On 17 March 2011, Batarfi was captured by security forces in the Taiz Governorate.[5] For four years, he was imprisoned in Mukalla. He was freed, along with about 300 other inmates, by al-Qaeda fighters on 2 April 2015, during the Battle of Mukalla.[4][7][8]The Washington Post compared the Mukalla prison break to the escape of 23 fighters, including future AQAP emir Nasir al-Wuhayshi, from a Yemeni prison in 2006, a formative event for the group.[9]
Batarfi attracted media attention when he posed for photographs taken by al-Qaeda members in the Hadhramaut governor's palace, which fighters took over.[7][10]
Batarfi was promoted to leader after the death of Qasim al-Raymi in January 2020.[11] In February 2021, the United Nations claimed that Batarfi was arrested during a security operation in Al Ghaydah in October 2020.[12] However, Batarfi later appeared in a video discussing the 6 January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.[13]
The U.S. Rewards for Justice Program offered up to $5 million in exchange for information leading to Batarfi's apprehension.[1]
AQAP announced Batarfi's death on 10 March 2024 and named Sa'ad bin Atef al-Awlaki as his successor. It did not give a cause of death for Batarfi.[14]
