Aimal Qazi
Encyclopedia
Aimal Qazi also known as Mir Aimal Kasi, was a Pakistani assailant involved in the 1993 shootings at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia
. In the incident, Kasi killed two CIA
employees and wounded another three before escaping to Pakistan
.
, Pakistan
. He entered the United States in 1991, taking a substantial sum of cash he had inherited on the death of his father in 1989. He travelled on forged papers he had purchased in Karachi
, Pakistan, altering his name to "Kansi", and later bought a fake green card
in Miami, Florida
.
He stayed with a Kashmiri
friend, Zahed Mir, in his Reston, Virginia
apartment, and invested in a courier firm for which he also worked as a driver. This work would be decisive in his choice of target: "I used to pass this area almost every day and knew these two left-turning lanes [were] mostly people who work for CIA."
According to Kasi, his first thoughts of an attack came after the purchase of an AK-47 from a Chantilly
gun store. The plan soon became "more important than any other thing to [him]."
station wagon
behind a number of vehicles waiting at a red traffic light on the eastbound side of Route 123
, Fairfax County
. The vehicles were waiting to make a left turn into the main entrance of CIA headquarters. Kasi emerged from his vehicle with his AK-47
type semi-automatic rifle and proceeded to move among the lines of vehicles, firing a total of 10 rounds into them, killing Lansing H. Bennett, 66, and Frank Darling, 28. Three others were left with gunshot wounds. Darling was shot first and later received additional gunshot wounds to the head after Kasi shot the other victims.
Kasi climbed back into his vehicle and drove to a nearby park. After 90 minutes of waiting, it became clear that he was not being actively sought and so he drove back to his Reston apartment. He hid the rifle in a green plastic bag under a sofa, went to a McDonald's
for something to eat, and booked himself into a Days Inn
for the night. The CNN
news reports he watched made it clear that police had misidentified his vehicle and did not have his license plate number. The next morning, he took a flight to Quetta, Pakistan.
According to Kansi, he killed American CIA people because, "I was real angry with the policy of the U.S. government in the Middle East, particularly toward the Palestinian people," Kansi said in a prison interview with CNN affiliate WTTG.
On February 16, 1993, Kasi, then a fugitive
, had been charged in absentia
. The charges involved capital murder of Darling, murder of Bennett, and three counts of malicious wounding for the other victims, along with related firearms charges.
Kasi was in the dangerous Durand Line
border region, so the informant was told to lure Kasi into Pakistan where he could be more easily apprehended. Kasi was tempted with a lucrative business offer—smuggling Russian electronic goods into Pakistan—which brought him to Dera Ghazi Khan
, in the Punjab
province of Pakistan, where he checked into a room at Shalimar Hotel.
At 4 a.m. on the morning of June 15, 1997, an armed team of FBI agents, working with the Pakistani ISI
, raided Kasi's hotel room. His fingerprint
s were taken on the scene, confirming his identity.
There is some dispute over where Kasi was taken next—US authorities claim it was a holding facility run by Pakistani authorities, while Pakistani sources claim it was the U.S. embassy in Islamabad
— before being flown to the US on June 17 in a C-141
transport. During the flight, Kasi made a full oral and written confession to the FBI.
a neurologist
and also a neuropsychiatrist, that Kasi was missing tissue from his frontal lobes, a congenital defect that made it hard for him to judge the consequence of his actions. This testimony was re-iterated by another psychiatrist
for the defense based upon independent examination.
Kasi was tried by a Virginia state court jury over a period of ten days in November 1997, on a plea of not guilty to all charges. The jury found him guilty, and fixed punishment for the capital murder charge at death. On February 4, 1998, Kasi was sentenced to death for the capital murder of Darling, who was shot at the beginning of the attack and again after the other victims had been shot. Among his other punishments were a life sentence
for the first-degree murder of Bennett, multiple 20-year sentences for the malicious woundings, and fines totalling $600,000.
on November 14, 2002, at Greensville Correctional Center
in Jarratt, Virginia
. Kasi's body was repatriated to Pakistan, his funeral was attended by the entire civil hierarchy of Balochistan, the local Pakistan Army
Corps Commander and the Pakistani Ambassador to the United States, Ashraf Jahangir Qazi
.
Langley, Virginia
Langley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.The community was essentially absorbed into McLean many years ago, although there is still a Langley High School...
. In the incident, Kasi killed two CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
employees and wounded another three before escaping to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Background
Qazi was born on either 10 February 1964 or 1 January 1967 in QuettaQuetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. He entered the United States in 1991, taking a substantial sum of cash he had inherited on the death of his father in 1989. He travelled on forged papers he had purchased in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Pakistan, altering his name to "Kansi", and later bought a fake green card
United States Permanent Resident Card
United States lawful permanent residency refers to a person's immigration status: the person is authorized to live and work in the United States of America on a permanent basis....
in Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
He stayed with a Kashmiri
Kashmiri people
The Kashmiri people are a Dardic linguistic group living in Kashmir Valley in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and parts of the Pakistani territory of Azad Kashmir who speak the Kashmiri language...
friend, Zahed Mir, in his Reston, Virginia
Reston, Virginia
Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The population was 58,404, at the 2010 Census and 56,407 at the 2000 census...
apartment, and invested in a courier firm for which he also worked as a driver. This work would be decisive in his choice of target: "I used to pass this area almost every day and knew these two left-turning lanes [were] mostly people who work for CIA."
According to Kasi, his first thoughts of an attack came after the purchase of an AK-47 from a Chantilly
Chantilly, Virginia
Chantilly is an unincorporated community located in western Fairfax County and southeastern Loudoun County of Northern Virginia. Recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census designated place , the community population was 23,039 as of the 2010 census -- down from 41,041 in 2000, due to the...
gun store. The plan soon became "more important than any other thing to [him]."
Shootings
On January 25, 1993, Kasi stopped a borrowed brown DatsunDatsun
Datsun was an automobile marque. The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as "Datson" to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. Later, in 1933 after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd...
station wagon
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
behind a number of vehicles waiting at a red traffic light on the eastbound side of Route 123
Virginia State Route 123
Virginia State Route 123 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 1 in Woodbridge north to the Chain Bridge across the Potomac River into Washington from Arlington...
, Fairfax County
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
. The vehicles were waiting to make a left turn into the main entrance of CIA headquarters. Kasi emerged from his vehicle with his AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
type semi-automatic rifle and proceeded to move among the lines of vehicles, firing a total of 10 rounds into them, killing Lansing H. Bennett, 66, and Frank Darling, 28. Three others were left with gunshot wounds. Darling was shot first and later received additional gunshot wounds to the head after Kasi shot the other victims.
Kasi climbed back into his vehicle and drove to a nearby park. After 90 minutes of waiting, it became clear that he was not being actively sought and so he drove back to his Reston apartment. He hid the rifle in a green plastic bag under a sofa, went to a McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
for something to eat, and booked himself into a Days Inn
Days Inn
Days Inn is a motel chain headquartered in the United States. Founded in 1970, it is now a part of the Wyndham Hotel Group, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, which was formerly a part of Cendant...
for the night. The CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
news reports he watched made it clear that police had misidentified his vehicle and did not have his license plate number. The next morning, he took a flight to Quetta, Pakistan.
According to Kansi, he killed American CIA people because, "I was real angry with the policy of the U.S. government in the Middle East, particularly toward the Palestinian people," Kansi said in a prison interview with CNN affiliate WTTG.
On February 16, 1993, Kasi, then a fugitive
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
, had been charged in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
. The charges involved capital murder of Darling, murder of Bennett, and three counts of malicious wounding for the other victims, along with related firearms charges.
Capture and rendition
In May 1997, an informant walked into the U.S. consulate in Karachi and claimed he could help lead them to Kasi. As proof, he showed a copy of a driver license application made by Kasi under a false name but bearing his photograph. Apparently, the people who had been sheltering Kasi were now prepared to accept the multi-million dollar reward offer for his capture. Kasi stated "I want to make it clear (that) the people who tricked me ... were Pushtuns, they were owners of land in the Leghari and Khosa clan areas in Dera Ghazi Khan, but I will never name them."Kasi was in the dangerous Durand Line
Durand Line
The Durand Line refers to the porous international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which has divided the ethnic Pashtuns . This poorly marked line is approximately long...
border region, so the informant was told to lure Kasi into Pakistan where he could be more easily apprehended. Kasi was tempted with a lucrative business offer—smuggling Russian electronic goods into Pakistan—which brought him to Dera Ghazi Khan
Dera Ghazi Khan
Dera Ghazi Khan is a city located in Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab, Pakistan. Dera Ghazi Khan is one of the most populous cities in Southern Punjab, and it is the largest district in Punjab in terms of area, being approximately in extent....
, in the Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
province of Pakistan, where he checked into a room at Shalimar Hotel.
At 4 a.m. on the morning of June 15, 1997, an armed team of FBI agents, working with the Pakistani ISI
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
, raided Kasi's hotel room. His fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s were taken on the scene, confirming his identity.
There is some dispute over where Kasi was taken next—US authorities claim it was a holding facility run by Pakistani authorities, while Pakistani sources claim it was the U.S. embassy in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
— before being flown to the US on June 17 in a C-141
C-141 Starlifter
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force...
transport. During the flight, Kasi made a full oral and written confession to the FBI.
Trial
During the trial the defense introduced testimony from Dr. Richard RestakRichard Restak
Richard Restak is an American neurologist, neuropsychiatrist, author and professor.- Education :Restak is a graduate of Gettysburg College and Georgetown University School of Medicine. He performed his postgraduate training in New York City at St. Vincent's Hospital where he completed his...
a neurologist
Neurologist
A neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...
and also a neuropsychiatrist, that Kasi was missing tissue from his frontal lobes, a congenital defect that made it hard for him to judge the consequence of his actions. This testimony was re-iterated by another psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
for the defense based upon independent examination.
Kasi was tried by a Virginia state court jury over a period of ten days in November 1997, on a plea of not guilty to all charges. The jury found him guilty, and fixed punishment for the capital murder charge at death. On February 4, 1998, Kasi was sentenced to death for the capital murder of Darling, who was shot at the beginning of the attack and again after the other victims had been shot. Among his other punishments were a life sentence
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
for the first-degree murder of Bennett, multiple 20-year sentences for the malicious woundings, and fines totalling $600,000.
Execution and burial
Kasi was executed by lethal injectionLethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
on November 14, 2002, at Greensville Correctional Center
Greensville Correctional Center
Greensville Correctional Center is a prison facility located in unincorporated Greensville County, Virginia, near Jarratt. It is operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections. Greensville houses the execution chamber used to carry out capital punishment by the Commonwealth of...
in Jarratt, Virginia
Jarratt, Virginia
Jarratt is a town in Greensville and Sussex counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 589 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles , all land....
. Kasi's body was repatriated to Pakistan, his funeral was attended by the entire civil hierarchy of Balochistan, the local Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
Corps Commander and the Pakistani Ambassador to the United States, Ashraf Jahangir Qazi
Ashraf Qazi
Ashraf Jehangir Qazi is a politician in Pakistan and a career diplomat in the United Nations. On September 4, 2007, the UN's Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed Ashraf Qazi as his new Special Representative in Sudan...
.
See also
- Farooque AhmedFarooque AhmedFarooque Ahmed is a Pakistani American from Ashburn, Virginia who was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegedly plotting to bomb Washington Metro stations at Arlington cemetery, Pentagon City, Crystal City and Court House...
, Pakistani American arrested for plotting bombing of Washington MetroWashington MetroThe Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name... - David HeadleyDavid HeadleyDavid Coleman Headley, formerly known as Daood Sayed Gilani, is a Chicago-based Pakistani American,who conspired with Lashkar-e-Taibaand, he claims, Pakistani military officers...
, Chicago-based Pakistani-American, and half-brother of Pakistani Prime Minister's spokesman, made contact with al-Qaeda during trips to Waziristan and conspired with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistani ex-military officers to launch the 2008 Mumbai attacks2008 Mumbai attacksThe 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, by Islamist attackers who came from Pakistan...
and other terrorist activity - Operation Arabian KnightOperation Arabian KnightOn June 5, 2010, in a covert anti-terrorism operation named "Operation Arabian Knight", Mohamed Mahmood Alessa and Carlos "Omar" Eduardo Almonte, two Muslim men from New Jersey, were arrested at Kennedy International Airport in New York City...
, 2010 arrest of two Muslim men from New Jersey on terrorism charges - Faisal ShahzadFaisal ShahzadFaisal Shahzad is a Pakistani American who attempted the May 1, 2010, Times Square car bombing. On , 2010, in Federal District Court in Manhattan he confessed to 10 counts arising from the bombing attempt...
– convicted Tehrik-i-Taliban PakistanTehrik-i-Taliban PakistanTehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan , alternatively referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist militant groups based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan border in Pakistan. Most, but not all, Pakistani Taliban groups coalesce under the TTP...
operative sentenced to life in prison for 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt2010 Times Square car bombing attemptThe attempted car bombing of Times Square on May 1, 2010, was a planned terrorist attack that was foiled when two street vendors discovered the car bomb and alerted a NYPD Patrolman to the car bomb threat after they spotted smoke coming from a vehicle... - Aafia SiddiquiAafia SiddiquiAafia Siddiqui is an American-educated Pakistani cognitive neuroscientist who was convicted of assault with intent to murder her U.S. interrogators in Afghanistan. The charges carried a maximum sentence of life in prison; in September 2010, she was sentenced by a United States district court to 86...
, U.S.-educated Pakistani alleged al-Qaeda member, arrested in Afghanistan with bomb-making documents and convicted in February 2010 of attempted murder and armed assault - Najibullah ZaziNajibullah ZaziNajibullah Zazi is an Afghan-American who was arrested in September 2009 as part of the 2009 U.S. Al Qaeda group accused of planning suicide bombings on the New York City subway system, and has pled guilty as have two other defendants. U.S...
, U.S. resident and al-Qaeda member, pleaded guilty in 2010 of planning suicide bombings of New York City subway