Abu Talha al-Sudani ابو طلحة السوداني | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Sudan |
| Died | November 2007 |
| Known for | Chief operative for Al-Qaeda in East Africa |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Al-Qaeda |
| Years of service | 1997–2007 |
| Battles / wars | Somali Civil War |
Abu Talha al-Sudani (Arabic: ابو طلحة السوداني) also known asTariq Abdullah, was a Sudanese member ofAl Qaeda terrorist organization, an explosives expert and a close aide ofOsama bin Laden.[1]
He is believed to have traveled toSouthern Lebanon along withSaif al-Adel,Saif al-Islam al-Masri, Abu Ja`far al-Masri and Abu Salim al-Masri, where he trained alongsideHezbollah.[2]
ASudanese national married to aSomali woman, al-Sudani had lived in Somalia since 1993. He was more recently identified as a close associate ofGouled Hassan Dourad, leader of aMogadishu-based network that worked in support of Al Qaeda. The Office of theDirector of National Intelligence revealed that al-Sudani had been involved with a plot to target the U.S. military base inDjibouti (seeCJTF-HOA).
Al-Sudani was also believed to be the financier of the1998 United States embassy bombings.[3]
In December 2006, the TFG ministers publicly claimed al-Sudani led a group ofICU fighters in Idaale as part of theWar in Somalia, a claim which observers were widely skeptical of.[4] A month later he was the target of a U.S. Air ForceAC-130airstrike that allegedly killed an undetermined number (up to 70) of civilian nomadic tribesmen (denied by a US official), but not al-Sudani.[5][6]
According to a Pentagon official, al-Sudani was killed by Ethiopian forces in late November 2007 in theBadhadhe District. However, the U.S. government never officially confirmed his death.[7] On September 2, 2008,Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan confirmed the death of Abu Talha al-Sudani, referring to him as a "martyr".[8]
People listed initalics have died. | |
| Allegedal-Qaeda members | |
| AllegedIslamic Courts Union members | |
| Held inGuantanamo Bay | |
| Wrongly accused | |
1 Currently imprisoned. 2 Released after serving sentence. | |
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