- Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri
Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri ( _ar. أبو عبيدة البنشير; May 1950—
May 23 ,1996 ) was the "nom de guerre " [http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2004/issue2/jv8n2a6.html Tactical Deception and Strategic Surprise in al-Qai’da’s Operations] , Richard H. Shultz and Ruth Margolies Beitler; (other sources agree on his real name)] of Ali Amin al-Rashidi (علي أمين الرشيدي), one of the founders of the Islamist terrorist network now known asal-Qaeda . [http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/indict/2002/02cr892.pdf Indictment of Enaam Arnaout] in 2002, archive at the US Department of Justice; describes the founding of al-Qaeda] [http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/al-qaeda_gains_first_members.htm Al-Qaeda gains first members] , GlobalSecurity.org] [http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/abu_ubaidah_al-banshiri.htm Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri] , GlobalSecurity.org] When he drowned in a ferry accident inLake Victoria in 1996, he was the head of al-Qaeda's African presence and #2 in the whole organization, behindOsama bin Laden .History
Al-Banshiri was born in May 1950 in
Cairo , and served as a policeman inEgypt before joining the anti-Soviet effort inAfghanistan .c] His brother had participated in the assassination of Egyptian PresidentAnwar El Sadat .Ayman al-Zawahiri , head ofEgyptian Islamic Jihad , introduced al-Banshiri toOsama Bin Laden , who was so favorably impressed that he made al-Banshiri military commander of theAfghan Arabs . Al-Bashiri's second in command, wasMohammed Atef . [Lawrence Wright , "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11", Vintage, 2006, ISBN 978-1-4000-3084-2, p. 147] While still in Afghanistan, in August of 1988, he attended the founding meeting of al-Qaeda, along with bin Laden,Mamdouh Mahmud Salim , andAbdullah Azzam . [http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/founders_meet_and_form_al-qaeda.htm Global Security database] on the founding of al-Qaeda]While in Kenya and Tanzania he was known by the aliases Adel Habib, Karim, and Jalal. His real name had been kept secret even from his wife.
At some point al-Banshiri acquired either Dutch citizenshipc] or forged Dutch papers.c]
Death
When the news broke that the ferry
MV Bukoba had sunk in Lake Victoria, al-Qaeda sentFazul Abdullah Mohammed andWadih el-Hage to the scene, to verify that al-Banshiri was dead, and had not defected or been captured. [http://www.911investigations.net/IMG/pdf/doc-1337.pdf Transcript of testimony] in the trial of El Hage and others]Al-Banshiri was succeeded as al-Qaeda's "military" commander by another Egyptian ex-policeman,
Mohammed Atef . Al-Banshiri's senior role in East Africa was taken over, at least in part, byAbdullah Ahmed Abdullah .c]Notes and references
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.