Sa'ad bin Atef al-Awlaki
Yemeni al-Qaeda member and leader
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Sa'ad bin Atef al-Awlaki (Arabic: سعد بن عاطف العولقي) also known by the alias Abu Al-Laith, is a Yemeni militant and the current emir of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, succeeding Khalid Batarfi.
Life
Al-Awlaki was born in Al-Shu'bah in Wadi Yasbam in the Al-Saeed District in Shabwa Governorate from the al-Awlaki tribe in 1978, 1981 or 1983.[1]
Before his leadership of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, he was a member of AQAP's shura council.[2]
The Yemeni military falsely claimed to have killed al-Awlaki on 7 May 2014, during their offensive in southern Yemen.[3]
After the death of Khalid Batarfi,[4] al-Awlaki was appointed as the new leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula through AQAP's media group, Al-Malahem Media, on March 11, 2024, which involved a statement reading by Abu Khubaib al-Sudani.[5] Before al-Awlaki officially led the group, throughout 2019 till the death of Batarfi, he and al-Awlaki both led conflicting sectors of AQAP.[6] According to the United Nations, this conflict was due to Batarfi's disliking for Southern Yemeni tribes and al-Awlaki's support for them.[7]
The United States program, Rewards for Justice, put a USD$6 million bounty on al-Awlaki.[8] This bounty was increased to $10 million in 2025.[9]