Saleh al-Oufi
Saleh Muhammad 'Awadullah al-'Alawi al-'Oufi | |
|---|---|
| Leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula | |
| Preceded by | Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 18 August 2005 |
Saleh al-Oufi or Saleh Muhammad 'Awadullah al-'Alawi al-'Oufi (Arabic: صالح محمد عوض الله العلوي العوفي) (died 18 August 2005), was a member of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia and became the leader of that group when Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin was killed in June 2004. Al-Oufi in turn was killed in August 2005, in Madinah.[1]
Life
[edit]al-Oufi was born in al-Hindiya, Saudi Arabia.[2] He was a sergeant in the Prison detachment of the National Service, but was discharged in 1989 for his overt support of anti-government forces.[2]
In 1993, he traveled to Afghanistan; and fought in Bosnia and Chechnya, where he sustained a head wound and returned to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.[2] Following his recovery, he opened a car dealership and traveled frequently to Germany through Dubai.[2]
In 2001, he was back in Afghanistan, but fled the American invasion along with Khalid al-Juhani.[2] In 2002, he returned to Saudi Arabia for his father's funeral, which he attended disguised as a woman.[2]
Leadership
[edit]During his 14 months as leader of AQAP, Al-Oufi wrote a few pieces for the al-Qaida online magazines Sawt al-Jihad and Mu'askar al-Battar, particularly about Iraq. A car bombing in Qatar, which killed one and wounded dozens, came two days after an instigation by al-Oufi (on a terrorist web forum) to attack "crusader" targets in the Gulf nations.[3]
Al-Oufi has been variously described as a former policeman and a former prison guard. According to AQAP, he participated in some way in the fighting in Afghanistan.
Death
[edit]One other suspect with al-Oufi was killed, and another wounded and captured. In a simultaneous raid in Riyadh, four AQAP members were killed and one captured. These raids were made possible by the interception of mobile telephone transmissions.
References
[edit]- ^ Al-Qaeda Chief in Kingdom Killed, Arab News, 19 August 2005; includes a photo of al-Oufi, originally from a Saudi wanted list
- ^ a b c d e f Stevens, Robert. Associated Press, "Confusion reigns in the Kingdom", July 2, 2004
- ^ Small but not safe Archived 2007-01-02 at the Wayback Machine, Al-Ahram, 24 March 2005
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