Abu al-Walid

Al-Walid was raised in the village of al-Hal, near the city of Baljorashi in Saudi Arabia's Al Bahah Province. In his native village, his father was a well known imam. The boy was born into a large family as one of eleven sons. His brothers claimed that in his youth, al-Walid had enjoyed acting, reading religious books and studying the Quran.[1][3]

In 1986, when he was 19 years old, al-Walid obtained his parents' permission to participate in jihad in Afghanistan. He soon left for the country to join the mujahideen in their fight against the Russian forces during the Soviet–Afghan War. The next two years he spent training at the Maktab al-Khidamat, an organization created by Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden. They trained the international volunteers and distributed funds to Islamic groups. Upon completing his training, al-Walid was assigned to a combat unit where he started fighting. On two occasions he briefly returned to Saudi Arabia, once to have an injury to his left hand treated.

After the end of the Afghan War, al-Walid went on to fight in other conflicts in Europe and Asia. In the 1990s, the movement would lead him to the Balkans, specifically to Bosnia where he fought alongside the Bosniaks in the Bosnian War; he then travelled to Tajikistan, where he assisted the Islamist rebels in the Tajik Civil War; and eventually to Chechnya, where he joined the band called the Chechen mujahideen. This group had been organized by and was being led by Ibn al-Khattab.[1][3][6]

In the First Chechen War, al-Walid served as a Naib (deputy) in Khattab's unit. He participated in the numerous raids and ambushes that were executed by the IIB, including the April 1996 Shatoy ambush, in which they attacked and destroyed a large Russian armoured column.[7]

After the war, he remained in Chechnya along with most of the battalion It concentrated on setting up a network of camps in the mountainous South of the country, in which they trained Islamist rebels from throughout the region, and recruits from abroad.[3]

He married a Chechen woman. They had two children together.[3][6]

On 22 December 1997 al-Walid participated in a surprise attack on the base of the 136th Armoured Brigade of the Russian Army, stationed in Buynaksk, Dagestan.[8] This raid contributed to the growing tensions between Moscow and the newly formed government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.

In 1999 he participated in the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade’s invasion of Dagestan, which helped catalyze the Second Chechen War. During this conflict, Khattab's first deputy Hakim al-Medani was killed.[9] Analysts believe that after al-Medani's death, al-Walid was promoted to the position of first deputy. Before the events of 1999 in Dagestan, al-Walid was a relatively unknown figure outside of Chechnya.

After his incursion, his notoriety began to rise in Islamist circles abroad.[10]

In the Second Chechen War, al-Walid continued as Khattab's deputy to participate in raids and ambushes. In the spring of 2000, he achieved his most important military victories. On 29 February, he led the Battle of Ulus-Kert. His forces engaged and surrounded an entire company of the VDV 76th Guards Air Assault Division from Pskov. The battle lasted for several days and eventually resulted in the total annihilation of the Russian company.[11] The separatist news agency Chechenpress reported that only 12 Chechen rebels had been killed in the battle,[12] while Russian sources estimated their losses at up to 300 men. In April 2000, al-Walid successfully attacked the VDV 51st Guards Parachute Landing Regiment from Tula.[1]

In the summer of 2001, the late Aslan Maskhadov, then president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, appointed Abu al-Walid commander of the Eastern front.[7]

After Khattab's death on 20 March 2002, al-Walid assumed command of the IIB. Soon afterwards he released an article through the foreign Mujahideen's official website al-Qoqaz, in which he explained the circumstances surrounding Khattab's death. The release of this article also confirmed that he had taken command of the IIB.[3] Later he also issued a video-statement, in which he commented on the death of his predecessor.

On 9 April 2002, al-Walid announced that his forces had shot down the Mil Mi-24 'Hind' gunship and taken its three-man crew prisoner. It had been reported missing for two months. He released the serial number of the helicopter and detailed information about the crew members. On 16 May he issued an ultimatum to the Russian military authorities: threatening to kill the three prisoners if the Russians failed to release 20 Chechens being held in Russian prisons. The Russians did not comply. The online Chechen Islamist news agency, Kavkaz Center, claimed it has unconfirmed information that the crew had been executed.[13]

Al-Walid was killed by members of Sulim Yamadaev's Special Battalion "Vostok" (East)[14] in Chechnya on 16 April 2004.[15] Although there are several versions of the circumstances, the most extensive account is derived from a letter written by Abu Hafs al-Urduni, who assumed command of the Chechen Mujahideen.[16] He said that al-Walid was "on tour to all regiments to task them with operations and logistical plans." Members of his party were captured in the village of Tsa-Vedeno, and pro-Moscow security forces determined "his position in a nearby forest".[16]

After heavy bombardment of the area, snipers ambushed and killed al-Walid.[16] Abu al-Walid's brother Ali Al Ghamdi said that Abu al-Walid was ambushed and shot by the Russian Special Forces in the forest near the village of Tsa-Vedeno. Ali said that Abu al-walid's companions were able to hide his body from the Russian forces in the forest then buried him later. He also said that the information about Abu Al-Walid's being betrayed were wrong and that his brother was shot in a fight with the Russian forces. Abu al-Walid's will was not to be filmed after his death. Vladimir Putin rewarded Yamadaev as a Hero of the Russian Federation at the Kremlin in the summer of 2005.[14]