Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan al-Umda (died 22 April 2012), also known as Gharib al-Taezi, was self-implicated on videotape as a possible terrorist in 2002, and was wanted by the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
's
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
, which was seeking information about his identity and whereabouts. He was once a bodyguard for
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
and was a field commander for
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( or : Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, . Organization of Jihad's Base in the Arabian Peninsula), or AQAP is a Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamic extremism, Islamist militant organization which s ...
. In January 2002, he was discovered as one of five men who had been videotaped pledging
martyrdom
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...
, and who were then consequently placed on the original version, upon inception, of the FBI's third major wanted list, which is now known as the
FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list. He was later removed by the FBI from the list after being detained by the Saudi government and then transferred to Yemen. He was convicted in 2005 of involvement in the 2002 attack on the
MV Limburg
''Maritime Jewel'' was a double-hulled oil tanker launched in 1999 and completed in 2000. Entering service that year, the ship was known as MV ''Limburg'' until 2003. The ship carried crude oil between ports in Iran and Malaysia. On 6 October 2 ...
oil tanker. In February 2006,
he escaped from a Sana'a prison along with 22 other militants.
Videocassette recovery
On January 14, 2002, a series of five videocassettes were recovered from the rubble of the destroyed home of
Mohammad Atef
Mohammed Atef (; born Sobhi Abd Al Aziz Mohamed El Gohary Abu Sitta, also known as Abu Hafs al-Masri and al-Khabir; 1944 – November 2001) was an Egyptian militant and prominent military chief of al-Qaeda, and a deputy of Osama bin Laden, althou ...
outside of
Kabul, Afghanistan
Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into 22 municipal districts. A 2025 estima ...
. The tapes showed
Abderraouf Jdey,
Ramzi bin al-Shibh
Ramzi Mohammed Abdullah bin al-Shibh (; born May 1, 1972) is a Yemenis, Yemeni Terrorism, terrorist who served as al-Qaeda's communications officer. He has been detained by the United States in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp (NSGB) since 200 ...
, Hasan,
Abd Al-Rahim, and
Khalid Ibn Muhammad Al-Juhani
Khalid Mohammad bin Muslim Al-Arawi Al-Juhani (, also known as Mu'awiyah al-Madani; died 12 May 2003) was a Saudi member of al-Qaeda. He appeared, cradling a rifle, in a 2002 videotape in which he promised a "martyrdom" attack. In 2003, the Sau ...
vowing to die as martyrs. It was the first time authorities had reason to suspect him of any wrongdoing.
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...
said the videos had been recorded after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Most Wanted list
In response, on January 17, 2002, the FBI released to the public the first Most Wanted Terrorists Seeking Information list (now known as the FBI's "Seeking Information - War on Terrorism" list), in order to profile the five wanted terrorists about whom very little was known, but who were suspected of plotting additional terrorist attacks in martyrdom operations. The videos were shown by the FBI without sound, to guard against the possibility that the messages contained signals for other terrorists.
Ashcroft called upon people worldwide to help "identify, locate and incapacitate terrorists who are suspected of planning additional attacks against innocent civilians." "These men could be anywhere in the world," he said. Ashcroft added that an analysis of the audio suggested "the men may be trained and prepared to commit future suicide terrorist acts."

On that day,
Ramzi bin al-Shibh
Ramzi Mohammed Abdullah bin al-Shibh (; born May 1, 1972) is a Yemenis, Yemeni Terrorism, terrorist who served as al-Qaeda's communications officer. He has been detained by the United States in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp (NSGB) since 200 ...
was the only known name among the five. Ashcroft said not much was known about any of them except bin al-Shibh.
The fifth wanted martyrdom terrorist was identified a week later as
Abderraouf Jdey, alias: ''Al Rauf Bin Al Habib Bin Yousef Al-Jiddi''.
Removal from list
Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan, along with three of the other four pledged martyrdom suicide terrorists, was later removed by the FBI from the official count on the main page of the Seeking Information list. By February 2, 2003, the FBI rearranged its entire wanted lists on its web site, into the current configuration. The outstanding five martyr video suspects (including Jdey's Montreal associate Boussora) were moved to a separate linked page, titled "''Martyrdom Messages/video, Seeking Information Alert''" (Although both Jdey and Boussora were later returned to the main FBI list page). Around this time, the FBI also changed the name of the list, to the FBI "Seeking Information - War on Terrorism", to distinguish it from its other wanted list of "Seeking Information," which the FBI already uses for ordinary fugitives, those who are not terrorists.
Death
Hasan was killed in a drone strike in Yemen on April 22, 2012.
References
External links
FBI Most Wanted Terrorists currently listed page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasan, Muhammad Said Ali
Year of birth missing
Al-Qaeda members
2012 deaths