Ahmad Mohammad Ali al-Hada is an
al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
operative from
Yemen whose family is described by
US government officials as a
"supercell" within the al-Qaeda network.
Early life and Al-Qaeda
Al-Hada is native of
Dhamar Governorate, and is a veteran of
Soviet–Afghan War, where he met
Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
. It's reported that al-Hada was a close friend of Bin Laden. From 1996 til 2006, was operating along with his son, Samir Al-Hada, an Qaeda safe house and a communication center in
Sana'a, which was the direct link from AQ 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.
Family
Al-Hada's
son-in-law,
Khalid al-Mihdhar, was one of the
hijackers that flew
American Airlines Flight 77
American Airlines Flight 77 was a scheduled American Airlines domestic transcontinental passenger flight from Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California. The Boe ...
into the
Pentagon
In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°.
A pentagon may be simpl ...
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, Sameer al-Hada, committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
using a
hand grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
, to avoid questioning by security forces about the Cole bombing.
Two of Ahmed Al-Hada’s brothers were killed in Afghanistan during operation “Absolute Justice” and a third brother, Abdullah Al-Hada, is wanted by the Yemen authorities for terror charges.
USS ''Cole'' bombing
Al-Hada allegedly provided the
telephone number in Yemen that served as the
switchboard for al-Qaeda operations leading up to the
USS ''Cole'' bombing and September 11 attacks. In ''
The Looming Tower'' he was cited as being in Yemeni
custody.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hada, Ahmad Mohammad Ali
Yemeni al-Qaeda members
People from Dhamar Governorate
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people