Abu Khayr al-Masri
| Abu Khayr al-Masri | |
|---|---|
| Born | Abdullah Muhammad Rajab Abd al-Rahman November 3, 1957 Kafr al-Shaykh, Egypt |
| Nationality | Egyptian |
| Other names | Abdullah Rajeb, Rohan Gunaratna, Aviv Oreg, Ahmad Hasan Abu al-Khayr |
| Occupation | Explosives expert, Jihadist |
| Known for | Connection to Osama bin Laden |
Abu Khayr al-Masri is an Egyptian al-Qaeda leader who is close to Qa'idat al-Jihad's emir Ayman al-Zawahiri and who is an explosives expert. He is married to a daughter of Osama bin Laden and left Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. In 2003 He was arrested in Iran and held under house arrest until he was released by Iran in March 2015.
Identity
Abdullah Muhammad Rajab Abd al-Rahman was born on 3 November 1957 in Kafr al-Shaykh in Egypt[1] is better known as Abu Khayr al-Masri. Other aliases linked to Abd al-Rahman include Abdullah Rajeb,[2] Abdullah Mohammed Rajab[3] and Ahmad Hasan Abu al-Khayr.[1]
Jihadi credentials
In the years prior to heading al-Qa'ida's political committee and being a member of the Shura Council, Abu al-Khayr al-Masri was operating as a trusted lieutenant of current al-Qa'ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Originally being an explosives expert Abu Khayr was involved in the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and he is married to a daughter of Osama bin Laden.[4]
Arrested in Iran
Abu al-Khayr al-Masri was the former leader of al-Qa'idat al-Jihad's political committee and was a member of the Shura Council. He left Afghanistan after 9/11 and settled with other al-Qa'ida leaders in Iran.[5] In April 2003 Abu al-Khayr al-Masri was arrested in Iran together with other al-Qa'ida top leaders Sayf al-Adl, Abu Mohammed al-Masri and Sulayman Abu Ghayth. According to a statement that Sulayman Abu Ghayth gave to the FBI four al-Qa'ida leaders were first jailed in an Iranian intelligence building in Tehran without a trail for approximately one year and eight months.[6]
Release by Iran
In September 2015 it was reported that Abu Khayr al-Masri was released by Iran in March 2015 together with other al-Qa’ida leaders including Sayf al-Adl and Abu Mohammed al-Masri.[7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Rohan Gunaratna and Aviv Oreg, The Global Jihad Movement (London 2015) p 72
- ↑ Rohan Gunaratna and Aviv Oreg, The Global Jihad Movement (London 2015) p 63
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
