Qari Mohammad Yousef Ahmadi is one of the two
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
spokesmen, the other being
Zabiullah Mujahid
Zabihullah Mujahid ( ps, ; ''Ẕabīḥullāh Mujāhid'' ; also spelled Dhabih Allah Mujahid) is an Afghan official Central spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 25 October 2021 and Deputy Ministry of Information and Culture si ...
. In 2006, Ahmadi contacted
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
, the
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 ...
,
Canadian Press
The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...
and
Afghan Islamic Press by
satellite phone
A satellite telephone, satellite phone or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to other phones or the telephone network by radio through orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites, as cellphones do. The advantage of a sa ...
to offer Taliban messages regarding southern
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
.
In August 2008, his name began appearing once again, as the focus of a number of Canadian Press interviews with Toby Cohen, in which he advised Canadians that they should elect a
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
who would remove
Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
Pull out or else, Taliban warns Canada
August 18, 2008[Cohen, Toby. ]Canadian Press
The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...
Taliban urges next Canadian prime minister to pull troops out of Afghanistan
September 9, 2008 Ahmadi is quoted as saying that "the election is being held in Canada. That is why our attacks on Canadians are increased".
[Cohen, Toby. ]Canadian Press
The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...
Taliban is watching the Cdn election
September 9, 2008 He is also alleged to have said that the Taliban "don't want to fight with Canadians. Actually we want to create friendship with Canadians".
In November 2012, Ahmadi accidentally used
CC instead of
BCC when emailing a routine Taliban press release, exposing the names and email addresses of more than 400 Taliban press contacts. The list consisted mostly of journalists, as well as email addresses that may have belonged to an Afghan legislator, a provincial governor, academics, activists, an Afghan consultative committee, and a representative of
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ( ps, ګلب الدين حكمتيار; born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so calle ...
.
Personal information
Ahmadi was born and raised in
Zabul Province
Zabul (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the south of the country. It has a population of 249,000. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963. Historically, it was part of the Zabu ...
. He has four sons and three daughters.
Recent activities
Ahmadi is noted as a contributor/editor to the Taliban magazine ''
Al Somod''. In April 2014, he reported in detail on a suicide bomber that used a motorcycle to assassinate 50 US and ally soldiers.
His byline also appears on English-language Internet postings claiming to report insurgent activities.
on 24 August 2021, Ahmadi was introduced by
Zabiullah Mujahid
Zabihullah Mujahid ( ps, ; ''Ẕabīḥullāh Mujāhid'' ; also spelled Dhabih Allah Mujahid) is an Afghan official Central spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 25 October 2021 and Deputy Ministry of Information and Culture si ...
in a press conference.
See also
*
Ahmadi (surname) Ahmadi (احمدی) is a common surname. It may refer to the following:
* Ahmad Ahmadi, Iranian nurse
*Ahmad Ahmadi (philosopher)
* Ahmad Ahmadi (sailor)
* Ahmadreza Ahmadi
* Latif Ahmadi
* Masoud Ahmadi Moghaddasi
* Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani
*Rahma ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmadi, Yousef
Taliban spokespersons
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Pashtun people