America jails Al-Qaeda operative Ibrahim Suleiman Harun for life

Commissioner James P O'Neill of the New York Police Department said Harun was a dedicated and early soldier in Bin Laden's al-Qaeda, joining just weeks before the September 11 attacks. "The evidence presented at trial established that the defendant and other jihadists attacked a US military patrol in Afghanistan, resulting in the death of two American soldiers and the serious injury of others," Acting Assistant Attorney General James O'Callaghan said.

"Harun will rightfully spend the rest of his life behind bars. This department - with our partners in law enforcement - remains deeply committed to combating terrorism from New York to Nigeria - and everywhere in between," he said.

The sentencing comes following his conviction by a jury on multiple terrorism offences, including conspiracy to murder American military personnel in Afghanistan and bomb the US embassy in Nigeria. He was convicted on March 16, 2017.

As proven at trial, Harun travelled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan weeks before September 11, 2001, where he joined al-Qaeda, trained at al-Qaeda training camps, and eventually swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden.

Harun, 47, also known by the nom de guerre "Spin Ghul," a Pashto name meaning "White Rose," then travelled with other al-Qaeda jihadists to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, where he operated under Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi, one of bin Laden's deputies and a senior al-Qaeda military commander. On April 25, 2003, Harun and fellow al-Qaeda jihadists ambushed a US military patrol near the Afghan-Pakistan border. Harun fired machine gun rounds and threw grenades at American soldiers and allied Afghan Militia Forces.