Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou
{{Short description|Mauritanian jihadist and founder of MUJAO}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou
| image = Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou.jpg
| birth_date = 1970
| death_date = July 21, 2017
| birth_place = Ould Naga, Mauritania
| death_place = Libya
| death_cause = Airstrike
| nickname = Abu Qumqum
| birth_name = Abderrahmane Ould Mohamed Lemine Ould Mohamed Khairy
| allegiance = {{flagdeco|al-Qaeda}} AQIM (2009–2011)
{{flagdeco|ISIS}} MOJWA (2011–2014)
{{flagdeco|al-Qaeda}} Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna (2014)
{{flagdeco|ISIS}} IS-L
| known_for = Founder of MOJWA
| battles = Mali War
Second Libyan Civil War
}}
Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou{{refn|group= note|Also spelled Hamad El Kheiry, Abderrahmane Ould Mohamed Lemine Ould Mohamed Kheiry, Amada Ould Kheirou, and Hamada Ould Mohamed El Khairy}}{{Cite web |title=HAMADA OULD MOHAMED EL KHAIRY {{!}} United Nations Security Council |url=https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/individual/hamada-ould-mohamed-el-khairy |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=www.un.org}}{{Cite web |date=December 13, 2012 |title=Designation of Hamad el Khairy, Also Known as Abderrahmane Ould Mohamed Lemine Ould Mohamed Khairy, Also Known as Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou, Also Known as Abou Qumqum, Also Known as Amada Ould Kheirou, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Pursuant to Section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as Amended |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/12/13/2012-30128/designation-of-hamad-el-khairy-also-known-as-abderrahmane-ould-mohamed-lemine-ould-mohamed-khairy |access-date=January 30, 2024 |website=Federal Register}} nom de guerre Abu Qum-Qum{{refn|group= note|French: Abou Ghoum-Ghoum}}{{Cite news |date=2013-05-23 |title=La trajectoire djihadiste du Mujao du nord du Mali au Niger |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2013/05/23/la-trajectoire-djihadiste-du-mujao-du-nord-mali-au-niger_3416576_3212.html |access-date=2024-01-30 |work=Le Monde.fr |language=fr}} was a Mauritanian jihadist and the founder of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO/MOJWA).
Biography
Kheirou was born in Ouad Naga and a descent of the marabout tribe of Tegounanett.{{Cite book |last=Daniel |first=Serge |title=Les Mafias du Mali : Trafics et Terrorisme au Sahel |publisher=Descartes & Cie |year=2014 |isbn=978-2-84446271-8 |pages=76–77 |language=French}} In 2005, he was arrested in Nouakchott for instigating violence in a mosque, which he claimed was teaching untrue Islam. He escaped the city a few months later disguised as a woman.{{Cite web |title=Mali : Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou, le cerveau du Mujao - Jeune Afrique.com |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/139880/politique/mali-hamada-ould-mohamed-kheirou-le-cerveau-du-mujao/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=JeuneAfrique.com |language=fr-FR}}
Kheirou was arrested again on September 3, 2008, in Kita, Mali, but was released in April 2009 along with Idris Ould Mohamed Lemine in a prison exchange with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).{{Cite web |date=2018-01-18 |title=Mauritanie : la stratégie d'un ex-futur maillon faible |url=http://sciencespo.fr/ceri/fr/content/dossiersduceri/mauritanie-la-strategie-dun-ex-futur-maillon-faible |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Archive |language=fr}} He was released on the behest of Canada for the Canadian diplomats Robert Fowler and Louis Gay, according to Franco-Beninese journalist Serge Daniel. According to Jeune Afrique, Kheirou was released in 2010 for French hostage Pierre Camatte.
Kheirou joined AQIM in 2009, supplying Mokhtar Belmokhtar's katiba in northern Mali along with making explosives.{{Cite web |last=Memier |first=Marc |date=January 2017 |title=AQMI et al-mOUrabitoun: Le djihad sahélien réunifié ? |url=https://www.ifri.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/memier_aqmi_et_al-mourabitoun_fr_2017.compressed.pdf |access-date=January 30, 2024 |website=Institut Francais des Relations Internationales}} During his time in AQIM, Kheirou criticized the leadership of Abdelmalek Droukdel and accused the group of being dominated by Algerians and an inequitable distribution of money gathered from hostage-taking and trafficking. In late 2011, he founded the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and established connection with Boko Haram.
In MOJWA, Kheirou sponsored the Tamanrasset suicide bombing on March 3, 2012, killing twenty-three people.{{Cite web |date=2012-03-04 |title=Algérie: l'attentat de Tamanrasset revendiqué par un groupe jihadiste |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20120304-algerie-attentat-tamanrasset-sahel-terrorisme-jihad-ben-laden-mollah-omar-bamako |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=RFI |language=fr}} When the Mali War broke out in 2012, MOJWA fought against moderate Tuareg rebels and the Malian government.
Kheirou has been sanctioned by the United Nations and the United States, with the latter setting a $5 million bounty for his arrest.{{Cite news |date=2014-06-13 |title=Les Etats-Unis offrent 18 millions de dollars pour arrêter quatre terroristes |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2014/06/13/les-etats-unis-offrent-18-millions-de-dollars-pour-arreter-quatre-terroristes_4438091_3222.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |work=Le Monde.fr |language=fr}}
In 2014, he announced his allegiance to the Islamic State, and his refusal of the merger between MOJWA and Al-Mourabitoun.{{Cite web |date=July 21, 2017 |title=Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou aka Abu Q'aqa'a was killed recently in airstrike in Libya |url=https://twitter.com/MENASTREAM/status/888509785464860676 |access-date=January 30, 2024 |website=MENASTREAM via Twitter}}{{Cite web |date=2014-07-14 |title=Etat islamique: allégeance, soutien, hésitation des groupes africains |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20140714-etat-islamique-allegeance-soutien-hesitation-groupes-africains |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=RFI |language=fr}} Kheirou is believed to have fled to and lived in Sirte, Libya, when the city was controlled of the Islamic State.{{Cite web |title=Hôte de l'Imam Dianko à Gao : Qui est Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou ? |url=https://www.dakaractu.com/Hote-de-l-Imam-Dianko-a-Gao-Qui-est-Hamada-Ould-Mohamed-Kheirou_a167873.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=DAKARACTU.COM |language=fr}} In Libya, he fought with the Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna before fleeing to Sirte. Mauritanian media reported he was killed in a 2017 airstrike in Libya.
References
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