Bio

The name Ramzi Ahmed Yousef is a pseudonym. His real name is assumed to be Abdul Basit Mahmoud Abdul Karim. He was born on 27 April 1968 in Kuwait and came from a Baloch family.

His father is believed to be Mohammed Abdul Karim from Balochistan, Pakistan. His mother is believed to be the sister of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

In 1986 he enrolled at the Swansea Institute in Wales to study electrical engineering. He graduated four years later. He also studied at the Oxford College of Further Education to improve his English.

After finishing his studies he left the United Kingdom and returned to Pakistan. He began to learn bomb making at a training camp in Peshawar. He then traveled to the United States in 1992.

Murder Story

Ramzi Ahmed Yousef is a Pakistani convicted terrorist who was one of the main perpetrators and the mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434. He was also a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. His maternal uncle is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has been accused of being the principal architect of the September 11 attacks.

The World Trade Center bombing took place on February 26, 1993. The attack killed six civilians and injured more than a thousand people. After the bombing, Yousef sent a letter to The New York Times claiming responsibility and stating political demands.

On December 11, 1994, Philippine Airlines Flight 434 suffered an explosion in flight. One passenger, Haruki Ikegami, was killed and several others were injured. The crew made an emergency landing and most passengers survived. Fragments and other evidence from the incident led investigators back to Manila.

Yousef was also involved in the Bojinka plot. That plan included plotting attacks on airliners and an attempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II during a visit to the Philippines. Related investigations in Manila uncovered additional plots and evidence that connected him with other conspirators.

After a man who had helped him later provided information to authorities, Pakistani and U.S. agents arrested Yousef in Islamabad on February 7, 1995. Agents found materials and evidence that linked him to the airline plots. He was extradited to the United States for trial.

In U.S. courts, Yousef was convicted for his role in the Bojinka plot and for his part in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He received two life sentences plus 240 years in prison. A judge recommended that his sentence be served in solitary confinement. He is serving his sentence at ADX Florence in Colorado.

Yousef was assigned to the "Bomber's Row" unit at ADX Florence, where his cell was located near those of Theodore John Kaczynski and Timothy James McVeigh. The three inmates communicated frequently, socializing through the wire mesh of their adjacent exercise yards.

Yousef was placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in April 1993. The handcuffs from his capture are on display at the FBI Museum. Some media reports later said he had converted to Christianity, but his lawyer disputed those reports.