Abderrahmane Talha

Abderrahmane Talha, also known as Abou Talha al-Mauritani or Talha al-Libi , is a Mauritanian jihadist who is the wali of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin's territory in Tombouctou Region.

Biography Talha was born in 1972 or the 1980s in Zouérat, Mauritania, to a Mauritanian father and Malian mother originally from Timbuktu. His family fled to Libya during the Tuareg rebellion of the 1990s, where Talha grew up. In 2006, Talha joined the Algerian terrorist group Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which became Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb shortly afterward. He was one of the first Mauritanians in the group. Following the death of Abdallah al-Chinguetti in February 2013, Talha succeeded him as emir of Katiba al-Furqan. As emir of Katiba al-Furqan, Talha sought closer ties between Malian Arabs and Tuareg clans, in particular the Awlad Ich and Awlad Idriss tribes in the Tombouctou Region.

In a 2015 video, Talha asked Awlad Ich members to join AQIM in the region, and called for rebellion against French forces. Talha also appeared in a January 2016 video where he called for a return to Sharia law in northern Mali. He is considered to be one of the most senior figures within Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.