Freedom fighter. In 1987, Ibn Al Khattab followed the example of other Saudis and went to join the liberation struggle against Soviet Union in Afghanistan. He became one of the most prominent Arab mujahedin fighters in the war. Khattab, after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, moved across the border into Tajikistan to join the forces fighting a civil war with the Russian-backed government there. He then, in 1995, moved to Chechnya with a small group of Arabs freedom fighters. In April 1996, he played a leading role in a devastating ambush against a Russian armoured column high in the mountains near the village Yaryshmardy. He was born in northern Saudi Arabia into a wealthy family. Russian security services apparently sent Khattab a letter, which was drenched in poison and that, seemingly caused his death.