Khalid Batarfi

Khalid Saeed Batarfi
Khalid Batarfi appearing in an AQAP video.
Born Riyadh, Saudi Arabia[1]
Nationality Saudi Arabian
Other names Abū al-Miqdād al-Kindī, Abū al-Miqdād al-Kanadī
Known for Senior military commander in AQAP
Military career
Allegiance AQAP
(2009–present)
Years of service 2009-present
Rank

Supreme Commander(Emir) of Abyan
(2009–2011)

field commander in Hadramaut
(2015–present)
Battles/wars

Yemen Insurgency

Yemeni Civil War

Khalid Saeed Batarfi, (Arabic: خالد سعيد باطرفي‎), also known as Abū al-Miqdād al-Kindī (Arabic: أبو مقداد الكِنْدِي‎),[2] is a Saudi Arabian militant and a senior member of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.[3] He oversaw the Yemen-based group's media network[4] and led jihadist fighters in their takeover of Yemen's Abyan Governorate in 2011, where he was accorded the position of emir.[5][6] He also reputedly carried out terrorist attacks in the Abyan and Hadhramaut governorates.[4]

On 17 March 2011, Batarfi was captured by security forces in the Taiz Governorate.[4] For four years, he was imprisoned in Mukalla. He was freed, along with about 300 other inmates, by al Qaeda fighters on 2 April 2015, during the Battle of Mukalla.[3][6][7] The Washington Post compared the Mukalla prison break to the escape of 23 fighters, including future AQAP emir Nasir al-Wuhayshi, from a Yemeni prison in 2006, a formative event for the group.[8]

Batarfi attracted media attention when he posed for photographs taken by al Qaeda members in the Hadhramaut governor's palace, which fighters took over.[6][9]

References

  1. ↑ https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20180123.aspx
  2. ↑ Fighting Back: What Governments Can Do About Terrorism edited by Paul Shemella
  3. 1 2 "Officials: Al Qaeda fighters free 270 from Yemeni prison". CNN. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Three militants, three soldiers killed in Yemen". CNN. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Amid Yemen chaos, al Qaeda stages prison break". CBS News. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Spencer, Richard (4 April 2015). "The al-Qaeda commander at home in a governor's palace". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Bacchi, Umberto (2 April 2015). "Yemen: Al-Qaeda frees 300 in al-Mukalla prison attack". International Business Times. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Miller, Greg (5 April 2015). "Al-Qaeda franchise in Yemen exploits chaos to rebuild, officials say". Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Bacchi, Umberto (4 April 2015). "Yemen: Al-Qaeda operative Khalid Batarfi takes selfies inside Mukalla government". International Business Times. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
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