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Created page with "{{Short description|Jordanian double agent and suicide bomber (1977–2009)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi | native_name = {{lang|ar|همام خليل أبو ملال البلاوي}} | image = | caption = | birth_name = Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi | birth_date = {{Birth date|1977|12|25|df=y}} | birth_place = Kuwait | death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|12|30|1977|12|25|df=y}} | death_place =..."

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{{Short description|Jordanian double agent and suicide bomber (1977–2009)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2026}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi
| native_name = {{lang|ar|همام خليل أبو ملال البلاوي}}
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1977|12|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Kuwait]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|12|30|1977|12|25|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Forward Operating Base Chapman]], [[Khost Province]], [[Afghanistan]]
| death_cause = [[Suicide attack|Suicide bombing]]
| nationality = Jordanian
| citizenship = Jordan
| education = [[Medicine]]
| occupation = [[Physician]]
| years_active = 2002–2009
| known_for = [[Camp Chapman attack]]
| spouse = Defne Bayrak
| children = 2
| parents = Khalil al-Balawi (father)
| module = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
| allegiance = {{plainlist|
* [[Al-Qaeda]]
* [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]]
}}
| battles = [[War on terror]]
** [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]]
}}
}}
'''Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi''' ({{langx|ar|همام خليل أبو ملال البلاوي}}; 25 December 1977 – 30 December 2009), also known by his online pseudonym '''Abu Dujana al-Khorasani''', was a Jordanian [[physician]] who carried out a [[suicide attack|suicide bombing]] at [[Forward Operating Base Chapman]] in [[Khost Province]], [[Afghanistan]], on 30 December 2009.<ref name="bbc_bomber">{{cite news |title=Afghan CIA bomber 'fooled family' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8442371.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |date=5 January 2010 |access-date=3 October 2026}}</ref><ref name="reuters_jordan">{{cite news |last=al-Khalidi |first=Suleiman |title=Jordan bomber long aspired for jihad: relatives |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60817520100109/ |work=[[Reuters]] |date=9 January 2010 |access-date=3 October 2026}}</ref> The attack killed seven [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) officers and contractors, a Jordanian intelligence officer, and an Afghan working for the CIA, making it the deadliest attack against the CIA in more than 25 years.<ref name="nytimes_attack">{{cite news |last=Rubin |first=Alissa J. |title=Suicide Bomber Killed C.I.A. Operatives |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/world/asia/31khost.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=31 December 2009 |access-date=3 October 2026}}</ref><ref name="bbc_double">{{cite news |title=CIA bomber 'was a double agent' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/americas/8440535.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |date=5 January 2010 |access-date=3 October 2026}}</ref>

Al-Balawi had been recruited by Jordanian intelligence and the CIA as a double agent to infiltrate [[al-Qaeda]] and provide intelligence on high-value targets, including [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]].<ref name="ap_double">{{cite news |title=AP sources: Bomber at CIA base was a double agent |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-01/05/content_9266421.htm |work=[[China Daily]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=5 January 2010 |access-date=3 October 2026}}</ref><ref name="bbc_double"/> Instead, he turned against his handlers and used their trust to gain access to the CIA base, where he detonated a bomb sewn into his vest.<ref name="nytimes_attack"/><ref name="bbc_double"/> The attack was claimed by both al-Qaeda and the [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]].<ref name="bbc_double"/><ref name="nytimes_attack"/>

== Early life and education ==

Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi was born on 25 December 1977 in [[Kuwait]] to a [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] family.<ref name="reuters_jordan"/><ref name="bbc_identity">{{cite news |title=Mystery of CIA bomber's identity |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/south_asia/8441292.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |date=5 January 2010 |access-date=3 October 2026}}</ref> His family moved to [[Jordan]] in 1990, following the [[invasion of Kuwait|Iraqi invasion of Kuwait]].<ref name="bbc_identity"/> He grew up in [[Zarqa]], a city east of [[Amman]] that has been a stronghold of radical Islam and was also the hometown of [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]], the slain leader of [[al-Qaeda in Iraq]].<ref name="reuters_jordan"/><ref name="bbc_identity"/>

Al-Balawi studied [[medicine]] in [[Turkey]] and returned to Jordan in 2002 with a medical degree.<ref name="reuters_jordan"/> He worked as a [[pediatrician]] at a clinic for Palestinian refugee women and children in the Marka refugee camp near Amman.<ref name="bbc_identity"/> He was married to Defne Bayrak, a Turkish woman, and had two daughters.<ref name="bbc_identity"/><ref name="tandfonline">{{cite journal |last1=Turcan |first1=Metin |last2=McCauley |first2=Clark |title=Boomerang: Opinion versus action in the radicalization of Abu-Mulal al-Balawi |journal=Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict |year=2010 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=14–31 |doi=10.1080/17467586.2010.498896}}</ref>

== Radicalization ==

According to relatives and friends, al-Balawi began to embrace radical Islam after returning to Jordan in 2002, when he started writing poetic and passionate posts on [[jihadist]] websites under the pseudonym '''Abu Dujana al-Khorasani'''.<ref name="reuters_jordan"/> His writings expressed a growing impatience with not acting on his beliefs. In one web posting, he wrote: "When will my words drink from my blood... I feel my words have expired, and to those who preach jihad, I advise you not to fall into my dilemma and the nightmare I have that I may die one day in my bed."<ref name="reuters_jordan"/>

His radicalization was influenced by what he saw as Israeli brutality against the Palestinians, particularly during Israel's [[Gaza War (2008–2009)|invasion of Gaza]] in late 2008 and early 2009.<ref name="nytimes_opinion">{{cite news |last=Greenway |first=H.D.S. |title=A Jihadist's Destiny |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/opinion/14iht-edgreenway.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=14 January 2010 |access-date=3 October 2026}}</ref> In one message, he stated: "I never wanted to be in Gaza more than now or to become a suicide bomber who would drive a taxi that would take as many Jews to hell as I can."<ref name="reuters_jordan"/> He also idolized [[Osama bin Laden]], whom he revered as a man who symbolized the true jihadist.<ref name="reuters_jordan"/>

A 2010 academic study distinguished two phases in al-Balawi's radicalization: a "radicalization of opinion" during his life in Jordan from 2002 to 2009, and a "radicalization of action" in [[Pakistan]] between March and December 2009.<ref name="tandfonline"/> The study noted that his online identity as a warrior, Abu Dujana, played a key role in his turn to violent action.<ref name="tandfonline"/>

== Double agent ==

Al-Balawi was arrested by Jordanian intelligence over a year before the attack.<ref name="ap_double"/> He was detained and interrogated over three days by the [[General Intelligence Directorate (Jordan)|General Intelligence Directorate]] (GID).<ref name="nytimes_attack"/> The GID and the CIA believed they had successfully "turned" al-Balawi and recruited him as a double agent to penetrate al-Qaeda in the Pakistani tribal areas.<ref name="bbc_double"/><ref name="nytimes_attack"/> His specific mission was reportedly to track down al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri.<ref name="ap_double"/><ref name="bbc_double"/>

According to Western intelligence officials, al-Balawi provided "actionable intelligence" during several weeks of undercover work along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, which allowed him to gain the trust of both the Jordanian intelligence service and the CIA.<ref name="bbc_identity"/> A former US counter-terrorism officer told ''[[The Washington Post]]'' that al-Balawi had been someone "who had already worked with us."<ref name="bbc_identity"/>

However, al-Balawi had not actually been turned. He was a triple agent who was still loyal to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.<ref name="abc_triple">{{cite news |title=CIA bomber was triple agent: reports |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-01-05/cia-bomber-was-triple-agent-reports/1197740 |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |date=5 January 2010 |access-date=3 October 2026}}</ref> A Taliban spokesman quoted on [[Al Jazeera]]'s website stated that al-Balawi was a double agent who had misled Jordanian and US intelligence services for a year.<ref name="bbc_double"/>

== Camp Chapman attack ==

{{main|Camp Chapman attack}}

On 30 December 2009, al-Balawi was picked up by Arghawan, an Afghan who was the chief of external security at Camp Chapman, at the border between [[Miranshah]], Pakistan, and Khost, Afghanistan.<ref name="nytimes_attack"/> Arghawan drove al-Balawi to Camp Chapman, arriving around 4:30 p.m.<ref name="nytimes_attack"/> The car was waved through three security checkpoints without stopping before arriving at its destination well within the base.<ref name="nytimes_attack"/>

Sixteen people were waiting for the car near a building set up to debrief al-Balawi; they had even baked him a birthday cake as a gesture of goodwill.<ref name="nytimes_attack"/> Al-Balawi then got out of the vehicle and detonated the explosives hidden in his suicide vest.<ref name="nytimes_attack"/><ref name="bbc_double"/> Al-Balawi and nine other people were killed by the blast.<ref name="nytimes_attack"/> Seven were CIA personnel: five officers, including the chief of the base, and two contractors.<ref name="nytimes_attack"/> One was a Jordanian intelligence officer, identified as Ali bin Zaid, a relative of [[Abdullah II of Jordan|King Abdullah II]].<ref name="nytimes_attack"/><ref name="ap_double"/> The other was an Afghan working for the CIA.<ref name="nytimes_attack"/> Six other American CIA officers were wounded.<ref name="nytimes_attack"/>

According to a source cited by [[CNN]], al-Balawi was within seconds of being searched by two security contractors when he detonated his explosives.<ref name="cnn_search">{{cite news |title=Source: CIA bomber was about to be searched when explosives detonated |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/01/06/cia.bomber.search/index.html |work=[[CNN]] |date=6 January 2010 |access-date=3 October 2026}}</ref>

== Posthumous video ==

On 9 January 2010, a posthumous video of al-Balawi appeared on Al Jazeera. In the video, al-Balawi appeared next to the new leader of the Pakistani Taliban, [[Hakimullah Mehsud]], and called for attacks on US targets to avenge the killing of the Pakistani Taliban leader [[Baitullah Mehsud]].<ref name="chinadaily_video">{{cite news |title=CIA bomber calls for attacks on US in video |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-01/09/content_9293581.htm |work=[[China Daily]] |date=9 January 2010 |access-date=3 October 2026}}</ref> "We will never forget the blood of our emir Baitullah Mehsud," he said. "We will always demand revenge for him inside America and outside."<ref name="chinadaily_video"/>

Al-Balawi, wearing traditional Afghan dress, spoke in Arabic during the minute-and-a-half video.<ref name="chinadaily_video"/> He appeared to mock reports that he had ever been in the employ of US or Jordanian intelligence, saying: "The emigrant for the sake of God will not put his religion on the bargaining table and will not sell his religion even if they put the sun in his right hand and the moon in his left."<ref name="chinadaily_video"/>

== Aftermath ==

The attack was the most lethal against the CIA since the [[1983 United States embassy bombing in Beirut|1983 bombing of the US embassy in Beirut]].<ref name="nytimes_attack"/><ref name="bbc_double"/> It dealt a significant blow to the agency's operations in Afghanistan and exposed the close intelligence relationship between the United States and Jordan.<ref name="nytimes_attack"/> The bodies of seven CIA employees arrived at [[Dover Air Force Base]] in a small private ceremony attended by CIA Director [[Leon Panetta]].<ref name="ap_double"/>

The attack raised significant questions about how al-Balawi was able to penetrate the CIA base without being searched.<ref name="bbc_double"/> A US official and former CIA employee told the Associated Press that such informants were often not required to go through full security checks in order to help gain their trust.<ref name="bbc_double"/> In October 2010, the CIA acknowledged that al-Balawi had not been properly vetted.<ref name="bbc_vetted">{{cite news |title=Bomber who killed seven at CIA base 'was not vetted' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11584739 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=20 October 2010 |access-date=3 October 2026}}</ref> A CIA investigation found that the agency had failed to follow its own security procedures.<ref name="bbc_vetted"/>

Both al-Qaeda and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.<ref name="bbc_double"/><ref name="nytimes_attack"/> Al-Qaeda's Afghan wing said the bombing was revenge for the deaths of their leaders.<ref name="reuters_jordan"/> The attack also strained relations between the CIA and the Jordanian intelligence service.<ref name="nytimes_attack"/>

== Personal life ==

Al-Balawi was married to Defne Bayrak, a Turkish woman and the daughter of a former [[Islamism|Islamist]] [[mayor]] of [[Fatih]] in [[Istanbul]].<ref name="tandfonline"/> They had two daughters.<ref name="bbc_identity"/> His family described him as a devout Muslim who cared for the poor but was somewhat aloof.<ref name="bbc_bomber"/> His father, Khalil al-Balawi, blamed Jordanian and American intelligence for turning his son into an agent, saying: "May God take revenge on those responsible for turning this humane doctor to an agent. But I am proud of him and may his soul rest in peace as a true martyr."<ref name="reuters_jordan"/>

== See also ==
* [[Camp Chapman attack]]
* [[Al-Qaeda]]
* [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]]
* [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]]
* [[Forward Operating Base Chapman]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11584739 BBC: Bomber who killed seven at CIA base 'was not vetted']
* [https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60817520100109/ Reuters: Jordan bomber long aspired for jihad]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1977 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi| ]]
[[Category:Jordanian physicians]]
[[Category:Jordanian al-Qaeda members]]
[[Category:Jordanian people of Palestinian descent]]
[[Category:Jordanian terrorists]]
[[Category:People from Zarqa]]
[[Category:Suicide bombers]]
[[Category:People killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorism]]
[[Category:Double agents]]
[[Category:Triple agents]]
[[Category:Camp Chapman attack]]
[[Category:People of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
[[Category:Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]]
[[Category:2009 in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:December 2009 events in Asia]]

Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi - Revision history