Abu Ubaidah al-Masri (/ɑːlˈmɑːsri/;Arabic:ابو عبيده المصري; died December 2007) was anal-Qaeda operative inPakistan. Al-Masri was implicated in the2006 Transatlantic Aircraft Plot, which was to be carried out by aterrorist cell operating in London, but which was orchestrated by al-Qaeda's central leadership.
Al-Masri wasEgyptian (theepithet literally means 'the Egyptian') but he received combat experience, and terrorist and insurgent training inAfghanistan,Bosnia andChechnya.
Al-Masri was thought to be a provincial al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan, but according toThe New York Times, "[al-Masri] emerged as one of Al Qaeda's senior operatives after the death ofAbu Hamza Rabia, another Egyptian who was killed by a missile strike in Pakistan in 2005."[1]
Al-Masri lived in Germany before going to Afghanistan to join the Mujahadeen. After Afghanistan, he returned to Germany to begin building a network in Europe.
In 2006, two attempts were made by coalition forces to kill him.
According to U.S. government counterterrorism sources, al-Masri is believed to have died in December 2007, inPakistan's tribal region, probably due tohepatitis.[2][3] Al-Masri was between 40 and 50 years old.
