The so called Blind Sheik, Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was convicted of plotting terror attacks in New York City in the decade before 9/11 has died in a federal prison. He was 78.
Abdel-Rahman, blind since infancy from diabetes, had diabetes and coronary artery disease, died Saturday at the Federal Correction Complex in Butner, North Carolina, said its acting executive assistant, Kenneth McKoy. The inmate spent seven years at the prison medical facility while serving a life sentence.
"We are saddened by your departure, father," the cleric's daughter, Asmaa, tweeted in Arabic.
Abdel-Rahman was a key spiritual leader for militants and became a symbol for radicals during his decades in U.