Ali Kourani, 32, of the Bronx, New York, and Samer el Debek,
37, of Dearborn, Michigan, aka, “Samer Eldebek,” were arrested on Thursday,
June 1, on charges related to their alleged activities on behalf of Hizballah,
a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Dana
Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim for the Southern District of New York,
Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. of the FBI’s New York
Office, and Commissioner James P. O’Neill of the NYPD made the announcement.
Acting U.S. Attorney Kim said: “Today, we announce serious
terrorism charges against two men who allegedly trained with and supported the
Islamic Jihad Organization, a component of the foreign terrorist organization
Hizballah. Recruited as Hizballah
operatives, Samer El Debek and Ali Kourani allegedly received military-style
training, including in the use of weapons like rocket-propelled grenade
launchers and machine guns for use in support of the group’s terrorist
mission. At the direction of his
Hizballah handlers, El Debek allegedly conducted missions in Panama to locate
the U.S. and Israeli Embassies and to assess the vulnerabilities of the Panama
Canal and ships in the Canal. Kourani allegedly conducted surveillance of
potential targets in America, including military and law enforcement facilities
in New York City. Thanks to the outstanding work of the FBI and NYPD, the
allegedly destructive designs of these two Hizballah operatives have been
thwarted, and they will now face justice in a Manhattan federal court.”
Assistant Director in Charge Sweeney Jr. said: “The charges
announced today reveal once again that the New York City region remains a focus
of many adversaries, demonstrated as alleged in this instance by followers of a
sophisticated and determined organization with a long history of coordinating
violent activities on behalf of Hizballah. Our announcement today also reveals,
however, that the dozens of agencies working together with our FBI JTTFs nationwide
are just as determined to disrupt the plans of those working to harm our
communities. I’d like to thank the
hundreds of investigators who comprise the FBI’s New York JTTF and display
constant vigilance on our behalf, and I encourage the public to remain engaged
and to immediately report suspicious activity to law enforcement.”
Commissioner O’Neill said: “As part of his work for
Hezbollah, Kourani and others allegedly conducted covert surveillance of
potential targets, including U.S. military bases and Israeli military personnel
here in New York City. Pre-operational surveillance is one of the hallmarks of
Hezbollah in planning for future attacks. As alleged, Kourani, on at least two
occasions, received sophisticated military training overseas, including the use
of a rocket propelled grenade. In addition, El Debek is charged in an unrelated
complaint, for allegedly possessing extensive bomb making training received
from Hezbollah. Today’s charges of two for their work on behalf of Hezbollah is
a tribute to the collaborative work of the agents and detectives of the Joint
Terrorism Task Force.”
Kourani was arrested in the Bronx for providing, attempting,
and conspiring to provide material support to Hizballah; receiving and
conspiring to receive military-type training from Hizballah; a related weapons
offense that is alleged to have involved, among other weapons, a
rocket-propelled grenade launcher and machine guns; violating and conspiring to
violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA); and
naturalization fraud to facilitate an act of international terrorism. Kourani
was presented on Friday, June 2, before Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses in
Manhattan federal court.
El Debek was arrested in Livonia, Michigan, outside of
Detroit, for providing, attempting and conspiring to provide material support
to Hizballah; receiving and conspiring to receive military-type training from
Hizballah; use of weapons in connection with a crime of violence that is
alleged to have involved, among other weapons, explosives, a rocket-propelled
grenade launcher, and machine guns; and violating and conspiring to violate
IEEPA. El Debek was presented on June 5, before Magistrate Judge Henry Pitman
in Manhattan federal court.
As alleged in the criminal Complaints against Kourani and el
Debek,[1] both of which were unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
Background on Hizballah and the Islamic Jihad Organization
Hizballah is a Lebanon-based Shia Islamic organization with
political, social, and terrorist components. Hizballah was founded in the 1980s
with support from Iran after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and its
mission includes establishing a fundamentalist Islamic state in Lebanon. Since
Hizballah’s formation, the organization has been responsible for numerous
terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds, including U.S. citizens and
military personnel. In 1997, the U.S. Department of State designated Hizballah
a Foreign Terrorist Organization, pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration
and Nationality Act, and it remains so designated today. In 2001, pursuant to
Executive Order 13224, the U.S. Department of Treasury designated Hizballah a
Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity. In 2010, State Department
officials described Hizballah as the most technically capable terrorist group
in the world, and a continued security threat to the U.S.
The Islamic Jihad Organization (“IJO”), which is also known
as the External Security Organization and “910,” is a component of Hizballah
responsible for the planning and coordination of intelligence,
counterintelligence, and terrorist activities on behalf of Hizballah outside of
Lebanon. In July 2012, an IJO operative detonated explosives on a bus
transporting Israeli tourists in the vicinity of an airport in Burgas,
Bulgaria, which killed six people and injured 32 others. Law enforcement
authorities have disrupted several other IJO attack-planning operations around
the world, including the arrest of an IJO operative surveilling Israeli targets
in Cyprus in 2012, the seizure of bomb-making precursor chemicals in Thailand
in 2012, including chemicals manufactured by a medical devices company based in
Guangzhou, China (“Guangzhou Company-1”), and a similar seizure of chemicals
manufactured by Guangzhou Company-1 in Cyprus in May 2015 in connection with
the arrest of another IJO operative.
Kourani’s Alleged Support of Hizballah
Kourani, who was born in Lebanon, attended
Hizballah-sponsored weapons training in Lebanon in 2000 when he was
approximately 16 years old. After lawfully entering the U.S. in 2003, Kourani
obtained a Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering in 2009, and a Masters
of Business Administration in 2013.
Kourani and certain of his relatives were present during the
summer 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah in Lebanon, when a residence
belonging to his family was destroyed. Kourani was subsequently recruited to
join the IJO by 2008. In August 2008, Kourani submitted an application for
naturalization in the U.S. in which he falsely claimed, among other things,
that he was not affiliated with a terrorist organization. In April 2009,
Kourani became a naturalized citizen and was issued a U.S. passport. Despite
claiming in his passport application that he had no travel plans, Kourani
traveled to Guangzhou, China – the location of Guangzhou Company-1 – on May 3,
2009. He later claimed to the FBI that the purpose of the trip was to meet with
medical device manufacturers and other businessmen.
Kourani was assigned an IJO handler, or mentor, responsible
for providing him with taskings, debriefings, and arranging training. Kourani
sometimes communicated with his handler using coded email communications,
including messages sent by the handler that informed Kourani of the need to
return to Lebanon. In order to establish contact with his handler when Kourani
returned to Lebanon, Kourani called a telephone number associated with a pager
(the “IJO Pager”) and provided a code that he understood was specific to him.
After Kourani called the IJO Pager, the handler would contact Kourani to set up
an in-person meeting by calling a phone belonging to one of Kourani’s
relatives. The IJO also provided Kourani with additional training in
tradecraft, weapons, and tactics. In 2011, for example, Kourani attended an IJO
military training camp located in the vicinity of Birkat Jabrur, Lebanon, where
he was provided with military-tactics and weapons training, including training
in the use of a rocket propelled grenade launcher, an AK-47 assault rifle, an
MP5 submachine gun, a PKS machine gun (a Russian-made belt-fed weapon), and a
Glock pistol.
Based on other taskings from IJO personnel, which were
conveyed during periodic in-person meetings when Kourani returned to Lebanon,
Kourani conducted operations that included searching for weapons suppliers in
the U.S. who could provide firearms to support IJO operations, identifying
individuals affiliated with the Israeli Defense Force, gathering information
regarding operations and security at airports in the U.S. and elsewhere, and
surveilling U.S. military and law enforcement facilities in Manhattan and
Brooklyn. Kourani transmitted some of the products of his surveillance and
intelligence-gathering efforts back to IJO personnel in Lebanon using digital
storage media.
El Debek’s Alleged Support of Hizballah
El Debek, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was first recruited by
Hizballah in late 2007 or early 2008, began to receive a salary from Hizballah
shortly thereafter, and was paid by Hizballah through approximately 2015. In
July 2006, shortly before he was recruited by Hizballah, el Debek expressed by
email his support for Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizballah.
El Debek received military training from Hizballah in
Lebanon on several occasions, from approximately 2008 through approximately
2014. El Debek received training in basic military tactics, the handling of
various weapons, surveillance and counter-surveillance techniques, and the
creation and handling of explosives and explosive devices. Based on information
el Debek provided to the FBI, FBI bomb technicians have assessed that el Debek
received extensive training as a bomb-maker, has a high degree of technical
sophistication in the area, and was trained in techniques and methods similar
to those used to construct the improvised explosive device used in Hizballah’s
2012 Burgas, Bulgaria, bus bombing, a bombing that el Debek reported was
carried out by a relative of his. El Debek received by email in 2010 a list of
raw materials that could be sent from Syria or Dubai, including items often
used in explosives and improvised explosive devices.
El Debek also conducted missions for Hizballah in Thailand
and Panama. In May 2009, el Debek traveled from Lebanon, through Malaysia, to
Thailand, where his mission was to clean up explosive precursors in a house in
Bangkok that others had left because they were under surveillance. El Debek
used his U.S. passport to enter and leave Thailand, consistent with his
instructions from Hizballah to use his U.S. passport so he could travel from
Malaysia to Thailand without obtaining a visa.
El Debek first traveled to Panama for Hizballah in 2011,
where his operational tasks included locating the U.S. and Israeli Embassies,
casing security procedures at the Panama Canal and the Israeli Embassy, and
locating hardware stores where explosive precursors could be purchased. Shortly
before traveling to Panama, el Debek updated his status on Facebook with a post
that read, in part, “Do not make peace or share food with those who killed your
people.”
In early 2012, el Debek again traveled to Panama for
Hizballah, passing through New York and New Jersey, and was asked to identify
areas of weakness and construction at the Panama Canal, as well as provide information
about how close someone could get to a ship passing through the Canal. Upon his
return from Panama, el Debek’s IJO handlers asked him for photographs of the
U.S. Embassy there and details about its security procedures.
El Debek has told the FBI that he was detained by Hizballah
from December 2015 to April 2016 and falsely accused of spying for the U.S.
Between November 2014 and February 2017, el Debek, who received religious
training from Hizballah, has conducted more than 250 Facebook searches using
search terms such as “martyrs of the holy defense,” “martyrs of Islamic
resistance,” “Hizballah martyrs,” and “martyrs of the Islamic resistance in
Lebanon.”
*
* *
Kourani is charged with providing and attempting to provide
material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries
a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; conspiracy to provide material
support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which
carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; receiving military-type
training from a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a
sentence of 10 years in prison or a fine; conspiracy to receive military-type
training from a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a
maximum sentence of five years in prison; conspiracy to possess, carry, and use
firearms and destructive devices during and in relation to crimes of violence,
which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; making and receiving a
contribution of funds, goods, and services to and from Hizballah, in violation
of IEEPA, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; conspiracy to
make and receive a contribution of funds, goods, and services to and from Hizballah,
in violation of IEEPA, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison;
and naturalization fraud in connection with an act of international terrorism,
which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
El Debek is charged with providing and attempting to provide
material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries
a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; conspiracy to provide material
support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries
a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; receiving military-type training from
a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a sentence of 10
years in prison or a fine; conspiracy to receive military-type training from a
designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of
five years in prison; possessing, carrying, and using firearms and destructive
devices during and in relation to crimes of violence, which carries a maximum
sentence of life in prison; making and receiving a contribution of funds,
goods, and services to and from Hizballah, in violation of IEEPA, which carries
a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and conspiracy to make and receive a
contribution of funds, goods, and services to and from Hizballah, in violation
of IEEPA, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed
by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any
sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s New
York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents from the
FBI and detectives from the NYPD. Mr. Kim also thanked the FBI’s Detroit Office
and the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National
Security Division.
These prosecutions are handled by the Office’s Terrorism and
International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emil J. Bove III and
Amanda L. Houle for the Southern District of New York are in charge of the
prosecution of Kourani. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew D. Beaty and Stephen J.
Ritchin for the Southern District of New York are in charge of the prosecution
of el Debek. Trial Attorneys Lolita Lukose and Alexandra Hughes of the National
Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are assisting the prosecutions.
The charges contained in the Complaints are merely
accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven
guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of
the text of the Complaints and the description of the Complaints set forth
below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated
as an allegation.
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