Atiyah Abd al-Rahman

Atiyah Abd Al Rahman (عطية عبد الرحمن, 1970 – August 22, 2011), born Jamal Ibrahim Ashtiwi al Misrati, was reported by the US State Department to be a senior member of al-Qaeda and a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and Ansar al-Sunna. His name may be rendered in English as Atiyah Abdur-rahman or Atiyah Abdul-Rahman or in other ways.

He was killed in Pakistan by a CIA predator drone strike on August 22, 2011.

Atiyah Abd Al Rahman is thought to be the "Atiyah" who wrote a commanding letter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in December 2005.

The State Department announcement said that Abd Al Rahman:
 * Was a Libyan in his early 40s (which puts his date of birth roughly at 1970).
 * Was based in Iran, representing al-Qaeda to other Islamist terrorist groups.
 * Was appointed to that role by Osama bin Laden.
 * Met bin Laden while still in his teens.
 * Fled the Republic of the Congo alongside bin Laden as recently as 2001.

The State Department's Rewards for Justice offered up to US$1 million for information about him. However, the program no longer has him listed as a wanted terrorist.

With the death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011, amidst confusion, including over who would succeed bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, he was eventually designated as Al Qaeda's second in command.

Atiyah had volunteered to travel to Afghanistan to fight against its Soviet occupiers in the 1980s, while he was still a teenager. He was reported to have met and served under Osama bin Laden at that time. The Washington Post reported that another prominent Libyan exile, Noman Benotman, he was sent to Algeria in the 1990s to serve as an envoy to a group they said was then known as the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). He told the Washington Post that the GIA was suspicious of him, held him captive for months, and were considering killing him. He escaped with other captives, after five months of captivity, and, according to Benotman, "He had a very bad experience, and I think is still having nightmares about it."

Abdul-Rahman was killed by a CIA drone on August 22, 2011. Zawahiri confirmed the death of Abdul-Rahman in a video on December 1, 2011. Abdul-Rahman was previously reported dead in October 2010.