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Turabi, Hassan Abdallah al-

(Encyclopedia)Turabi, Hassan Abdallah al- häˈsän äbdäˈlä äl-to͞oräˈbē [key], 1932–2016, Sudanese religious and political leader, b. Kassala, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (now Sudan). He studied law in Sudan a...

Zarqawi, Abu Musab al-

(Encyclopedia)Zarqawi, Abu Musab al- äˈbo͞o mo͞osäb äl-zärkäˈwē [key], nom de guerre of Ahmad Fadhil Nazzar al-Khalaylah, 1966–2006, Islamic terrorist leader, b. Jordan. Becoming a militant Islamist in ...

Bakr, Ahmad Hasan al-

(Encyclopedia)Bakr, Ahmad Hasan al- äkhmädˈ häsänˈ äl-bäkˈər [key], 1914–82, president of Iraq (1968–79). He served as an officer in the Iraqi army but was forced to retire (1958) because of his parti...

Baghdadi, Abu Bakr al-

(Encyclopedia)Baghdadi, Abu Bakr al-, nom de guerre of Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai, 1971–2019, Iraqi jihadist leader. Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, he helped found a Sunni militia. Arres...

Mashhad

(Encyclopedia)Mashhad mäsh-hädˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 1,759,155), capital of Razavi Khorasan prov., NE Iran. It is an industrial and trade center and a transportation hub. Manufactures include carpets, textiles...

Al Qaeda

(Encyclopedia)Al Qaeda or Al Qaida äl kīˈĕdə, käˈĭdä [key] [Arab.,=the base], Sunni Islamic terrorist organization with the stated goals of uniting all Muslims and establishing a transnational, strict-fund...

Al Qaida

(Encyclopedia)Al Qaida: see Al Qaeda.

Al Shabab

(Encyclopedia)Al Shabab or Al Shabaab [key], [Arab.,=the youth], Islamic fundamentalist militia based in Somalia. One of several hardline Somali Islamist militias, Al Shabab has operated primarily in southern and ...

Al Hillah

(Encyclopedia)Al Hillah äl hĭlˈlä [key], city (1987 pop. 268,834), provincial capital, central Iraq, on a branch of the Euphrates River. It was built (c.1100) largely of material taken from the nearby ruins of ...

Al Hudaydah

(Encyclopedia)Al Hudaydah: see Hodeida, Yemen.