Khaled Al-Asad (Original)



Khaled Al-Asad is a military commander in an unnamed Arab country in the Arabian Peninsula. He was featured in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as the main villain in the first chapter, until Imran Zakhaev takes his place as the primary antagonist in two other chapters.

As one of the so-called "Four Horsemen", Khaled Al-Asad is responsible for toppling President Yasir Al-Fulani, who is accused for supporting of Western countries for his self-interests. Al-Fulani is soon captured by Al-Asad's troops and transported in a car to the arena, where he is executed by Al-Asad himself on national television. Al-Asad assumes control of the country, but in the eyes of the United States, Al-Asad's rule in his nation threats the whole political stability in the Middle-East. The US military sends United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance to Al-Asad's country and orders the unit to locate and capture the power-hungry commander. The Americans locate a television station where Al-Asad is broadcasting his speech on national television, but it turns out that the speech was recorded and Al-Asad has gone hiding into an unknown location.

The US military assumes that Al-Asad is hiding in the capital city and the attack force consisting of AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships, CH-46 Sea Knight transport helicopters, M1 Abrams main battle tanks and hundreds of soldiers are dispatched to assault the city. Al-Asad is not found in the city, but the Americans locate a Russian-made nuclear warhead in his palace. The NEST teams are dispatched to disarm the weapon, but the warhead is detonated by Al-Asad's men, annihilating most of the invading US forces. Sergeant Paul Jackson and Lieutenant Vasquez are among the victims of the massive nuclear explosion that destroys the city.

Nikolai, a Russian informant to the British Special Air Service, reveals that Al-Asad is hiding in his safehouse in Azerbaijan, protected by Russian Ultra-Nationalists. Captain Price, Gaz and John "Soap" MacTavish are dispatched to the village where Al-Asad is hiding, and soon Al-Asad is captured by the SAS. Cpt. Price ties Al-Asad in to a chair for questioning, but when the interrogation is over, Price kills Al-Asad by shooting him in the head with his pistol. After Al-Asad is dead, the British and Americans realize that the coup in the Middle-Eastern region was masterminded and funded by Al-Asad's ally, Russian ultra-nationalist leader Imran Zakhaev, who attempted draw attention of the United States from the Russian civil war, to ensure his victory over the loyalist forces.



Trivia

 * The name Al-Asad means "the lion" in the Arabic language.
 * In an edition of GamePro, a preview on Call of Duty 4 falsely names him 'Allisad'.
 * This game is banned in Syria due to Al-Asad sharing a last name with the Syrian president, Bashar Al-Assad