Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan

Member of al Qaeda

Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan (
صالح علي صالح نبهان
) (4 April 1979, Mombasa, Kenya – 14 September 2009, near Baraawe, Somalia) was the leader of al Qaeda in Somalia. He was listed on the FBI's third major "wanted" list, the FBI Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list, for his association with multiple attacks in Kenya in 2002, as well as his possible involvement in the 1998 United States embassy bombings, in which over 250 people lost their lives. In September 2009, he was killed in a raid undertaken by United States Navy SEALs.

He became wanted in 2006 by the United States Department of Justice's FBI, "for questioning in connection with the 2002 attacks in Mombasa, Kenya, against a hotel and an airliner." The Kenyan hotel bombing followed the airliner shoot down attempt, in near simultaneous attacks against two Israeli owned targets. Nabhan was also wanted in Kenya for those crimes, as well as for his alleged involvement in the 1998 United States embassy bombings. The main suspects in all three cases are affiliated with al Qaeda, which claimed responsibility. For his role in the plot Nabhan became listed on the FBI's third major "wanted" list, the FBI Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list. With these three additions, as of 24 February 2006 the total count on the outstanding Seeking Information list stood at ten. Nabhan might have been protected in Somalia by the Islamic Courts Union prior to their ouster in late 2006. An American air gunship attack near Ras Kamboni on 7 January 2007 targeted al Qaeda suspects, who might have included Nabhan. On 9 March 2007 the International Herald Tribune reported that someone connected with the 2002 Mombasa bombing had been apprehended, and speculated that it was Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan. However it turned out to be Abdulmalik Mohammed, who was transferred to Guantanamo about a month later. On 2 March 2008, a U. S. Navy vessel fired two missiles in an attack on an Al Qaeda training camp in southern Somalia. The attack reportedly targeted Nabhan.

Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan was killed following a raid by Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) forces including U. S. Navy SEALs in four helicopters (including at least two AH 6s) on Monday 14 September 2009. Nabhan was driving south of the capital Mogadishu near Baraawe in a two vehicle convoy when attacked by assault helicopters. The raid, code named Operation Celestial Balance, President Barack Obama is reported to have signed an "Execute Order" for the operation ten days before the attack was launched. JSOC and the CIA had been trying to kill Nabhan for some time; an AC 130 Gunship was called in during a January 2007 attempt. An American intelligence source stated that CIA paramilitary teams from Special Activities Division were directly embedded with Ethiopian forces in Somalia, allowing for the tactical intelligence to launch these operations. Nabhan's body was buried at sea, a practice later repeated with the disposal of Osama bin Laden's corpse. On 14 February 2010, the MSNBC cable news channel reported that three alternatives were presented to President Barack Obama: (1) assassination via a missile attack from a drone, or other airplane; (2) assassination by fire from helicopters, which could then land for DNA samples, to confirm his identity; and (3) live capture. MSNBC suggested that this killing represents a trend, since remote targeting continues to be more reliable—while locations where captives can be detained without complications have dwindled.