Nasser al-Bahri
Encyclopedia
Nasser al-Bahri is a citizen of Yemen
who is alleged to have been one of Osama bin Laden's bodyguards.
He is known by the nickname "Abu Jandal" -- "the killer", or "the powerful one".
Al-Bahri is reported to have served as an Osama bin Laden bodyguard in Afghanistan
for six years prior to returning to Yemen in 2000.
He is alleged to have met 9-11 hijacker Mohamed Atta
and several other 9-11 hijackers in Afghanistan.
Yemeni security authorities took Al-Bahri into custody in December 2000, at US request.
Al-Bahri was released on a kind of parole, under the direction of a Yemeni judge Hamoud al-Hitar
.
Al-Hitar's Yemeni jihadist rehabilitation program
would give captured jihadists willing to debate their jihadist philosophy an opportunity to undergo a kind of house arrest where they would undergo re-education.
Al Bahri was released in 2002.
During a September 2009 interview with Michelle Shephard
, of the Toronto Star
Al Bahri described himself as no longer a member of al Qaeda, but said he was still a supporter of al Qaeda.
Shephard wrote that Al Bahri claimed to have recruited Salim Ahmed Hamdan
to Al Qaeda, and that years after they met they married sisters, making them brothers-in-law.
He was born in Saudi Arabia
.
He told Shephard he became interested in jihad while watching accounts of the foreigners who traveled to Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation.
He first traveled to Bosnia, in 1994, a Europe
an country, to help fight on behalf of its large and established enclaves of Muslims during its war of secession from Yugoslavia
.
Subsequently he traveled to Somalia
, and then Afghanistan, where he met Osama bin Laden
and joined Al Qaeda.
He has four young children.
He is writing a memoir.
While he said he opposes attacks that injure or kill civilians, in 2009 he said he supported al Qaeda's attacks on the World Trade Center
as a means to make Americans aware of their nation's activities abroad. Then, one year later in April 2010 he stated through an interpreter that he regretted not killing bin Laden when he had a chance, thus leading to the deaths of so many civilians.
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
who is alleged to have been one of Osama bin Laden's bodyguards.
He is known by the nickname "Abu Jandal" -- "the killer", or "the powerful one".
Al-Bahri is reported to have served as an Osama bin Laden bodyguard in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
for six years prior to returning to Yemen in 2000.
He is alleged to have met 9-11 hijacker Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta was one of the masterminds and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.Born in 1968...
and several other 9-11 hijackers in Afghanistan.
Yemeni security authorities took Al-Bahri into custody in December 2000, at US request.
Al-Bahri was released on a kind of parole, under the direction of a Yemeni judge Hamoud al-Hitar
Hamoud al-Hitar
Hamoud Al-Hitar is a Yemeni judge.He is notable for leading a Yemeni jihadist rehabilitation program, called the "Committee for Religious Dialogue"....
.
Al-Hitar's Yemeni jihadist rehabilitation program
Yemeni jihadist rehabilitation program
In January 2009 the President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh announced plans to start a new Yemeni jihadist rehabilitation program similar to the Saudi jihadist rehabilitation program....
would give captured jihadists willing to debate their jihadist philosophy an opportunity to undergo a kind of house arrest where they would undergo re-education.
Al Bahri was released in 2002.
During a September 2009 interview with Michelle Shephard
Michelle Shephard
Michelle Shephard is an investigative reporter with the Toronto Star newspaper in Canada. She has been awarded the Michener Award for public service journalism and twice won Canada's top newspaper prize, the National Newspaper Award. In 2011, she was an associate producer on an Oscar-nominated...
, of the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
Al Bahri described himself as no longer a member of al Qaeda, but said he was still a supporter of al Qaeda.
Shephard wrote that Al Bahri claimed to have recruited Salim Ahmed Hamdan
Salim Ahmed Hamdan
Salim Ahmed Hamdan is a Yemeni man, captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, and imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. He admits to being Osama bin Laden's personal driver claiming he needed the $200 monthly salary that came with the job....
to Al Qaeda, and that years after they met they married sisters, making them brothers-in-law.
Early life
Al Bahri suffers from diabetes.He was born in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
.
He told Shephard he became interested in jihad while watching accounts of the foreigners who traveled to Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation.
He first traveled to Bosnia, in 1994, a Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an country, to help fight on behalf of its large and established enclaves of Muslims during its war of secession from Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.
Subsequently he traveled to Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, and then Afghanistan, where he met Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and joined Al Qaeda.
Post release
Following his release al Bahri studied Business Administration, a field he now works in.He has four young children.
He is writing a memoir.
While he said he opposes attacks that injure or kill civilians, in 2009 he said he supported al Qaeda's attacks on the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
as a means to make Americans aware of their nation's activities abroad. Then, one year later in April 2010 he stated through an interpreter that he regretted not killing bin Laden when he had a chance, thus leading to the deaths of so many civilians.
Warns of escalation in Yemen
On August 26 warned of an escalation in fighting between al-Qaida and Yemeni authorities and predicted the government would need outside intervention to stay in power. al-Bahri told the Associated Press late Wednesday that recent attacks by al-Qaida in southern Yemen was an indication of its increasing strength.Book
- Nasser al-Bahri, Dans l'ombre de Ben Laden : révélations de son garde du corps repenti (avec la collaboration de Georges MalbrunotGeorges MalbrunotGeorge Malbrunot is a French journalist working for Le Figaro who, along with Christian Chesnot and their Syrian driver Muhammed al-Jundi, was taken hostage on August 20, 2004, by the Islamic Army in Iraq. This group gave the French government a 48-hour deadline to repeal its law against girls...
), éditions Michel Lafon, Neuilly-sur-Seine, 2010, 293 p., ISBN 978-2-7499-1197-7.
External links
- Sudarsan Raghavan, Former bin Laden bodyguard is among ex-guerrillas in Yemen, Washington Post, January 6, 2010