Khaled bin Ouda bin Mohammed al-Harbi
Encyclopedia
Khaled bin Ouda bin Mohammed al-Harbi, (c.1963 - present) is a Saudi national who was associated with Osama bin Laden
's mujahadeen group in the 1980s, and is thought to have rejoined bin Laden and al-Qaeda
in the mid-1990s. Also known as Abu Suleiman al-Makki (Arabic: ابوسليمان المكي), he has a thick beard and requires the use of a wheelchair
.
The BBC
reports that Al-Harbi was Ayman Al-Zawahiri
's son-in-law.
According to the web-site Global Terror Alert
Al-Harbi volunteered to fight in Bosnia
in 1992.
Al-Harbi lost the use of his legs during a skirmish in Bosnia.
Al-Harbi settled in Bosnia, until arrest warrants were issued against him, and eighteen other men, in 1997. The allegation against Al-Harbi was that he had provided a safehouse for terrorists.
Al-Harbi disappeared from the time his arrest warrant was issued and his appearance in a video taped in late 2001 where he had an extended conversation with Osama bin Laden.
Initially bin Laden's friend's identity was unidentified.
Commentators speculated that the unknown friend was an important al Qaeda financier, because he did not rise when bin Laden entered the room.
By December 16, 2001 Al Harbi had been identified.
Time magazine reported that unidentified U.S. officials described al Harbi as being "a confidant and spiritual sounding board for bin Laden," but not an al Qaeda member."
Time reported that Nawaf Obaid, who they identified as a Saudi security analyst, said al-Harbi is cooperating. Obaid called al-Harbi a "very successful recruiter".
In the tape, Khaled al-Harbi states that the tape was being made at the arrangement of the brothers who support al Qaida:
In the tape, Khaled al-Harbi states that he and those with him began wondering why they had not heard news of the attacks, and then they got the news and celebrated.
The introduction to the translation states that the tape was made in mid-November 2001 in Afghanistan. The U.S. bombing of Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001. Therefore the bombing had started when bin Laden risked making the video with Khaled al-Harbi.
ian-Afghani border.
Al-Harbi surrendered himself to the Saudi Arabia
n embassy in Iran on July 13, 2004.
His surrender was part of a one-month amnesty
offer by the Saudi government on June 23, 2004;
Some commentators speculated that Al-Harbi was not eligible for the amnesty, arguing that it applied only to those who committed attacks inside Saudi Arabia.
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
's mujahadeen group in the 1980s, and is thought to have rejoined bin Laden and al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
in the mid-1990s. Also known as Abu Suleiman al-Makki (Arabic: ابوسليمان المكي), he has a thick beard and requires the use of a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
.
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reports that Al-Harbi was Ayman Al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
's son-in-law.
Fighting for Islam
Al-Harbi volunteered to fight against the Soviet invaders of Afghanistan during the 1980s.According to the web-site Global Terror Alert
Al-Harbi volunteered to fight in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
in 1992.
Al-Harbi lost the use of his legs during a skirmish in Bosnia.
Settled in Bosnia
Following their successful war of liberation, in 1995, the new Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina offered citizenship to all foreign volunteers who had fought on their behalf.Al-Harbi settled in Bosnia, until arrest warrants were issued against him, and eighteen other men, in 1997. The allegation against Al-Harbi was that he had provided a safehouse for terrorists.
Al-Harbi disappeared from the time his arrest warrant was issued and his appearance in a video taped in late 2001 where he had an extended conversation with Osama bin Laden.
Appearance with Osama bin Laden
The U.S. Department of Defense released a videotape on December 13, 2001 showing Osama bin Laden having an extended conversation with an old acquaintance about the attack of 9-11.Initially bin Laden's friend's identity was unidentified.
Commentators speculated that the unknown friend was an important al Qaeda financier, because he did not rise when bin Laden entered the room.
By December 16, 2001 Al Harbi had been identified.
Time magazine reported that unidentified U.S. officials described al Harbi as being "a confidant and spiritual sounding board for bin Laden," but not an al Qaeda member."
Time reported that Nawaf Obaid, who they identified as a Saudi security analyst, said al-Harbi is cooperating. Obaid called al-Harbi a "very successful recruiter".
In the tape, Khaled al-Harbi states that the tape was being made at the arrangement of the brothers who support al Qaida:
- "We don't want to take much of your time, but this is the arrangement of the brothers. People are now supporting us more, even those ones who did not support us in the past, support us now. I did not want to take that much of your time."
In the tape, Khaled al-Harbi states that he and those with him began wondering why they had not heard news of the attacks, and then they got the news and celebrated.
The introduction to the translation states that the tape was made in mid-November 2001 in Afghanistan. The U.S. bombing of Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001. Therefore the bombing had started when bin Laden risked making the video with Khaled al-Harbi.
Amnesty and surrender
Afterwards, Al-Harbi lived in hiding along the IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian-Afghani border.
Al-Harbi surrendered himself to the Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
n embassy in Iran on July 13, 2004.
His surrender was part of a one-month amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
offer by the Saudi government on June 23, 2004;
Some commentators speculated that Al-Harbi was not eligible for the amnesty, arguing that it applied only to those who committed attacks inside Saudi Arabia.
External links
- Report: Fourth militant surrenders to Saudis: Amnesty for al-Qaida associates to end soon, MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, July 16, 2004 - Saudi officials identify man on bin Laden tape, CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, December 14, 2001
Sources
- Reuters
- US Military translation of tape http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2001/d20011213ubl.pdf#search='bin%20laden%20video%20translation'
- Saudi official news agency release of 12 November 2004 concerning the release of those asking for amnesty. Statement regarding extradition by Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz to the Council of Ministers, July 2003.
- Date of US military bombing starting in Afghanistan: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1556588.stm