Abu Laith al-Libi

Q: When did Abu Laith al-Libi die?

Abu Laith al-Libi died on January 29, 2008.

Q: How old was Abu Laith al-Libi when they died?

Abu Laith al-Libi was 41 years old at the time of death.

Q: What was Abu Laith al-Libi's cause of death?

The cause of death of Abu Laith al-Libi was missile strike.

Abu al-Layth al-Libi (Arabic: أبو الليث الليبي, romanized: ʾAbū al-Layth al-Lībī; 1 January 1967 – 29 January 2008), born Ali Ammar Ashur al-Raqiai, was a Libyan militant who was a leader of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan who appeared in several al-Qaeda videos. He was believed to have been active in the tribal regions of Waziristan in Pakistan. He also served as an al Qaeda spokesman. According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, he was an "expert in guerilla warfare."

Life

The Defense Intelligence Agency says he was born in 1967. In the 1980s he was one of the Afghan Arabs who came to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War. He returned to Libya in 1994 and took part in a failed attempt to oust Muammar Gaddafi. In the wake of this attempt al-Libi escaped to Saudi Arabia, where he was imprisoned in Riyadh following the Khobar Towers bombing. Sometime thereafter he was either released or managed to escape, and came to Afghanistan to collaborate with al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In 1997, a dispute between the two oldest brothers of the Canadian Khadr family, Abdullah and Abdurahman, was mediated by al-Libi, who earned their confidence and respect telling them about Dubai and Ferraris, and they later referred to him as a "really cool" person. In 2002, he approached the father Ahmed Khadr about letting the 15-year-old Omar serve as a translator for some Arab "visitors" in the region. When a gun-battle resulted in the young translator being sent to Guantanamo Bay detention camp, al-Libi tried to placate the family with gifts and apologies, but Khadr remained furious and refused to associate with al-Libi, whom he blamed for not taking care of his son.

English Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Abu al-Layth al-Libi

In May 2005 when Abu Faraj al-Libbi was captured in Pakistan, his identity was confused in many reports with Abu al-Layth al-Libi.

Al-Libi was seen in two online videos in 2007, the first of which called for the kidnapping of Westerners. The second claimed preparations were being made for war against Israel and the subsequent imposition of Islam in the world. In February of that year he is said to have been involved in the Bagram Air Base bombing, which al-Qaeda claimed was an attempted assassination of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. In November 2007 he reported the merger of Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, a Libyan group waging jihad against Gaddafi, with al-Qaeda; this would be his last public appearance before his death.

Death

On January 31, 2008, al-Libi was reported to have been killed by a targeted killing drone attack from an unmanned CIA Predator drone, either late Monday, January 28, or early Tuesday, January 29, 2008. CNN attributed reports of his death to a "knowledgeable western official", and an "unnamed military source".^{[citation needed]}

MSNBC reported that some intelligence sources describe him as the number three leader of al Qaeda.

On January 31, 2008, it was reported by the SITE Intelligence Group that he had been killed after a message appeared on Ekhlaas.org, an Islamist website.

[Libi] was martyred with a group of his brothers in the land of Muslim Pakistan ... Though we are sad for his loss, he left a legacy that will inflame the enemy nation and religion.

— Ekhlaas.org,

Other members of al Qaeda's cadre of leaders have been reported to have been killed by the airstrike that killed al Libi.

The Italian news source Adnkronos reported three other al Qaeda leaders were killed. They were Abu Obeida Tawari al-Obeidi, Abu Adel al-Kuwaiti and Abdel Ghaffar al-Darnawi.

The Kuwaiti news source Arab Times also reported Abu Adel al-Kuwaiti was killed in the airstrike, but it asserted he was a Saudi, in spite of his name. It reported the death in the airstrike of a second Saudi, named Tawari Rakhis Al-Mutairi, who had also lived in Kuwait for a long period of time.

Michael McConnell, the USA's Director of National Intelligence, told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee

The death last week of Abu Layth al-Libi, al Qaeda's charismatic senior military commander and a key link between al Qaeda and its affiliates in North Africa, is the most serious blow to the group's top leadership since the December 2005 death of then-external operations chief Hamza Rabia.

Turkistanis were among ten Al-Qaeda allies who were killed alongside Abu Sahil al-Libi and Abu al-Layth al-Libi.

Abu Laith al-Libi

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1.Which U.S. official was the target of the Bagram Air Base bombing allegedly involving Abu al-Layth al-Libi?

2.In November 2007, what announcement regarding the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group did Abu al-Layth al-Libi make?

3.How was Abu al-Layth al-Libi reportedly killed in January 2008?

4.According to MSNBC, how was Abu al-Layth al-Libi described by some intelligence sources regarding his position in al-Qaeda?

5.Which organization reported the death of Abu al-Layth al-Libi after finding a message on Ekhlaas.org?

6.According to the Italian news source Adnkronos, which person was killed in the same airstrike as Abu al-Layth al-Libi?

7.To which 2005 death did Michael McConnell compare the death of Abu al-Layth al-Libi in terms of its severity to al-Qaeda's leadership?

8.What was the birth name of Abu al-Layth al-Libi?

9.In what year was Abu al-Layth al-Libi born?

10.During which conflict did Abu al-Layth al-Libi first go to Afghanistan to fight in the 1980s?

11.Which country did Abu al-Layth al-Libi return to in 1994 to attempt to oust Muammar Gaddafi?

12.After fleeing Libya, in which country was Abu al-Layth al-Libi imprisoned following the Khobar Towers bombing?

13.What topics did Abu al-Layth al-Libi use to earn the confidence of the Khadr brothers in 1997?

14.In 2002, what role did Abu al-Layth al-Libi suggest for the 15-year-old Omar Khadr?

15.Whose identity was frequently confused with Abu al-Layth al-Libi in media reports in 2005?

16.In a 2007 video, what action did Abu al-Layth al-Libi call for against Westerners?

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