Abdullah al-Asiri


Abdullah Hassan al-Asiri was a Saudi Arabian member of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. His name is an ascription to the 'Asir Province of Saudi Arabia. He died in August 2009 while attempting to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of the Interior, Muhammad bin Nayef, in a suicide bombing.

Overview

According to the Saudi Gazette al-Asiri was reportedly recruited into al-Qaeda by his older brother Ibrahim al-Asiri and the two brothers reportedly visited Yemen in 2007.
He initially rose to notability when he was named on a Saudi list of most wanted terrorist suspects on 3 February 2009, and then on 27 August 2009, for attempting to assassinate Saudi deputy minister of Interior, Muhammad bin Nayef, whom he only slightly injured in a suicide bombing.
Al-Asiri spoke to Mohammed bin Nayef a few days prior to the bombing and expressed his desire to surrender to the authorities as part of the country's terrorist rehabilitation program, and they agreed to meet.
On 27 August 2009, Asiri queued up at Mohammed bin Nayef's Jeddah palace as a "well-wisher," a tradition in the kingdom during Ramadan. He exploded a suicide bomb, killing himself, but only lightly injuring bin Nayef.
Assisted by his older brother, Ibrahim al-Asiri, he had hidden a pound of PETN plastic explosives in his rectum and anal canal, which security experts described as a novel technique. Asiri had passed through a metal detector and remained in the security of the Prince's bodyguards for over 24 hours before gaining the audience. "I did not want him to be searched, but he surprised me by blowing himself up," said Mohammed bin Nayef.
According to Al Arabiya, this was the first assassination attempt against a royal family member since 2003, when Saudi Arabia faced a sharp increase in al-Qaeda linked attacks. The Saudi Gazette reported on October 22, 2009, that a Yemeni named Rayed Abdullah Salem Al Harbi assisted Asiri in preparing for his suicide mission.