Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti
| Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name |
Khalid Bin Abdul Rehman Al-Hussainan (خالد بن عبد الرحمن الحسينان) |
| Born |
c. 1965 or 1966 Kuwait |
| Died |
December 7, 2012 Pakistan |
| Cause of death | Drone strike |
| Organization | Al-Qaeda |
| Known for | Possible heir to Ayman al-Zawahiri |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti (born Khalid Bin Abdul Rehman Al-Hussainan; c.1965 – December 7, 2012[1]) was a high-ranking affiliate of Al-Qaeda, and was considered a potential successor to Ayman al-Zawahiri, the head of the Salafist jihad group. Abu-Zaid was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan.
Biography
Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti was born in Kuwait in either 1965 or 1966. He became affiliated with the Al-Qaeda jihadist group and became among the top tier of leaders, and was considered a potential heir to the organization. Because of this, he became a high-value target for the United States and Pakistani government. He was killed in a drone attack while eating breakfast in Pakistan, and the Al-Qaeda organization admitted his martyrdom online. NBC News journalist (and also a Justice Department consultant) Evan Kohlmann commented on his death in an interview with NBC. “That's a big gap in the leadership,” said Kohlmann, who is also a Justice Department consultant. “He was the last senior Al-Qaida leader in the Afghanistan-Pakistan area who was, one, from the Arabian Peninsula and, two, who had serious clerical credentials. Now there is no obvious publicly recognizable candidate left to succeed Zawahiri.”