Overview

Khalid al-Marfadi is a military leader for ISIS’s affiliate in Yemen. Prior, he was the leader of ISIS in the district of Yafa in Yemen’s Lahij Governorate, where he also worked to recruit and train ISIS militants. He has been involved in many of the group’s operations and has worked to plan, prepare, and direct ISIS attacks in Yemen.“Treasury and Terrorist Financing Targeting Certain Partners Issue First Joint Sanctions Against Key Terrorists and Supporters,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, October 25, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/sm0187.aspx. He was designated as a terrorist by the United States and six Gulf countries in October 2017.Thomas Joscelyn, “US and Gulf nations sanction 8 jihadists in Yemen,” Long War Journal, October 25, 2017, https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/10/us-and-gulf-nations-sanction-8-jihadists-in-yemen.php.

Marfadi was born in 1966 and holds Yemeni citizenship.“Saudi Arabia adds 11 Qaeda, ISIS-linked Yemenis on terror list,” Al Arabiya English, October 25, 2017, https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/10/25/Saudi-State-Security-lists-two-entities-and-eleven-names-supporting-al-Qaeda-ISIS.html; “Counter Terrorism Designations,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, October 25, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20171025.aspx.  He joined ISIS’s affiliate in Yemen sometime after the group was established in November 2014 and held various important positions. In 2015, he was an official for ISIS in Yemen’s Lahij Governorate, with about 50-60 militants reporting to him. By early 2016, Marfadi was senior enough to have advance knowledge of the majority of ISIS’s attacks in the country, and was even responsible for facilitating some of them.“Treasury and Terrorist Financing Targeting Certain Partners Issue First Joint Sanctions Against Key Terrorists and Supporters,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, October 25, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/sm0187.aspx.  He also attempted to negotiate an agreement for joint operations between ISIS in Yemen and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) during this time.“Treasury and Terrorist Financing Targeting Certain Partners Issue First Joint Sanctions Against Key Terrorists and Supporters,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, October 25, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/sm0187.aspx; Gregory D. Johnsen, “Al-Qa’ida and the Islamic State Benefit as Yemen War Drags On,” Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, January 19, 2016, https://ctc.usma.edu/posts/al-qaida-and-the-islamic-state-benefit-as-yemen-war-drags-on.

By April 2016, Marfadi was the leader of ISIS in Yemen’s Yafa district in Lahij Governorate. He recruited fighters from the district and ran a training camp there. By mid-2016, he was reportedly responsible for preparing vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices in Yemen’s Lahij Governorate that were used for ISIS attacks in the country. He also became part of an assassination cell that targeted security forces in southern Yemen. By mid-2017, Marfadi was known to be a military commander who directed the movements of ISIS fighters and gave orders to the commander of operations of ISIS in Yemen.“Treasury and Terrorist Financing Targeting Certain Partners Issue First Joint Sanctions Against Key Terrorists and Supporters,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, October 25, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/sm0187.aspx.

On October 25, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury named Marfadi a Specially Designated Global Terrorist for acting for or on behalf of ISIS in Yemen and for providing support or services to the group.“Treasury and Terrorist Financing Targeting Certain Partners Issue First Joint Sanctions Against Key Terrorists and Supporters,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, October 25, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/sm0187.aspx.   Several Gulf countries also belonging to the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, a coalition of nations established in May 2017, also agreed to impose similar sanctions against Marfadi on the same date. These countries included Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.Thomas Joscelyn, “US and Gulf nations sanction 8 jihadists in Yemen,” Long War Journal, October 25, 2017, https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/10/us-and-gulf-nations-sanction-8-jihadists-in-yemen.php.