NEW YORK – Four followers of known terrorist Osama Bin Laden were convicted Tuesday of charges in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.
The bombings killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, and buried thousands of others under piles of tangled metal and concrete. Two of the defendants were convicted of counts that could carry the death penalty.
Rashed Daoud Al-‘Owhali, 24, of Saudi Arabia; Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, 27, of Tanzania; Wadih El-Hage, 40, of Arlington, Texas; and Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, 36, of Jordan; were found guilty of conspiring to kill Americans in the bombings. The death penalty counts pertained to Al-Owhali and Mohamed.
The verdict from an anonymous federal jury in a tightly guarded Manhattan courtroom set the stage for more trials. Six other defendants charged in the conspiracy are in custody and another dozen, including Bin Laden, are being sought.
The jury deliberated for over 12 days before reaching a verdict. The courtroom was packed with about 100 spectators when the verdict was finally read.
Jurors heard nearly three months of testimony about the twin blasts at embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dares Salaam, Tanzania. The panel continued to returns verdicts against the four defendants from the 302-count indictment.
