|
| Left and right images: Yusuf Ahmed Ali, whose nom de guerre was Abu Obedia al Omani, during al Qaeda operations [left] and training [right]. Images from the SITE Intelligence Group. |
A jihadist fighter from the Middle Eastern country of Oman was killed during recent fighting along the Afghan-Pakistani border, according to a statement published on jihadist Internet forums.
Yusuf Ahmed Ali, whose nom de guerre was Abu Obedia al Omani, was 19 years old when he was killed in the "Khorasan," according to a martyrdom statement that was released on jihadist websites on Jan. 9 and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.
The statement was written by Abu Zubaydah al Lubnani, a Lebanese al Qaeda operative. Lubnani also recently released the martyrdom statement of a Jordanian fighter who was part of a cell of Middle Eastern terrorists involved in the December 2009 suicide attack at Combat Outpost Chapman in Khost province, Afghanistan that killed seven CIA officials and contractors. In that attack, the suicide bomber, who was another Jordanian, had lured the CIA officials into relaxing security protocols by promising to provide them intelligence that would lead to Ayman al Zawahiri.
According to Lubnani, al Omani was "born in 1992 in Barka," Oman; completed high school; and attended a "technical college" before he "immigrated to the land of Khorasan in 2011." Al Qaeda typically refers to Afghanistan and areas of Pakistan, Iran, and the Central Asia nations as the Khorasan.
Omani "arrived in the blessed land of Khorasan, longing for fighting and making preparations for the Cause of Allah," Lubnani said. Once he arrived, he "joined the training camps and received his share of training." Three pictures of al Omani in training were released with the statement.
Al Qaeda and allied terror groups typically conduct their training in Pakistan's tribal agencies, mainly in North and South Waziristan, where they are sheltered by the Haqqani Network and allied Taliban groups.
After his training, al Omani "was able... to participate in several invasions against the American forces and their apostate agents [Afghan security forces]," in Afghanistan. Two pictures of al Omani "during one of the operations" in Afghanistan were also released.
Al Qaeda is known to embed small teams of trainers with Taliban and other terrorist groups, and in the east is known to fight on the battlefield in small units. [See LWJ reports, Al Qaeda's paramilitary 'Shadow Army' and 'Foreign trainers' active in southeastern Afghan province, for more information on al Qaeda's role in Afghanistan.]
Although Lubnani did not provide the location of al Omani's death, it is likely he was killed recently while fighting in Afghanistan, as he focused on fighting US and Afghan forces, and not the Pakistani military. Lubnani said al Omani was killed on Jan. 8, 2012. "He stayed in the land of Khorasan for six months...."
"His hope in life was martyrdom in the Cause of Allah, so he attained it," Lubnani said.