Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi (Arabic: عبد الرحمن المغربي, born 1970 or 1975) is a Moroccan-born terrorist and senior member of Al-Qaeda (AQ) who leads the organization's External Communications Office, including As-Sahab Media.[2][1] He is the son-in-law of the group's late emir Ayman al-Zawahiri, and is seen as a potential successor to Saif al-Adel as leader of the terror group.[3][4] Though primarily known by a nom de guerre which references his Moroccan birthplace in the Maghreb, his given nameisMohamed Abattay (Arabic: محمد أبطاي).[5] After his radicalization in the late 1990s, al-Maghrebi abandoned his schooling in Germany and departed for the infamous Al Farouq training camp outside Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was hand-picked by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for work in the groups propaganda arm. Following the September 11 attacks, al-Maghrebi is believed to have quickly fled to Iran. He subsequently rose through the ranks of Al-Qaeda, gaining trust, and winning the hand of Zawahiri's daughter in marriage. By 2012, al-Maghrebi had become al-Qaeda's general manager for all of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The US moved to designate al-Maghrebi a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in early 2021. After the Taliban's return to power in August of that year, al-Maghrebi was believed to have been living together with Zawahiri in the same house in downtown Kabul where Zawahiri would later be killed in a U.S. drone strike.[6] As of 2023 his whereabouts are unknown.
While studying in Germany, al-Maghrebi joined a group of Muslim students that grew increasingly radical and that later pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden.[8] The group, based in Krefeld, included Christian Ganczarski, who has been charged by the United States for his involvement in the Ghriba synagogue bombing.[9]
Abattay is married to Ayman al-Zawahiri's daughter, Nabila.[15] Abbatay was reported to be living in the Kabul house where al-Zawahiri was killed in 2022.[6]
Al-Qaeda
