Basil Hassan is an external operations plotter for

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

(ISIL). In 2013, Hassan was accused of shooting

Lars Hedegaard Lars Hedegaard (born 19 September 1942) is a Danish journalist and author. He established the Danish Free Press Society in 2004, which was turned into the International Free Press Society in 2009. Career Originally a high school teacher, he wa ...

, a 70-year old Danish author and journalist. After being arrested in Turkey in 2014, he was released as part of an alleged exchange for 49 hostages held by the ISIL. After his release, Hassan was believed to have travelled to Syria to join ISIL. In November 2016, the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

issued a note, designating three persons as terror operatives. He was in 2020 reported to be the mastermind of a failed attempt to blow up a long distance airliner, in what was later cited as the most ingenious ISIS terror project.

References

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members Possibly living people Year of birth missing {{MEast-bio-stub