Nasser al-Bahri was in al-Qaeda for six years as one of bin Laden's twelve bodyguards, A citizen of Yemen born in Saudi Arabia, al-Bahri was radicalized in his teens by dissident Saudi Ulemas and participated in clandestine political activities which were funded in part by people trafficking.
10 Facts About Nasser al-Bahri
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Nasser al-Bahri agreed to abide by the parole conditions of a Yemeni jihadist rehabilitation program directed by judge Hamoud al-Hitar.
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Nasser al-Bahri claimed to have recruited Salim Ahmed Hamdan to al-Qaeda, where the latter became a driver for bin Laden.
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Nasser al-Bahri was radicalized in his teens and became involved in clandestine political activities, "seeking reform and in support of dissident clerics".
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Nasser al-Bahri became interested in jihad while watching TV accounts of foreigners who traveled to Afghanistan to fight with the resistance during the Soviet occupation during the 1980s.
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Nasser al-Bahri was unhappy with "their amateurism" and "love of money" and left for Afghanistan where he hoped to join al-Qaeda.
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Nasser al-Bahri went to Afghanistan in 1996 and entered the "Star of Jihad" complex near Kandahar, which had become al-Qaeda's headquarters after their flight from Sudan.
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Nasser al-Bahri underwent rigorous training and became a trainer himself before bin Laden singled him out to become his personal bodyguard, giving him a special revolver and two bullets which al-Bahri was to kill him with if ever he was surrounded by "the enemy".
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Under the direction of a Yemeni judge, Hamoud al-Hitar, Nasser al-Bahri agreed to participate in the Yemeni jihadist rehabilitation program, through which captured jihadists took education and challenged their philosophy, while working with students.
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Nasser al-Bahri is described as "disengaged" from the war with the West, although he stated admiration for some of al-Qaeda's ideals.