9781422277119

SPECIAL FORCES: STORIES

Captured!

Bringing in 9/11 Planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

SPECIAL FORCES: STORIES

Captured! Bringing in 9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Going After Sparky! Pararescue Jumpers Bring Vietnam War Pilot Home Rescue from an ISIS Prison! Delta Force in Iraq During the War on Terror Saving Private Lynch! A Rescue Story from Operation Iraqi Freedom Storming the Somali Pirates! Navy SEALs Save Hostages Take Out Bin Laden! Navy SEALs Hit the Most Wanted Man A Terrorist Goes Down! Delta Forces in Syria Take Out an ISIS Leader World War II Prison Breakout! Army Rangers Make Their Mark

Captured! Bringing in 9/11 Planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

By Michael Burgan

Mason Crest

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, PA 19008 www.masoncrest.com © 2019 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-4077-9

Hardback ISBN: 978-1-4222-4078-6 EBook ISBN: 978-1-4222-7711-9 First printing 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2

Produced by Shoreline Publishing Group LLC Editorial Director: James Buckley Jr. Designer: Bill Madrid Production: Sandy Gordon www.shorelinepublishing.com Cover photograph by Oleg Zabielin/Alamy Stock Photo.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Title: Captured! : bringing in 9/11 planner Khalid Sheik Mohammed / by Michael Burgan. Description: Broomall, PA : Mason Crest, [2018] | Series: Special forces stories | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017053429| ISBN 9781422240786 (hardback) | ISBN 9781422240779 (series) | ISBN 9781422277119 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Mohammed, Khalid Shaikh, 1965---Juvenile literature. | Qaida (Organization)--Juvenile literature. | September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001--Juvenile literature. | Terrorists--Islamic countries--Juvenile literature. | War on Terrorism, 2001-2009--Juvenile literature. | Terrorism--United States--Prevention--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC HV6433.M52 Q3256 2018 | DDC 363.325092--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017053429 You may gain access to certain third party content (“Third-Party Sites”) by scanning and using the QR Codes that appear in this publication (the “QR Codes”). We do not operate or control in any respect any information, products, or services on such Third-Party Sites linked to by us via the QR Codes included in this publication, and we assume no responsibility for any materi- als you may access using the QR Codes. Your use of the QR Codes may be subject to terms, limitations, or restrictions set forth in the applicable terms of use or otherwise established by the owners of the Third-Party Sites. Our linking to such Third-Party Sites via the QR Codes does not imply an endorsement or sponsorship of such Third-Party Sites, or the information, products, or services offered on or through the Third-Party Sites, nor does it imply an endorsement or spon- sorship of this publication by the owners of such Third-Party Sites.

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Introduction: Mission Briefing…….…….…….…….…….…….……. 6 1. Mission Report: History …….…….…….…….…….…… 14 2. Enemy Contact …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….……. 18 3. The Net Closes …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….32 4. Mission Report: Gear Up … .…….…….…….…….……46 5. The Hunt Heats Up …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….……50 6. Mission Accomplished …….…….…….…….…….…….…….……54 Text-Dependent Questions …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….60 Research Projects …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….… 61 Find Out More …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….62 Series Glossary of Key Terms …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…63 Index… .…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….64 Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text, while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic mo- ments, and much more! Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented here. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains ter- minology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field. Key Icons to Look For

E ven before he became the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush knew that foreign terrorists were targeting the country. Early in January 2001, he met with George Tenet, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The CIA carries out a wide range of activities around the globe to try to prevent enemies from harming the United States. Its duties include spying, helping groups that support US interests, and track- ing down terrorists overseas. In this meeting, Tenet told the incoming presi- dent that a terrorist network called al-Qaeda, controlled by Osama bin Laden, posed “a tremendous threat” to the safety of the United States. The Path to a Terrorist Attack During the 1980s, the CIA had worked with rebels in Afghanistan who op- posed a government set up there by the Soviet Union . This was during the Cold War, when the Soviet Union and the United States were rivals in inter- M ission B riefing

Words To Understand hijack take over control of a vehicle, such as a plane or ship, by force intelligence secretly gathered information about an enemy Soviet Union former nation in Eastern Europe and Central Asia that broke into 15 separate countries in 1991; the largest of these is Russia

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This Soviet tank was among hundreds destroyed by Afghan forces during the Soviet Union’s invasion in the 1980s.

national affairs. Each country tried to spread its influence around the globe and weaken the other country’s power. Osama bin Laden was one of many Muslims from Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East who went to Afghanistan to fight Soviet troops occupying the country. While some Afghan rebels received money from the CIA, bin Laden didn’t. But the war there gave him a chance to build al-Qaeda. In 1998, bin Laden had said Muslims around the world had a duty to kill Americans. He believed that the US government was already carrying out a war against their faith. Even before then, al-Qaeda terrorists or people con- nected to them had carried out attacks on US targets, drawing the atten- tion of the CIA. Meanwhile, within the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) watched for suspected terrorists to try to prevent attacks.

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Even before 1998, some Muslims who were not part of Al-Qaeda shared bin Laden’s desire for a jihad, or “holy war,” against Americans. One of them was Ramzi Yousef, who came to New York City in 1992 determined to carry out a terrorist attack in the city. He finally decided to try to blow up the World Trade Center. On February 26, 1993, a rental truck packed with explosives blew up in the garage underneath the Twin Towers at the center. The blast created a hole several stories deep, killed six people, and injured more than 1,000. But the explosion didn’t do what Yousef hoped it would—cause one tower to collapse onto the other and kill thousands of people.

The 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center was one of the first times terror- ists had hit US targets.

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The rugged, dry hills and valleys of the Baluchistan region of Pakistan was home to KSM’s family.

First Signs of KSM The FBI took the lead role in investigating the bombing, and soon its agents learned that Yousef had planned the attack. They also learned that he and his group had received some money from overseas. Someone named Khalid Shaykh in the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar had sent money to help fund the attack. With further investigating, the FBI learned that the sender was Yousef’s uncle, and his full name was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Mohammed was born in Kuwait but his family’s roots were in a region of Pakistan called Balochistan. His father was an imam, a religious leader in the Islamic faith. As a young man, Mohammed traveled to the United States to

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Khalid Sheikh Mohammad studied here at Chowan College in Murfreesboro, North Carolina.

study in North Carolina. After he graduated, Mohammed went to Pakistan and trained at one of the camps there for Arabs who wanted to take part in jihad. By the early 1990s he was raising money for organizations or individuals look- ing to carry out jihad—like his nephew, Yousef. After the 1993 Word Trade Center bombing, Yousef knew the FBI was af- ter him so he fled the United States. But he didn’t stop trying to carry out more terrorist attacks, with his uncle taking a more active part in the planning. In the Philippines, Mohammed joined Yousef and the two worked on a bomb made of liquids they could smuggle onto planes. Yousef, a skilled bomb maker, also devised a small bomb that could be set off with an electrical timer. The two

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terrorists planned to blow up multiple planes at once while they were in the air. After an accident with some of the explosive chemicals, Filipino police raided Yousef’s apartment. He and Mohammed managed to get away, but the FBI gathered evidence that showed someone named Khalid Sheikh had been part of the planning. KSM, as Mohammed would later be called, was on the radar of both the FBI and the CIA, but they had no idea where he was, even after US officials were able to arrest his bomb-making nephew.

Filipino anti-terrorist forces like these helped break up one of KSM’s early attempts at terror.

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Over the next several years, KSM traveled all over Asia and the Middle East, seeking to help other terrorist groups that wanted to attack the United States. He sometimes used false names and fake passports, and he man- aged to avoid the FBI agents trying to capture him. While Mohammed roamed the globe, he continued to think about using planes as part of a terrorist attack. He needed money, though, and in late 1996 he met with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. The al-Qaeda leader did

As CIA director, George Tenet left, with President George W. Bush, headed up the hunt for terrorists.

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not immediately agree to help KSM carry out his plan. But the two men met again in 1999 and now bin Laden was ready to carry out a plan KSM had sug- gested: hijack several planes at once and fly them into important buildings within the United States. Mohammed then began working out the details of getting terrorists under his command into the United States, with several of them learning how to fly commercial airplanes. KSM and bin Laden had united to carry out what they hoped would be the deadliest terrorist attack ever in the United States. In 2001, CIA director George Tenet didn’t know about the planning go- ing on thousands of miles from Washington, DC. But in that first year of the George W. Bush presidency, he and other US intelligence officials grew more worried about terrorist actions. A June report by his agency even warned that KSM was recruiting terrorists to send to the United States and carry out some kind of attack. During the summer, more intelligence poured in suggesting that al-Qaeda was planning something big, but Tenet and other officials didn’t know where or when. Soon though, the world would learn what KSM had been planning for so long, and the CIA would play a large role in the hunt to track him down.

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1. MISSION REPORT : HISTORY T he CIA has its roots in World War II. In 1942, just seven months after the United States entered the war, President Franklin Roosevelt cre- ated the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). It came under the con- trol of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is made up of the country’s top military leaders. OSS had several missions, including conducting espionage and trying to stop espionage carried out by America’s enemies. During the war, OSS agents also carried out military operations behind enemy lines, simi- lar to what today’s Special Operations forces do. These missions included blowing up railways and bridges, recruiting and training local forces to fight enemy troops, and engaging in small battles with enemy soldiers. World War II in Europe ended in May 1945, and some OSS agents turned their attention to a new potential enemy: the Soviet Union. As the Cold War developed, US leaders wanted intelligence about such things as the Soviets’ military strength and their espionage activities. Although the OSS was shut down in September 1945, some of its members joined the new intelligence agency created in 1947—the CIA.

Words To Understand counterterrorism efforts to prevent terrorist attacks and arrest the people who plan and carry them out covert hidden or done secretly espionage activities related to spying

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