Hamad al-Tamimi: Icon of secret al-Qaeda organization in Yemen

Al-Qaeda in Yemen announced the killing of the prominent leader Hamad bin Hamoud al-Tamimi in one of the locations where he was residing in Marib Governorate.

Al-Malahem Media Foundation, one of the organization's media arms, published an obituary for Tamimi following his death in a US military drone strike at the end of February after having remained silent for nearly two weeks about the strike that also targeted Abu Nasser al-Hadrami, who was one of the most prominent leaders of the terrorist organization in Yemen.

The air strike that targeted Tamimi comes at a time when al-Qaeda in Yemen is trying to reformulate its positions in the country.

Who was he?

There is no documentation about the life of Hamad bin Hamoud al-Tamimi, a Saudi national, before he joined al-Qaeda, except for some of his writings that suggest the existence of an old ideological relationship between him and the leaders of al-Qaeda, where he enjoyed a special status among them after he received Islamic knowledge from them starting in 2002, until he was arrested in 2007 and placed in Al-Tarfiya Prison in Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia.

After that, he was involved in dubious relations with those accused of attempting to assassinate former Saudi Interior Minister Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, and after his release in 2012, he joined al-Qaeda in Yemen.

In recent years, Tamimi's books have been published as one of al-Qaeda's ideologues, and he became a Sharia official in the organization and then assumed a position in the judiciary. Among his books are “A Mosque of Creed and Approach”, published by the Al-Battar Foundation, and the book “Encouraging People to the Virtues of Jihad”.

Among his books is also “The Summit of Happiness in the Virtues of Martyrdom”, published in 2016, in which he mentioned that the idea of the book came to him during his imprisonment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The book “Defending and Supporting the Prophet” was published in 2021 in response to cartoons insulting to the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and grant him peace).

His total writings amounted to about 20 books, including “The Virtue of Fighting the Kharijites”, “The Bond for the Sake of God”, and others.

Candidate for the leadership of the organization in Yemen

Hamad al-Tamimi was one of the candidates for the position of leader of al-Qaeda in Yemen after the killing of the former leader, Qasim al-Raymi. After the arrival of Khalid Batarfi to lead the organization, Tamimi was the most important supporter of his policy.

Tamimi was considered the most important figure in al-Qaeda in Yemen due to his multiple responsibilities, including in the organization's Shura Council, and his assumption of a position in the judiciary. With this growing position within the organization, he was a valuable catch for the United States, which targeted his home in the Al-Wadi Directorate in Marib Governorate.

His death revealed his great relations with the leaders of the Afghan Taliban movement, whose supportive accounts appeared on social media denouncing the killing of Tamimi and declaring solidarity with the organization, to which the Afghan movement is currently considered the direct heir.