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Samir Khan

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Samir Khan
BornSamir ibn Zafar Khan
(1985-12-25)December 25, 1985
Riyadh,Saudi Arabia
DiedSeptember 30, 2011(2011-09-30)(aged 25)
Al Jawf Governorate,Yemen
OccupationEditor and publisher ofInspiremagazine

Samir ibn Zafar Khan(December 25, 1985 – September 30, 2011) was a Saudi Arabiannaturalized U.S. citizen,terrorist,and the editor and publisher ofInspiremagazine, an English-language online magazine reported to be published by theIslamic terroristgroupal-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula(AQAP). He was killed in a drone strike inYementogether withAnwar al-Awlaki.[1][2][3]

Early life

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Khan was born inRiyadh,Saudi Arabia,to parents ofPakistani descentand grew up inQueens,New York,U.S.[4][5]He also spent some of his teenage years living inWestbury, New York.[6]He graduated fromW. Tresper Clarke High Schoolin 2003 where he wrote for the school newspaper and played junior varsity football.[7]According to his classmates, he refused to recitePledge of Allegianceand blamed Americans for theSeptember 11 attacks.[8]Khan's father, Zafar Khan, is an information technology executive. The family moved toCharlotte, North Carolina,in 2004.[9]

He lived in Charlotte before leaving the country forYemenin 2009.[10]He reportedly cut off ties with his family when he left the U.S.[11]After Khan's death, a family friend toldCNNthat Khan's father did not agree with his son's ideas[12]and had sought help to change his son's radical views on several occasions.[9]

Activities

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In 2003, Khan started aBlogspotblogcalled "InshallahShaheed" or "Martyr, God willing" from his parents' basement.[10]Before moving to Yemen he launched the magazineJihad Recollections,"the first online jihadist magazine in English",[13]with four issues, with the last one published in September 2009.[14]After moving to Yemen he became the editor ofInspire.In an article written by Khan and published inInspiretitled, "I am proud to be a traitor to America," Khan outlined his grievances against the United States. According to Ben Venzke, CEO ofIntelCenter,"The primary focus of the magazine is to inspire individuals to not just fly to Yemen and join the group, but rather to provide them with the inspiration, the ideological framework, the targeting philosophy and the practical mechanics of building a bomb or conducting a shooting."[12]

In his bookTicking Time Bomb: Counter-Terrorism Lessons from the U.S. Government's Failure to Prevent the Fort Hood Attack(2011), former U.S. SenatorJoe Liebermandescribed Australian Muslim preacherFeiz Mohammad,American-Yemeni imamAnwar al-Awlaki,Muslim clericAbdullah el-Faisal,and Pakistani-American Samir Khan as "virtual spiritual sanctioners" who use the internet to offer religious justification for Islamist terrorism.[15]

It was reported in May 2013 that Al Qaeda devotees native to the United States might have been using the instruction manuals that Khan posted online before his death. It was suspected that theBoston Marathon bombingwas carried out according to these manuals.[16]

Death

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Khan was killed in theAl Jawf Governorateof Yemen while traveling from theMa'rib Governorate,in the same air-strike that killedAnwar al-Awlaki.[17]Both were U.S. citizens. According to U.S. officials Khan was not a significant enough target to have been specifically targeted but died because he was accompanying al-Awlaki.[18]

Reactions

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Attorney and journalistGlenn Greenwaldsaid that the killing was a violation of thedue processclause of theFifth Amendmentto theUnited States Constitution,which states that no person shall be "deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."[19]

However, some international law experts claimed that the attack that killed Khan was legal.[20]Duke Law SchoolprofessorScott Sillimanasserted that Awlaki's activity "put him in the category of a legitimate target," and University of Utah law professorAmos Guiorasaid, "This attack appears to have met the criteria of proportionality, military necessity and the 

absence of alternatives to be in full accordance with a state's right to aggressive self-defense. "[21]

Commenting on Khan's death, counter-terrorism expertPeter Bergennoted, "The fact that the editor of the magazine (Khan) has also been killed is a problem for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, particularly as it relates to their Western recruitment effort, because the two people who principally spoke to the Western world are now dead."[12]

After Khan's death, his family released a statement criticizing U.S. government and asking, "Was this style of execution the only solution? Why couldn't there have been a capture and trial? Where is the justice? As we mourn our son, we must ask these questions."[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Almasmari, Hakim (October 1, 2011)."Drone Kills Top Al Qaeda Figure".The Wall Street Journal.RetrievedOctober 6,2011.
  2. ^Shahid, Aliyah (September 30, 2011)."Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan dead, Al Qaeda propagandists killed by U.S. missile strikes in Yemen".New York Daily News.Archived fromthe originalon November 24, 2011.RetrievedOctober 11,2011.
  3. ^Copeland, Baden (September 30, 2011)."Anwar al-Awlaki's Suspected Ties to Terror Plots".The New York Times.RetrievedOctober 11,2011.
  4. ^Dana Chivvis (October 12, 2010)."'Inspire' Title of Jihadist Magazine Not Very Inspired ".Aolnews. Archived fromthe originalon February 1, 2012.RetrievedOctober 11,2011.
  5. ^"Defense officials say another U.S. militant killed".Los Angeles Times.September 30, 2011.RetrievedOctober 11,2011.
  6. ^Bolger, Timothy (October 6, 2011)."Slain al Qaeda Mouthpiece Samir Kahn's Westbury Roots".Long Island Press.Archived fromthe originalon October 8, 2011.RetrievedOctober 7,2011.
  7. ^"Clarke Grad, High-Profile Terror Supporter Killed in Yemen".October 5, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon October 7, 2011.
  8. ^Chayes, Matthew; Anthony M. Destefano; Robert E. Kessler; Greg Lacour; Víctor Manuel Ramos (October 6, 2011)."Samir Khan, al-Qaida figure, grew up on Long Island".Newsday.RetrievedOctober 7,2011.
  9. ^abAnderson, Robbie (September 30, 2011)."2nd American in Strike Waged Qaeda Media War".The New York Times.RetrievedOctober 1,2011.
  10. ^abTemple-Raston, Dina (August 18, 2010).Grand Jury Focuses On N.C. Man Tied To Jihad Magazine.Morning Edition,NPR
  11. ^Adcox, Seanna (October 1, 2011)."NC Muslims tried to change al-Qaida supporter".Associated Press.RetrievedOctober 1,2011.[dead link]
  12. ^abcKelly, Suzanne (September 30, 2011)."Samir Khan: Proud to be an American traitor".CNN.RetrievedOctober 1,2011.
  13. ^Peter R. Neumann,Radicalized: New Jihadists and the Threat to the West,Bloomsbury Publishing (2016), p. 142
  14. ^J. M. Berger,Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam,Potomac Books, Inc (2011), p. 192
  15. ^Joseph I. Lieberman (2011).Ticking Time Bomb: Counter-Terrorism Lessons from the U. S. Government's Failure to Prevent the Fort Hood Attack.Diane Publishing.ISBN9781437981223.RetrievedApril 22,2013.
  16. ^Shane, Scott (May 5, 2013)."A Homemade Style of Terror: Jihadists Push New Tactics".The New York Times.RetrievedMay 6,2013.
  17. ^Goodman, J. David (September 30, 2011).American Who Waged 'Media Jihad' Is Said to Be Killed in Awlaki Strike.The New York Times
  18. ^ Mark Mazzetti;Charlie Savage;Scott Shane(March 9, 2013)."How a U.S. Citizen Came to Be in America's Cross Hairs".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on September 29, 2015.RetrievedMarch 10,2013.
  19. ^Greenwald, Glenn."The due-process-free assassination of U.S. citizens is now reality".Salon.Archived fromthe originalon October 1, 2011.RetrievedSeptember 30,2011.
  20. ^"Awlaki death rekindles legal debate on targeting Americans".Los Angeles Times.September 30, 2011.RetrievedOctober 11,2011.
  21. ^Williams, Carol (September 30, 2011)."Awlaki death rekindles legal debate on targeting Americans".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedAugust 22,2015.
  22. ^"NC family of al-Qaida propagandist 'appalled' at US government".WRAL-TV.October 5, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon October 7, 2011.RetrievedOctober 6,2011.
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