The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice, or RFJ, program is increasing its reward offer for information leading to the identification or location of the leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Sa’ad bin Atef al-Awlaki. The new reward offer for information on al-Awlaki is up to $10 million. The previous reward offer was up to $6 million.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is an extremist group based in Yemen that emerged in January 2009 following the unification of Yemeni and Saudi terrorist elements.
AQAP’s stated goals include establishing a caliphate and implementing Sharia law in the Arabian Peninsula and the wider Middle East. AQAP has targeted local, U.S., and Western interests in the Arabian Peninsula and elsewhere in the world. The group has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist acts, including the January 2015 assault on the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris that killed 12 people.
AQAP is an affiliate of the core al-Qaida (AQ) terrorist organization and works closely with AQ’s global leadership to target Western audiences and enhance collaboration with other affiliates. AQAP’s key value to the organization is its role as a financial and facilitation link between the AQ-broad network.
AQAP launched a failed December 25, 2009, attempt to destroy an airliner with a bomb worn by terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The group also hid explosives inside computer printers being shipped to the United States inside two cargo planes in late 2010; the bombs were discovered and rendered safe on October 29, 2010, during stopovers at two different locations.
In 2024, al-Awlaki was appointed as the leader of AQAP. He has publicly called for attacks against the United States and our allies. As the group’s leader and as a former AQAP amir of the Shabwah province in Yemen, he has led AQAP’s attacks against the U.S. and has kidnapped Americans in Yemen.
In addition, RFJ continues to offer rewards up to $5 million for information leading to the identification or location of Ibrahim al-Banna and rewards up to $4 million for information leading to the identification or location of Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al-Qosi. Al-Banna and al-Qosi are part of the leadership team that assists the AQAP leader.
The United States is committed to bringing terrorists to justice and will reward those who assist it in that important mission.
The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program is increasing its reward offer for information leading to the identification or location of the leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Sa’ad bin Atef al-Awlaki.