Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Osama Bin Laden's brother in law and Al Qaeda financial facilitator, has been reportedly shot dead on January 31 in Madagascar.

The news comes only days after the Philippine press published on January 22 the last interview of Abu Sayyaf leader’s Khaddafy Janjalani, who was recently killed by the Philippine police and whose brother, the Abu Sayyaf's founder, was recruited by Khalifa according to the Philippine National Police.

In the interview Janjalani stated that "Jamal Khalifa was a philanthropist who helped Moro and other mujahideen in this world. Our friendship with them is dictated by necessity, convenience and the need to help one another. They needed at that time volunteers for Afghanistan, while we needed money to buy arms, ammunition and other necessities." He added that "we reciprocated their assistance by providing them volunteers." Janjalani reported that Khalifa and Ramzi Yousef, the first WTC bomber also involved in the 1994 Bojinka plot to hijack airplaines over the Pacific, provided Abu Sayyaf with $122,000. CNN reported two days before his killing that Khalifa had denied the charges.

Mohammed Jamal Khalifa served as a front for Osama Bin Laden in establishing numerous organizations, corporations and charitable institutions in the Philippines in the 90s. He hosted and provided funding to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the 9/11 planner, and many other known terrorists through the IIRO office in the Philippines, designated by the US Treasury Department on August 8, 2006.

Mohammad Jamal Khalifa was indicted in Jordan for being involved in the bombing of a movie theatre. He was sentenced to death in absentia, on the basis of charges that he had conspired to commit terrorist acts as part of an organization established, among other things, "to fight Jews and Americans," according to court records. Mohammed Jamal Khalifa was deported to Jordan after his arrest in 1994 and retried there on terrorism charges. He was acquitted and returned to Saudi Arabia.

Although labelled a "senior Al Qaeda member" by the US Government, Khalifa was still freely running businesses in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

By JC Brisard of the Terror Finance Blog