Nasir al-Wuhayshi
Nasir Abdel Karim al-Wuhayshi ناصر عبد الكريم الوحيشي |
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File:Nasir al-Wuhayshi.jpg
Nasir al-Wuhayshi in 2012.
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Born | [1] Yemen[2] |
1 October 1976
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.[3] al Mukalla, Yemen[4] |
Nationality | Yemeni |
Other names | Abu Basir |
Known for | Founder of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula |
Military career | |
Allegiance | Al-Qaeda |
Service/ |
Al-Qaeda in Yemen (1998–2009) AQAP (2009–2015) |
Years of service | 1998–2015 |
Rank | Former Emir of AQAP |
Battles/wars | War on Terror |
Nasir Abdel Karim al-Wuhayshi (Arabic: ناصر عبد الكريم الوحيشي Nasir ʿbd al-Karim al-Wahishi; also transliterated as Naser al-Wahishi, Nasser al-Wuhayshi), alias Abu Basir,[5] was a citizen of Yemen and the leader of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).[6][7][8] Both Saudi Arabia and Yemen considered al-Wuhayshi to be among their most wanted fugitives.[9][10] In October 2014, the US State Department increased the reward for any information leading to the capture or killing of al-Wuhayshi to US$10 million, the same as ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[11] Wuhayshi was killed in a US drone strike in the Hadhramaut Governorate of Yemen on 12 June 2015.[12][13]
Early life, Afghanistan and al-Qaeda
Nasir al-Wuyayshi was born in 1976 in the Mukayras region of what is now the southern province of al-Bayda, Yemen. He spent time in religious institutions in Yemen before travelling to Afghanistan in 1998 and joining al-Qaeda.[14]
al-Wuhayshi served as secretary to Osama bin Laden for years in Afghanistan.[15][16] He left Afghanistan in 2001 and was soon arrested by Iranian authorities, who handed him over to his native Yemen two years later where he was imprisoned without charges.[17] Al-Wuhayshi became the leader of al-Qaeda's Yemeni operations after a previous leader was killed in a US Predator drone strike in 2002.[16]
In February 2006, Nasir al-Wuhayshi was one of 23 Yemeni captives who escaped from custody from a maximum security prison in Sana'a.[5][15][16][18]
His authority seems to derive mostly from his long proximity to Osama bin Laden.[17]
Foundation and Emir of AQAP
In January 2009, the al-Qaeda branches in Yemen and Saudi Arabia merged and formed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Ayman Al-Zawahiri confirmed al-Wuhayshi's appointment as leader of AQAP in a video posted online.[9]
Nasir al-Wuhayshi and three other men appeared in several threatening videos released in January 2009.[19] Al Wuhayshi published an additional video calling for violence in February.[20] He claimed the increase in western warships off the Horn of Africa to fight piracy were really intended to oppress Islam.[21] According to Yemeni military officials he was killed in southern Yemen on 28 August 2011.[22] On 25 October 2011, AQAP denied that he was killed.[23]
On 6 December, al-Wuhayshi released a statement on jihadist websites that AQAP would be intervening in the Siege of Dammaj on the side of Salafi students fighting the Shi'a Houthi militia.[24] A member of a local tribe reported on 22 December that Abdel al-Wuhashi, a younger brother of Nasir, was killed by Yemeni military forces.[25]
In 2013, Al-Qaeda Emir Ayman al-Zawahiri appointed al-Wuhayshi as his deputy, speculating that he may be the next Emir of Al-Qaeda.[26][27]
In March 2014, al-Wuhayshi made an appearance in a video celebrating the mass jailbreak of fighters held in Yemeni prisons. Around 400 AQAP fighters were present in what was described as being the largest known gathering of al-Qaeda in Yemen. In the video, al-Wuhayshi declared, "We have to remove the Cross, and the bearer of the Cross, America."[28]
Death
al-Wuhayshi was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen on 12 June 2015.[12] AQAP released a statement acknowledging his death several days later, and announced Qasim al-Raymi as his successor.[13]
References
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- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Robert F. Worth, "Is Yemen the Next Afghanistan?" New York Times (6 July 2010).
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- Pages using duplicate arguments in template calls
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- Articles with hCards
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- 1976 births
- 2015 deaths
- Yemeni al-Qaeda members
- Individuals designated as terrorists by the United States government
- Deaths by United States drone strikes in Yemen
- Assassinated al-Qaeda leaders