Adam Gadahn: Al-Qaeda's propagandist
Before his apparent death at the hands of the US military in a probable drone strike, Adam Gadahn had risen to be one of the US government's most wanted men as he became a high profile al-Qaeda propagandist.
The White House says a US attack on al-Qaeda in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan killed the year-old, who frequently appeared in al-Qaeda videos.
He was known to the US for some years. In , Gadahn became the first US citizen to be charged with treason since World War II.
The indictment said he had "knowingly adhered to an enemy of the United States with intent to betray the United States". A $1m bounty was placed on his head.
He was home schooled and raised as a Christian in California before converting to Islam at
Following his conversion, he moved in to Pakistan and married an Afghan refugee.
Gadahn performed translations for al-Qaeda and become associated with al-Qaeda's captured field commander, Abu Zubaydah. He is also thought to have later trained at a militant camp in Afghanistan.
Adam Yahiye Gadahn (Arabic: آدم يحيى غدن, Ādam Yaḥyā Ghadan; September 1, – January 19, ) was an American senior operative, cultural interpreter, spokesman and media advisor for the Islamist group al-Qaeda, as well as prolific noise musician. Beginning in , he appeared in a number of videos produced by al-Qaeda as "Azzam the American" ('Azzām al-Amrīki, عزام الأمريكي, sometimes transliterated as Ezzam Al-Amrikee). Gadahn, who converted to Islam in at a California mosque, was described as "homegrown," a term used by scholars and government officials for Western citizens "picking up the sword of the idea" (in the words of one FBI agent) to commit attacks in the West. American intelligence officials allege that he inspired the Osama bin Laden video.
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