Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud

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).

Biography

Wadoud earned a university degree in mathematics before joining the insurgency in 1996. New York Times, July 1, 2008

Militant commander

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. BBC, September 7, 2004

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." SITE Institute, January 26, 2007

In December 2007 the United States Department of the Treasury imposed financial sanctions and froze Abdel Wadoud's assets under Executive Order 13224.<ref name="U.S. freezes assets of Algerian over al...
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