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 as al-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 in Lake Victoria in 1996, he was the head of al-Qaeda's African presence and #2 in the whole organization, behind Osama bin Laden.

History

Al-Banshiri was born in May 1950 in Cairo, and served as a policeman in Egypt before joining the anti-Soviet effort in Afghanistan.c] His brother had participated in the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat. Ayman al-Zawahiri, head of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, introduced al-Banshiri to Osama Bin Laden, who was so favorably impressed that he made al-Banshiri military commander of the Afghan Arabs. Al-Bashiri's second in command, was Mohammed 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, and Abdullah 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 sent Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and Wadih 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, by Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah.c]

Notes and references