Eyad Ismoil (also known as Eyad Mahmoud Ismoil) is a Jordanian national convicted for his participation in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents, Ismoil relocated to the United States in 1989 on a student visa to study at Wichita State University in Kansas.
Role in the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing Federal investigators identified Ismoil as a key conspirator in the February 26, 1993, attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. According to evidence presented at trial, Ismoil drove the rented Ford Econoline van containing a urea nitrate-hydrogen gas bomb into the underground parking garage of the North Tower. He was accompanied by the plot's mastermind, Ramzi Yousef. Following the detonation, which killed six people and injured over a thousand, Ismoil fled the United States and returned to Jordan.
Apprehension and Extradition Ismoil remained a fugitive until 1995. Following an international investigation, he was apprehended by Jordanian authorities in August 1995 and subsequently extradited to the United States to face trial in federal court.
Legal Proceedings and Sentencing Ismoil’s trial took place in 1997 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors provided evidence linking Ismoil to the van rental and the conspiracy, including forensic evidence and witness testimony. On November 12, 1997, he was found guilty on all counts, including conspiracy to destroy a building and its inhabitants by means of an explosive.
In 1998, Ismoil was sentenced to 240 years in federal prison without the possibility of parole. During the sentencing, the presiding judge also ordered him to pay $10 million in restitution and a $250,000 fine.
Incarceration As of the most recent public records, Eyad Ismoil is serving his life sentence at the United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX Florence), a high-security "supermax" prison in Colorado.