Abu Yahya al-Libi (, ; January 1, 1963, Marzaq – June 4, 2012), born Mohamed Hassan Qaid, was a terrorist and leading high-ranking official within

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

, and an alleged member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.New York Times
Rising Leader for Next Phase of Al Qaeda’s War
April 4, 2008Scheuer, Michael F
Part1
an
Part 2
/ref> He is believed to have been able to speak

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and to have used the aliases Hasan Qaiid (Hasan Qayad or Hassan Qayid), Yunis al-Sahrawi,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

Key 'al-Qaeda militant' surfaces
/ref> and Hassan Qaed al-Far. Al-Libi was a citizen of

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, who was held in

extrajudicial detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...

in the Bagram interim detention facility. At that time, American

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

analysts asserted that al-Libi was a member of

al Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

. Al-Libi was one of several high-profile Bagram captives who escaped on the night of July 10, 2005. Jarret Brachman, a former analyst for the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

(CIA), states of al-Libi:

He’s a warrior. He’s a poet. He’s a scholar. He’s a pundit. He’s a military commander. And he’s a very charismatic, young, brash rising star within Al-Qaeda, and I think he has become the heir apparent to Osama bin Laden in terms of taking over the entire global jihadist movement.

Scheuer states of him that he "in the last year or so emerged as al-Qaeda's theological hardliner" and an "insurgent-theologian". He was also an official on al-Qaeda's Shariah Committee. He was the target of a US

drone strike Drone warfare is a form of warfare using Military drone, military drones or Military robot, military robots. The robots may be Telerobotics, remote controlled or have varying levels of Autonomous robot, autonomy during their mission. Types of ro ...

on June 4, 2012, in Mir Ali. His death was later confirmed by the al-Qaeda leader

Ayman al-Zawahiri Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (; 19 June 195131 July 2022) was an Egyptian-born pan-Islamism, pan-Islamist militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, his dea ...

in a video released in September 2012 to coincide with the 9/11 anniversary.

Background

The nisba

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

of "al-Libi" suffixed to his name indicates that the bearer or his ancestors were from Libya. Al-Libi was born 1963, but

Michael Scheuer Michael F. Scheuer (pronounced "SHOY-er"), (born 1952) is an American former intelligence officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, blogger, author, commentator and former adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Center for Peace and S ...

stated there is little "information available about al-Libi beyond his record as an insurgent","Interview with Abu Yahya al-Libi," http://www.tajdeed.org, June 21, 2006, referenced in Scheuer, Michael F
Part1
an
Part 2
/ref> His elder brother, Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad Qaid ( Abu Idris al-Libi) is one of the most senior members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and currently the head of the National Border Guard for southern Libya. Al-Libi went to Afghanistan in the early 1990s and whilst bin Laden was an engineer and al-Zawahiri a doctor, al-Libi is said to have been an Islamic scholar who "spent two years in Africa studying Islam". It is believed that after going to Afghanistan in the 1990s, he "was sent back to northern Africa to study Islam in

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

." As detailed below, he was imprisoned by both Pakistani and U.S. authorities. He claimed to have studied Islamic law, history and jurisprudence "for years among excellent and great scholars" who were in the field with al-Qaeda and other Islamist insurgent groups. It is stated that "When he returned two years later" rom his Islamic studies in Mauritania, Africa "Afghanistan was no longer a battleground for militant Libyans, but rather a haven: the Taliban controlled most of the country. Mr. Libi's training in warfare was minimal, and his early work as a preacher rarely touched on militant action, according to the Libyan man who said he had met Mr. Libi in Afghanistan, and who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns. "He started to visit training camps and talk about Shariah," or Islamic law, this man said in a telephone interview, about "morals, etiquette, how to act."

Capture and escape

Al-Libi was a citizen of

, who was captured by

ISAF The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...

forces in the Invasion of Afghanistan, a year after 9/11 (Pakistani authorities and turned over to American authorities, who eventually put him in the Bagram prison.) and was held in

in the Bagram interim detention facility. American

analysts assert that al-Libi was a member of

. Al-Libi was one of several high-profile Bagram captives who escaped on the night of July 10, 2005. Early reports on the 2005 escape from Bagram Airbase included al-Libi's name as one of the escapees. Posters around the airbase identified "the Libyan, Mohammad Hassan Abu Bakar" as one of the escapees, but did not mention high-ranking al-Qaeda leader Omar al-Faruq as one of the escapees. Later reports removed the Libyan from the list of escapes and inserted al-Faruq. On November 4, 2005, al-Libi appeared in a

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

video on the Arabic television station al-Arabiya, and mentioned that he had escaped from Bagram. He was re-listed as an escapee, and as of October 2006 was listed among the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

's " Most Wanted", and a Terrorist Recognition Card repeated the earlier claim that he was indeed among the four escapees. In addition, the name off the Airbase posters was added as an "alias".

Activities

Al-Libi produced a series of propaganda videos. On May 30, 2007, a 45-minute video, starring al-Libi came to light. On June 22, 2008, Abu Yahia Al Libi released a 19-minute video urging

Somalis The Somali people (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic languages, East ...

to resist United Nations forces in

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. Bryant Neal Vinas, an American, took part in 2008 with other masked fighters in an al-Qaeda propaganda video featuring al Libi. Vinas was captured in November 2008, and pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to murder and to receiving military training from Al Qaeda murder and providing them with material support. Al-Libi also appeared in a July 2009 video from al-Sahab entitled, "Swat: Victory or Martyrdom," about the Pakistani military's campaign against Pashtun militias and jihadi groups in the Swat Valley. On March 12, 2011, al-Libi urged his countrymen to overthrow

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

's regime and establish Islamic rule, expanding the terror network's attempts to capitalize on the wave of unrest sweeping the region. That was put on in a video posted on a militant website. TIP's "Islamic Turkistan" magazine in its 5th edition published an article by Al Qaeda member Abu Yayha al Libi who wrote in support of "Turkistan". Al-Qaeda member Abu Yahya al-Libi spoke in support of "Jihad" in "East Turkestan" against China.

Video releases

Previous reports of death

It was reported by Pakistani sources on December 11, 2009, that Abu Yahya al-Libi was killed in a U.S Drone strike in Pakistan; however, later reports identified the man killed as Saleh al-Somali.

Death

On June 5, 2012, U.S. officials confirmed that Libi was among 15 militants killed the previous day when a US drone fired four missiles at a compound in Mir Ali, North Waziristan. Additionally, The White House later confirmed it. His death was later confirmed by al-Qaeda leader

in a video released in September 2012 to coincide with the 9/11 anniversary.

References

External links

Rising Leader for Next Phase of Al Qaeda's War
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' April 4, 2008
Global Security profileIslamicAwakening on Abu Yahya al-LibiSite Institute linksThe death of al-Libi

The News International ''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/ Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London th ...

June 9, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Libi, Abu Yahya Al- 1963 births 2012 deaths Libyan extrajudicial prisoners of the United States Libyan al-Qaeda members Bagram Theater Internment Facility detainees Al-Qaeda propagandists Deaths by American drone strikes in Pakistan Assassinated al-Qaeda members Libyan expatriates in Pakistan Libyan Islamists Libyan propagandists