The son of a security officer, al-Rimi attended Zutanya College in Adha for three years, and married the Moroccan Hanan Raqib. On September 1, 2001, al-Rimi told his father he was leaving southern Saudi Arabia to perform
hajj, but secretly traveled to
Afghanistan where he met with militant leaders. Several months later, al-Rimi introduced Abu Ali to
Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi, who sent the American back to his country to await further instructions. Six days later, the group carried out the
Riyadh compound bombings that killed 26–34 people, including 9 American citizens. The authorities subsequently issued a list of 19 names tied to the bombing, including al-Rimi,
Abdul Rahman Jabarah, al-Faqasi and four of the dead bombers. She was turned over to his father for safekeeping, who sought to return her to Morocco. Al-Rimi replied to Abu Ali on June 6, explaining that he had escaped the raid, but did not know the extent of who else had been captured, except that he had heard 'Adil was similarly safe. He cautioned Abu Ali to ready himself, and refrain from any risky behaviour which might give away his cover; He wrote a letter to Saudi scientists, another to militants, another to his family, one to his wife, one to
Qahtan Ghamdi, one to American president
George W. Bush, and a public letter insisting he had not been involved in the Riyadh bombings but would continue to fight against American presence in the
Arabian Peninsula. In September 2003, the FBI issued an alert for four people they alleged "pose a threat to U.S. citizens", including
Abderraouf Jdey,
Adnan G. El Shukrijumah and the previously unknown al-Rimi and
Karim el-Mejjati. His father stated that it was unlikely al-Rimi was in the United States, since he was unable to speak English. ==Death==