Sari Muhammad Hasan Shihab, known as Abu Khalid al-Muhandis (1973 – 22 August 2019), was a

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian national born in 1973 who was a member of the different groups that were founded by

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (; , "Father of Musab, of Zarqa"; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel Nazal al-Khalayleh (), was a Jordanian militant jihadist who ran a training camp in Afghanistan. He became known after going to Iraq a ...

. He was one of the initial members of the

Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (), abbreviated as JTJ or Jama'at, was a Salafi jihadist militant group. It was founded in Jordan in 1999, and was led by Jordanian national Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for the entirety of its existence. During the Iraqi ...

organization which was founded by al-Zarqawi in 1999. Shihab was also known as Abu Safar and Suhayb. Shihab was one of five

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 ...

leaders who were released by

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 ...

in March 2015 in exchange for a kidnapped Iranian diplomat in

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. The other four were

Saif al-Adel Mohamed Salah al-Din al-Halim Zaidan (; born 11 April 1960/1963), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Saif al-Adel (), is an Egyptian Islamic militant who is the '' de facto'' leader of al-Qaeda. Previously an Egyptian Army officer, Al-Adel ...

Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah (; 6 June 1963 – 7 August 2020) (''nom de guerre'' Abu Mohammed al-Masri) was a high-ranking Egyptian member of al-Qaeda. He has been described as al-Qaeda's most experienced operational planner and was said to be the se ...

Abu Khayr al-Masri Abdullah Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Rajab Abd al-Rahman (), known as Ahmad Hasan Abu al-Khayr al-Masri (), (3 November 1957 – 26 February 2017) was an Egyptian al-Qaeda leader who has been described as the general deputy to al-Qaeda leader Ayman ...

and

Khalid al-Aruri Khalid Mustafa Khalifa al-Aruri (; 25 July 1967 – 14 June 2020), known as Abu Al-Qassam and Abu Ashraf, was a Palestinian-Jordanian Islamic militant and a member of al-Qaeda who was the leader of the Hurras al-Din. History Khalid al-Aruri wa ...

. According to one report, Sari Shihab was "involved in WMD programs and plots."

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

described Shihab and Al-Aruri as "The Iranians have also released two lesser known, though no less dangerous, operatives, both of Jordanian descent." Shihab was killed in an explosion in

Idlib Idlib (, ; also spelt Idleb or Edlib) is a city in northwestern Syria, and is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly above sea level, and is southwest of Aleppo. It is located near the border with Turkey. History ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

on August 22, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shihab, Sari 1973 births 2019 deaths Jordanian al-Qaeda members Members of al-Qaeda in Iraq