Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin

Abdel Aziz Issa Abdul-Mohsin Al-Muqrin (; ; also Abd al-Aziz al-Moqrin and other transliterations), alias Abu Hajr (ابو هاجر) and Abu Hazim, (1972 – 18 June 2004), was the leader of the militant Jihadist group al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia. He succeeded Khaled Ali Hajj, when the latter was killed by Saudi security forces in March 2004. Al-Muqrin had trained with Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Life Al-Muqrin was born to middle-class parents in Riyadh and was a high school dropout. He married at the age of 19 and had one daughter. He left his wife in about 1988 to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan and later fought in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the 1990s he ran guns from Spain to Algeria. Most of his training occurred in jihadist camps in Afghanistan. He was reported to have fought against Ethiopian forces in the Ogaden.

In 1995 he was arrested in Ethiopia and accused of taking part in a botched assassination attempt on Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak. Muqrin wrote a book on military strategy called A Practical Course for Guerrilla War, which has been compared with Abu Bakr Naji's Management of Savagery as a book that has influenced Al Qaeda's thinking on guerrilla warfare.

Al-Muqrin was No. 1 on Saudi Arabia's second official list of most wanted terrorists, which was published in December 2003. In 2004 his faction claimed responsibility for a series of attacks against Westerners in Saudi Arabia including the June 2004 shooting that seriously wounded BBC correspondent Frank Gardner and killed cameraman Simon Cumbers,

Al-Muqrin was responsible for the May 29 attacks at Al-Khobar that left more than 20 people dead and several other operations.

The online magazine Al-Khansaa claims to have been founded by al-Muqrin shortly before his death. In 2004, plans were discovered posted online under al-Muqrin's name containing the itinerary, routes of travel, and security personnel of Prince Nayef bin Abdel Aziz, and plans to assassinate him with RPGs.

Use of Foreign Documents During his movements between conflict zones and his return to the region, Al-Muqrin was known to utilize various forged or illicitly obtained travel documents to evade security tracking. Most notably, Saudi and regional intelligence reports indicated that he had utilized a Qatari passport under a false identity. This document allowed him to travel with less scrutiny across borders before he was officially designated as the top wanted individual on Saudi Arabia's list of 26 terrorists. The use of such documents was a key part of his logistical strategy to maintain his underground presence and coordinate between AQAP and foreign extremist elements. Online Forums and Multimedia: Al-Muqrin utilized extremist web forums such as Al-Nida to broadcast graphic videos and audio speeches. His recurring slogan, "Expel the polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula" (أخرجوا المشركين من جزيرة العرب), was a hallmark of his digital propaganda.

Experts note that this heavy reliance on digital media was a double-edged sword; while it helped recruit followers, it also provided Saudi intelligence with the "digital fingerprints" necessary to track the organization’s leadership.

Death The intelligence operation that led to Al-Muqrin’s location began in the Olaya district of Riyadh. Al-Muqrin was spotted at an internet cafe and identified by an undercover security operative. The operative managed to track Al-Muqrin as he left the cafe and entered a vehicle, relaying the car's description and movements to rapid-response units.

On 18 June 2004, employees at a gas station in Riyadh's Al-Malaz district noticed a suspicious vehicle with visible bloodstains. The employees alerted authorities, providing a critical lead that allowed undercover units to monitor the location. The timing of the operation coincided with a high-profile football match between local rivals Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal at the nearby Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Al-Malaz. The sports event provided a strategic cover for the heavy presence of security forces in the area, which Al-Muqrin and his associates did not initially suspect.

When Al-Muqrin and three of his top aides Faisal al-Dakhil, Turki al-Muteiry, and Ibrahim al-Dreiham returned to the station, they realized they were under surveillance. A shootout ensued between Al-Muqrin and Saudi counter-terrorism units. Saudi commandos killed all four militants. Al-Riyadh reported public celebrations in Riyadh following the operation’s success, with citizens chanting slogans in support of the security forces.