Ahmad Farooq (language/Urdu:استاد احمد فاروق;c. 1979–1981 − 15 January 2015), sometimes referred to with the honorific titleustad, bornRaja Muhammad Salman (راجہ محمد سلمان) was a Pakistani Islamist jihadi[1] who served as the deputyEmir ofAl-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent,[2] as well as Al-Qaeda's chief media person inPakistan. It is believed he played a vital role in establishing Al-Qaeda in Pakistan after theSeptember 11 attacks.[3][4]
Ahmad was born inBrooklyn between 1979 and 1981 to a Pakistani family. He was fromIslamabad and receivedSharia education at theInternational Islamic University, Islamabad.[2] He joinedAl-Qaeda and quickly rose to become its chief propagandist in Pakistan, releasing several videos, audio clips and writings perpetuating his views.[5]
On 15 January 2015,Usama Mahmood, the spokesman for Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent confirmed that Ahmad Farooq had been killed indrone attacks conducted by the U.S. in the Lowara Mandi area ofNorth Waziristan.[6][7] PresidentBarack Obama announced that, in the same drone strike, hostage aid workersGiovanni Lo Porto andWarren Weinstein were killed ascollateral damage.[8]
{{cite web}}:|first= has generic name (help)