Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi

Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi
عبد الرحمن المغربي
Born
Mohamed Abattay

1970 or 1975[1]
Marrakesh, Morocco
CitizenshipMorocco
Alma materHochschule Niederrhein
OccupationGlobal terrorist
Years active1999–present
Organization Al-Qaeda
SpouseNabila al-Zawahiri
RelativesAyman al-Zawahiri (father-in-law)

Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi (Arabic: عبد الرحمن المغربي, born 1970 or 1975) is a Moroccan-born terrorist and senior member of Al-Qaeda (AQ) who leads the organization's External Communications Office, including As-Sahab Media.[2][1] He is the son-in-law of the group's late emir Ayman al-Zawahiri, and is seen as a potential successor to Saif al-Adel as leader of the terror group.[3][4]

Though primarily known by a nom de guerre which references his Moroccan birthplace in the Maghreb, his given name is Mohamed Abattay (Arabic: محمد أبطاي).[5] After his radicalization in the late 1990s, al-Maghrebi abandoned his schooling in Germany and departed for the infamous Al Farouq training camp outside Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was hand-picked by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for work in the groups propaganda arm.

Following the September 11 attacks, al-Maghrebi is believed to have quickly fled to Iran. He subsequently rose through the ranks of Al-Qaeda, gaining trust, and winning the hand of Zawahiri's daughter in marriage. By 2012, al-Maghrebi had become al-Qaeda's general manager for all of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The US moved to designate al-Maghrebi a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in early 2021. After the Taliban's return to power in August of that year, al-Maghrebi was believed to have been living together with Zawahiri in the same house in downtown Kabul where Zawahiri would later be killed in a U.S. drone strike.[6] As of 2023 his whereabouts are unknown.

  1. ^ a b "Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi". Rewards for Justice, US Department of State. January 12, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  2. ^ "Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi". FBI. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  3. ^ Bell, Jennifer (August 3, 2022). "After the killing of al-Zawahri, here is the FBI's list of most wanted extremists". Al Arabiya. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Gunaratna, Rohan; Nielsen, Anders (2008-09-10). "Al Qaeda in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan and Beyond". Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. 31 (9): 775–807. doi:10.1080/10576100802291568. ISSN 1057-610X. S2CID 110159420.
  5. ^ "Décision de la CNASNU n°03/2022, du 07 avril 2022, portant publication de la liste locale" (PDF). CNASNU.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).