1998 Embassy Bombings
On May 7, 1998, Atef faxed Bin Laden a fatwa signed by Afghan scholars on May 7, which said that attacks against American civilians could be justified. Three months later, al-Qaeda carried out the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, leading to Atef's indictment as having been involved in the preparation of the attack.
Following the American reprisal bombings, Atef frisked journalists looking to meet Bin Laden. On November 4, an arrest warrant was issued in the United States for Atef.
Atef also began speaking to Hambali in Singapore, as the Indonesian-based militant sought al-Qaeda's financing for Jemaah Islamiyah operations. In turn, when Atef informed Hambali of al-Qaeda's need for a new biological engineer, the latter sent Yazid Sufaat to al-Zawahiri.
Read more about this topic: Mohammed Atef