Mohammed Jamal Khalifa - Other Details

Other Details

Khalifa is said to have trained with Osama Bin Laden in the mujahideen camps in Afghanistan during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. His business cards have been found in Yousef's Jersey City, New Jersey apartment. They also have been found in Ramzi Yousef's Manila apartment.

Khalifa was the regional director of the Philippines for the International Islamic Relief Organization.

On December 1, 1994, Khalifa met Mohamed Loay Bayazid, the president of Benevolence International Foundation, in the United States. Khalifa and Bayazid were arrested on December 14, 1994 in Mountain View, California on charges related to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Khalifa was planning to fly to the Philippines.

When the FBI looked inside Khalifa's luggage, they found manuals in Arabic on training terrorists, which covered subjects such as bomb-making and other violent activities. Khalifa claims that his possession of the materials was innocent. They also found a personal organizer with several contacts. One phone number was for Wali Khan Amin Shah, a member of the Manila cell, which was plotting Operation Bojinka at the time. There was also a listing for an unknown man, who might have been Khalid Sheik Mohammed. Khalifa was placed in solitary confinement and the contents of his luggage were logged and edited.

On January 6 and January 7, 1995, Operation Bojinka was discovered after a fire at Yousef's Manila apartment. Investigators found evidence related to the plot. Abdul Hakim Murad, who was arrested at the apartment, had five phone numbers pointing to Khalifa. They also found logs of phone calls to and from Khalifa before his arrest and contact information on Ramzi Yousef's computer.

In Jordan, a court there convicted Khalifa in absentia for a string of theatre bombings. Khalifa faced a possible death sentence as a result. Khalifa first fought his deportation by suing the government. He then got his San Francisco lawyers to prepare a lawsuit requesting for the return for his belongings.

In March 1995, evidence forwarded to the United States from the Philippines suggested that Khalifa was funding the foiled Operation Bojinka plot. On April 18, the conviction in Jordan was overturned as a key witness recanted his testimony. On April 20, an associate of Yousef and Khalifa stated that Yousef was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. On April 26, Khalifa requested to be deported to Jordan at his hearing. On May 5, Khalifa was deported to Jordan by the INS, and the INS returned Khalifa's belongings. A Jordanian court acquitted Khalifa. Bayazid was also let go. He disappeared shortly after.

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