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Abu Omar al-Saif

Abu Omar al-Saif (1968-December 2005) was the mufti of the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya during the Second Chechen War as well as being a financier of the 2004 Beslan school siege.

Biography[]

Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Saif was born in 1968 in Saudi Arabia to a Sunni Muslim Arab family, and he graduated from Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University before becoming an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist and the Chairman of the Sharia Judges of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in 1996 - his job was to implement Islamic law in the country. Abu Omar received funds from the Dagestan branch of the Saudi-based Benevolence International Foundation and proceeded to send this money to fighters in Chechnya, funding the insurgency against Russia. In 2004, he took over Abu al-Walid's Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya forces, and Abu Hafs al-Urduni took over al-Saif's position as a financier. He was accused of being a financier of the Beslan school siege in 2004, and he was believed to be the spiritual leader of the Arab fighters in Chechnya during the Second Chechen War. In December 2005, he was killed by the Russian Army in Dagestan.

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