| Ahmad Mohammad Ali al-Hada | |||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Unknown | ||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Dhamar Governorate, Yemen | ||||||||||
| Occupation: | al-Qaeda "switchboard" host | ||||||||||
| Children: | 1 | ||||||||||
| Nationality: | Yemeni | ||||||||||
| Module: |
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Ahmad Mohammad Ali al-Hada is an al-Qaeda operative from Yemen whose family was described by US government officials as a "supercell" within the al-Qaeda network.[1] By February 2002, the "communications hub" which al-Hada running was no longer active following the death of his son, Samir.[2]
Al-Hada is native of Dhamar Governorate, and is a veteran of Soviet–Afghan War, where he met Osama bin Laden. It's reported that al-Hada was a close friend of Bin Laden. From 1996 until 2006, he operated, along with his son, Samir Al-Hada, an al-Qaeda safe house and a communication center in Sana'a, which was the direct link from al-Qaeda central to Yemen. He was captured by the Yemeni government in 2006, but was set free, possibly after a tribal deal. As of 2007, his whereabouts are unknown.[3]
Al-Hada's son-in-law, Khalid al-Mihdhar, was one of the hijackers that flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks. Another son-in-law, Mustafa Abdulkader, has been listed on FBI terror alerts. In February 2002, Al-Hada's son, Samir al-Hada, committed suicide using a hand grenade,[4] to avoid questioning by security forces about the Cole bombing.[5] Two of Ahmed Al-Hada’s brothers were killed in Afghanistan during operation “Absolute Justice” in the War in Afghanistan and a third brother, Abdullah Al-Hada, is wanted by the Yemen authorities for terror charges.
Al-Hada allegedly provided the telephone number in Yemen[6] that served as the switchboard for al-Qaeda operations leading up to the USS Cole bombing and September 11 attacks.[7] In The Looming Tower he was cited as being in Yemeni custody.[8]