Abd al-Rahman al-Maghribi

Muhammad Abbatay (Arabic: محمد أبطاي, born (1970-07-01)July 1, 1970),[1] known under his nom de guerre, Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi (Arabic: عبد الرحمن المغربي), is a Moroccan member of al-Qaeda, he heads the organization's External Communications Office.[2][3] He is the son in law of Ayman al-Zawahiri.[4][5]

Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi
عبد الرحمن المغربي
Born
Muhammad Abbatay

(1970-07-01) July 1, 1970
Marrakesh, Morocco

Early life and education

Abbatay was born in Marrakesh, Morocco.[2] He left Morocco for Germany in 1996, where he studied software programming and electrical engineering in Cologne and the Hochschule Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences.[5][6]

Militant career

In 1999, Abbatay left for Afghanistan, where he trained at the Al Farouq training camp.[5] He was pulled from training by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and was later reassigned to work at al-Qaeda's Media Committee.[7] According to the FBI, al-Maghrebi fled to Iran soon after the events of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.[2][4]

In 2012, he started serving as al-Qaeda's general manager in Afghanistan and Pakistan and ran As-Sahab, al-Qaeda's media branch.[7]

Designations

On January 12, 2021, the U.S. Department of State designated Abbatay as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added him to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.[7] The Department of State's Rewards for Justice Program is offering a reward of up to $7 million for information on Abbatay.[3] On April 7, 2022, he was designated as a terrorist entity by the Moroccan Ministry of Justice, who claimed that he was living in Iran.[1][8]

At the time of al-Zawahiri's death in August 2022, Abbatay, along with Saif al-Adel, were reported to be in Iran.[9][10] Abbatay and Adel's are seen as potential successors to Ayman al-Zawahiri as leader of al-Qaeda after his death.[10][9][11]

References
  1. "Décision de la CNASNU n°03/2022, du 07 avril 2022, portant publication de la liste locale" (PDF). CNASNU.
  2. "Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi". FBI. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  3. "Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi". Rewards for Justice, US Department of State. January 12, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  4. Bell, Jennifer (August 3, 2022). "After the killing of al-Zawahri, here is the FBI's list of most wanted extremists". Al Arabiya. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  5. Gunaratna, Rohan; Nielsen, Anders (2008-09-10). "Al Qaeda in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan and Beyond". Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. 31 (9): 775–807. doi:10.1080/10576100802291568. ISSN 1057-610X. S2CID 110159420.
  6. "Al-Qaida: Führender Propagandist studierte in Köln". Der Spiegel (in German). 2006-01-30. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  7. "Muhammad Abbatay a.k.a. Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi". Counter Extremism Project. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  8. "Documents: voici la nouvelle liste des individus et des entités classés terroristes par le Maroc , H24info". H24info (in French). 12 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  9. Seldin, Jeff (August 2, 2022). "Al-Qaida Succession Plan Being Put to Test". Voice of America. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  10. Bunzel, Cole (August 3, 2022). "Al Qaeda's Next Move:What Zawahiri's Death Means For Jihadism". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  11. Ettaba, Selim Saheb (August 2, 2022). "Al-Qaeda Faces Succession Quandary After Zawahiri Killing". Barrons. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
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