Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud

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Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud
April 20, 1970 - Present
Place of birth	Meftah, Algeria
Allegiance	Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb
Rank	Emir
Battles/wars	Islamic insurgency in Algeria (2002–present)

Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud (a.k.a. Abdelmalek Droukdel) (born April 20, 1970) is the emir, or leader, of the Algerian Islamic militant group Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), formerly the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).

[edit] Biography

According to an interview published in 2005, Abdel Wadoud hails from the town of Meftah in northern Algeria's Blida Province.^[1]

Abdel Wadoud was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's commander in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui.^[2]

Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the "Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb."^[3]

Abdel Wadoud, along with other AQIM senior leaders, is believed to be hiding out in the mountainous Kabylie region, east of Algiers.

In December 2007 the United States Department of the Treasury imposed financial sanctions and froze Abdel Wadoud's assets under Executive Order 13224.^[4]