M

Midhat Mursi

Born
April 29, 1953
Died
July 28, 2008
Age
55 years
Cause
missile strike

About Midhat Mursi

Midhat Mursi was a notable figure. Born in 1953, Mursi died in 2008 at the age of 55.

Explore other notable deaths in 2008 or deaths in July 2008.

Advertisement

Full Biography

|

Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar (Arabic: مدحت مرسي السيد عمر), also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri (Arabic: أبو خباب المصري; 29 April 1953 in Egypt – 28 July 2008 in Pakistan) was a chemist and alleged top bomb maker for al-Qaeda and part of Osama bin Laden's inner circle. The United States had a $5 million bounty on his head. Although reported to have been killed in a U.S. attack in January 2006, he survived and intelligence officials believe he went on to attempt to resurrect al-Qaeda's program to develop or obtain weapons of mass destruction. On 28 July 2008, Mursi was killed in an American drone attack in South Waziristan, Pakistan.

Al-Qaeda activities

Umar is believed by U.S. authorities to have run the infamous Derunta training camp in Afghanistan where he is reported to have used dogs and other animals for his chemical experiments. He is also alleged to have written an explosives manual, and to have personally trained Richard Reid, the so-called "shoe bomber", as well as Zacarias Moussaoui. The manual is still in use by al-Qaeda operatives today.

Wrong photo

The CIA acknowledged on 26 January 2006 that they had been using a photo of Abu Hamza al-Masri in their wanted photo for Midhat Mursi, who shared the similar alias "Abu Khabab al Masri". Mursi's poster at the Rewards for Justice Program was changed to a different photo.

Misreported death

He was reported to have been killed in the Damadola airstrike in Pakistan on 13 January 2006 along with several other al-Qaeda operatives. The target of the strike was Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's then-number 2 man. Pakistani intelligence originally confirmed Mursi's death in the airstrike along with al-Zawahiri's alleged son-in-law, Abdul Rehman al-Maghribi, but on 8 September 2007, the Washington Post, citing "U.S. and Pakistani officials", said that all the dead in that raid had been locals.

Death

On 28 July 2008, the Pentagon confirmed al-Masri was killed in a missile strike in Pakistan that also killed five other militants including Ibrahim, the son of Ahmad Salama Mabruk.

Family

Mursi's son, Mohammed al-Masri, was born in 1980 in Aqaba, Jordan. He has been associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as well as al-Qaeda, though he has expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the former.

Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Books & Media

Find books, audiobooks and films about Midhat Mursi on Amazon.

Available at Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Sources

People who died on July 28

Spotted an error?

Help us keep the archive accurate. Report a correction with a source.

Report an error for Midhat Mursi →

Advertisement

We use cookies for analytics (Google Analytics 4 and PostHog) and advertising (Google AdSense) to understand site usage and improve your experience. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to the use of these cookies. See our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy for details.