Sari Shihab

Sari Muhammad Hasan Shihab, known as Abu Khalid al-Muhandis (1973 – 22 August 2019), was a Jordanian national born in 1973 who was a member of the different groups that were founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He was one of the initial members of the Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad organization which was founded by al-Zarqawi in 1999. Shihab was also known as Abu Safar and Suhayb.^[1] Shihab was one of five al-Qaeda leaders who were released by Iran in March 2015 in exchange for a kidnapped Iranian diplomat in Yemen. The other four were Saif al-Adel, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, Abu Khayr al-Masri and Khalid al-Aruri.^[2]

According to one report, Sari Shihab was "involved in WMD programs and plots."^[3] Sky News described Shihab and Al-Aruri as "The Iranians have also released two lesser known, though no less dangerous, operatives, both of Jordanian descent."^[4]

Shihab was killed in an explosion in Idlib, Syria on August 22, 2019.^[5]