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Mohammed Atef, also Sobhi Abu Setta and Abu Hafs al-Masri, (1944 - 14th November 2001) was an Egyptian Muslim and the military chief of Al-Qaeda from its foundation until his death in 2001. He is considered one of the two deputies of Osama bin Laden, with the other being Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Al-Qaeda career
The exact date that Atef joined Al-Qaeda is not known, but he is known to have been a member in 1992, when the group relocated to the Sudan. He later moved to Afghanistan when Al-Qaeda were expelled from Sudan in 1994, and conducted a study concluding that aircraft hijackings were a poor idea for inflicting damage (ironically, Atef would later be held responsible for selecting the hijackers who participated in the September 11 attacks), and another concluding that the dictatorial rule of Pervez Musharraf could be toppled if the Mujahedeen and the Taliban worked together.
In 1995, Atef met Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who introduced him to bin Laden. Bin Laden later appointed him military chief of Al-Qaeda after the death of Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri. Atef was initially unpopular among Al-Qaeda, but support from bin Laden, who compared him to the prophet Muhammed's lieutenant Abu Bakr, ultimately persuaded them to accept him as bin Laden's deputy.
The United States government became aware of Atef's existence after an unidentified person informed them that Atef was responsible for training Somali Jihadists who attacked American troops during the Battle of Mogadishu. They later issued a warrant for Atef's arrest for involvement in the 1998 US Embassy bombings due to a fatwa he and bin Laden had declared against all American citizens three months before. He was also sentenced to seven years in jail in absentia in Egypt for being a member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization.
In 1999, Atef met with Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Mohamed Atta and Ziad Jarrah and informed them that they would be taking part in 9/11, in conjunction with Nawaf al-Hazmi. Following the attack, he was declared one of the USA's Most Wanted Terrorists after the War on Terror was declared. He was also claimed to be the leader of the elite unit of Taliban Jihadists who abducted and killed warlord Abdul Haq, although no evidence was provided for this.
During the US invasion of Afghanistan, Atef, who had been granted Afghan citizenship by the Taliban-lead government, was killed when a US bomber aircraft destroyed his safehouse.