The U.S. Department of State's Rewards for Justice program, which is administered by the Diplomatic Security Service, is offering a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to the location or identification of Abu Ubaydah Yusuf al-Anabi, the leader of the terrorist organization al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
In November 2020, AQIM announced al-Anabi, an Algerian citizen also known as Yazid Mubarak, as the group's new leader after AQIM's previous and first emir, Abdelmalek Droukdel, was killed in June 2020. Al-Anabi has pledged allegiance to al-Qa'ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri on AQIM's behalf and is expected to play a role in al-Qa'ida's global management as Droukdel had done.
Al-Anabi was previously the leader of AQIM's Council of Notables and served on AQIM's Shura Council. Al-Anabi has also served as AQIM's Media Chief.
On September 9, 2015, the U.S. Department of State designated al-Anabi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. On February 29, 2016, he was placed on the United Nations (UNSCR 1267) sanctions list.
AQIM is responsible for the abduction and killing of Americans. AQIM, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on September 23, 2001. The U.S. Department of State designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 27, 2002. In September 2006, GSPC officially joined al-Qa'ida's terrorist network and re-branded itself as AQIM.
