Sultan Jubran Sultan al-Qahtani (سلطان جبران سلطان القحطاني) (August 19, 1974 – September 23, 2003; also known as Zubayr al-Rimi)
[Redorbit]
September 7, 2003 was a militant in
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 ...
's Saudi wing.
Accused of complicity in the
Riyadh compound bombings
Two major bombings took place in residential compounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 12 May 2003, 39 people were killed, and over 160 wounded (mostly Westerners) when bombs went off at three compounds in Riyadh—Dorrat Al Jadawel, Al Hamra Oasis ...
, al-Rimi was alternately reported as surrendering himself to authorities or dying in a September 2003 shootout.
Life
The son of a security officer, al-Rimi attended Zutanya College in Adha for three years,
[Al-Yaum]
استشهاد رجل أمن ومقتل 3 مطلوبين في جازان
, September 24, 2003[ Brachman, Jarret. "Global Jihadism", 2008. pp. 144–146] and married the Moroccan Hanan Raqib.
[FBI – Seeking Information: Zubayr al-Rimi](_blank)
On September 1, 2001, al-Rimi told his father he was leaving southern Saudi Arabia to perform
hajj
Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...
, but secretly traveled to
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
where he met with militant leaders.
In December, al-Rimi participated in the
Battle of Tora Bora
The Battle of Tora Bora was a military engagement that took place in the cave complex of Tora Bora, eastern Islamic State of Afghanistan, Afghanistan, from November 30December 17, 2001, during the final stages of the United States invasion of A ...
which saw
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 ...
escape from a snare set by American forces.
He returned to Saudi Arabia in approximately January 2002, and re-enrolled in classes and finished his degree in
Physical Education
Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...
, before again returning to Afghanistan.
In November 2002, al-Rimi was introduced to the American
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali (; born March 1981) is an American who was convicted of providing material support to the al-Qaeda terrorist network and conspiracy to assassinate United States President George W. Bush. His case has been the subject of crit ...
by their mutual friend
Moeith al- Qahtani who had studied at the
Islamic University of Medina
The Islamic University of Madinah () is a public Islamic university in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Established by King Saud bin Abdulaziz in 1961, Sayy’id Abul Ala Maududi had played a significant role of establishing and running of Islamic Univers ...
.
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali v. USA
08-464, October 6, 2008 Several months later, al-Rimi introduced Abu Ali to
Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi, who sent the American back to his country to await further instructions.
At 5 pm on May 6, the Saudi authorities raided a weapons cache in the Eshbiliah Quarter of
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...
, and seized 55 grenades, five large bags filled with 377 kilograms of explosives, four machine guns with three boxes containing approximately 2,250 rounds, five computers, telecommunication devices, travel documents, identity cards, notebooks, bulletins, 253,717
Riyals and 5,300
American dollar
The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
s. A search of the compound also turned up a parked car with three machine guns and a number of masks. The militants drove up while the police were searching the house, and quickly fled the scene until their car stalled, at which point they
carjacked
Carjacking is a robbery in which a motor vehicle is taken over.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is usually i ...
a nearby driver and escaped.
[Riyadh Daily, "Manhunt launched after Arms Haul", May 8, 2003]
Six days later, the group carried out the
Riyadh compound bombings
Two major bombings took place in residential compounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 12 May 2003, 39 people were killed, and over 160 wounded (mostly Westerners) when bombs went off at three compounds in Riyadh—Dorrat Al Jadawel, Al Hamra Oasis ...
that killed 26–34 people, including 9 American citizens.
The authorities subsequently issued a list of 19 names tied to the bombing, including al-Rimi,
Abdul Rahman Jabarah
Abdul Rahman Jabarah (عبدالرحمن جبارة) was a Canadian killed in a July 2003 firefight with Saudi Arabian officials who believed he was involved in the Riyadh compound bombings by al-Qaeda.
Life
The brother of Mohammed Jabarah and ...
, al-Faqasi and four of the dead bombers.
From May 26–27, the Saudi authorities raided a number of suspected terrorist hideaways, killing or capturing six of the 15 men from their list. Again, both al-Rimi and al-Faqasi escaped from an assaulted farm, this time dressed in women's clothing.
On May 27, Abu Ali messaged al-Rimi in Arabic, making a veiled reference to the Saudi raid;
Al-Rimi's wife was arrested in the beginning of June along with the wife of al-Faqasi and two other women.
[IntelCenter Terrorism Incident Reference, 2008. p. 18] She was turned over to his father for safekeeping, who sought to return her to Morocco.
Al-Rimi replied to Abu Ali on June 6, explaining that he had escaped the raid, but did not know the extent of who else had been captured, except that he had heard 'Adil was similarly safe. He cautioned Abu Ali to ready himself, and refrain from any risky behaviour which might give away his cover;
He wrote a letter to Saudi scientists, another to militants, another to his family, one to his wife, one to
Qahtan Ghamdi, one to American president
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, and a public letter insisting he had not been involved in the Riyadh bombings but would continue to fight against American presence in the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world.
Geographically, the ...
.
In September 2003, the FBI issued an alert for four people they alleged "pose a threat to U.S. citizens", including
Abderraouf Jdey,
Adnan G. El Shukrijumah and the previously unknown al-Rimi and
Karim el-Mejjati
Karim Thami el-MejjatiLe Monde
(; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 c ...
.
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
FBI seeks 4 suspected of terrorist activities
September 2003 His father stated that it was unlikely al-Rimi was in the United States, since he was unable to speak English.
Death
On September 23, Saudi forces stormed a farmhouse outside
Jizan
Jizan () is a city and the capital of Jazan Province, which lies in the southwest corner of Saudi Arabia. Jizan is situated on the coast of the Red Sea and serves a large agricultural heartland that has a population of 173,919 as of 2022 and over ...
's ''King Fahd Hospital'', leading the militants inside to flee to the neighbouring apartment complex where they had been allowed to live by a married couple who worked as pharmacist and doctor in the hospital. Inside, the militants took doctors and nurses hostages, and carried them to the roof of the building. Authorities used
loudspeaker
A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or, more fully, a speaker system) is a combination of one or more speaker drivers, an enclosure, and electrical connections (possibly including a crossover network). The speaker driver is an ...
s to warn the 3000 residents of the building to remain in their apartments and avoid windows, and began firing
tear gas
Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...
and assaulting the housing compound.
[Buzzle.com, , September 24, 2003]
After killing Sergeant Hussein Mifrej Hanthool and "slightly" wounding four other officers, the hostages were released and two gunmen surrendered, while the other three militants were killed. While some sources reported that al-Rimi was among those who surrendered, Saudi security forces later clarified that he,
Khalid bin Muhammad bin Ali al-Isa al-Shahri and
Turki ibn Saeed al-Thaqfan al-Bishri were killed in the 6- to 18-hour firefight.
His body was identified by his father.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
Saudi raid kills 3 Qaeda suspects
September 24, 2003 In the following days, authorities raided a number of homes al-Rimi had rented in
Marbah, seizing weapons and explosives he had stored in the properties.
Two months after his death, he was
eulogised in a speech by al-Qaeda as a fallen
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
, in a tape labeled "The Martyrs of the Confrontations in Bilad al-Haramain".
[Why-war.com]
Transcript: Al-Qa'ida Tape Pays Tribute To Saudi 'Martyrs' in Clashes With Saudi Forces
December 5, 2003
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rimi, Zubayr Al-
1974 births
2003 deaths
Fugitives
Individuals designated as suspected terrorists by the Saudi Arabian government
Saudi Arabian al-Qaeda members