Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi (October 1975 – April 21, 2015) was a senior leader 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 ...

(AQAP) based in

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 ...

. Al-Ansi appeared in many of AQAP's propaganda videos, claiming the

kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

of US photojournalist

Luke Somers Luke Daniel Somers (29 August 1981 – 6 December 2014) was a British-born American photojournalist who had been held hostage by the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen. He was a dual citizen of the Unit ...

and the

Charlie Hebdo attack On 7 January 2015, at about 11:30 a.m. CET local time, two French Muslim terrorists and brothers, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, forced their way into the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper ''Charlie Hebdo'' in Paris. Armed with ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. On 7 May 2015, AQAP announced that al-Ansi was killed in a US

drone strike Drone warfare is a form of aerial warfare using unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The United States, United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France, India, Pakist ...

Biography

In 1993, al-Ansi enrolled at the

Iman University Iman University (also al-Iman University, el-Eman University, or al-Eman University; ar, جامعة الإيمان; ''Jāmiʿat al-Īmān'') is a Sunni religious school founded in 1993 in Sanaa, Yemen.

, which was headed by Sheikh

Abdul Majid al-Zindani Abdul Majeed al-Zindani (; born in 1942 in Ibb, Yemen) is a leading Islamist, founder and head of the Iman University in Yemen, head of the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood political movement and founder of the Commission on Scientific Signs in the Q ...

, a longtime ally of

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 ...

and al-Qaeda. In 1996 he tried to fight in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

, but the

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

i authorities prevented him from doing so. Instead, he went to

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 ...

where he met senior al-Qaeda officials, Abu Hafs al-Masri and Saif al-Adel. Along with other al-Qaeda members, al-Ansi tried to join the

Civil war in Tajikistan The Tajikistani Civil War ( tg, Ҷанги шаҳрвандии Тоҷикистон, translit=Jangi shahrvandiyi Tojikiston / Çangi shahrvandiji Toçikiston; russian: Гражданская война в Таджикистане), also known ...

but failed to reach the country "due to the heavy snow". He went home to Yemen in 1997, but returned to Afghanistan in 1998. He was received by Osama bin Laden, who sent him to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

and placed him as

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 ...

of the Kabul Reception. Al-Ansi joined al-Qaeda's forces on the battlefield and was selected to participate in their most intense training course in Afghanistan, called the "Qualification of the Forces". Senior al-Qaeda leaders taught the course and among his trainees was

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 ...

, who is AQAP's military commander. Al-Ansi and al-Raymi received further training at the Al-Farouq camp. In 2001, Bin Laden had al-Ansi travel to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, where he was to qualify the mujahideen in

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

and militarily. That same year, al-Ansi assisted As-Sahab, al Qaeda's propaganda arm, in creating two productions: the "American Intervention" and the "State of the Islamic Ummah". After Al-Ansi completed his mission in the Philippines, he tried to return to Afghanistan after the US-led invasion of the country in the wake of the

9/11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Suicide attack, suicide List of terrorist incidents, terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, ...

. Al-Ansi was detained in Yemen en route to Afghanistan in early 2002; Yemeni authorities released him after six months imprisonment. After his release, he studied at the Iman University, where he received a certificate in Sharia jurisprudence. In addition to attending lectures at Iman, he preached among the youth and conducted some special training. Al-Ansi eventually became a senior official in AQAP, and attempted to convince the militant Jihadist

Al Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...

and

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

(ISIL) groups in Syria to end their fighting and unite against the West. In April 2015, he was killed by a US drone strike in Yemen with his eldest son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansi, Nasser Yemeni al-Qaeda members 2015 deaths Deaths by United States drone strikes in Yemen Assassinated al-Qaeda leaders 1975 births People from Taiz Yemeni Islamists Yemeni mass murderers Bosnian mujahideen People killed in the Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)

Biography

See also

References