Ahmed Refai Taha
Refa'i Ahmed Taha | |
|---|---|
رفاعي أحمد طه | |
| Born | June 24, 1954 |
| Died | April 5, 2016(aged 61) |
| Cause of death | Drone strike |
| Nationality | Egyptian |
| Other names | Refa'i Ahmed Taha Musa, Ahmed Refa'i Taha, Abu Yasser al-Masri |
| Years active | 1993–2016 |
| Known for | Leader inal-Gama'a al-Islamiyya |
Refa'i Ahmed Taha(Arabic:رفاعي أحمد طه;June 24, 1954 – April 5, 2016) orRefa'i Ahmed Taha MusaorAhmed Refa'i Taha,aliasAbu Yasser al-Masri(Arabic:أبو ياسر المصري) was an Egyptian leader of a terrorist component ofal-Gama'a al-Islamiyya,[1]having succeeded "The Blind Sheikh"Omar Abdel-Rahmanin that role after the latter's arrest in 1993 andimprisonment for lifein 1995. He was one of 14 people subjected toextraordinary renditionby theCIAprior to the 2001 declaration of aWar on Terror.[2]
History
[edit]The list[3]of banned entities maintained by theUS Treasury Departmentputs his date of birth at 24 June 1954, and lists additional aliases of his, including 'Issam 'Ali Muhammad 'Abdallah, ( عصام علي محمد عبد الله ). He was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the current indictment[1]of 21 members ofal-Qaedaand affiliated groups, for various roles in the1998 United States embassy bombingsin Africa. Earlier in 1998, Taha was one of five people who signed, or are alleged to have signed, a threatening so-calledfatwaagainst the United States and Israel and their civilians; the other signatories includedOsama bin LadenandAyman al-Zawahiri;seeFatāwā of Osama bin Laden.In 2000, Taha appeared in a video with bin Laden and al-Zawahiri which threatened a violence over the imprisonment of Omar Abdel-Rahman.[4]
Taha was also wanted in his nativeEgypt,where he had been sentenced to death in the 1999 case of theReturnees from Albania.[5]In October 2001 Taha was arrested at theDamascus airport(after fleeing the post-9/11invasion of Afghanistan,quite probably) and quietly extradited to Egypt.[6]Al-Qaeda claimed in 2006 that he is still alive and was in custody[7]while some other al-Qaeda propaganda still holds upOmar Abdel-Rahman(who died in theADX Florenceprison) as the "spiritual" leader of the Egyptian side of that body. Official sources did not reveal where Taha is, or even whether he was still alive.[8]However, it was revealed in 2012 that he was freed from prison after the fall of the regime ofHosni Mubarak,and was present at theprotestin Cairo in front of the American embassy on 11 September 2012.[9][10]
According toThe Washington Post,in a November 2014 interview recorded inIstanbul,he asked "What are we waiting for?" and "We will not confront this [Egyptian] regime with bare chests. If they take up arms, then we will take up arms".
Death
[edit]He was killed in an American drone strike in the town ofIdlib,Syriawhere he was working withJabhat al-Nusra,the Syria wing ofAl-Qaedaaround the 5th April 2016.[11][12]According toThe Washington Post,he had crossed into Syria from Turkey only five days before.
The EgyptianHani al-Sibai,director of the Maqrizi Center for Historical Studies inLondoncommenting on his death toThe Washington Post,said Taha had "got what he wished for [martyrdom], he met hisLordin an American drone strike ".[13]
Taha was shown in an Al-Qaeda video released by Al Qaeda leaderAyman al-Zawahiricalled "Three Sheikhs of Jihad".[14]
References
[edit]- ^ab"Copy of indictment] USA v. Usama bin Laden et al"(PDF).Center for Nonproliferation Studies.Monterey Institute of International Studies.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2007-06-14.
- ^Mother Jones,Disappearing Act: Rendition by the Numbers,3 March 2008
- ^Banned entity list,Office of Foreign Assets Control,US Treasury Department
- ^Background Information on Terrorist Groups,part of the US State Department's reportPatterns of Global Terrorism - 2000
- ^Egypt's most wantedArchived2013-06-11 at theWayback Machine,al-Ahram Weekly, 18 October 2001
- ^Al-Qaida: Dead or captured,NBC News;see October 2001
- ^As-Sahab(al-Qaeda) internet video with al-Zawahiri andal-Hukaymah,5 August 2006
- ^Refai Taha MusaatGlobal Security,cites official sources
- ^Thomas Joscelyn, "Al Qaeda-linked jihadists helped incite 9/11 Cairo protest"The Long War Journal, 26 October 2012.
- ^Maggie Fick, "Insight: Ex-Qaeda allies ready to fight for Mursi in Luxor"Reuters, 23 June 2013.
- ^"Prominent al-Qaida figure killed in US drone strike in Syria".Associated Press. 8 April 2016. Archived fromthe originalon 11 April 2016.Retrieved8 April2016.
- ^Joscelyn, Thomas (18 Feb 2017)."Ayman al Zawahiri eulogizes Rifai Ahmed Taha Musa (killed Apr '16 in Syria) in new video. Wrote him up a few times".Twitter.
- ^Warrick, Joby (July 10, 2016)."Double game? Even as it battles ISIS, Turkey gives other extremists shelter"– via www.washingtonpost.com.
- ^"New video message from al-Qā'idah's Dr. Ayman al-Ẓawāhirī:" Carrying the Weapon of the Martyr, Episode 4: The Three Shaykhs #2 "".Jihadology.February 18, 2017.
- 1954 births
- 2016 deaths
- Assassinated al-Nusra Front members
- Al-Nusra Front members
- Egyptian al-Qaeda members
- Egyptian prisoners sentenced to death
- Prisoners sentenced to death by Egypt
- People extradited from Syria
- People extradited to Egypt
- People imprisoned on charges of terrorism
- Leaders of Islamic terror groups