Abu Khayr al-Masri
{{Short description|Egyptian al-Qaeda member}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Ahmad Hasan Abu al-Khayr al-Masri
{{lang|ar|أحمد حسن أبو الخير المصري}}
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| order2= Deputy Emir of Al-Qaeda
| term_start2= 12 June 2015
| term_end2= 26 February 2017
| predecessor2= Nasir al-Wuhayshi
| successor2= Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah
| birth_name = Abdullah Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Rajab Abd al-Rahman
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1957|11|03}}
| birth_place = Kafr el-Sheikh, Egypt
| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|2|26|1957|11|03|df=y}}
| death_place = Al-Mastumah, Idlib Governorate, Syria
| nationality = Egyptian
| other_names =
| occupation = Deputy leader of al-Qaeda
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
|allegiance =
{{flagicon image|Flag of al-Qaeda.svg|size=23px}} Al-Qaeda (1990s–2017)
}}
Abdullah Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Rajab Abd al-Rahman ({{langx|ar|عبد الله عبد الرحمن محمد رجب عبد الرحمن}}), known as Ahmad Hasan Abu al-Khayr al-Masri ({{langx|ar|أحمد حسن أبو الخير المصري}}), (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 al-Zawahiri.{{cite web|url=http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/js2960.aspx |title=Treasury Designates Seven Al Qaida Associates |website=Treasury.gov |access-date=18 February 2016}}Rohan Gunaratna and Aviv Oreg, The Global Jihad Movement (London 2015) p 72Rohan Gunaratna and Aviv Oreg, The Global Jihad Movement (London 2015) p 63
History
Al-Masri was a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad alongside Ayman al-Zawahiri and fled the country in the mid-1980s along with many other Islamic militants.
He headed al-Qaeda's political committee and was a member of the Shura Council. He has been described as operating as a "trusted lieutenant" of the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri with whom al-Masri worked in Sudan and Afghanistan.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/article/senior-al-qaida-leader-killed-in-drone-strike-n6868zd7j|title=Al-Qaida's deputy leader 'killed in drone strike'|last=Spencer|first=Richard|date=2017-02-27|work=The Times|access-date=2017-02-27|language=en|url-access=subscription }}
=Arrest=
He left Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks and prior to the United States invasion of Afghanistan. He fled to Iran, where he was arrested in Sistan and Baluchestan province in April 2003.{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/4682731 |title=Al Qaeda's Organizational Structure and its Evolution | Aviv Oreg |doi=10.1080/1057610X.2010.523860 |via=Academia.edu |date=1 January 1970 |s2cid=145417861 |access-date=18 February 2016}} Also arrested alongside him were other senior al-Qaeda leaders including Saif al-Adel, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah and Sulaiman Abu Ghaith. According to a statement that Sulaiman Abu Ghaith gave to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, four al-Qaeda leaders were first jailed in an Iranian intelligence building in Tehran for approximately one year and eight months.{{cite web|author=Sulayman Abu Ghayth |date=1 March 2013|title=File 415A-NY-307616|url=http://kronosadvisory.com/Kronos_US_v_Sulaiman_Abu_Ghayth_Statement.1.pdf|access-date=18 February 2016}}
Release by Iran
In September 2015 it was reported that Abu Khayr al-Masri was released by Iran in March 2015 together with other al-Qaeda leaders including Saif al-Adel and Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah in a prisoner exchange.{{cite news|author1=Rukmini Callimachi|author2=Eric Schmitt|title=Iran Released Top Members of Al Qaeda in a Trade|newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 September 2015|access-date=18 February 2016|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/18/world/middleeast/iran-released-top-members-of-al-qaeda-in-a-trade.html}} He was reported to have then traveled to Syria with three men to join the Al-Nusra Front branch of al-Qaeda.
Syria
On 28 July 2016, the Al-Minaret al-Bayda media wing of the Syrian al-Qaeda branch Jabhat al-Nusra released an audio message from him claiming that the Nusra front had cut all connections with al-Qaeda and renamed it the Fateh al-Sham Front.
Death
Reports surfaced on 26 February 2017 that al-Masri had been killed in a U.S. airstrike in his car in Al-Mastumah in the Syrian province of Idlib.{{Cite news|url=http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/asiapacific/2017/02/27/al-qaeda-s-deputy-leader--killed-in-syria-.html|title=Al-Qaeda's deputy leader 'killed in Syria'|date=27 February 2017|work=Sky News Australia|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227232211/http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/asiapacific/2017/02/27/al-qaeda-s-deputy-leader--killed-in-syria-.html|archive-date=27 February 2017|url-status=dead|language=en}} There was no immediate official confirmation from either the United States or al-Qaeda.{{cite news |date=27 February 2017 |title=Syria al-Qaeda leader 'targeted in strike on car' |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39109438 | publisher=BBC }} Guardian journalists Tom McCarthy and Martin Chulov later reported that jihadist leaders confirmed that al-Masri was killed in the drone strike.{{cite news |last1=Chulov |first1=Martin |last2=McCarthy |first2=Tom |date= 27 February 2017 |title= US drone strike in Syria kills top al-Qaida leader, jihadis say |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/27/us-drone-strike-in-syria-kills-top-al-qaida-leader-jihadis-say | work=The Guardian }} The airstrike also killed another Tahrir al-Sham militant traveling in the car.{{Cite web |url=http://orient-news.net/en/news_show/132758/0/Tahrir-al-Sham-fighters-killed-by-US-led-coalition-drone-near-Idlib |title=2 Tahrir al-Sham fighters killed by US-led coalition drone near Idlib |access-date=28 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301010020/http://orient-news.net/en/news_show/132758/0/Tahrir-al-Sham-fighters-killed-by-US-led-coalition-drone-near-Idlib |archive-date=1 March 2017 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Deputy al Qaeda leader killed in Syria |date=28 February 2017 |publisher=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220907172516/https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/27/middleeast/deputy-al-qaeda-leader-killed |archive-date=7 September 2022 |url-status=live |url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/27/middleeast/deputy-al-qaeda-leader-killed/}} A US intelligence official and al-Qaeda later confirmed that al-Masri had been killed in the strike, which used a variant of the AGM-114 Hellfire missile.{{cite news |date= 2 March 2017 |title= Osama's son-in-law killed by CIA drone strike: US official |url=http://www.news18.com/news/world/osamas-son-in-law-killed-by-cia-drone-strike-us-official-1355124.html |publisher=News18 |agency= Reuters|access-date= 2 March 2017}}{{cite news |date= 2 March 2017 |title= Al Qaeda confirms leader killed by drone strike in Syria|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN16924L| author= Ellen Francis |agency=Reuters|access-date= 2 March 2017}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/03/al-qaeda-eulogizes-egyptian-leader-killed-in-idlib-syria.php|title = Al Qaeda eulogizes Egyptian leader killed in Idlib, Syria | FDD's Long War Journal|date = 5 March 2017}}{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/secret-u-s-missile-aims-to-kill-only-terrorists-not-nearby-civilians-11557403411|title=Secret U.S. Missile Aims to Kill Only Terrorists, Not Nearby Civilians|author=Gordon Lubold and Warren P. Strobel|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=9 May 2019}} This weapon, known as the AGM-114 R9X, lacks an explosive warhead. Instead, it deploys six blades just before impact so it may kill its target while reducing the likelihood of harm to people nearby.{{Cite web |title=AGM-114 R9X Hellfire Blade Bomb |url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/agm-114r9x.htm |access-date=2021-04-10 |publisher=GlobalSecurity.org}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Al-Qaeda}}
{{Militant Islamism in the Middle East}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masri, Abu Khayr}}
Category:People from Kafr El Sheikh Governorate
Category:Egyptian Islamic Jihad
Category:People sentenced to death in absentia
Category:Egyptian al-Qaeda members
Category:Egyptian people imprisoned abroad
Category:Foreign nationals imprisoned in Iran
Category:Assassinated al-Qaeda leaders
Category:Assassinated al-Nusra Front members