Identity
During his lifetime, little was known about al-Walid’s background, lifestyle or fighting methods. In sharp contrast to his predecessor – Ibn al-Khattab (more commonly known as Khattab) who was known to have a personal camera crew of two who followed him even into combat, al-Walid was very reclusive. This led to speculation about his identity, whereabouts and actions, and occasionally to rumours of his death. One such rumour that was very persistent was that he had drowned in June 2002 after he and his horse were carried off by the current of a river he was trying to cross. Russian officials announced his death at least seven times and at one point, even his very existence was deemed doubtful.
However on 23 June 2002, his family gave an interview to the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan, revealing much about his background, including his full given name, Abd Al-Aziz Bin Ali Bin Said Al Said Al-Ghamdi.
Read more about this topic: Abu Al-Walid
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