Abdelhamid Abou Zeid

Abdelhamid Abou Zeid
Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, one of the leaders of AQIM.
Born(1965-12-12)December 12, 1965[1]
Algeria
Died25 February 2013(2013-02-25) (aged 47)
Other namesEmir of the South; Mosab Abdelouadoud[2]
Military career
Allegiance Al-Qaeda
Service / branch AQIM
(?–2013)
Years of service?-2013
RankGovernor (Emir) of Timbuktu
Battles / warsInsurgency in the Maghreb

Abdelhamid Abou Zeid (born Mohamed Ghadir;[a] 1965 – 25 February 2013) was an Algerian national and Islamist jihadi militant and smuggler who, in about 2010, became one of the top three military commanders of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a Mali-based militant organization.[3][4][5][6] He competed as the chief rival of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an Algerian national who had become the major commander in AQIM and later head of his own group.[7] Both gained wealth and power by kidnapping and ransoming European nationals. After taking control of Timbuktu in 2012, Abou Zeid established sharia law and destroyed Sufi shrines.

Abou Zeid was killed by French and Chadian troops on 25 February 2013 in fighting in Northern Mali.[8] On 23 March, Zeid's death was "definitively confirmed" by the French president's office.[2]

  1. ^ "Anti-Terrorism designations | Office of Foreign Assets Control".
  2. ^ a b c "France confirms death of Al-Qaida chief Abou Zeid". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 23 March 2013. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference reuters1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Lindsey Hilsum (20 October 2010). "Has France killed a top al-Qaeda commander in Mali?". Channel4. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  5. ^ "France says al Qaeda chief Abou Zeid "probably" killed". Reuters. 4 March 2013.
  6. ^ Cheick Diouara (1 March 2013). "Abou Zeid killed? Local Malians say it happened, but French not so sure". CSMonitor.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  7. ^ "In Amenas attack magnifies Belmokhtar, AQIM rift". Magharebia. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference lemon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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