UNITED STATES: A Mauritanian man sentenced to death for his role in attacks that killed dozens of people, including an American in Mali, has been extradited to the United States to face a six-month trial, the Justice Department announced on Saturday. has been done. -Count indictment for a single offense.
Fawaz Ould Ahmed was apprehended by US authorities and brought to New York on Friday, according to a statement from the Justice Department. After admitting responsibility for organizing and carrying out deadly attacks against Westerners, Ahmed was sentenced to death in Mali.
Ahmed, 44, is charged with conspiracy to murder American citizen Anita Ashok Datar and conspiracy to support US-designated terrorist groups Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Al Mourabitoun, according to the Justice Department.
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James R. Cho, a US magistrate judge, ruled that Ahmed should be held in custody until his trial.
According to US Attorney Breonna Peace in Brooklyn, Ahmed "now faces justice in a US court for the massacre that was allegedly perpetrated at his direction."
In 2020, Ahmed testified before a Malian court that he was responsible for the murder of five people at La Terrace restaurant and had also planned raids on the Hotel Byblos in Sevres and the Radisson Blu in Bamako.
In total, 38 people were killed in the three incidents, according to the Justice Department.
According to FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael Driscoll, the defendant is accused of planning and carrying out brutal terrorist attacks. These alleged actions "had not been forgotten and will not be forgiven."
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A new phase in jihadist operations in West Africa began with attacks in 2015, months after Islamist terrorists stormed the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris and killed 12 people.
The campaign targeted prestigious hotels and places where Western tourists, aid workers and diplomats frequented but were no longer considered safe.
Ahmed testified before a Malian court that he had no remorse for the attacks and was seeking retribution for Charlie Hebdo's publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
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According to local officials cited by Reuters, he was arrested in Bamako in 2016 as he was preparing to carry out another attack on his way to Al Mourabitown while carrying a suitcase full of grenades and weapons.