known to the FBI for involvement with another terrorist cell several years earlier.
2016
Mohamed Barry attacked customers at the Israeli-owned Nazareth restaurant and deli with a machete in Columbus, Ohio. During the attack in which he wounded four, Barry reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar". The FBI had investigated Barry four years prior to the attacks for making radical comments.
Omar Mateen was responsible for the shooting deaths of 49 club-goers at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. According to reports, Mateen had been interviewed by the FBI on a number of occasions three years prior to the attack.After a 10-month investigation, the FBI closed the case.
No comments:
Post a Comment