Khaled bin Ouda bin Mohammed al-Harbi, ( ar, خالد بن عودة بن محمد الحربي, ''Khālid bin ‘Ūdah bin Muḥammad al-Ḥarbī'') (c.1963 - present) is a
Saudi national who was associated with
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 his death in 2011. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, his group is designated ...
's
mujahadeen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term t ...
group in the 1980s, and is thought to have rejoined bin Laden and
al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...
in the mid-1990s. Also known as Abu Suleiman al-Makki (Arabic: ابوسليمان المكي), he has a thick beard and requires the use of a
wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), ce ...
.
The ''
BBC'' reports that Al-Harbi was
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (June 19, 1951 – July 31, 2022) was an Egyptian-born terrorist and physician who served as the second emir of al-Qaeda from June 16, 2011, until his death.
Al-Zawahiri graduated from Cairo University with a ...
's son-in-law.
[Militant Saudi sheikh surrenders]
'' BBC'', July 13, 2004
Fighting for Islam
Al-Harbi volunteered to fight against the
Soviet invaders of Afghanistan during the 1980s.
According to the web-site ''
Global Terror Alert''
Al-Harbi volunteered to fight in
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...
in 1992.
Al-Harbi lost the use of his legs during a skirmish in Bosnia.
Settled in Bosnia
Following their successful war of liberation, in 1995, the new Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina offered citizenship to all foreign volunteers who had fought on their behalf.
Al-Harbi settled in Bosnia, until arrest warrants were issued against him, and eighteen other men, in 1997.
[ The allegation against Al-Harbi was that he had provided a ]safehouse
A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is, in a generic sense, a secret place for sanctuary or suitable to hide people from the law, hostile actors or actions, or from retribution, threats or perceived danger. It may also be a metaphor.
Histori ...
for terrorists.
Al-Harbi disappeared from the time his arrest warrant was issued and his appearance in a video taped in late 2001 where he had an extended conversation with Osama bin Laden.
Appearance with Osama bin Laden
The U.S. Department of Defense released a videotape on December 13, 2001 showing Osama bin Laden having an extended conversation with an old acquaintance about the attack of 9-11
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
.[
]
''Time magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...
'' reported that unidentified U.S. officials described al Harbi as being "a confidant and spiritual sounding board for bin Laden," but not an al Qaeda member."[
]
''Time'' reported that Nawaf Obaid
Nawaf Essam Ahmad Obaid (Arabic: نواف عصام احمد عبید) is a Saudi Arabian political scientist, and a former foreign policy & media advisor. He currently serves as the CEO of the Essam & Dalal OBAID Foundation (EDOF) in Geneva, a Co ...
, who they identified as a Saudi security analyst, said al-Harbi is cooperating. Obaid called al-Harbi a "very successful recruiter".
In the tape, Khaled al-Harbi states that the tape was being made at the arrangement of the brothers who support al Qaida:[
:''"We don't want to take much of your time, but this is the arrangement of the brothers. People are now supporting us more, even those ones who did not support us in the past, support us now. I did not want to take that much of your time."
In the tape, Khaled al-Harbi states that he and those with him began wondering why they had not heard news of the attacks, and then they got the news and celebrated.
The introduction to the translation states that the tape was made in mid-November 2001 in Afghanistan.][ The U.S. bombing of Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001.
]
Amnesty and surrender
Afterwards, Al-Harbi lived in hiding along the Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian-Afghani border.Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
n embassy in Iran on July 13, 2004.[Saudis: Bin Laden associate surrenders: Video showed al-Harbi talking to al Qaeda leader about 9/11]
'' CNN'', July 13, 2004
His surrender was part of a one-month amnesty
Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...
offer by the Saudi government on June 23, 2004;
Some commentators speculated that Al-Harbi was not eligible for the amnesty, arguing that it applied only to those who committed attacks inside Saudi Arabia.
References
External links
Report: Fourth militant surrenders to Saudis: Amnesty for al-Qaida associates to end soon
''MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
'', July 16, 2004
Saudi officials identify man on bin Laden tape
'' CNN'', December 14, 2001
Sources
* Reuters
* US Military translation of tap
* Saudi official news agency release of 12 November 2004 concerning the release of those asking for amnesty. Statement regarding extradition by Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz to the Council of Ministers, July 2003.
* Date of US military bombing starting in Afghanistan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbi, Khaled
1963 births
Living people
Saudi Arabian al-Qaeda members