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The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted Terrorists is a list of fugitives who have been indicted by sitting Federal grand juries in the United States district courts, for alleged crimes of terrorism. The initial list was formed in late 2001 in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and contained the names of 22 terrorists. It was the second major "wanted" list following the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. It now serves as a companion to that earlier list, which in years past, had listed several major terrorist fugitives.

List of initial 22 wanted terrorist fugitives

In response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, former President Bush released to the public this initial list on October 10, 2001 of the FBI's top 22 Most Wanted Terrorists. The 22 terrorists chosen by the FBI to be profiled on the list had all been earlier indicted for acts of terrorism between the years 1985 and 1998. All 22 remained fugitives from justice as of October 2001. Of the 22 fugitives, only Osama bin Laden was by then already listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

On the fugitive group wanted poster, The FBI did not list the terrorist fugitives 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 fugitives can easily fit into distinct categories of terrorist attacks over the two decades, based on each fugitive's indictment history. For organization and ease of reference here, the relevant major terrorist attacks are listed by date below, with a brief summary for each, identifying the terror cells most directly responsible for the attack. The 22 fugitives on the list are then grouped beneath the attack for which each terrorist was first indicted.^[1]

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 – War on 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 terrorists 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, as found in the rubble of Muhammad 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 terrorist fugitives 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, some new high profile terrorists had qualified to be listed as Most Wanted Terrorists under FBI guidelines. Some of these new fugitives were wanted for indictments in attacks and plots that had taken place since the original list had been compiled. The original indictments had been for incidents only through 1998. But since then, the U.S. had become victim to at least two major terror attacks, which would generate some of the new indictments for the Most Wanted Terrorists, 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 U.S. had foiled and issued indictments for numerous other plots, involving some new listed Most Wanted Terrorists. Those notable other plots involved:^[8]

• The Buffalo Six, a Buffalo, New York cell, or Lackawanna Cell, exposed September 2002
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad, on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges for plots based from Syria since 1995
• Abu Sayyaf Group kidnappings and murders of foreign nationals in the Philippines

So in February 2006, the FBI completed two groups of additions to the Most Wanted Terrorists list, the first such additions in over four years.

Additions February 23, 2006

Additions February 24, 2006

On February 24, 2006, the day after adding two name 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). In addition, the FBI also added to the Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list an additional three persons, most notably, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the notorious leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.^[10] 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. Al-Zarqawi has often been confused with Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is one of the original FBI Most Wanted Terrorists on the list since 2001.

The six fugitives added to the Most Wanted Terrorists list were:

Addition October 11, 2006

On October 11, 2006 Adam Gadahn was removed by the FBI from the Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list, and placed instead on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list.^[12] Also, on October 11, 2006, Gadahn was indicted on a treason charge by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana, California making him the first American charged with treason since 1952.^[13]

Addition April 21, 2009

On April 21, 2009 Daniel Andreas San Diego was added to the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list in connection with two Animal Liberation Brigade bombings in Northern California in 2003. He is the second United States citizen, and the first domestic terrorist, to appear on the list.^[14]

Additions November 2, 2009

Additions December 3, 2009

Rewards

Since 1984, the United States government has also used the Rewards for Justice Program, which pays monetary rewards of up to $5 million, or now, in some cases more, upon special authorization by the United States Secretary of State, to individuals who provide information which substantially leads to countering of terrorist attacks against United States persons. Through 2001, $62 million had been paid to over 40 people through this program.

The Rewards for Justice Program was established by the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, Public Law 98-533, and is administered by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, within the U.S. Department of State.

See also

• Terrorist incidents
• War on Terror
• Weapons of mass destruction
• The World's 10 Most Wanted

Captured al-Qaeda terrorists

• Abu Faraj al-Libbi
• Mustafa Setmariam Nasar
• Abu Zubaydah

References

External links

• DSS Rewards for Justice
• FBI Most Wanted Terrorists currently listed page
• Capturing America's Fugitives
• America's Most Wantedfi:FBI Most Wanted Terrorists