Saleh al-Oufi or Saleh Muhammad 'Awadullah al-'Alawi al-'Oufi ( ar, صالح محمد عوض الله العلوي العوفي) (died 2005), was a member of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia and became the leader of that group when Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin was killed in June 2004. Al-Oufi in turn was killed in August 2005, in
Madinah
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
.Al-Qaeda Chief in Kingdom Killed ''
Arab News
''Arab News'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. It is published from Riyadh. The target audiences of the paper, which is published in broadsheet format, are businessmen, executives and diplomats.
At least as of ...
'', 19 August 2005; includes a photo of al-Oufi, originally from a Saudi wanted list
Life
al-Oufi was born in al-Hindiya, Saudi Arabia.Stevens, Robert.
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, "Confusion reigns in the Kingdom", July 2, 2004 He was a sergeant in the Prison detachment of the National Service, but was discharged in 1989 for his overt support of anti-government forces.
In 1993, he traveled to Afghanistan; and fought in
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
and
Chechnya
Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...
, where he sustained a head wound and returned to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. Following his recovery, he opened a car dealership and traveled frequently to Germany through Dubai.
In 2001, he was back in Afghanistan, but fled the American invasion along with
Khalid al-Juhani
Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname. In 2002, he returned to Saudi Arabia for his father's funeral, which he attended disguised as a woman.
Leadership
During his 14 months as leader of AQAP, Al-Oufi wrote a few pieces for the al-Qaida online magazines
Sawt al-Jihad
''Voice of Jihad'' ( ar, صوت الجهاد, Ṣawt al-Jihād) is the title of a website published by the Taliban. The website is copyrighted to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
It is also the title of an online journal published by the Saudi ...
and ''Mu'askar al-Battar'', particularly about
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. A car bombing in
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
, which killed one and wounded dozens, came two days after an instigation by al-Oufi (on a terrorist web forum) to attack "crusader" targets in the Gulf nations.Small but not safe , ''
Al-Ahram
''Al-Ahram'' ( ar, الأهرام; ''The Pyramids''), founded on 5 August 1875, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second oldest after '' al-Waqa'i`al-Masriya'' (''The Egyptian Events'', founded 1828). It is majori ...
'', 24 March 2005
Al-Oufi has been variously described as a former policeman and a former prison guard. According to AQAP, he participated in some way in the fighting in Afghanistan.
Death
One other suspect with al-Oufi was killed, and another wounded and captured. In a simultaneous raid in
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
, four AQAP members were killed and one captured. These raids were made possible by the interception of mobile telephone transmissions.