Ilyas Kashmiri, also referred to as Maulana Ilyas Kashmiri and Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri (10 February 1964 – 3 June 2011), was a Pakistani Islamist militant, senior al-Qaeda operative and leader of the Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI). He was also connected with the Soviet–Afghan War, the Kashmir conflict and attacks against India and the United States. In August 2010, the US and the United Nations designated him a terrorist. NBC News reported that United States officials had mentioned him as a possible successor to Osama bin Laden as head of al-Qaeda. Prior to his death, a CNN News headline called him the "most dangerous man on Earth", while the late journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad said of him that "he is invariably described by the world intelligence agencies as the most effective, dangerous, and successful guerrilla leader in the world."