Abu Hafs al-Urduni
Abu Hafs al-Urduni (ابو حفص الاردني) (born Jordan, 1973, died November 26, 2006), also transliterated as Abu Hafs al-Urdani was a Mujahid Emir (commander) fighting in Chechnya. After Abu al-Walid’s death in April 2004, he assumed command of the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya. He was killed in Dagestan on November 26, 2006.
Biography
Early life
Most of whatever little is known about al-Urduni, is known through the Russian media. It is however fairly certain that his given name is Farid Yusef Umeira, that he was born in Jordan and that he participated in the Afghan-Soviet war and the Tajik civil war along with Khattab and al-Walid. With the latter two he came to Chechnya in 1995 where he would remain until his death. He would also marry two Chechen women.
Chechen Wars
In the First and Second Chechen War he fought in the battalion of Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya under Khattab and, after Khattab’s death, as al-Walid’s deputy. After al-Walid’s death in 2004, al-Urduni succeeded him as Amir of the battalion and issued a video statement about al-Walid’s death, much the same way as al-Walid had done with his own predecessor, Khattab. As commander of the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya, al-Urduni faced increasingly harsh conditions for himself and his unit of foreign fighters. Apart from the loss of their most prominent commanders and the relentless hunt for separatists by the Russian Federal Forces, funding for the battalion had also become a major problem due to anti-terrorism measures restricting financial transactions. Abu Hafs orchestrated and launched the 2004 Avtury raid and the 2006 Avtury ambush on Russian forces in Avtury, Chechnya. Videos were made of the ambsuhes and now circulate the internet.
Abu Hafs
Abu Hafs may refer to:
Abu Hafs Umar al-Iqritishi
Umar ibn Hafs ibn Shuayb ibn Isa al-Balluti, surnamed al-Ghaliz ("the Fat") and later al-Iqritishi ("the Cretan"), and usually known as Abu Hafs (أبو حفص, in Greek sources Ἀπόχαψις, Apohapsis), was a Muwallad corsair who was primarily active between 816 and 827. After an unsuccessful uprising in Cordova, Spain in 818 against Emir Al-Hakam I the city's Muladi Muslim inhabitants were exiled. Some settled in Fez (Morocco), while a second group, of almost 15,000 men plus women and children, headed for Alexandria in Egypt. With the intention of taking advantage of local unrest, the latter group of rebels selected Abu Hafs as their leader. As leader, Abu Hafs led the group which took control of Alexandria in 816.
After being forced to leave Alexandria, the rebel group set for the Byzantine island of Crete. Upon arriving, they landed at Cape Charax in the gulf of Messara. From there the group headed north under the leadership of Abu Hafs.
Abu Hafs and his group of adventurers seized Crete from the Byzantine Empire over the next few years, repelled a number of Byzantine recovery attempts and established an autonomous emirate in the island.
