Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Texas synagogue suspect linked to ‘Lady Al-Qaeda’

Texas synagogue suspect linked to ‘Lady Al-Qaeda’

There has been on ongoing public campaign in Pakistan for the release of Aafia Siddiqui from US prison
The suspected gunman who took a Texas synagogue hostage on Saturday has reportedly demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted of attempting to kill US personnel in Afghanistan.

While the identity of the hostage taker has yet to be confirmed, ABC News and NBC News reported, citing US officials, that the suspect told police he was a "brother" of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist serving an 86-year sentence in the US. The woman who was dubbed “Lady Al-Qaeda” by the Western media was convicted in 2010 “for the attempted murder and assault of US nationals and US officers and employees in Afghanistan.”

During the livestream, the man reportedly referred to his "sister" and threatened that he was ready to die and kill hostages if anyone entered the building, which had held Shabbat services shortly before he entered.

The man has reportedly been negotiating with police for Siddiqui's release. She is currently serving her sentence in Fort Worth, Texas, which is only a short distance from Colleyville, where the incident took place. The hostage-taker has said he is armed with explosives, according to sources speaking to ABC News.

A lawyer for Muhammad Siddiqui, the woman's biological brother, however, told the Daily Beast on Saturday that his client was not the hostage-taker.

Siddiqui was arrested in 2008 and charged with shooting at FBI agents and US soldiers looking to interrogate her in Ghazni province in Afghanistan.

The US military questioned the woman a day after she was arrested by Afghan authorities on July 17, 2008. The FBI claimed that Afghan forces discovered a number of handwritten notes on her that cited a "mass casualty attack" and mentioned an array of important locations around the US, including the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, as well as the Brooklyn Bridge. The FBI alleged that Siddiqui managed to grab a US officer's rifle while she was being held “unsecured, behind a curtain” in a room at an Afghan police compound as her interview was about to start. Siddiqui then allegedly fired at a US Army officer and several other servicemen before she was restrained. Siddiqui ended up being shot in the stomach by a soldier, while nobody else was hurt in the incident, which ultimately paved the way for her extradition to the US.

Siddiqui is also believed to have been married to Ammar Al-Baluchi, the nephew of accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The US government alleged she had disappeared after he was brought into custody in 2003, prompting them to place her on the FBI's 'Most Wanted’ list.

There has been an ongoing public campaign in Pakistan for the woman’s return. In October, a crowd of protesters gathered outside the Pakistan Consulate in New York to demand her release, while calling her a “political prisoner” and an innocent victim of the US’ War on Terror. Activists have also claimed Siddiqui is being mistreated in prison, having been attacked in July, resulting in burns and solitary confinement.

The Pakistani Senate passed a resolution calling her ‘Daughter of the Nation’ in 2018, while Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed support for her release and even reportedly discussed the issue with former US President Donald Trump.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×