Saif al-Islam el-Masry

Who is Saif al-Islam el-Masry?

Saif al-Islam el-masry is the name of a certain member of al-Qaeda. The name is probably, but not certainly, a nom de guerre; Saif al-Islam means Sword of Islam and el-Masry means the Egyptian, but either or both could be a real name. Little is publicly known about this person, but his name has came up in reports and testimony on a variety of major terrorist attacks and related paramilitary and financial activities. According to those sources, Saif al-Islam

⁕was one of fifteen men—all Arabs—captured in the Pankisi Gorge in a joint operation by Georgian and American Special Forces, in early October 2002

⁕was until then a member of al-Qaeda's majlis al-shura and its military committee

⁕was handed over to the Americans

⁕ran the Jihad Wal training camp near Khost, Afghanistan in 1992

⁕had been an officer of the Chechnya branch of the terrorist charity Benevolence International Foundation

⁕fought against American forces in Somalia

⁕instructed Ali Mohamed to get training from Hezbollah in south Lebanon.