| Haitham al-Badri | |
| Birth Name: | Haitham Sabah Shaker Mohammed al-Badri |
| Birth Date: | unknown |
| Birth Place: | likely Samarra (origin of the al-Badri clan and his principal area of operations) |
| Death Place: | Samarra, Salahuddin Governorate, Iraq |
| Allegiance: | Baathist Iraq (until 2003) Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna (2003–2004) Al-Qaeda (2004–2007)
Islamic State of Iraq |
| Branch: | Republican Guard (Iraq) (until 2003) Military of al-Qaeda in Iraq (2004–2006) Military of the Islamic State (2006–2007) |
| Rank: | Warrant Officer (until 2003) Commander (Al-Qaeda in Iraq) (2004–2006) Commander (Islamic State of Iraq) (2006–2007) |
| Battles: | Iraq War (2003–2007) |
Haitham Sabah Shaker Mohammed al-Badri (ar|هيثم صباح شاكر محمد البدري, died 2 August 2007) was a commander of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in Salahuddin Province[1] who reportedly masterminded the 2006 al-Askari mosque bombing which substantially damaged the Shiite mosque and set off a wave of retaliatory violence by the Shiites against other Muslims.
He was a former Iraqi government official under Saddam Hussein while other sources state he was a warrant officer in the Republican Guard; and following the US-led invasion in 2003, joined Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna before becoming a member of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.[2] Badri was killed in a US airstrike east of Samarra on 2 August 2007.[3] [4]
He was a distant relative of future Islamic State leader Ibrahim al-Badri al-Samarrai (Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi), being the son of one of al-Baghdadi's cousins.[5]