Haitham Sabah Shaker Mohammed al-Badri (Arabic: هيثم صباح شاكر محمد البدري, died 2 August 2007) was a commander of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in Salahuddin Province[1] who reportedly masterminded the 2006 al-Askari mosque bombing which substantially damaged the Shiite mosque and set off a wave of retaliatory violence by the Shiites against other Muslims.
He was a former Iraqi government official under Saddam Hussein while other sources state he was a warrant officer in the Republican Guard; and following the US-led invasion in 2003, joined Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna before becoming a member of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.[2] Badri was killed in a US airstrike east of Samarra on 2 August 2007.[3][4]
He was a distant relative of future Islamic State leader Ibrahim al-Badri al-Samarrai (Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi), being the son of one of al-Baghdadi's cousins.[5]
References
- ^ Fernando Reinares, Bruce Hoffman (28 October 2014). The Evolution of the Global Terrorist Threat: From 9/11 to Osama bin Laden's Death. Columbia University Press. p. 437. ISBN 9780231537438.
- ^ Jihadologist (22 February 2021). "Ex baathists who joined ISIS or their predecessors (update)". Reddit. r/syriancivilwar. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- ^ "Iraqi Led Bombing of Shiite Shrine, Official Says". The New York Times. 28 June 2006.
- ^ "Al Qaeda No. 2 in Iraq Captured". Los Angeles Times. 4 September 2006.
- ^ Jihadologist (22 February 2021). "Ex baathists who joined ISIS or their predecessors (update)". Reddit. r/syriancivilwar. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
