Khalil al-Deek

Who was Khalil al-Deek?

Khalil Said al-Deek –, aka Joseph Adams after 1996 was a dual US-Jordanian citizen who came to USA to study computer science. He became a naturalized US citizen living in Los Angeles, California where he worked as computer engineer and Charity Without Borders staffer, where it is now believed that Adam Yahiye Gadahn worked around that same time in 1997. The Charity was discovered to be an Al-Qaida organization used to funnel money overseas and wasn't shut down until after September 11, 2001. Hisham Diab was running this organization at the time and it was confirmed by his ex-wife Saraah Olson that Hisham and Khalil Said al-Deek recruited Adam Yahiye Gadahn and transformed him into an American-hating fanatic. This was also confirmed by the imam Haitham Bundakji of the Islamic Society of Orange County who described Hisham and members of his cell as "disruptive troublemakers" and places blame on himself for not reaching out to Gadahn.

Carrying a US passport, he moved to Peshawar, Pakistan, where he is believed to have met several times with Osama bin Laden. He was arrested on December 17, 1999 in Peshawar and extradited to Jordan for conspiracy to carry out terrorist attacks in Jordan. CNN reports that al-Deek is described as the leader of his group.