Overview

Basil Hassan was a senior member of ISIS who was born in Denmark and was of Lebanese descent. The U.S. Department of State designated Hassan in late November 2016, describing him as an “external operations plotter” for the terror group.“State Department Terrorist Designations of Abdullah Ahmed al-Meshedani, Basil Hassan, and Abdelilah Himich,” U.S. Department of State, November 22, 2016, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/11/264498.htm; “Counter Terrorism Designations; Kingpin Act Designations Updates,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, November 22, 2016, https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20161122.aspx; Burcu Purtul Ucar, “Danish writer’s shooting suspect released in Turkey before ISIL prisoner swap,” Hurriyet Daily News (Istanbul), October 24, 2014, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/danish-writers-shooting-suspect-released-in-turkey-before-isil-prisoner-swap.aspx?pageID=238&nID=73414&NewsCatID=510; “Denmark shooting: Gunman targets Islam critic Hedegaard,” BBC News, February 5, 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21341878. Hassan was allegedly a leader of ISIS’s drones program. He was involved in the attempted bombing of a passenger jet departing Australia for Abu Dhabi and the attempted chemical weapons attack in Sydney in July 2017.Leen Alfaisal, “New details emerge on the 2017 ISIS Australia-Abu Dhabi plane bomb plot,” Al Arabiya, June 11, 2020, https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2020/06/11/New-details-emerge-on-the-2017-ISIS-Australia-Abu-Dhabi-plane-bomb-plot. Although he is reported to have been killed in August 2017, Danish authorities are unable to confirm his death.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 9.

Hassan grew up in a moderate Muslim household in a town near Copenhagen, Denmark. However, in high school he grew increasingly religious. He and a classmate reportedly began dressing in traditional Islamic clothing, discussing religion, and warning their classmates of the dangers of “non-belief.” In Hassan’s high school yearbook, his classmates joked that Danish authorities should “watch out” because he and a friend would end up leading a “new Islamic State.” Several of Hassan’s friends were imprisoned for terrorism during this time. Specifically, in 2005, four people were arrested in a suburb of Copenhagen for terrorism in the first post-9/11 Danish terrorism arrests. Hassan was questioned as a witness, after which he remained on the Danish intelligence service’s radar.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 2.

After graduating high school, Hassan attended the Technical University of Denmark, where he received a degree in engineering in 2010. He had always been interested in technology, and as a teenager, attempted to hack into computer systems. He was also very security conscious, electing to avoid speaking around telephones and covering his laptop camera with tape. After obtaining his degree, Hassan attended flight school.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 2.

In 2011, Danish intelligence agents tried to recruit Hassan as an informant because of his close connections to multiple convicted Danish jihadists. Hassan, however, rejected the offer multiple times.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 2.

Hassan is suspected of trying to shoot Danish author and critic of Islam Lars Hedegaard in his Copenhagen home on February 5, 2013.“State Department Terrorist Designations of Abdullah Ahmed al-Meshedani, Basil Hassan, and Abdelilah Himich,” U.S. Department of State, November 22, 2016, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/11/264498.htm; “Counter Terrorism Designations; Kingpin Act Designations Updates,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, November 22, 2016, https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20161122.aspx; Burcu Purtul Ucar, “Danish writer’s shooting suspect released in Turkey before ISIL prisoner swap,” Hurriyet Daily News (Istanbul), October 24, 2014, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/danish-writers-shooting-suspect-released-in-turkey-before-isil-prisoner-swap.aspx?pageID=238&nID=73414&NewsCatID=510; “Denmark shooting: Gunman targets Islam critic Hedegaard,” BBC News, Febuary 5, 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21341878. While posing as a mailman, Hassan rang the doorbell to Hedegaard’s home. When Hedegaard opened the door, Hassan fired a shot that narrowly missed Hedegaard’s head.Oscar Gutierrez, “The Price of Hate in Denmark,” El Pais, January 31, 2017, https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2017/01/31/inenglish/1485868003_162080.html. They fought, and Hassan then fled on foot.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 1.

Hassan reportedly fled Denmark that same day. He took a train to Germany, and then flew to Turkey. In the years that followed, he alternated between staying in Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria. It is unclear how or when he was recruited into ISIS, but Hassan had remained in contact with Abdulkadir Cesur, his friend from high school who was convicted for plotting a bombing in Sarajevo. After serving his sentence in Bosnia, Cesur moved to Turkey, and Danish authorities believe that Hassan stayed with Cesur in Turkey after attempting fleeing Denmark. According to Danish intelligence, Cesur served as a link between Hassan and ISIS.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 2.

After Hassan became a suspect in the Copenhagen shooting, Danish security services began to monitor his finances, travel, and network. In fall 2013, he allegedly purchased numerous parts for model planes and drones online. He shipped the purchases to various Danish addresses belonging to friends, who then shipped them to Hassan’s address in Turkey or Lebanon. According to later evidence and testimony, the parts were used by Hassan to build ISIS’s drone program. Through financial records, authorities determined that Hassan spent more than $120,000 on drone parts between fall 2013 and his arrest in spring 2014. The records also showed that the accounts that purchased the parts belonged to “Katibet al baraa bin Malik,” known to authorities as the ISIS unit responsible for drone and chemical warfare.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 3.

Hassan was also involved in the filming of ISIS propaganda. According to Danish investigators and the F.B.I., one of the cameras that he obtained through his Danish network was used by ISIS to film their August 7, 2014, attack on the Ain Issa Syrian military base. Additionally, there is evidence that he spent time in Ain Issa several months before the attack. Specifically, a spreadsheet recovered by police in Copenhagen that tracked the expenses of Hassan’s ISIS unit denoted “petrol 10-50 liters, two months of pay, petrol car Abu Hani Ain Issa, January 2014,” referring to Hassan’s ISIS pseudonym.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 4.

Hassan was arrested in Turkey on April 25, 2014,Burcu Purtul Ucar, “Danish writer’s shooting suspect released in Turkey before ISIL prisoner swap,” Hurriyet Daily News (Istanbul), October 24, 2014, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/danish-writers-shooting-suspect-released-in-turkey-before-isil-prisoner-swap.aspx?pageID=238&nID=73414&NewsCatID=510. when he tried to pick up his visiting parents at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 4. According to the U.S. Department of State, Hassan was handed to ISIS as part of an exchange for Turkish hostages in September 2014.“State Department Terrorist Designations of Abdullah Ahmed al-Meshedani, Basil Hassan, and Abdelilah Himich,” U.S. Department of State, November 22, 2016, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/11/264498.htm.

Upon his return to ISIS in fall 2014, Hassan reportedly rose quickly into a leadership role. He became much more security conscious and never spoke directly with contacts in Europe. In particular, Hassan played a key role in developing ISIS’s drone program.Leen Alfaisal, “New details emerge on the 2017 ISIS Australia-Abu Dhabi plane bomb plot,” Al Arabiya, June 11, 2020, https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2020/06/11/New-details-emerge-on-the-2017-ISIS-Australia-Abu-Dhabi-plane-bomb-plot. In 2018, a Kurdish intelligence officer stated that, upon the liberation of Raqqa, more than 200 ISIS drones were recovered. Hassan was reportedly in charge of pilot training, implementing new drone technology for the group, and overseeing the logistics of importing new drone parts.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 5-6.

Australian court documents later alleged that Hassan might have been involved in the October 2015 bombing of Russian Metrojet 9268, which exploded over Egypt’s Sinai Desert and killed 224 people.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 9; Fatma Lofti, “ Leading Danish ISIS Element Involved in 2015 Russian Plane Crash: DR,” Egypt Daily News, November 10, 2019, https://dailynewsegypt.com/2019/11/10/leading-danish-isis-element-involved-in-2015-russian-plane-crash-dr/.

On November 22, 2016, the U.S. Department of State designated Hassan a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).“State Department Terrorist Designations of Abdullah Ahmed al-Meshedani, Basil Hassan, and Abdelilah Himich,” U.S. Department of State, November 22, 2016, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/11/264498.htm;
“Counter Terrorism Designations; Kingpin Act Designations Updates,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, November 22, 2016, https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20161122.aspx. In explaining the designation, the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism Director Jason Blazakis called Hassan “one of the most dangerous people we have ever added to the terrorism list” because of “his role in ISIS’ drones program and his extensive European network.”Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 6.

In early 2017, Hassan reportedly married Layla Talou, a Yazidi woman who was enslaved by ISIS and subsequently converted to Islam before marrying Hassan. They lived in Raqqa’s Bedouin district. Although he allowed her some small freedoms, Hassan imposed strict rules in their home, including at first denying her a cell phone and forcing her to have sexual intercourse with him against her will. Talou later escaped ISIS territory while Hassan was deployed to the front lines.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 7

Around the time that Talou escaped, Hassan was planning to attack the west, according to intelligence sources. He was part of an ISIS group in Raqqa that explored methods of committing terrorist attacks in the west. The group tested the vulnerabilities of aviation security by airmailing test packages to the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Qatar.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 7,

In 2017, he was allegedly involved in a plot to blow up an Australian passenger jet leaving Sydney. In April, he sent an almost-assembled bomb from Turkey to Australia, and sent instructions over Telegram to jihadists in Australia on how to complete the final assembly. The plan was to assemble the bomb and hide it in a meat grinder packed in luggage, which would be carried onto a flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi on July 15, 2017.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 8. However, at check-in airport personnel refused to allow the bag to be carried onto the plane because it exceeded the weight limit.“Australian Terror Plan to Hide Plane Bomb in Barbie Revealed,” BBC News, August 21, 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-41006835; Andrew Zammit, “Operation Silves: Inside the 2017 Islamic State Sydney Plane Plot,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 4, April 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/operation-silves-inside-the-2017-islamic-state-sydney-plane-plot/, 5.

In July 2017, Hassan was involved in a plot to commit a terrorist attack in Australia using hydrogen sulfide poison gas.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 8-9; Euan McKirdy and Karen Smith, “Foiled Plot to Blow Up Plane, Unleash Gas Revealed in Australia,” CNN, August 5, 2017, https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/03/asia/australia-plane-terror-plot-isis. On July 24, he explained to the jihadists in Australia that the chemical attack should be prepared “within a week,” and on July 27, he told them that the gas attack was a “top priority.” The plan ultimately failed because on July 29, Australian law enforcement arrested members of the ISIS cell that had planned the airplane bombing and gas attack. The information was allegedly provided to the Australian government by Danish intelligence personnel who had been tracking Hassan for over five years.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 8-9. However, according to Australian police, jihadis were “a long way from having a functioning device” when the plot was uncovered.Euan McKirdy and Karen Smith, “Foiled Plot to Blow Up Plane, Unleash Gas Revealed in Australia,” CNN, August 5, 2017, https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/03/asia/australia-plane-terror-plot-isis.

In summer 2017, one of Hassan’s relatives living in Denmark received a text message from a Dutch-African woman living in ISIS territory claiming that Hassan had died in Syria on July 9 or 10, 2017. However, this is contradicted by information from the trial of the Sydney attack plotters, which shows Hassan communicating with the Australia-based plotters until July 27.Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 9.

In August 2017, al-Diyar news website reported that “Basil H. H.,” who was nicknamed “the Dane” was killed in the area of Aarsal, Lebanon, near the Syrian border, on August 21. As of May 2020, Hassan’s death has not been confirmed. Lars Findsen, director of Denmark’s Defense Intelligence Service, has stated that “We are in a situation today where we can’t confirm it [Hassan’s death] with 100% accuracy. We can’t rule out that he hasn’t been tempted to play dead.”Mette Mayli Albaek et al, “The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies,” CTC Sentinel 13, no. 5, May 2020, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CTC-SENTINEL-052020.pdf, 9.