Abdallah Ghanim Mafuz Muslim al-Khawar

Abdallah Ghanim Mafuz Muslim al-Khawar is a U.S.-designated al-Qaeda facilitator and financier based in Qatar.“Treasury Targets Key Al-Qa’ida Funding and Support Network Using Iran as a Critical Transit Point,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, July 28, 2011, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1261.aspx. According to a 2011 statement by the U.S. Treasury Department, Khawar’s network “serves as the core pipeline through which al-Qa’ida moves money, facilitators and operatives from across the Middle East to South Asia.”“Treasury Targets Key Al-Qa’ida Funding and Support Network Using Iran as a Critical Transit Point,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, July 28, 2011, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1261.aspx. Khawar has worked with U.S.-designated al-Qaeda financier Salim Hasan Khalifa Rashid al-Kuwari to deliver money, messages, and other material support to al-Qaeda leaders in Iran. Khawar has also facilitated the travel of al-Qaeda recruits to Afghanistan to partake in terrorist activities.“Treasury Targets Key Al-Qa’ida Funding and Support Network Using Iran as a Critical Transit Point,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, July 28, 2011, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1261.aspx.

Despite several run-ins with Qatari, UAE, and Saudi law enforcement between 2009 and 2011, Khawar is believed to operate freely in Qatar. Khwar was last known to work with the al-Qaeda network headed by Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, an Iranian-based al-Qaeda facilitator who operates under an agreement between al-Qaeda and the Iranian government.“Treasury Targets Key Al-Qa’ida Funding and Support Network Using Iran as a Critical Transit Point,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, July 28, 2011, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1261.aspx. According to Qatar’s Ministry of the Interior website, Khawar still had an active Qatari passport and ID card as of December 2014.David Andrew Weinberg, “Qatar and Terror Finance,” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, December 2014, https://www.defenddemocracy.org/content/uploads/publications/Qatar_Part_I.pdf.

On June 8, 2017, the governments of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain designated Khawar as a terrorist alongside 58 other individuals and 12 organizations. The designation was based on Khawar’s participation in “funding, communication, and other support to al-Qaida elements in Iran,” as well as his efforts to “facilitate the travel of al-Qaida members traveling to Afghanistan.”“Qatar-Linked People, Groups on Terror List,” Gulf News, June 9, 2017, https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/qatar/qatar-linked-people-groups-on-terror-list-1.2040686#.

Also Known As

Extremist entity
Al-Qaeda
Type(s) of Organization:
Non-state actor, religious, terrorist, transnational, violent
Ideologies and Affiliations:
Jihadist, pan-Islamist, Qutbist, Salafist, Sunni, takfiri
Position(s):
Financier and facilitator

Al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks was the deadliest ever on American soil, killing nearly 3,000 people. Since the fall of the Taliban, al-Qaeda has established operations worldwide, including in Syria, the Gulf, North Africa, West Africa, East Africa, and the Indian subcontinent.

  • Designations

United States

  • The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Abdallah Ghanim Mafuz Muslim al-Khawar as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive order 13224 on July 28, 2011.“Treasury Targets Key Al-Qa’ida Funding and Support Network Using Iran as a Critical Transit Point,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, July 28, 2011, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1261.aspx.

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Egypt

Bahrain

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On May 8, 2019, Taliban insurgents detonated an explosive-laden vehicle and then broke into American NGO Counterpart International’s offices in Kabul. At least seven people were killed and 24 were injured.

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