Mohammed Loay Bayazid

Mohammed Loay Bayazid
Other names	kunya: Abu Rida al-Suri Nidal

Born in Syria, Mohammed Loay Bayazid is an American citizen alleged to have been a founding member of al-Qaeda, although he has cooperated with American authorities and claims his role in the group has been over-stated.

He was alleged to have been sympathetic to Shias, and tried to foster better relationships between a variety of Sunni extremist groups with Imad Mughniyah of Hezbollah.

Bayazid moved to the United States with his parents, as a teenager, and began studying engineering at University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1982, but he later moved to Tucson, and studied at the University of Arizona. He is believed to speak Persian, Chinese, Arabic and English fluently.

In 1985, he decided to join the mujahideen repelling the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Two years later, bin Laden wrote him a letter explaining that Abu Abdel Lateef may come spend the night with him prior to his flight to Yemen, and asked him to visit the Yemeni embassy to check whether a Saudi would need a visa to fly to Yemen; he also asked that Bayazid try to bring 500,000 Rupees when they next met.

In 1988, he allegedly took notes during one of the formative meetings detailing the creation of al-Qaeda. Noted for his penchant for "always teasing bin Laden", Bayazid jokingly asked whether he had thought of the logistics of transporting mujahideen to the fight, asking "How...Air France?".

He ran Al-Ikhlas International, an import/export company producing honey and other consumables believed to have been owned by bin Laden.

Bin Laden sent a letter to Bayazid informing him that Mohammed Atef and Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri were to each be given 6,500 Saudi riyals monthly, the same as they would have been given for their work in Maktab al-Khidamat. Bayazid is believed to have recruited his friend Mubarak al-Duri into working for bin Laden's companies.

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Wikipedia