Khalid Batarfi Explained

Khalid Saeed Batarfi
Birth Date:Between 1978 and 1980[1]
Birth Place:Riyadh, Saudi Arabia[2]
Death Date:March 2024 (aged 43–46)
Death Place:Yemen
Native Name Lang:ar
Other Names:Abū al-Miqdād al-Kindī, Abū al-Miqdād al-Kanadī
Known For:Emir of AQAP
Nationality:Saudi Arabian
Module:
Embed:yes
Allegiance: AQAP
(2010–2024)
Serviceyears:2010–2024
Rank:Supreme commander (Emir) of Abyan
(2010–2011)Field commander in Hadramaut
(2015–2020)Emir of AQAP
(2020–2024)
Battles:Yemen Insurgency

Yemeni Civil War

Khalid Saeed Batarfi (Arabic: خالد سعيد باطرفي|Khālid Saʿīd Bāṭarfī; 1978 to 1980 – March 2024), also known as Abū al-Miqdād al-Kindī (Arabic: أبو المقداد الكِنْدِي),[3] was a Saudi Arabian militant and the emir of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.[4] He oversaw the Yemen-based group's media network[5] and led jihadist fighters in their takeover of Yemen's Abyan Governorate in 2011, where he was accorded the position of emir.[6] [7] He also reputedly carried out terrorist attacks in the Abyan and Hadhramaut governorates.[5]

On 17 March 2011, Batarfi was captured by security forces in the Taiz Governorate.[5] For four years, he was imprisoned in Mukalla. He was freed, along with about 300 other inmates, by al Qaeda fighters on 2 April 2015, during the Battle of Mukalla.[4] [7] [8] The Washington Post compared the Mukalla prison break to the escape of 23 fighters, including future AQAP emir Nasir al-Wuhayshi, from a Yemeni prison in 2006, a formative event for the group.[9]

Batarfi attracted media attention when he posed for photographs taken by al Qaeda members in the Hadhramaut governor's palace, which fighters took over.[7] [10]

Batarfi was promoted to leader after the death of Qasim al-Raymi in January 2020.[11] In February 2021, the United Nations claimed that Batarfi was arrested during a security operation in Al Ghaydah in October 2020.[12] However, Batarfi later appeared in a video discussing the 6 January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.[13]

The U.S. Rewards for Justice Program offered up to $5 million in exchange for information leading to Batarfi's apprehension.[1]

AQAP announced Batarfi's death on 10 March 2024 and announced Sa'ad bin Atef al-Awlaki as his successor. It did not give a cause of a death for Batarfi.[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Khalid Saeed al-Batarfi . Rewards for Justice . https://web.archive.org/web/20181026064415/https://rewardsforjustice.net/english/khalid_al_batarfi.html . 26 October 2018 . dead.
  2. Web site: Counter Terrorism Designations. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123154913/https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20180123.aspx. dead. 23 January 2018. United States Department of the Treasury. 23 January 2018.
  3. Fighting Back: What Governments Can Do About Terrorism edited by Paul Shemella
  4. News: Officials: Al Qaeda fighters free 270 from Yemeni prison. CNN. 2 April 2015. 9 April 2015.
  5. News: Three militants, three soldiers killed in Yemen. CNN. 17 March 2011. 9 April 2015.
  6. News: Amid Yemen chaos, al Qaeda stages prison break. CBS News. 2 April 2015. 9 April 2015.
  7. News: The al-Qaeda commander at home in a governor's palace. The Telegraph. 4 April 2015. 9 April 2015. Richard. Spencer.
  8. News: Yemen: Al-Qaeda frees 300 in al-Mukalla prison attack. International Business Times. 2 April 2015. 4 April 2015. Umberto. Bacchi.
  9. News: Al-Qaeda franchise in Yemen exploits chaos to rebuild, officials say. 5 April 2015. 9 April 2015. Greg. Miller.
  10. News: Yemen: Al-Qaeda operative Khalid Batarfi takes selfies inside Mukalla government. International Business Times. Umberto. Bacchi. 4 April 2015. 9 April 2015.
  11. Web site: AQAP confirms death of leader, appoints successor: SITE. Yahoo!. 23 February 2020.
  12. Web site: Al Qaeda's leader in Yemen under arrest, UN report reveals. CNN. 4 February 2021.
  13. Web site: AQAP leader cites U.S. Capitol riot as evidence of America's supposed decline | FDD's Long War Journal. 10 February 2021. www.longwarjournal.org.
  14. Web site: Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula announces death of leader, SITE Group says . 2024-04-05.