Ahmed Qurei

Ahmed Ali Mohammed Qurei (or Qureia; أحمد علي محمد قريع, Aḥmad ʿAlī Muḥammad Qurayʿ), also known by his Arabic kunya Abu Alaa (أبو علاء, Abū ʿAláʾ) (born March 26, 1937) is a former Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority. First appointed to the position in October 2003, he tendered his resignation on January 26, 2006, following the defeat of the Fatah party in the Palestinian legislative election, 2006, and remained in office in a caretaker capacity until 19 February when he was succeeded by Ismail Haniyeh. During his tenure as prime minister, he has also had responsibility for security matters. He has previously served as speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council and held a variety of significant positions within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from the 1970s on.

Early political career

Qurei was born in Abu Dis (near Jerusalem), Mandatory Palestine, in 1937. He joined the Fatah, the largest of the political and military organizations making up the Palestine Liberation Organization, in 1968. As a banker, he used his expertise during the 1970s as the director of the PLO's foreign investment branch and director-general of the PLO's economic branch, helping to make the organization one of the largest employers in Lebanon. He followed Yasser Arafat to Tunis after the PLO was forced to leave Lebanon. As more senior leaders died, Qurei rose to prominence and was elected to the Fatah Central Committee in August 1989.

Abu Ala al-Afri

Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli (Arabic: عبد الرحمن مصطفى القادولي‎), alternatively known as Abu Ala al-Afri (أبو علاء العفري), was the Deputy leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It is believed he ascended to this position following unconfirmed reports of current leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi being severely injured by an airstrike, leaving him unable to retain direct leadership of the group.

On May 14, 2014, Abu Ala al-Afri was listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S Treasury Department.

On May 5, 2015, the U.S. State Department announced a reward of up to US$7 million for information leading to al-Afri's capture or death.

The Iraqi Ministry of Defense reported that Abu Ala al-Afri had been killed in a US-led coalition airstrike in Tel Afar, on May 12, 2015, along with dozens of other ISIL militants that were present. US Spokesmen were unable to corroborate the reports, with some unnamed officials expressing skepticism of the Iraqi claims.

Biography