Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah (, ʿAdnān Shukrī Jumaʿah) (4 August 1975 – 6 December 2014) was a citizen of Saudi Arabia and a senior member of Al-Qaeda. He was born in Saudi Arabia and grew up in the United States.
In March 2003, a provisional arrest warrant was issued calling him a "material witness", and he was subsequently listed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on the Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list, and the United States Department of State, through the Rewards for Justice Program, offered a bounty of up to US$5 million for information about his location.
Last known to have lived with his family in Miramar, Florida, Shukrijumah was known to have a Guyanese passport but might also have used a Saudi, Canadian, or Trinidadian passport. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied that el Shukrijumah was a Saudi citizen. He was considered to be a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda.
His mother insisted that her asthmatic son had been wrongly accused. He also went by the names Abu Arif, and Jafar al-Tayyar, the latter translating to "Jafar the Pilot".
In 2014, Shukrijumah was killed in a military manhunt operation by Pakistan Army Special Forces in South Waziristan. The Pakistani Taliban confirmed Shukrijumah's death two days later. Al-Qaeda confirmed Shukrijumah's death in July 2016.
Early years
Shukriumah moved to the United States in the 1980s as a young teenager with his parents. His mother Zuhrah Abdu Ahmed still resides in Florida, while his father died following a career as an imam. In 2001, his father had attracted the interest of officials, as the Saudi embassy had sent him $19,200.
Shukrijumah learned English later in his youth. As a young adult in 1997, he attended "English as a Second Language" classes. The FBI obtained a videotape of Adnan G. El Shukrijumah from the period that shows him giving a presentation exercise to the class, in which he speaks at length on the subject of jump starting a car. U.S. authorities believe that he may have been trained at an Afghan training camp in the late 1990s. He is alleged to have received assistance from American neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui. Shukrijumah enrolled at Broward Community College, and earned money on the side working as a freelance computer technician. Shukrijumah applied for a green card so as to have his permanent residence status in the United States recognized, but lied on his application about having ever been arrested in the past.
In March 2001, while investigating Imran Mandhai, who attended the same Florida mosque as Shukrijumah, authorities made a note that Mandhai had eyed Shukrijumah as a potential colleague in whom to confide his plans, although Shukrijumah had refused to associate with the militant Mandhai. Reports would later accuse Mandhai of plotting to destroy Mount Rushmore.
Shukrijumah left the United States in May 2001 and flew to Trinidad after receiving his degree in computer engineering. However Mandhai's testimony in court would indicate that he believed he had last seen Shukrijumah two months after his stated departure. Authorities tried to speak with Shukrijumah, appearing unannounced at his parents' home six times asking if he was available - only to be told that he had left the country.
Under torture, Jose Padilla claims to have been partnered with Shukrijumah in the summer of 2001, and that the pair were taught how to seal natural gas into apartment complexes and detonate explosives in a course they received at the Kandahar airport. Padilla claims that the two men constantly fought, and he eventually went to Mohammed Atef to complain that he could not work with Shukrijumah and the training was canceled.
In late 2002, Shukrijumah phoned his parents to tell them that he had found a wife, settled down and had a son, and was now teaching English in Morocco.
2003 worldwide alert
In March 2003, his family's Florida home was the subject of an FBI search which yielded no evidence of his location. A bulletin was released suggesting that he was wanted as a terrorist and posed a "grave danger" to "gas stations, fuel trucks, subway systems, trains, or bridges". A number of "sightings" were reported across the country - including at a sandwich shop in south Tampa.
In September 2003, the FBI issued an alert for four people they alleged "pose a threat to U.S. citizens", including Abderraouf Jdey, Shukrijumah and the previously unknown Zubayr al-Rimi and Karim el-Mejjati.