Abu Khayr al-Masri

Abu Khayr al-Masri
Born Abdullah Muhammad Rajab Abd al-Rahman
(1957-11-03) 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. 1 2 "Treasury Designates Seven Al Qaida Associates". Treasury.gov. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  2. ↑ Rohan Gunaratna and Aviv Oreg, The Global Jihad Movement (London 2015) p 72
  3. ↑ Rohan Gunaratna and Aviv Oreg, The Global Jihad Movement (London 2015) p 63
  4. ↑ "Osac Nefa 0513" (PDF). Wikileaks.org. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  5. ↑ "Al Qaeda's Organizational Structure and its Evolution | Aviv Oreg". Academia.edu. 1970-01-01. doi:10.1080/1057610X.2010.523860. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  6. ↑ Sulayman Abu Ghayth (1 March 2013). "File 415A-NY-307616" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  7. ↑ Rukmini Callimachi; Eric Schmitt (2015-09-17). "Iran Released Top Members of Al Qaeda in a Trade". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
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