Samir Khan

Samir ibn Zafar Khan (born December 25, 1985 in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia ; † September 30, 2011 in the al-Jauf governorate ), a Pakistani - American dual citizen, was the editor and publisher of the published by al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP ) published English-language online magazine Inspire . He fell victim to a US drone attack in northern Yemen .

Life

Khan was born in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia to Pakistani parents and grew up in Queens , New York . He spent some of his teenage years in Westbury, New York . He graduated from W. Tresper Clarke High School in 2003 , where he was active in the school newspaper, the cheerleaders and the glee choir . According to his classmates, he refused to renounce the pledge of allegiance and blamed America for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks . In 2004 the family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina . Khan lived there until he left the country for Yemen in 2009.

activities

In 2003, Khan opened a blog called InshallahShaheed ("Martyrs, God willing"). After emigrating to Yemen, he became editor of the online magazine Inspire . In an article he wrote, "I am proud to be a traitor to America," Khan explained his displeasure with the United States. According to Ben Venzke , CEO of IntelCenter , the primary goal of the magazine is not to inspire individuals to fly to Yemen and join the group, but rather to provide inspiration, the ideological framework, the philosophy and the practical guidance on how to build it of bombs or to plan and carry out a rampage. Another article by Khan was titled "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom". He also authored a sixteen-page English-language manual on the challenges of life while training to be a suicide bomber .

In May 2013, it was reported that US al-Qaida sympathizers may have used Khan's manuals as the basis for the attack on the Boston Marathon .

death

Khan was killed in a drone attack carried out by the CIA and the JSOC in al-Jauf governorate in northern Yemen while traveling north with Islamist extremist and Imam Anwar al-Awlaki from Ma'rib governorate . According to statements by US officials, al-Awlaki was the actual target and Khan was merely "collateral damage . "

Reactions

Attorney and columnist Glenn Greenwald criticized the killing as a violation of the fifth amendment to the US Constitution , which prohibits anyone from being convicted without due process.

However, some international legal experts have argued that the attack that Khan was the victim of was legitimate. Scott Silliman , a professor at Duke Law School , said Awlaki's activities had targeted himself. Amos Guiora , a professor at the University of Utah , argued that this airstrike appeared to have met the criteria of proportionality, military necessity and lack of possible alternatives, and to have been carried out in accordance with a state's right to aggressive self-defense. This despite the unintentional killing of Khan, with whom Awlaki was traveling at the time of the attack.

Terrorism expert Peter Bergen stated that the killing of Khan, as editor of Inspire magazine, posed a problem for AQAP with regard to recruitment in the West, because the two people, who had mainly addressed an audience in the western world, are now dead.

In a statement released after Khan's death, his family criticized the US government.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hakim Almasmari: Drone Kills Top Al Qaeda Figure . In: The Wall Street Journal . October 1, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
2. ^ Aliyah Shahid: Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan dead, Al Qaeda propagandists killed by US missile strikes in Yemen . In: New York Daily News , September 30, 2011. Archived from the original on November 24, 2011 Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved August 19, 2014.  
3. ↑ Baden Copeland: Anwar al-Awlaki's Suspected Ties to Terror Plots . In: The New York Times , September 30, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2014. 
4. ^ Defense officials say another US militant killed . In: Los Angeles Times , September 30, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2014. 
5. ↑ Timothy Bolger: Slain al Qaeda Mouthpiece Samir Kahn's Westbury Roots . In: Long Island Press . October 6, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
6. ^ Matthew Chayes: Samir Khan, al-Qaida figure, grew up on Long Island . In: Newsday . October 6, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
7. ^ Robbie Anderson: 2nd American in Strike Waged Qaeda Media War . In: The New York Times , September 30, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2014. 
8. ↑ Temple-Raston, Dina (August 18, 2010). Grand Jury Focuses On NC Man Tied To Jihad Magazine. Morning Edition , NPR
9. ^ ^{A b} Suzanne Kelly: Samir Khan: Proud to be an American traitor . In: CNN , September 30, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2014. 
10. ↑ Suzannah Hills and Leon Watson: Glossy English language guide on how to join Al Qaeda and commit acts of terrorism targets Western recruits by telling them to 'think of the virgins that await you' , Daily Mail . May 16, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2014. 
11. ^ Scott Shane, A Homemade Style of Terror: Jihadists Push New Tactics . In: The New York Times , May 5, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2014. 
12. ↑ Goodman, J. David (Sept. 30, 2011). American Who Waged 'Media Jihad' Is Said to Be Killed in Awlaki Strike. The New York Times
13. ↑ Mark Mazzetti: How a US Citizen Came to Be in America's Cross Hairs . In: The New York Times , March 9, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2014. 
14. ^ Glenn Greenwald: The due-process-free assassination of US citizens is now reality . Salon.com. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
15. ↑ Awlaki death rekindles legal debate on targeting Americans . In: Los Angeles Times . September 30, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
16. ↑ Carol Williams: Awlaki death rekindles legal debate on targeting Americans . In: Los Angeles Times . September 30, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2014.