Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi

Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi (born July 1, 1970) is a Moroccan-born terrorist and senior member of Al-Qaeda (AQ) who leads the organization's External Communications Office, including As-Sahab Media. He is the son-in-law of the group's late emir Ayman al-Zawahiri, and is seen as a potential successor to Saif al-Adel as leader of the terror group. Though primarily known by a nom de guerre which references his Moroccan birthplace in the Maghreb, his given name is Mohamed Abattay. After his radicalization in the late 1990s, al-Maghrebi abandoned his schooling in Germany and departed for the infamous Al Farouq training camp outside Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was hand-picked by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for work in the groups propaganda arm. Following the September 11 attacks, al-Maghrebi is believed to have quickly fled to Iran. He subsequently rose through the ranks of Al-Qaeda, gaining trust, and winning the hand of Zawahiri's daughter in marriage. By 2012, al-Maghrebi had become al-Qaeda's general manager for all of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The US moved to designate al-Maghrebi a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in early 2021. After the Taliban's return to power in August of that year, al-Maghrebi was believed to have been living together with Zawahiri in the same house in downtown Kabul where Zawahiri would later be killed in a U.S. drone strike. As of 2023 his whereabouts are unknown.
Early life and education
al-Maghrebi was born Mohamed Abattay in Marrakesh, Morocco. He left Morocco for Germany in 1996, where he studied computer programming and electrical engineering in Cologne at the University of Applied Sciences.
Militant career
While studying in Germany, al-Maghrebi joined a group of Muslim students that grew increasingly radical and that later pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden. The group, based in Krefeld, included Christian Ganczarski, who has been charged by the United States for his involvement in the Ghriba synagogue bombing.
In 1999, al-Maghrebi left for Afghanistan, where he trained at the Al Farouq training camp. He was pulled from training by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and was later reassigned to work at al-Qaeda's Media Committee. According to the FBI, al-Maghrebi fled to Iran soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In 2012, he started serving as al-Qaeda's general manager in Afghanistan and Pakistan and ran As-Sahab, al-Qaeda's media branch.
Designations
On January 12, 2021, the U.S. Department of State designated al-Maghrebi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added him to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. The Department of State's Rewards for Justice Program is offering a reward of up to $7 million for information on al-Maghrebi. On April 7, 2022, he was designated as a terrorist entity by the Moroccan Ministry of Justice, who claimed that he was living in Iran.
al-Maghrebi is seen as a potential successor to Saif al-Adel as Emir of al-Qaeda.
Personal life
Abattay is married to Ayman al-Zawahiri's daughter, Nabila. Abbatay was reported to be living in the Kabul house where al-Zawahiri was killed in 2022.
See also
Saif al-Adel
Abu Mohammad al-Julani
Ali Khamenei
References
Living people
Salafi jihadists
Moroccan al-Qaeda members
Al-Qaeda leaders
FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
1970 births