Mohammed Atef
Egyptian al-Qaeda member (1944–2001) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Mohammed Atef?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Mohammed Atef (Arabic: محمد عاطف, romanized: Muḥammad ʿĀṭif; born Sobhi Abd Al Aziz Mohamed El Gohary Abu Sitta,[2][5] also known as Abu Hafs al-Masri and al-Khabir; 1944 – November 2001) was an Egyptian militant and prominent military chief of al-Qaeda, and a deputy of Osama bin Laden, although Atef's role in the organization was not well known by intelligence agencies for years.[2] He was killed in a US airstrike in November 2001.
Mohammed Atef محمد عاطف | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | |
Born | 1944[2][lower-alpha 1] Monufia Governorate, Egypt[2] |
Died | November 14–16, 2001 (aged 56–57)[2] Kabul, Afghanistan |
Allegiance | al-Qaeda |
Rank | Military Commander |
Battles/wars |
Atef served two years in the Egyptian Air Force and became an agricultural engineer.[2][6] He was also a police officer and a member of the group Egyptian Islamic Jihad before he moved to Afghanistan to repel the Soviet invasion,[1] while operating from Peshawar.[7] He has been credited as having convinced Abdullah Azzam to abandon his life and devote himself to preaching jihad at this time.[7]
Atef was sent to an Afghan training camp where he met Ayman al-Zawahiri, who later introduced him to Osama bin Laden.[2]
He attended two meetings from August 11 to 20 in 1988, along with bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, Jamal al-Fadl, Wa'el Hamza Julaidan, and Mohammed Loay Bayazid and eight others, to discuss the founding of "al-Qaeda".[8] Bin Laden later sent a letter to Mohammed Loay Bayazid informing him that Atef and Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri were to each be given 6,500 Saudi riyals monthly, the same as they had been given for their work in Maktab al-Khidamat.[9]