Khalid Saeed Batarfi ( ar, خالد سعيد باطرفي, Khālid Saʿīd Bāṭarfī), also known as Abū al-Miqdād al-Kindī ( ar, أبو المقداد الكِنْدِي), is a Saudi Arabian militant and the current emir of
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في جزيرة العرب, Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, lit=Organization of the Base in the Arabian Peninsula or , ''Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jaz ...
.
He oversaw the
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
-based group's media network
and led
jihad
Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
ist fighters in their
takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to t ...
of Yemen's
Abyan Governorate
Abyan ( ar, أَبْيَن ) is a governorate of Yemen. The Abyan region was historically part of the Fadhli Sultanate. It was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army militant group. Its capital is the city of Zinjibar. This governorate is n ...
in 2011, where he was accorded the position of
emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
.
He also reputedly carried out
terrorist attacks
The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people.
Definitions of terrori ...
in the Abyan and
Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Sau ...
governorates.
On 17 March 2011, Batarfi was captured by security forces in the
Taiz Governorate
Taiz ( ar, تَعِزّ, Taʿizz) is a governorates of Yemen, governorate of Yemen. The governorate's capital is Taiz, which is the third largest city in Yemen. Today it is the most important commercial centre in Yemen owing to its proximity to t ...
.
For four years, he was imprisoned in
Mukalla
Mukalla ( ar, ٱلْمُكَلَّا, ') is a seaport and the capital city of Yemen's largest governorate, Hadhramaut. The city is in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula on the Gulf of Aden, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, about east of ...
. He was freed, along with about 300 other inmates, by al Qaeda fighters on 2 April 2015, during the
Battle of Mukalla.
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' compared the Mukalla prison break to the escape of 23 fighters, including future AQAP emir
Nasir al-Wuhayshi
Nasir Abdel Karim al-Wuhayshi ( ar, ناصر عبد الكريم الوحيشي'; also transliterated as Naser al-Wahishi, Nasser al-Wuhayshi) alias Abu Basir, (1 October 1976 – 12 June 2015) was a Yemeni Islamist, who served as the leader o ...
, from a Yemeni prison in 2006, a formative event for the group.
Batarfi attracted media attention when he posed for photographs taken by al Qaeda members in the
Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Sau ...
governor's palace, which fighters took over.
Batarfi was promoted to leader after the death of
Qasim al-Raymi
Qasim al-Raymi ( ar, قاسم الريمي; 5 June 1978 – 29 January 2020) was a Yemeni militant who was the emir of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Al-Raymi was one of 23 men who escaped in the 3 February 2006 prison-break in Yemen ...
in January 2020. In February 2021, the UN claimed that Batarfi was arrested during a security operation in
Al Ghaydah
Al Ghaydah ( ar, الغيضة) is the capital city of Al Mahrah Governorate in south-eastern Yemen.
Transport
The city is served by Al Ghaydah Airport.
Climate
Al Ghaydah has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification
The Köppen ...
in October 2020.
However, Batarfi later appeared in a video discussing the January 6, 2021
riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The U.S.
Rewards for Justice Program The Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) is the counterterrorism and counterintelligence platform administered by the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service agency. The Rewards For Justice program is seeking information leading to the ...
is offering up to $5 million in exchange for information leading to Batarfi's apprehension.
See also
*
List of fugitives from justice who disappeared
References
Al-Qaeda leaders
Living people
1970s births
Saudi Arabian people of Yemeni descent
Saudi Arabian al-Qaeda members
Leaders of Islamic terror groups
People from Abyan Governorate
Escapees from Yemeni detention
Fugitives
People imprisoned on charges of terrorism
Yemeni al-Qaeda members
Yemeni escapees
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