Rewards for Justice is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information on the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. On August 7, 1998, members of the terrorist group al-Qa’ida (AQ) simultaneously bombed the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. The attacks killed 224 people, injured more than 5,000 others, and resulted in severe damage to the embassy buildings and the destruction of nearby structures.
In Nairobi, terrorists detonated a truck loaded with explosives near the embassy’s parking garage, killing 213 individuals — including 44 embassy employees (12 Americans and 32 foreign nationals) — and injuring more than 5,000 others, including U.S. Ambassador Prudence Bushnell.
In Dar es Salaam, terrorists driving a truck loaded with explosives tried to ram the gate of the embassy, shot at the chancery, and then detonated their explosives. The resulting blast killed 11 people and injured 85.
The following individuals were tried and convicted in U.S. federal court in connection with the attacks:
- Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, a founding member of AQ, was arrested in September 1998 in Germany and extradited to the United States. He is serving a life sentence in prison for his connection to the bombings.
- In October 2001, AQ operatives Wadih El-Hage, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-Owhali, and Mohamed Sadeek Odeh were convicted on charges of planning and executing the bombings and sentenced to life in prison.
- In January 2011, AQ operative Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was convicted and sentenced to life for his role in the bombings.
- In September 2014, Adel Abdel Bari, a close associate of AQ leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill U.S. nationals and received a 25-year prison sentence. He was released from prison in 2020.
- In May 2015, Khaled al-Fawwaz, deputy to now-deceased former AQ leader Usama bin Ladin, was sentenced to life in prison for his connection to the attacks.
A U.S. federal grand jury indicted Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, Anas al-Libi, Mohammed Atef, and Usama bin Ladin for their roles in the attacks. All former key leaders of AQ, are now deceased.
Rewards for Justice is also offering a reward for information on AQ leader Sayf al-Adl, who was indicted for his role in the Embassy bombings.
