Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (also known by the alias Mullah Bilal) is a senior leader of Osama bin Laden's terrorist group al-Qaida. He is alleged to be the mastermind of the USS Cole bombing and other terrorist attacks, and was the head of al-Qaida operations on the Arabian peninsula.

Born in Saudi Arabia, al-Nashiri travelled to Afghanistan to participate in attacks against the Russians in the region. In 1996 he travelled to Tajikistan and then Jalalabad, where he first met Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden attempted to convince al-Nashiri to join al-Qaida at this point, but he refused because he found the idea of swearing a loyalty oath to bin Laden to be distasteful. Still, after al-Nashiri travelled to Yemen, he began to consider committing terrorist actions against United States interests.

When he returned to Afghanistan in 1997, he again met bin Laden, but again declined to join in the terrorist group. Instead, he fought with the Taliban against the Northern Alliance. Still, he assisted in the smuggling of four anti-tank missiles into Saudi Arabia, and helped arrange for a terrorist to get a Yemeni passport. His brother, Jihad Mohammad Ali al-Makki , was one of the suicide bombers in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings.

Finally, probably in 1998, al-Nashiri finally joined al-Qaida, reporting directly to bin Laden. In late 1998, he conceived of a plot to attack a U.S. vessel using a boat full of explosives. Bin Laden personally approved of the plan, and provided money for it. First, al-Nashiri attempted to attack the USS The Sullivans as a part of the 2000 millennium attack plots, but the boat he used was overloaded with explosives and began to sink. The next attempt, however, the USS Cole bombing, was successful. 17 U.S. sailors were killed, and many more were injured.

This success brought him fame and respect within al-Qaida, and al-Nashiri became the chief of operations for the Arabian Peninsula. He organized the Limburg tanker bombing in 2002, and he may have planned other attacks as well.

In November of 2002, al-Nashiri was captured in the United Arab Emirates. He is currently being detained and questioned by the United States at an undisclosed location. On September 29, 2004, he was sentenced to death in absentia in a Yemeni court for his role in the USS Cole bombing.

External links and references

• The Final 9/11 Commission Report http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html
• Article on al-Nashiri's sentencing http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Yemen-Cole.html?ex=1246939200&a
  mp;en=19cc32500ea66437&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland from the New York Times