Ibn al-Khattab

Samir Saleh Abdullah al-Suwailim (Arabic: سامر صالح عبد الله السويلم; 14 April 1963/1969 – 20 March 2002), commonly known as Ibn al-Khattab or as Emir Khattab, was a Saudi pan-Islamic jihadist. Though he fought in many conflicts, he is best known for his involvement in the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War, which he participated in after moving to Chechnya at the invitation of the Akhmadov brothers.

The origins and real identity of Khattab remained a mystery to most until after his death, when his brother gave an interview to the press. His death in 2002 had followed his exposure to a poisoned letter, which had been delivered to him by a courier who was secretly affiliated with the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.

According to American scholar Muhammad al-Ubaydi, who specializes in the study of militant Islam, Khattab's continued relevance is due to the fact that he was the internationalist Salafi jihadist par excellence: he was born in Saudi Arabia, but had taken part in conflicts in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan (allegedly), Tajikistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dagestan, and Chechnya; and in addition to his native Arabic, he was able to speak Pashto, Persian, Russian, English, and Kurdish. Added to this was his charismatic approach towards attracting non-Arabs to fight for his cause as well as his status as a pioneer of using modern media to promote jihad, particularly by way of publishing videos for propaganda purposes.