Jalal Baleedi

Jalal Mohsen Saleh Baleedi al-Marqashi (1981 or 1982 – 3 February 2016), also known by his nom de guerre Abu Hamza al-Zinjibari, was an Islamist militant commander who led the Yemeni group Ansar al-Sharia from its emergence in 2011 until his death in 2016. A native of Abyan, Baleedi was appointed to lead the group by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which created Ansar al-Sharia as a rebranding effort to attract popular support locally.

As the leader of the group, Baleedi led the capture of several towns in southern Yemen during the Yemeni revolution and their administration under Islamic law. He exhibited a populist leadership style, engaging with residents of towns branded by Ansar al-Sharia as Islamic emirates. He commanded Ansar al-Sharia forces during the Battle of Zinjibar, and was involved in planning a successful raid in which hundreds of soldiers died. Baleedi and the rest of Ansar al-Sharia fled most of Abyan and Shabwah after an army offensive in 2012, and established themselves in Abyan's al-Mahfad district until another offensive in 2014, which saw him relocate to Hadhramaut.

Baleedi was "known for his brutality", most prominently displayed when he commanded his fighters to publicly behead a group of unarmed Yemeni soldiers in August 2014. Considering him a top leader of AQAP and a premier field commander in multiple governorates, the United States had offered a $5 million bounty for information on Baleedi by 2014. During the Yemeni civil war, Baleedi openly detailed AQAP and Ansar al-Sharia's support for and cooperation with anti-Houthi forces, some affiliated with the government. He led Ansar al-Sharia's recapture of Zinjibar and Jaar at the end of 2015. He was killed by a US drone strike on 3 February 2016.