Although he participated in several conflicts in Central Asia and the Balkans, he is best known for his involvement in the First and Second Chechen Wars, where he served as one of the most notable non-Chechen militant leaders.

Abu al-Walid was accused by the Russians of terrorist attacks on civilians, and alleged to be an agent of Saudi intelligence, the Muslim Brotherhood, or Bin Laden's al-Qaeda.

His brothers claimed that in his youth, al-Walid had enjoyed acting, reading religious books and studying the Quran.

The next two years he spent training at the Maktab al-Khidamat, an organization created by Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden.

[7] After the war, he remained in Chechnya along with most of the battalion It concentrated on setting up a network of camps in the mountainous South of the country, in which they trained Islamist rebels from throughout the region, and recruits from abroad.

[3] On 22 December 1997 al-Walid participated in a surprise attack on the base of the 136th Armoured Brigade of the Russian Army, stationed in Buynaksk, Dagestan.

His forces engaged and surrounded an entire company of the VDV 76th Guards Air Assault Division from Pskov.

[11] The separatist news agency Chechenpress reported that only 12 Chechen rebels had been killed in the battle,[12] while Russian sources estimated their losses at up to 300 men.

[1] In the summer of 2001, the late Aslan Maskhadov, then president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, appointed Abu al-Walid commander of the Eastern front.

Soon afterwards he released an article through the foreign Mujahideen's official website al-Qoqaz, in which he explained the circumstances surrounding Khattab's death.

The online Chechen Islamist news agency, Kavkaz Center, claimed it has unconfirmed information that the crew had been executed.

[13] Al-Walid was killed by members of Sulim Yamadaev's Special Battalion "Vostok" (East)[14] in Chechnya on 16 April 2004.

[15] Although there are several versions of the circumstances, the most extensive account is derived from a letter written by Abu Hafs al-Urduni, who assumed command of the Chechen Mujahideen.

Members of his party were captured in the village of Tsa-Vedeno, and pro-Moscow security forces determined "his position in a nearby forest".

On 11 June 2003, the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported on a statement he had released through the al-Qoqaz News Agency.

On 19 November 2003, the Qatar-based Arabic television network Al-Jazeera broadcast a video statement in which al-Walid commented on suicide bombings by Chechen women; he claimed the attacks were motivated by fear of rape and brutality by Russian soldiers.

[17] On 13 March 2004, one day before the Russian presidential election, al-Walid released another video statement broadcast by Al-Jazeera.

[2]The Emirs of the Chechen Mujahideen have helped acquire and distribute funds provided by wealthy, Salafist charities, such as al-Haramein.