Who killed Abu Muhammad al-Masri? Al-Qaeda terrorist responsible for 1998 American embassy bombings gunned down
As per multiple reports, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the assumed name Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was killed in Iran in August by Israeli operatives acting at the behest of the United States. The killing of al-Masri, Al-Qaida’s second-in-command, was first reported by the New York Times citing intelligence officials. According to the New York Times report, al-Masri was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle in Tehran. He was killed along with his daughter, the widow of Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza bin Laden.
Accused of helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa, al-Masri was wanted by the States for his role in the 1998 American embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. He was also seen as a likely successor to Ayman al-Zawahri, believed to be al-Qaida’s current leader. It was unclear what, if any, role the US had in the killing of the Egyptian-born militant on August 7, the anniversary of the embassy attacks. The New York Times said that US authorities had been tracking al-Masri and other al-Qaida operatives in Iran for years. It also reported that al-Masri had been in Iran’s "custody" since 2003 but had been living freely in an upscale suburb of Tehran since 2015, as per unnamed US intelligence officials.
According to a Reuters report, a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to confirm any of the details in the NYT story or say whether there was any US involvement. The White House national security council did not respond to a request for comment. The impact of al-Masri's death on al-Qaida’s activities is not clear as of yet, but even though the terrorist organization has lost senior leaders in the past, it has remained active with help of affiliates from the Middle East, Afghanistan, and West Africa.
The 1998 United States embassy bombings
The 1998 United States embassy bombings were attacks that occurred on August 7 which caused the deaths of more than 200 people. The simultaneous truck bomb explosions in two East African cities – one at the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the other at the United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya – were linked to members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and brought Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and al-Qaeda to the attention of the US public for the first time. The bombings also resulted in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) placing bin Laden on its ten most-wanted fugitives list. The FBI connected the attack to Azerbaijan as 60 calls were placed via satellite phone by bin Laden to associates in the country's capital Baku. Apart from Abu Muhammad al-Masri, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was also named the mastermind behind the bombings.