Militant Leadership Monitor – September 2015 Issue

The September 2015 issue of Militant Leadership Monitor begins with a brief on Saqr Abu Qutaiba, the leader of a Syrian armed rebel group who would like to receive training and weapons from the United States. This is followed by a brief on Shaykh Saleh bin Farid bin Muhsin al-Awlaqi, Anwar al-Awlaki’s uncle and a South Yemen separatist who has worked closely with the Saudi coalition to defeat the Houthis in Yemen. Next, Patrick Hoover profiles Lebanese Salafist cleric Shaykh Ahmad al-Assir, who was just arrested from Beirut’s airport as he tried to flee the country; he has been wanted for his role in a deadly attack against Lebanese Armed Forces personnel. Ahmad Iman Ali, one of al-Shabaab’s key Kenyan leaders, is sketched by Sunguta West. Then Andrew McGregor details the life of Mu’ammar Qaddafi’s cousin Ahmad Qaddaf al-Dam, who is attempting to present himself and other former regime leaders as an alternative to the chaos currently dominating Libyan politics. Finally, an Iraqi Christian militia leader, Riyaan Saalim Sadeq al-Kaldani, with long-standing ties to Shi’a leaders both in Iraq and Iran is covered by Nicholas Heras.