He became wanted in 2006 by the United States Department of Justice's FBI, "for questioning in connection with the 2002 attacks in Mombasa, Kenya, against a hotel and an airliner."

[2] On 28 November 2002, an unsuccessful attempt was made to shoot down an Arkia Israel Airlines Boeing 757-chartered tourist plane taking off from Moi International Airport in Mombasa using surface-to-air missiles.

About 20 minutes later, in Mombasa, Kenya, three suicide bombers detonated an SUV in the lobby of the Israeli-owned beachfront Paradise Hotel, killing three Israelis and ten Kenyans, and injuring 80.

[8] An American air gunship attack near Ras Kamboni on 7 January 2007 targeted al-Qaeda suspects, who might have included Nabhan.

On 2 March 2008, a U.S. Navy vessel fired two missiles in an attack on an Al Qaeda training camp in southern Somalia.

[15] The raid, code-named Operation Celestial Balance,[13] took place around 1:00 pm local time, with the helicopters arriving from a ship offshore, firing on the vehicles, and landing briefly to take bodies.

[16] President Barack Obama is reported to have signed an "Execute Order" for the operation ten days before the attack was launched.

MSNBC suggested that this killing represents a trend, since remote targeting continues to be more reliable—while locations where captives can be detained without complications have dwindled.