Khalid Saeed Batarfi خالد سعيد باطرفي | |
---|---|
Born | Between 1978–1980[1] |
Nationality | Saudi Arabian |
Other names | Abū al-Miqdād al-Kindī, Abū al-Miqdād al-Kanadī |
Known for | Emir of AQAP |
Military career | |
Allegiance | AQAP (2010–present) |
Years of service | 2010–present |
Rank | Supreme commander (Emir) of Abyan (2010–2011) Field commander in Hadramaut (2020–present) |
Battles/wars | Yemen Insurgency |
Khalid Saeed Batarfi (Arabic: خالد سعيد باطرفي, romanized: Khālid Saʿīd Bāṭarfī; born 1978 to 1980), also known as Abū al-Miqdād al-Kindī (Arabic: أبو المقداد الكِنْدِي),[3] is a Saudi Arabian militant and the current emir of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.[4] He oversaw the Yemen-based group's media network[5] and led jihadist fighters in their takeover of Yemen's Abyan Governorate in 2011, where he was accorded the position of emir.[6][7] He also reputedly carried out terrorist attacks in the Abyan and Hadhramaut governorates.[5]
On 17 March 2011, Batarfi was captured by security forces in the Taiz Governorate.[5] For four years, he was imprisoned in Mukalla. He was freed, along with about 300 other inmates, by al Qaeda fighters on 2 April 2015, during the Battle of Mukalla.[4][7][8] The Washington Post compared the Mukalla prison break to the escape of 23 fighters, including future AQAP emir Nasir al-Wuhayshi, from a Yemeni prison in 2006, a formative event for the group.[9]
Batarfi attracted media attention when he posed for photographs taken by al Qaeda members in the Hadhramaut governor's palace, which fighters took over.[7][10]
Batarfi was promoted to leader after the death of Qasim al-Raymi in January 2020.[11] In February 2021, the UN claimed that Batarfi was arrested during a security operation in Al Ghaydah in October 2020.[12] However, Batarfi later appeared in a video discussing the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.[13]
The U.S. Rewards for Justice Program is offering up to $5 million in exchange for information leading to Batarfi's apprehension.[1]