Abu Taha al-Sudan

Abu Taha Al-Sudan (also Abu Talha al-Sudani or Tariq Abdullah) was a suspected member of the Al Qaeda terrorist organization, reported to be an explosives expert.

A Sudanese national married to a Somali woman, al-Sudan had lived in Somalia since 1993. He was more recently identified as a close associate of Gouled Hassan Dourad, leader of a Mogadishu-based network that worked in support of Al QaedaFact|date=July 2007. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence revealed that Al-Sudani had been involved with a plot to target the US military base in Djibouti (see CJTF-HOA).

al-Sudan was also believed to be the financier of the 1998 United States embassy bombings.cite news
title=U.S. Strike in Somalia Targets Al-Qaeda Figure
publisher=Washington Post
date=2007-01-08
url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/08/AR2007010801822.html
accessdate=2007-01-08]

In December 2006, al-Sudan was reported to have led a group of ICU fighters in Idale as part of the War in Somalia [http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-12-21-voa25.cfm] A month later he was the target of a US Air Force AC-130 airstrike that killed 70 civilian nomadic tribesmen, but left al-Sudan unharmed. [The Independent, January 13, 2007, http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2149716.ece]

Time magazine, citing a Pentagon official, reported in late November 2007 that al-Sudani had been killed. [TIME, November 29, 2007, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1689207-2,00.html]

Links

* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/abu_talha_al_sudani.htm Abu Talha al Sudani] Profile at GlobalSecurity.org
* [http://storm.prohosting.com/mbali/doc3.htm Counter-Terrorism in Somalia: Losing Hearts and Minds?] Crisis Group

References