Said Ali al-Shihri
Encyclopedia
Sa'id Ali Jabir Al Khathim Al Shihri (died February 12, 2011) was a Saudi Arabia
n deputy leader of the militant group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
, and possibly involved in the kidnappings and murders of foreigners in Yemen. Said Ali al-Shihri was captured at the Pakistan border with Afghanistan, in December 2001, and was one of the first detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
, arriving on January 21, 2002. He was held in extrajudicial detention
in American custody for almost six years.
Following his repatriation to Saudi custody he was enrolled in a rehabilitation and reintegration program. Following his release, he traveled to Yemen
.
On December 24, 2009, it was reported that he may have been killed in an air strike in Yemen. But on January 19, 2010, Yemen security authorities reported they had captured him.
On February 22, 2010, the Yemen Post reported that the release of an audio recording, after the reports of his death, or capture, confirmed he was at large.
They speculated that the audio recording was a sign that reports that his leader, Nasser Al-Wahayshi, had been killed, and that al Shihri was now the group's leader.
According to the United States Department of Defense
, al-Shihri spent two months in Afghanistan in approximately 2000, and trained at the Libyan training camp north of Kabul
.
Al Shihri said that he was in Afghanistan to purchase carpets for his family's furniture business. He denied any knowledge of weapons or participation in hostilities.
In 2001, Al-Shiri left Saudi Arabia and went to Bahrain
. He was on a watch list because he was suspected of funding other fighters' travels to Afghanistan after 9-11. He was also accused of helping Saudis acquire false travel documents to enter into Afghanistan. Specifically he was accused of meeting with "a group of extremists in Mashad, Iran", and briefing them on entry procedures into Afghanistan via the Al-Tayyibat crossing.
. He was traveling with an Afghan driver, another Saudi man who worked with the Red Crescent, and a member from the Saudi embassy in Pakistan, in a vehicle taking supplies to a camp in Afghanistan. He was found with an injured leg incurred during the American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan. He was also allegedly carrying $1,900.
He claimed he wanted to give the money to the Red Crescent
charity organization, but according to the US, he used the money to finance the travel for other fighters traveling from Bahrain
to Afghanistan.
prepared for his 2005 annual annual review listed fifteen "primary factors favor[ing] continued detention" and eight "primary factors favor[ing] release or transfer".
According to the 2005 memo he didn't enter Afghanistan across its western border with Iran but across its eastern border with Pakistan
.
According to the 2005 memo the instructions he received to assassinate someone were from Sheikh
Hamud Al-Uqqla.
According to the 2005 memo he met Abu Faisal al Ghamdi, the Herat
regional director for the charity al Wafa which American intelligence officials assert had ties to terrorism, and another al Wafa director had his phone number in his pocket litter
.
The 2005 memo repeated Al Shihri's account of his travel and wounding in Afghanistan—that he traveled there for humanitarian purposes, and was wounded within 17 hours of his arrival.
He claimed he had never heard of either al Wafa or al Qaida prior to his arrival in Guantanamo.
He denied any knowledge of weapons or participation in hostilities, or any participation in assisting militant recruits to travel to Afghanistan. He stated that Osama bin Laden "did not represent Islam".
prepared for his 2006 annual annual review listed twenty-two "primary factors favor[ing] continued detention" and nine "primary factors favor[ing] release or transfer".
According to the 2006 memo he decided to do charity work in Pakistan after he heard a speech by Shaykh Abdullah al-Jibrin at the Al-Rajeh mosque in Saudi Arabia and saw videos of Afghan refugees.
According to the 2006 memo he had previously traveled to the Pakistan border with Afghanistan to observe the work in a refugee camp near Chaman, Pakistan.
The 2006 memo was more specific about his assistance to potential fighters, stating: "The detainee met with a group of extremists in Mashad, Iran following the
11 September 2001 attacks and briefed them on entry procedures into Afghanistan via the Al-Tayyibat crossing.
The 2006 memo was also more specific about where he crossed—near Spin Buldak: "The detainee traveled with an Afghan driver, another Saudi man who worked with the Red Crescent, and a member from the Saudi embassy in Pakistan, in a vehicle taking supplies to a camp in Afghanistan.
The camp was about 5 kilometers from the border between Spin Buldak Afghanistan and Quetta
, Pakistan.
The 2006 memo stated one of his aliases: "was among 100 names taken from Afghanistan-based military training cmap applications located at an Arab office in Kandahar
".
The 2006 memo quoted the individual who claimed Al Shihri had "instigated" him to assassinate a writer, based on Al-Uqqla's fatwa. According to this version Al Shihri was not wounded, he had successfully fled Afghanistan, through Iran, to Kuwait
. The 2006 memo also stated he was taken to a hospital run by the Red Crescent society in Pakistan, and that he was arrested in the hospital.
No new allegations were added.
On January 9, 2009, the Department of Defense published two heavily redacted memos, from Al-Shihri's Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official.
The Board's recommendation was unanimous
The Board's recommendation was redacted.
England decision, made on July 23, 2007, was also redacted.
published records of the captives' height and weights.
Al Shihri's height was reported as 62 inches tall.
His weight was recorded 46 times between his arrival on January 21, 2002, when he weighed 138 pounds, and November 19, 2006, when he weighed 171 pounds.
According to that list he was repatriated to Saudi custody on November 9, 2007, with thirteen other men.
The records published from the captives' annual Administrative Reviews show his repatriation was the subject of formal internal review procedures in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
But the Board's recommendations from the 2007 review—the only one to be published—were redacted.
The conclusion the Designated Civilian Official
authorized was also redacted.
At least ten other men in his release group were not repatriated through the formal review procedure.
Peter Taylor writing for the BBC News
called the Saudis repatriated on November 9, 2007 with al-Shihri, "batch 10
".
He wrote that the BBC's research had found this batch to be a problematic cohort, and that four other men from this batch were named on the Saudi most wanted list.
This program was partially sponsored by the United States.
In January 2009, after Sa'id's release from the Saudi rehabilitation program he appeared in several jihadist videos, including one where he was identified as second in command of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
He appeared in a threatening YouTube
video with three other men, identified as Abu Hareth Muhammad al-Oufi, Abu Baseer al-Wahayshi and Abu Hureira Qasm al-Rimi.
The New York Times, quoting American diplomats in Sana, reported that a car bomb
that detonated outside their Embassy
in Sana
was the work of Al-Shihri.
On January 26, 2009. the Saudi Gazette
published a report based on interviews with Al Shihri's father, and current wife.
Jaber Aal Khath’am Al-Shihri said his son had spent Ramadan
with his family.
The elder Al Shihri said his son was a primary-school dropout, that he had been married twice, and had a young daughter.
He said that his son had been troubled by memories of his detention, where his son told him "he thought about death all the time."
He said that, after his release, his son had hoped to find a job as an imam.
He said that he had added an addition to his family home for his son and his family to live in.
However, after Ramadan, his son left his pregnant wife and child with his in-laws, and disappeared.
The Saudi Gazette reported that his wife confirmed his father's account.
She told the Gazette he had been acting normally, prior to his disappearance. “He used to smile and laugh and was generally happy.”
She described the 3000 Saudi Riyal monthly stipend he received from the Saudi government, following his release, as “an honor.”
She told the Gazette that her husband's sister had phoned her, after his disappearance, and told her he had requested she get a cell phone, so he could talk to her, but then he had not phoned.
The Saudi Gazette reported that one of Al Shihri's brothers-in-law, Yusuf Al-Shihri, was also a former Guantanamo captive.
While Al Shihri's wife had told the Saudi Gazette she suspected nothing, his father said visits from other former captives disturbed him, and he attributed his son's defection to their influence. He said that he regretted his son had not died from the wounds he suffered in Afghanistan.
Muhammad Al-Oufi's mother told the Saudi Gazette that her son's radicalization was due to Sa'id's influence.
reported on a message Al Shihri issued to Somali pirates.
CBS reported that there had been little concrete sign of a collaboration between Al Qaeda and the Somali pirates, but that the message also promised Osama bin Laden
, Ayman Al Zawahiri and Mullah Omar
that al-Shihri's group would be opening a new front in the Arabian Peninsula.
published a "fact sheet" listing captives who "re-engaged in terrorism".
The fact sheet listed al Awfi and Al Shihri.
of Jihad Watch
, linked Said Ali Al Shihri to the kidnapping and murder of Christian missionaries Rita Stumpp, Anita Gruenwald Eom Young-sun, and the kidnapping of six other Christian medical missionaries.
Fox News also quoted Gregory Johnsen, editor of "Islam and Insurgency in Yemen":
While Fox News acknowledged no group had taken responsibility for the murders it speculated that the possible involvement of Al-Shihri, a graduate of the Saudi jihadist rehabilitation program, would complicate United States President Barack Obama
's plans to close Guantanamo.
Said's father, and Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, Assistant Deputy Interior Minister
for Security Affairs, spoke out against his funding efforts.
reported an air strike in Yemen killed senior members of al Qaida.
They reported the dead may include Nasser al-Wahayshi, al-Shihri, and Anwar al-Awlaki
.
He was reported to have tried to evade a newly established roadblock, and to have been apprehended, with another man, after they were injured when their speeding vehicle flipped over.
They speculated that the audio tape indicated that the reports that the leader of Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Nasser al Wahayshi, was killed in the December 24, 2009 attack.
Al Shihri's audio took credit for Nigerian Umar Umar Farouk Abdulmutalib's attempted airliner bombing.
He threatened that the group had scheduled operation to "control Bab Al-Mandab strait".
The Yemen Post also reported that al Shihri claimed the USA was planning to insert US troops into Yemen to directly attack his group.
Judith Miller
, formerly of The New York Times
, reporting for Fox News, wrote that the captured men were reported to be "exchanging coded e-mails", with al-Shiri.
claim, noting that his former wife was a believer in the practice of takfir
(declaring others apostates from Islam), and had taken their 11-year old son to Yemen with al-Shihri in May 2009. al-Qahtani provided evidence of her inability to raise his son, noting that she was married to al-Shihri, her younger brother had also been imprisoned at Guantanamo, three of her brothers were allegedly "militant jihadists", and her second husband had been killed by Saudi security forces in 2004.
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...
n deputy leader of the militant group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is a militant Islamist organization, primarily active in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It was named for al-Qaeda, and says it is subordinate to that group and its now-deceased leader Osama bin Laden, a Saudi citizen whose father was born in Yemen...
, and possibly involved in the kidnappings and murders of foreigners in Yemen. Said Ali al-Shihri was captured at the Pakistan border with Afghanistan, in December 2001, and was one of the first detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, arriving on January 21, 2002. He was held in extrajudicial detention
Extrajudicial detention
Arbitrary or extrajudicial detention is the detention of individuals by a state, without ever laying formal charges against them.Although it has a long history of legitimate use in wartime , detention without charge, sometimes in secret, has been one of the hallmarks of totalitarian states...
in American custody for almost six years.
Following his repatriation to Saudi custody he was enrolled in a rehabilitation and reintegration program. Following his release, he traveled to Yemen
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....
.
On December 24, 2009, it was reported that he may have been killed in an air strike in Yemen. But on January 19, 2010, Yemen security authorities reported they had captured him.
On February 22, 2010, the Yemen Post reported that the release of an audio recording, after the reports of his death, or capture, confirmed he was at large.
They speculated that the audio recording was a sign that reports that his leader, Nasser Al-Wahayshi, had been killed, and that al Shihri was now the group's leader.
Life
The Yemen Post reports al Shihri did not finish high school.According to the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, al-Shihri spent two months in Afghanistan in approximately 2000, and trained at the Libyan training camp north of Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
.
Al Shihri said that he was in Afghanistan to purchase carpets for his family's furniture business. He denied any knowledge of weapons or participation in hostilities.
In 2001, Al-Shiri left Saudi Arabia and went to Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
. He was on a watch list because he was suspected of funding other fighters' travels to Afghanistan after 9-11. He was also accused of helping Saudis acquire false travel documents to enter into Afghanistan. Specifically he was accused of meeting with "a group of extremists in Mashad, Iran", and briefing them on entry procedures into Afghanistan via the Al-Tayyibat crossing.
Capture
Al-Shihri was captured at the Pakistan border crossing in December 2001 near Spin BoldakSpin Boldak
Spin Boldak or Spin Buldak is a border town in the southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan, right next to the Durand Line border with Pakistan. It is linked by a highway with the city of Kandahar to the north, and with Chaman and Quetta in Pakistan to the south. Spin Boldak has the second major...
. He was traveling with an Afghan driver, another Saudi man who worked with the Red Crescent, and a member from the Saudi embassy in Pakistan, in a vehicle taking supplies to a camp in Afghanistan. He was found with an injured leg incurred during the American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan. He was also allegedly carrying $1,900.
He claimed he wanted to give the money to the Red Crescent
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
charity organization, but according to the US, he used the money to finance the travel for other fighters traveling from Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
to Afghanistan.
- he traveled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan, after September 11, 2001, with $1,900, that he planned to give to the Red Crescent charity;
- he was an "al Qaida travel facilitator", who funded other fighters, and guided them on how to cross the IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
-Afghan border; - he was on a watch list because he was suspected of helping Saudis acquire false travel documents, for traveling to Afghanistan;
- he trained at the Libyan camp north of KabulKabulKabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
; - he was instructed to assassinate someone, via a fatwaFatwaA fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
; - his leg was wounded during the American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan.
2005 Summary of Evidence memo
The three page Summary of Evidence memoSummary of Evidence (ARB)
Counter-terrorism analysts prepared a Summary of Evidence memo for the Administrative Review Board hearings of approximately 460 captives in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba from December 2004 to December 2005.-Release of the memos:...
prepared for his 2005 annual annual review listed fifteen "primary factors favor[ing] continued detention" and eight "primary factors favor[ing] release or transfer".
According to the 2005 memo he didn't enter Afghanistan across its western border with Iran but across its eastern border with Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
According to the 2005 memo the instructions he received to assassinate someone were from Sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
Hamud Al-Uqqla.
According to the 2005 memo he met Abu Faisal al Ghamdi, the Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
regional director for the charity al Wafa which American intelligence officials assert had ties to terrorism, and another al Wafa director had his phone number in his pocket litter
Pocket litter
Pocket litter is a term for material, including notes scribbled on scraps of paper, that accumulates in an individual's pockets. It can include identity cards, transportation tickets, personal photographs, computer files and similar material....
.
The 2005 memo repeated Al Shihri's account of his travel and wounding in Afghanistan—that he traveled there for humanitarian purposes, and was wounded within 17 hours of his arrival.
He claimed he had never heard of either al Wafa or al Qaida prior to his arrival in Guantanamo.
He denied any knowledge of weapons or participation in hostilities, or any participation in assisting militant recruits to travel to Afghanistan. He stated that Osama bin Laden "did not represent Islam".
2006 Summary of Evidence memo
The four page Summary of Evidence memoSummary of Evidence (ARB)
Counter-terrorism analysts prepared a Summary of Evidence memo for the Administrative Review Board hearings of approximately 460 captives in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba from December 2004 to December 2005.-Release of the memos:...
prepared for his 2006 annual annual review listed twenty-two "primary factors favor[ing] continued detention" and nine "primary factors favor[ing] release or transfer".
According to the 2006 memo he decided to do charity work in Pakistan after he heard a speech by Shaykh Abdullah al-Jibrin at the Al-Rajeh mosque in Saudi Arabia and saw videos of Afghan refugees.
According to the 2006 memo he had previously traveled to the Pakistan border with Afghanistan to observe the work in a refugee camp near Chaman, Pakistan.
The 2006 memo was more specific about his assistance to potential fighters, stating: "The detainee met with a group of extremists in Mashad, Iran following the
11 September 2001 attacks and briefed them on entry procedures into Afghanistan via the Al-Tayyibat crossing.
The 2006 memo was also more specific about where he crossed—near Spin Buldak: "The detainee traveled with an Afghan driver, another Saudi man who worked with the Red Crescent, and a member from the Saudi embassy in Pakistan, in a vehicle taking supplies to a camp in Afghanistan.
The camp was about 5 kilometers from the border between Spin Buldak Afghanistan and Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
, Pakistan.
The 2006 memo stated one of his aliases: "was among 100 names taken from Afghanistan-based military training cmap applications located at an Arab office in Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
".
The 2006 memo quoted the individual who claimed Al Shihri had "instigated" him to assassinate a writer, based on Al-Uqqla's fatwa. According to this version Al Shihri was not wounded, he had successfully fled Afghanistan, through Iran, to Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
. The 2006 memo also stated he was taken to a hospital run by the Red Crescent society in Pakistan, and that he was arrested in the hospital.
2007 Summary of Evidence memo
The three page Summary of Evidence memo prepared for his 2007 annual annual review listed just eleven "primary factors favor[ing] continued detention" and six "primary factors favor[ing] release or transfer".No new allegations were added.
On January 9, 2009, the Department of Defense published two heavily redacted memos, from Al-Shihri's Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official.
The Board's recommendation was unanimous
The Board's recommendation was redacted.
England decision, made on July 23, 2007, was also redacted.
Guantanamo medical records
On March 16, 2007 the Department of DefenseUnited States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
published records of the captives' height and weights.
Al Shihri's height was reported as 62 inches tall.
His weight was recorded 46 times between his arrival on January 21, 2002, when he weighed 138 pounds, and November 19, 2006, when he weighed 171 pounds.
Repatriation
On November 25, 2008, the Department of Defense released a list of the dates captives departed from Guantanamo.According to that list he was repatriated to Saudi custody on November 9, 2007, with thirteen other men.
The records published from the captives' annual Administrative Reviews show his repatriation was the subject of formal internal review procedures in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
But the Board's recommendations from the 2007 review—the only one to be published—were redacted.
The conclusion the Designated Civilian Official
Designated Civilian Official
The Designated Civilian Official is the title of the civilian appointed to head the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants .The DCO and OARDEC were officially created on June 23, 2004.-Announcement:...
authorized was also redacted.
At least ten other men in his release group were not repatriated through the formal review procedure.
Peter Taylor writing for the BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
called the Saudis repatriated on November 9, 2007 with al-Shihri, "batch 10
Batch 10
Batch 10 is a name journalist have given to the tenth batch of former Saudi captives to be repatriated to Saudi Arabian custody.Five of the fourteen captives in this group repatriated to Saudi captivity on November 9, 2007 were among the eleven former Guantanamo captives to be listed on the 85 men...
".
He wrote that the BBC's research had found this batch to be a problematic cohort, and that four other men from this batch were named on the Saudi most wanted list.
Post-release
After Sa'id's repatriation to Saudi custody he went through a Saudi rehabilitation and reintegration program for former jihadists.This program was partially sponsored by the United States.
In January 2009, after Sa'id's release from the Saudi rehabilitation program he appeared in several jihadist videos, including one where he was identified as second in command of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
He appeared in a threatening YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video with three other men, identified as Abu Hareth Muhammad al-Oufi, Abu Baseer al-Wahayshi and Abu Hureira Qasm al-Rimi.
The New York Times, quoting American diplomats in Sana, reported that a car bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
that detonated outside their Embassy
2008 American Embassy attack in Yemen
The 2008 American Embassy attack in Yemen in Sana'a, Yemen on September 17, 2008 resulted in 19 deaths and 16 injuries. Six attackers, six Yemeni police, and seven civilians were killed. This attack was the second occurring in the same year, after a mortar attack earlier in 2008 on March 18...
in Sana
Sana
-Geography:* Sana'a, the capital of Yemen* Sana, Haute-Garonne, France, a commune in the Haute-Garonne département* Sana, Bhutan, a town in Bhutan* Sana, Greece, a village in the northern part of the prefecture of Chalkidiki...
was the work of Al-Shihri.
On January 26, 2009. the Saudi Gazette
Saudi Gazette
Saudi Gazette is the leading English language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. and is currently available both in print and online.As of July 1, 2011, Dr Omar S. Elmershedi is the Saudi Gazette Editor-in-Chief.Managing Editor: Shams Ahsan...
published a report based on interviews with Al Shihri's father, and current wife.
Jaber Aal Khath’am Al-Shihri said his son had spent Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
with his family.
The elder Al Shihri said his son was a primary-school dropout, that he had been married twice, and had a young daughter.
He said that his son had been troubled by memories of his detention, where his son told him "he thought about death all the time."
He said that, after his release, his son had hoped to find a job as an imam.
He said that he had added an addition to his family home for his son and his family to live in.
However, after Ramadan, his son left his pregnant wife and child with his in-laws, and disappeared.
The Saudi Gazette reported that his wife confirmed his father's account.
She told the Gazette he had been acting normally, prior to his disappearance. “He used to smile and laugh and was generally happy.”
She described the 3000 Saudi Riyal monthly stipend he received from the Saudi government, following his release, as “an honor.”
She told the Gazette that her husband's sister had phoned her, after his disappearance, and told her he had requested she get a cell phone, so he could talk to her, but then he had not phoned.
The Saudi Gazette reported that one of Al Shihri's brothers-in-law, Yusuf Al-Shihri, was also a former Guantanamo captive.
While Al Shihri's wife had told the Saudi Gazette she suspected nothing, his father said visits from other former captives disturbed him, and he attributed his son's defection to their influence. He said that he regretted his son had not died from the wounds he suffered in Afghanistan.
Muhammad Al-Oufi's mother told the Saudi Gazette that her son's radicalization was due to Sa'id's influence.
Called upon Somali pirates to "increase your attacks upon Crusaders"
On April 16, 2009, CBS NewsCBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
reported on a message Al Shihri issued to Somali pirates.
CBS reported that there had been little concrete sign of a collaboration between Al Qaeda and the Somali pirates, but that the message also promised 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...
, Ayman Al Zawahiri and Mullah Omar
Mohammed Omar
Mullah Mohammed Omar , often simply called Mullah Omar, is the leader of the Taliban movement that operates in Afghanistan. He was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to late 2001, under the official title "Head of the Supreme Council"...
that al-Shihri's group would be opening a new front in the Arabian Peninsula.
Listed as a former captive who "re-engaged in terrorism"
On May 27, 2009, the Defense Intelligence AgencyDefense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
published a "fact sheet" listing captives who "re-engaged in terrorism".
The fact sheet listed al Awfi and Al Shihri.
Linked to the murder of Christian missionaries in Yemen
Fox News quoting Robert SpencerRobert Spencer
Robert Bruce Spencer is an American author and blogger best known for critiques of Islam and research into Islamic terrorism and jihad. He has published ten books, including two New York Times bestsellers, and is a regular contributor to David Horowitz's FrontPage Magazine and Human Events...
of Jihad Watch
Jihad Watch
Jihad Watch is a blog affiliated with the David Horowitz Freedom Center, which is run independently by American author Robert Spencer. It is considered an important platform for the counterjihad movement....
, linked Said Ali Al Shihri to the kidnapping and murder of Christian missionaries Rita Stumpp, Anita Gruenwald Eom Young-sun, and the kidnapping of six other Christian medical missionaries.
|
Fox News also quoted Gregory Johnsen, editor of "Islam and Insurgency in Yemen":
|
While Fox News acknowledged no group had taken responsibility for the murders it speculated that the possible involvement of Al-Shihri, a graduate of the Saudi jihadist rehabilitation program, would complicate United States President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's plans to close Guantanamo.
Released a video requesting donations
On September 30, 2009 the Middle East Media Resources Institute reported that Said Al Shiri had released a video requesting donations.Said's father, and Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, Assistant Deputy Interior Minister
Interior minister
An interior ministry is a government ministry typically responsible for policing, national security, and immigration matters. The ministry is often headed by a minister of the interior or minister of home affairs...
for Security Affairs, spoke out against his funding efforts.
Reported killed in an air strike
On December 24, 2009 ABC NewsABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
reported an air strike in Yemen killed senior members of al Qaida.
They reported the dead may include Nasser al-Wahayshi, al-Shihri, and Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...
.
Reported to be in Yemeni custody
On January 19, 2010, Yemen security authorities reported they had captured al-Shiri.He was reported to have tried to evade a newly established roadblock, and to have been apprehended, with another man, after they were injured when their speeding vehicle flipped over.
Release of an audio recording in February 2010
The Yemen Post reported that al Shihri released an audio recording made after the reports of his death and capture.They speculated that the audio tape indicated that the reports that the leader of Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Nasser al Wahayshi, was killed in the December 24, 2009 attack.
Al Shihri's audio took credit for Nigerian Umar Umar Farouk Abdulmutalib's attempted airliner bombing.
He threatened that the group had scheduled operation to "control Bab Al-Mandab strait".
The Yemen Post also reported that al Shihri claimed the USA was planning to insert US troops into Yemen to directly attack his group.
The arrest of 100 suspect followers announced in March 2010
On March 25, 2010, Saudi officials announced that they had arrested 100 suspected followers of Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.Judith Miller
Judith Miller (journalist)
Judith Miller is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, formerly of the New York Times Washington bureau. Her coverage of Iraq's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction program both before and after the 2003 invasion generated much controversy...
, formerly of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, reporting for Fox News, wrote that the captured men were reported to be "exchanging coded e-mails", with al-Shiri.
Named in a custody dispute
In August 2009, the first husband of al-Shihri's wife Umm Hajir Al-Azdi, named Saoud Aal Shaye’ al-Qahtani, launched a Child custodyChild custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
claim, noting that his former wife was a believer in the practice of takfir
Takfir
In Islamic law, takfir or takfeer refers to the practice of one Muslim declaring another Muslim an unbeliever or kafir...
(declaring others apostates from Islam), and had taken their 11-year old son to Yemen with al-Shihri in May 2009. al-Qahtani provided evidence of her inability to raise his son, noting that she was married to al-Shihri, her younger brother had also been imprisoned at Guantanamo, three of her brothers were allegedly "militant jihadists", and her second husband had been killed by Saudi security forces in 2004.