FBI adds Lebanese-Canadian citizen to list of most wanted terrorists

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The FBI added a former Dearborn, Mich., resident to its most wanted terrorists list Wednesday, a move that puts Faouzi Ayoub among some of the most hunted and dangerous men in the world.

The move coincided with federal prosecutors unsealing an indictment against the 44-year-old Lebanese man, who has remained hidden for almost two years.

The indictment accuses Ayoub, who is also a Canadian citizen, of using a phony passport to try to travel to Israel to detonate a bomb on behalf of the terrorist group Hezbollah.

Federal court records and published reports chronicle alleged terrorism ties, Ayoub’s brief detention in Israel and how he was freed in a controversial swap involving prisoners, a businessman and dead soldiers.

Little is known about Ayoub’s time in Dearborn, however, and federal officials weren’t saying whether they think he is living in the area.

“I’ve never heard of him,” said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations’ Michigan chapter.

Ayoub faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of passport fraud — providing the FBI can find him. His whereabouts were unclear Wednesday.

The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon if Ayoub has returned to his native land.

Public records indicate a man named Faouzi Ayoub lived at six different locations in Dearborn — including an apartment on West Warren Ave. — and worked at a management company in Detroit. It is unclear whether Ayoub has family or acquaintances in Dearborn.

The FBI’s most wanted list Wednesday included a photo of Ayoub, a host of aliases and a physical description. Ayoub, who is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 169 pounds, was born in Beirut and is considered armed and dangerous.

Prosecutors say on Oct. 8, 2000, Ayoub tried to use a fake passport that carried the phony name Frank Mariano Boschi. He allegedly tried to enter Israel to conduct a bombing on behalf of the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.

Ayoub’s profile joins 31 other alleged terrorists being hunted by the FBI. The list includes Ayman al-Zawahiri, the late Osama bin Laden’s longtime second-in-command, who has taken control of Al Qaeda.

Al-Zawahiri is accused of helping plan the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Typically, an FBI field office nominates someone to be added to the most wanted list. The nomination goes through an extensive review process.

“It’s a significant impact that this individual is on the list,” said Special Agent Sandra Berchtold, spokeswoman for the FBI’s field office in Detroit.

“The list has been posted and is accessible internationally,” Berchtold added.

Though the indictment was unsealed Wednesday, it was issued by a federal grand jury Aug. 5, 2009.

Ayoub was among 21 Lebanese prisoners released by Israel in early 2004 in exchange for a businessman and the bodies of three soldiers, according to media reports.

He was arrested by Israeli security forces after arriving in that country in June, 2002, according to the Globe and Mail newspaper. Ayoub was accused of being a Hezbollah emissary who trained Palestinian militants how to make bombs.

When he was freed, a TV crew broadcast his return to Beirut. Ayoub’s wife and three sons greeted him when he stepped off the plane at the airport.

The Star

Photo: Faouzi Ayoub stands handcuffed next to an Israeli policeman in a courtroom in Tel Aviv on Oct. 31, 2002. On Wednesday, July 6, the FBI added the Canadian citizen, who was born in Lebanon, to its list of most wanted terrorists.

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18 responses to “FBI adds Lebanese-Canadian citizen to list of most wanted terrorists”

  1. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Oh damn … another Canadian connection … see Americans crank up the power on those airport X-ray machines.  🙂

  2. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Oh damn … another Canadian connection … see Americans crank up the power on those airport X-ray machines.  🙂

  3.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Oh damn … another Canadian connection … see Americans crank up the power on those airport X-ray machines.  🙂

  4. F0sS2U Avatar

    Americans always say,  “could be” “Maybe” “We think”  But they never have anything in concrete,What about true terrorists like This One:US troops ‘raped and burned’ Iraqi girl, court hears
    By Elsa McLaren and agenciesA military investigator described the events that took place in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, on March 12, based on an interview that he had with one of the accused soldiers.The hearing is to decide whether the five soldiers should face a court martial for the murder of Abeer al-Janabi, her five year-old sister and their parents. If found guilty in a court martial, they could face the death penalty.Special Agent Benjamin Bierce recalled how Specialist James Barker described how the couple and their youngest child were put in another room, while the teenager was kept in the living room.Barker said that he held the girl’s hands while Sergeant Paul Cortez raped her or tried to rape her. Barker then switched positions with Cortez and attempted to rape the girl, but said he was not sure if he had done so, Special Agent Bierce told the hearing.Some shots were fired in the other room and Private Steven Green emerged, saying “They’re all dead. I just killed them.” Green put down an AK-47 assault rifle and raped the girl while Cortez held her down, the hearing heard.Special Agent Bierce said Green then picked up the weapon and shot the girl once, paused, and shot her several more times. Kerosene from a lamp was poured over the girl and someone – it was not clear who – set her alight.The hearing is the fifth being pursued by the US military against its own troops in Iraq. Private First Class Jesse Spielman, 21, Barker, 23, Cortez, 23 and Private First Class Bryan Howard, 19, are accused of drinking, changing into civilian clothes and abandoning their checkpoint to go to the house of the girl whom they had seen walking past.Green, 21, who has been discharged from the army for a “personality disorder”, faces the same charges and will be tried in a US civilian court. He has pleaded not guilty.A fifth soldier, Sergeant Anthony Yribe, is charged with dereliction of duty and making a false statement and will also appear at the hearing in Baghdad.The hearing continues.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      Well although it does not bring back the victims …. at least in this case, they WILL face a court … and justice WILL be served … and it WILL be seen by all the people.

      There are mentally deranged people in all militaries, just as there are in society in general. The main thing here is that the crime has been found out, and when a hearing determines, charges will be laid – and that is because ‘laws of society’ are respected and the military is under those laws as well.
      The International Tribunal works to even higher standards to determine where justice is needed to be applied, with greater impartiality than the court working on this story. Not allowing it to proceed is a travesty.

      1. Guest Avatar

        Justice in the USA for Americans killing innocent People abroad? Do You think We are as stupid like You?
        Who buys Your crap! Your Fagot American Soldiers never received punishment,  The case of the Iraqi girl happened 7 Years ago.  The American Criminals walk free without any worries. 
        Labelling people as terrorist is an old Jewish/American technique to steal land.
        Now they want to kill people in South America saying that HA is there,  South America,  Latin America is all Catholic.  And that is precisely why they want to kill Them.  

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar
          5thDrawer

          Sorry I had not heard of it … BUT I can research. Please see ‘wikipedia.org’ …. search under the girl’s name. See how long those brain-dead idiots will spend in prison.
          “The Mahmudiyah killings and gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl by U.S. troops occurred on March 12, 2006, in a house to the southwest of Yusufiyah, a village to the west of the town of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Five United States Army soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment were charged with the crimes: (i) Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, (ii) Spc. James P. Barker, (iii) Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, (iv) Pfc. Brian L. Howard and (v) Pfc. Steven D. Green (whom the army discharged before the crime’s discovery). Abeer Qasim Hamza was raped and murdered, after her family was murdered: her mother, Fakhriyah Taha Muhsin, 34; father, Qasim Hamza Raheem, 45; and six-year-old sister Hadeel Qasim Hamza.[1] As of September 2009, Spielman and Green have been convicted and three others have pled guilty.[2]

        2. 5thDrawer Avatar
          5thDrawer

          Sorry … I had not heard of it before you brought it up. BUT I can research. Please see ‘wikipedia’ or google it. Enter the name of the girl. See how long those brain-dead soldiers will spend in prison.
          “The Mahmudiyah killings and gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl by U.S. troops occurred on March 12, 2006, in a house to the southwest of Yusufiyah, a village to the west of the town of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Five United States Army soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment were charged with the crimes: (i) Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, (ii) Spc. James P. Barker, (iii) Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, (iv) Pfc. Brian L. Howard and (v) Pfc. Steven D. Green (whom the army discharged before the crime’s discovery). Abeer Qasim Hamza was raped and murdered, after her family was murdered: her mother, Fakhriyah Taha Muhsin, 34; father, Qasim Hamza Raheem, 45; and six-year-old sister Hadeel Qasim Hamza.[1] As of September 2009, Spielman and Green have been convicted and three others have pled guilty.[2]”

      2. Guest Avatar

        Justice in the USA for Americans killing innocent People abroad? Do You think We are as stupid like You?
        Who buys Your crap! Your Fagot American Soldiers never received punishment,  The case of the Iraqi girl happened 7 Years ago.  The American Criminals walk free without any worries. 
        Labelling people as terrorist is an old Jewish/American technique to steal land.
        Now they want to kill people in South America saying that HA is there,  South America,  Latin America is all Catholic.  And that is precisely why they want to kill Them.  

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar
          5thDrawer

          Sorry I had not heard of it … BUT I can research. Please see ‘wikipedia.org’ …. search under the girl’s name. See how long those brain-dead idiots will spend in prison.
          “The Mahmudiyah killings and gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl by U.S. troops occurred on March 12, 2006, in a house to the southwest of Yusufiyah, a village to the west of the town of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Five United States Army soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment were charged with the crimes: (i) Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, (ii) Spc. James P. Barker, (iii) Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, (iv) Pfc. Brian L. Howard and (v) Pfc. Steven D. Green (whom the army discharged before the crime’s discovery). Abeer Qasim Hamza was raped and murdered, after her family was murdered: her mother, Fakhriyah Taha Muhsin, 34; father, Qasim Hamza Raheem, 45; and six-year-old sister Hadeel Qasim Hamza.[1] As of September 2009, Spielman and Green have been convicted and three others have pled guilty.[2]

  5. F0sS2U Avatar

    Americans always say,  “could be” “Maybe” “We think”  But they never have anything in concrete,What about true terrorists like This One:US troops ‘raped and burned’ Iraqi girl, court hears
    By Elsa McLaren and agenciesA military investigator described the events that took place in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, on March 12, based on an interview that he had with one of the accused soldiers.The hearing is to decide whether the five soldiers should face a court martial for the murder of Abeer al-Janabi, her five year-old sister and their parents. If found guilty in a court martial, they could face the death penalty.Special Agent Benjamin Bierce recalled how Specialist James Barker described how the couple and their youngest child were put in another room, while the teenager was kept in the living room.Barker said that he held the girl’s hands while Sergeant Paul Cortez raped her or tried to rape her. Barker then switched positions with Cortez and attempted to rape the girl, but said he was not sure if he had done so, Special Agent Bierce told the hearing.Some shots were fired in the other room and Private Steven Green emerged, saying “They’re all dead. I just killed them.” Green put down an AK-47 assault rifle and raped the girl while Cortez held her down, the hearing heard.Special Agent Bierce said Green then picked up the weapon and shot the girl once, paused, and shot her several more times. Kerosene from a lamp was poured over the girl and someone – it was not clear who – set her alight.The hearing is the fifth being pursued by the US military against its own troops in Iraq. Private First Class Jesse Spielman, 21, Barker, 23, Cortez, 23 and Private First Class Bryan Howard, 19, are accused of drinking, changing into civilian clothes and abandoning their checkpoint to go to the house of the girl whom they had seen walking past.Green, 21, who has been discharged from the army for a “personality disorder”, faces the same charges and will be tried in a US civilian court. He has pleaded not guilty.A fifth soldier, Sergeant Anthony Yribe, is charged with dereliction of duty and making a false statement and will also appear at the hearing in Baghdad.The hearing continues.

  6.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Americans always say,  “could be” “Maybe” “We think”  But they never have anything in concrete,What about true terrorists like This One:US troops ‘raped and burned’ Iraqi girl, court hears
    By Elsa McLaren and agenciesA military investigator described the events that took place in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, on March 12, based on an interview that he had with one of the accused soldiers.The hearing is to decide whether the five soldiers should face a court martial for the murder of Abeer al-Janabi, her five year-old sister and their parents. If found guilty in a court martial, they could face the death penalty.Special Agent Benjamin Bierce recalled how Specialist James Barker described how the couple and their youngest child were put in another room, while the teenager was kept in the living room.Barker said that he held the girl’s hands while Sergeant Paul Cortez raped her or tried to rape her. Barker then switched positions with Cortez and attempted to rape the girl, but said he was not sure if he had done so, Special Agent Bierce told the hearing.Some shots were fired in the other room and Private Steven Green emerged, saying “They’re all dead. I just killed them.” Green put down an AK-47 assault rifle and raped the girl while Cortez held her down, the hearing heard.Special Agent Bierce said Green then picked up the weapon and shot the girl once, paused, and shot her several more times. Kerosene from a lamp was poured over the girl and someone – it was not clear who – set her alight.The hearing is the fifth being pursued by the US military against its own troops in Iraq. Private First Class Jesse Spielman, 21, Barker, 23, Cortez, 23 and Private First Class Bryan Howard, 19, are accused of drinking, changing into civilian clothes and abandoning their checkpoint to go to the house of the girl whom they had seen walking past.Green, 21, who has been discharged from the army for a “personality disorder”, faces the same charges and will be tried in a US civilian court. He has pleaded not guilty.A fifth soldier, Sergeant Anthony Yribe, is charged with dereliction of duty and making a false statement and will also appear at the hearing in Baghdad.The hearing continues.

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      Well .. at least in this case, they WILL face a court.

      1.  Avatar
        Anonymous

        Justice in the USA for Americans killing innocent People abroad? Do You think We are as stupid like You?
        Who buys Your crap! Your Fagot American Soldiers never received punishment,  The case of the Iraqi girl happened 7 Years ago.  The American Criminals walk free without any worries. 
        Labelling people as terrorist is an old Jewish/American technique to steal land.
        Now they want to kill people in South America saying that HA is there,  South America,  Latin America is all Catholic.  And that is precisely why they want to kill Them.  

        1.  Avatar
          Anonymous

          Sorry … I had not heard of it before you brought it up. BUT I can research. Please see ‘wikipedia’ or google it. Enter the name of the girl. See how long those brain-dead soldiers will spend in prison.
          “The Mahmudiyah killings and gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl by U.S. troops occurred on March 12, 2006, in a house to the southwest of Yusufiyah, a village to the west of the town of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Five United States Army soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment were charged with the crimes: (i) Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, (ii) Spc. James P. Barker, (iii) Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, (iv) Pfc. Brian L. Howard and (v) Pfc. Steven D. Green (whom the army discharged before the crime’s discovery). Abeer Qasim Hamza was raped and murdered, after her family was murdered: her mother, Fakhriyah Taha Muhsin, 34; father, Qasim Hamza Raheem, 45; and six-year-old sister Hadeel Qasim Hamza.[1] As of September 2009, Spielman and Green have been convicted and three others have pled guilty.[2]”

    2.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      Well .. at least in this case, they WILL face a court.

  7. Fadi81 Avatar

    Stupid scumbag terrorist…he supports the the enemies of freedom and democracy while he lives in Canada? what a  hypocrite, just like the rest of the dog terrorists parading as “politicians” and “holymen”…what a joke

  8.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Stupid scumbag terrorist…he supports the the enemies of freedom and democracy while he lives in Canada? what a  hypocrite, just like the rest of the dog terrorists parading as “politicians” and “holymen”…what a joke

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