Atiyah Abd al-Rahman (; 1969 – August 22, 2011), born Jamal Ibrahim Ashtiwi al Misrati, was reported by the US State DepartmentWanted poster on Atiyah
,

Rewards for Justice Program Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) is United States Department of State's national security interagency program that offers reward for information leading to the location or an arrest of leaders of terrorist groups, financiers of terrorism, inclu ...

, US Department of State to be a senior 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 ...

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. After his death he was described in

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

as a renaissance man for "combining both strategic and ideological savvy". Atiyah Abd al-Rahman is thoughtWashington Post article
on the Atiyah-to-Zarqawi letter to be the "Atiyah" who wrote a commanding letterAtiyah letter to Zarqawi
, English translation by United States Military Academy to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in December 2005. The State Department announcement said that Abd Al Rahman: * Was a

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 ...

n in his late 30s. * Was based in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, representing al-Qaeda to other Islamist terrorist groups. * Was appointed to that role by

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...

. * Met bin Laden while still in his teens. * Fled the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

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. He was reported to have met and served under

at that time. ''The Washington Post'' reported that another prominent Libyan exile, Noman Benotman, he was sent to

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

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."'' About the massacres that were committed during the Algerian Civil War, Atiyah says: "''There are those who ..say .. the officers did that, France id that etc. We are just covering up he truth to exoneratethe people of Islam, utall these massacres occurred in the last days of Zitouni and days of Antar Zouabri. All of them ere committed bythe Armed Islamic Group''". He was killed in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

by a CIA predator drone strike on August 22, 2011. Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri confirmed the death of Abd al-Rahman in a video on December 1, 2011. Abd al-Rahman was previously reported dead in October 2010. The State Department's Rewards for Justice offered up to

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

1 million for information about him. However, he was removed from the list after he was killed. Al-Qaeda leader Atiyyatullah Al-Libi's advice was published in Turkistan Islamic Party's magazine "Islamic Turkistan". 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 India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

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Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, East Turkestan, the

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, Central Asia,

Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

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. 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".

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Atiyah Abd 1969 births 2011 deaths Libyan al-Qaeda members Libyan expatriates in Pakistan Assassinated al-Qaeda leaders Al-Qaeda leaders Deaths by drone strikes of the Central Intelligence Agency in Pakistan Salafi jihadists People from Misrata

See also

References

External links