Oussama Abdullah Kassir AKA Abu Khadija AKA Abu Abdullah AKA zubeiddah1417@hotmail.com AKA khadija1417@hotmail.com DBA Islamic Media Center was finally extradited to the United States this past Tuesday, 25 September 2007. The following is not intended to be comprehensive review of Kassir's activities, but rather to reflect on the material we already had within the archives of the Internet Haganah site.
A man with a long history of involvement in both real-world and Internet terrorist activities, Kassir is perhaps best known for his efforts to help set up a terrorist training camp in Bly, Oregon in the late 1990's together with Abu Hamza al-Masri and Haroon Rashid Aswat. Online he did business under the name "Islamic Media Center" (IMC) beginning well-before 11 September 2001, and his files were frequently accompanied by one of his email addresses and/or a link to his site at uddat.8k.com. (Note that this Islamic Media Center is not related to the Global Islamic Media Center which existed at that time, and which later became the Global Islamic Media Front.)
IMC graphic with links, circa May 2003
click to view full size
The Investigative Project on Terrorism has posted the complete indictment and related documents. You may download just the Internet-related counts against Kassir here:
Illustration of a handgun by Oussama Kassir
(Kassir was previously convicted on a weapons possession charge in Sweden)
On or about 13 May 2003, Kassir was the first person we observed posting information about the suicide bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a posting which was accompanied by the following montage:
Riyadh bombing illustration, May 2003
click to view full size
Cover of the Mujahideen Poisons Handbook
According to the indictment, Kassir was also responsible for the production of the Mujahideen Poisons Handbook and a related explosives manual.
Page from the Mujahideen Poisons Handbook
In April 2005, prior to the 7-7 bombings in London, and in response to alleged insults to the Prophet Mohammed, lurid graphics threatening terrorist attack in Sweden were posted on jihadi forums. The graphics featured a logo strikingly similar to that of the Islamic Media Center.
Note the logo and the underground railway station
Immediately following the 7-7 bombings in London Kassir was linked to the attack, and responded by saying that the authorities would have to use force to arrest him, and that Sweden would be attacked if it extradited him to either the UK or the USA.
In October of 2005 graphics in the same style as the ones that threatened Sweden surfaced, this time with the target of Denmark. The logo similar to that of the IMC had been removed for reasons known only to the artist.
Shortly after these graphics were released, individuals were arrested in Bosnia and Denmark in connection to a plot to launch a terrorist attack in Europe. This was the same round of arrests that put Irhabi007 and Co. behind bars.
On or about 6 December 2005 Oussama Kassir announced that he was shutting down the Islamic Media Center for "security reasons". Soon thereafter he boarded a plane bound for Beirut. The aircraft made a stop in Prague and Kassir was taken into custody.
He remained in Czech custody despite his best efforts to seek release, and was finally handed over to the USA this week. His first US court appearance did not pass without incident...
Sayonara Oussama.
Posted on 28 September 2007 @ 21:24