Atiyah Abd al-Rahman

Atiyah Abd Al Rahman
Born Misurata, Libya[1]
Died August 22, 2011[2]
North Waziristan, Pakistan
Nationality Libyan

Atiyah Abd al-Rahman (Arabic: عطية عبد الرحمن‎ died August 22, 2011), born Jamal Ibrahim Ashtiwi al Misrati,[3] was reported by the US State Department[4] to be a senior member of al-Qaeda and a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and Ansar al-Sunna. His name may be rendered in English as Atiyah Abdur-rahman or Atiyah Abdul-Rahman or in other ways.

Atiyah Abd al-Rahman is thought[5] to be the "Atiyah" who wrote a commanding letter[6] to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in December 2005.

The State Department announcement said that Abd Al Rahman:

  • Was a Libyan in his late 30s.
  • Was based in Iran, representing al-Qaeda to other Islamist terrorist groups.
  • Was appointed to that role by Osama bin Laden.
  • Met bin Laden while still in his teens.
  • Fled the Republic of the Congo alongside bin Laden as recently as 2001.

Atiyah had volunteered to travel to Afghanistan to fight against its Soviet occupiers in the 1980s, while he was still a teenager.[7] He was reported to have met and served under Osama bin Laden at that time. The Washington Post reported that another prominent Libyan exile, Noman Benotman, he was sent to Algeria in the 1990s to serve as an envoy to a group they said was then known as the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). He told The Washington Post that the GIA was suspicious of him, held him captive for months, and were considering killing him. He escaped with other captives, after five months of captivity, and, according to Benotman, "He had a very bad experience, and I think is still having nightmares about it."[8]

He was killed in Pakistan by a CIA predator drone strike on August 22, 2011.[9][10][11] Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri confirmed the death of Abd al-Rahman in a video on December 1, 2011.[12] Abd al-Rahman was previously reported dead in October 2010.[13]

The State Department's Rewards for Justice offered up to US$1 million for information about him.[4] However, he was removed from the list after he was killed.[14]

Al-Qaeda leader Atiyyatullah Al-Libi's advice was published in Turkistan Islamic Party's magazine "Islamic Turkistan".[15] Issue 19 of the magazine "Islamic Turkistan" cited and reprinted Al Qaeda member Atiyatallah al Libi's (عطية الله الليبي) "Book of "Complete Works" (كتاب الأعمال الكاملة) page 818 where he called India, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, East Turkestan, the Caucasus, Balkans, Central Asia, Southern Europe and Al Andalus as "occupied Muslim lands" by the "infidels hand" and "infidel governments", naming America as the "original infidel" enemy, and called for them to be all reconquered by the Muslims through jihad.[16] Ahmed Refai Taha and Atiyah Abd al-Rahman were shown in an Al-Qaeda video released by Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri called "Three Sheikhs of Jihad"[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1261.aspx
  2. ↑ Al-Qaida's number two killed in Pakistan
  3. ↑ http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/12/al_qaeda_announces_d.php
  4. 1 2 Wanted poster on Atiyah Archived June 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine., Rewards for Justice Program, US Department of State
  5. ↑ Washington Post article on the Atiyah-to-Zarqawi letter
  6. ↑ Atiyah letter to Zarqawi Archived August 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine., English translation by United States Military Academy
  7. ↑ "Al-Qaeda's New Leadership". The Washington Post. 2006. Archived from the original on August 27, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  8. ↑ McCants, William (2015). The ISIS Apocalypse: the history, strategy, ad doomsday vision of the Islamic State. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-250-08090-5.
  9. ↑ Al Qaeda No. 2 Atiyah Abd al-Rahman Killed in Pakistan
  10. ↑ Matt Apuzzo (August 27, 2011). "US official: Al-Qaida's No. 2 killed in Pakistan". PJ Star. Archived from the original on August 28, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  11. ↑ Mark Mazetti (August 27, 2011). "C.I.A. Drone Is Said to Kill Al Qaeda's No". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 28, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  12. ↑ Al-Qaeda says it kidnapped Warren Weinstein in Pakistan, BBC, December 1, 2011
  13. ↑ "'Million dollar' Al Qaeda leader killed in drone attack in Pakistan". Hindustan Times. October 9, 2010. Archived from the original on August 28, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  14. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110831014725/http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/index.cfm?page=wanted_terrorist&language=English
  15. ↑ "Şeyh Atiyyetullah El Libi'nin Türkistan İslam Cemaati eski emiri Abdulşekur Damolla'ya Nasihatleri | Ümmet-i İslam | Bağımsız Enformasyon ve Medya Portalı". Ummetislam.org. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "من أقوال العلماء" (PDF). تركستان الإسلامية. No. العدد 19. رجب - 1437 هـ. p. 57. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ↑ "New video message from al-Qā'idah's Dr. Ayman al-Ẓawāhirī: "Carrying the Weapon of the Martyr, Episode 4: The Three Shaykhs #2"". Jihadology. February 18, 2017.
  • "Viewing Cross-Reference Record: AL-LIBI, Atiyah 'Abd al-Rahman". Excluded Parties List System. July 27, 2011. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  • "Atiyah Abd al-Rahman: Up to $1 Million Reward" (PDF). National Counterterrorism Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 27, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  • "Wanted: Atiyah Abl al-Rahman". National Counterterrorism Center. Archived from the original on August 27, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.