For three months, nobody — apart from a few terrorists — knew that House Number 43 in New Runda estate was a bomb factory.
Inside this secure compound, the gang planned one of the deadliest attacks on Kenyan soil.
For
five years, and without the knowledge of intelligence agencies, the
terrorists operated as businessmen, philanthropists and tourists.
Their
kingpin was Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, a network of
militant Islamic extremists that emerged from the ashes of the war in
Afghanistan.
On the morning of August 7, 1998, the terrorists drove out of their Runda house.
In the lead car was Fazul Mohammed, better known as Harun, while the second, a Toyota Dyna, was carrying a bomb.
GROUP HID INTENTIONS
It was driven by Jihad Mohammed Ali (aka Azzam), with Mohammed Rashid Daoud Al-Owhali in the passenger seat.
In
Nairobi, and under the cover of Asma Ltd, an al-Qaeda company
established in 1983 by Khalid Fawwaz, the group hid its intentions.
Nobody noticed that this company had been transferred to al-Qaeda military commander, Abu al Banshiri.
The
group also registered an outfit known as Tanzanite King — a cover to
retaliate against the US for Operation Restore Hope in Somalia.
According to the registration documents, Asma Ltd was an import-export company. It opened an office in Nairobi.
Had
another militant — Mohammed Sadeek — Odeh not arrived in Kenya in 1994,
chances are that the East African terrorist cell would not have taken
shape at the pace it did.
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File photo: At the beginning of the memorial service at Andrews, Honor guards bring in… |
SOLD FURNITURE
Odeh was the
ideal businessman. Coast hotel owners and traders knew him as the
fisherman who operated a six-foot seven-tonne fibre glass boat.
It
was the income of this business that became the lifeline of the
struggling Kenyan cell, which had already closed its Nairobi office and
sold furniture.
The boat had been delivered to Odeh, a Palestinian from Jordan, by Banshiri and al-Qaeda trainer Muhamed Atef.
It did good business and acted as a hideout of cell members.
Also
joining this team was an American jihadist known as Wadih El Haji, who
masqueraded as a precious stone dealer in Kenya and Tanzania. El Haji, a
Lebanese-American and University of Louisiana graduate, was to run the
Tanzanite King business while acting as Osama bin Laden’s contact in the
Kenyan cell.
Within the cell, they called him “The Manager” —
perhaps because of his organisational acumen. His deputy was Fazul, the
Comoros national.
REGISTERED AN NGO
Fazul
and the Lebanese had also registered an NGO, Help Africa People, which
was to be used as the official al-Qaeda cover in Kenya.
With all those organisations, the stage had been set for the raid.
Initially, Help Africa People had been registered in Germany and that gave Fazul the best cover in Kenya.
Fazul
was involved in the 1993 downing of two US helicopters in Mogadishu; an
event that led to the withdrawal of American troops from Somalia.
After a brief sojourn in the Comoros, where he married Halima, 17, Fazul arrived in Nairobi and rented an apartment.
From
here, they could all communicate using codenames as detectives would
later find out: TNT and detonator cords were known as “tools”, grenades
were “potatoes”, while fake travel documents were “goods”.
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Kenyan police guard the front entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) |
FERRIED CASH
They were the
least of suspects and even invited another operative — Mustafa Ahmed —
to open a branch of bin Laden’s Taba Investment Company.
Officially,
Fazul was working for an NGO and, unknown to security forces, his cell
had links to another NGO, Mercy International Relief Agency, run by
Safar al Hawali, and the Nairobi branch of Haramayn Foundation.
With
all these contacts, Fazul ferried cash to cell members with ease. On
the ground, his NGO’s mission was to deliver emergency humanitarian
assistance — food, medicine, clothing and shelter — to the needy. It was
through these outfits that the bomb-making material was gathered.
But
acquiring the materials was slowed down in May 1996 when Banshiri died
aboard MV Bukoba, the ferry that sank 56 kilometres off Mwanza, killing
more than 1,000.
With Banshiri’s death, Fazul became the principal
contact for the Kenyan mission and moved to Nairobi, where he lived
with El Haji’s family and served as his assistant at the NGO.
Meanwhile
in Afghanistan, another man, Rashid Daoud Al-Owhali, had just completed
training in explosives, hijacking and kidnapping, assassination and
intelligence techniques.
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This Aug. 8, 1998, file photo shows the United States Embassy, left, and other damaged buildings in… |
FAKE PASSPORT
Three fake passport were sent to Baku, Azerbaijan, to enable Al-Owhali travel to Kenya and drive the vehicle with the bomb.
In February 1997, El Haji met bin Laden to brief him of the operation.
On
August 1, 1998, Abu Mariam, the key al-Qaeda commander in East Africa,
issued an order to all al-Qaeda personnel to leave Kenya by August 6.
The
US embassy on the junction of Moi and Haile Selassie avenues was
vulnerable. The targeted basement parking was manned by an unarmed guard
and a manually operated drop bar.
On the Saturday before the attack, Odeh the fisherman, met Ally Msalam who ordered him to “get out of here!”
BOOKED ROOM 24
On
August 2, the proposed bomber arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International
Airport, took a taxi to Ramada Hotel, Eastleigh and booked Room 24.
He called someone in Pakistan to confirm his arrival. That day, Fazul drove to Ramada and picked up his guest.
He paid the bills even though the visitor had not stayed overnight. They then left for Runda.
On
the morning of the attack, Al-Owhali, dressed in black shoes, blue
jeans, a white short-sleeved shirt and a blue jacket, put four stun
grenades on his belt and a pistol in his jacket pocket.
With Azzam, he boarded the bomb vehicle and left for the US embassy.
