Haitham al-Badri | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Haitham Sabah Shaker Mohammed al-Badri |
| Born | unknown likely Samarra (origin of the al-Badri clan and his principal area of operations) |
| Died | 2 August 2007 Samarra, Salahuddin Governorate, Iraq |
| Allegiance |  Baathist Iraq (until 2003)Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna
|
| Service/ | Republican Guard (Iraq) (until 2003) Military of al-Qaeda in Iraq (2004–2007) |
| Rank | Warrant Officer (until 2003) Commander (Al-Qaeda in Iraq) (2004–2007) |
| Battles/wars | Iraq War (2003–2007) † |
Haitham Sabah Shaker Mohammed al-Badri (Arabic: هيثم صباح شاكر محمد البدري, died 2 August 2007) was a commander of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in Salahuddin Province[1] who reportedly masterminded the 2006 al-Askari mosque bombing which substantially damaged the Shiite mosque and set off a wave of retaliatory violence by the Shiites against other Muslims.
He was a former Iraqi government official under Saddam Hussein while other sources state he was a warrant officer in the Republican Guard; and following the US-led invasion in 2003, joined Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna before becoming a member of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.[2] Badri was killed in a US airstrike east of Samarra on 2 August 2007.[3][4]
He was a distant relative of future Islamic State leader Ibrahim al-Badri al-Samarrai (Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi), being the son of one of al-Baghdadi's cousins.[5]
