Abu Yahya al-Libi (Arabic: أبو يحيى الليبي, audioⓘ; January 1, 1963,[1] Marzaq[2] – June 4, 2012),[3] born Mohamed Hassan Qaid,[4] was a terrorist and leading high-ranking official within al-Qaeda, and an alleged member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.

And he’s a very charismatic, young, brash rising star within Al-Qaeda, and I think he has become the heir apparent to Osama bin Laden in terms of taking over the entire global jihadist movement.

He claimed to have studied Islamic law, history and jurisprudence "for years among excellent and great scholars" who were in the field with al-Qaeda and other Islamist insurgent groups.

[13] It is stated that "When he returned two years later" [from his Islamic studies in Mauritania, Africa], "Afghanistan was no longer a battleground for militant Libyans, but rather a haven: the Taliban controlled most of the country.

"He started to visit training camps and talk about Shariah," or Islamic law, this man said in a telephone interview, about "morals, etiquette, how to act.

On June 22, 2008, Abu Yahia Al Libi released a 19-minute video urging Somalis to resist United Nations forces in Somalia.

[20] Bryant Neal Vinas, an American, took part in 2008 with other masked fighters in an al-Qaeda propaganda video featuring al Libi.

[citation needed] On March 12, 2011, al-Libi urged his countrymen to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi's regime and establish Islamic rule, expanding the terror network's attempts to capitalize on the wave of unrest sweeping the region.

[29] On June 5, 2012, U.S. officials confirmed that Libi was among 15 militants killed the previous day when a US drone fired four missiles at a compound in Mir Ali, North Waziristan.