Ahmad Isma'il 'Uthman Saleh was born in Egypt, though the specific details of his early life remain sparse in the public record. Like many members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) during the 1980s and 1990s, he grew up during a turbulent period of Egyptian history marked by authoritarian rule, the rise of Islamist militancy, and widespread discontent with corruption and lack of political freedoms.

By the early 1990s, 'Uthman Saleh had become an active member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, one of the most feared and organized militant groups of the time, closely tied to Ayman al-Zawahiri. The group rejected peaceful political engagement and sought to overthrow the Egyptian government through violent means.

Following his sentencing in absentia, Ahmad Isma'il 'Uthman Saleh relocated to Albania, which by the late 1990s had become a refuge for several Islamic Jihad operatives. However, in the aftermath of increasing terrorist threats and international pressure, the United States and Egyptian intelligence services collaborated to track and apprehend suspected militants living overseas.

In July 1998, 'Uthman Saleh was among four Egyptian Islamic Jihad members arrested in Tirana, Albania as part of a secret CIA operation. This marked one of the earliest cases of extraordinary rendition carried out by the U.S. prior to the official declaration of the "War on Terror" in 2001. While three of his colleagues were immediately sent back to Egypt, 'Uthman Saleh’s return was delayed until mid-August 1998.

Reports later revealed that during this period he was subjected to severe torture, including electroshock abuse and repeated beatings, as intelligence services attempted to extract information from him. Human rights organizations would later identify his case as one of the most notorious early examples of U.S.-backed rendition programs.

His capture and brutal treatment in detention became a rallying point for extremist groups abroad. Intelligence assessments later suggested that the rendition of 'Uthman Saleh and his fellow “Returnees from Albania” was one of the factors cited by al-Qaeda operatives as motivation for the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed over 200 people and injured thousands.

Back in Egypt, 'Uthman Saleh was placed on trial alongside the other returnees in what became known as the Returnees from Albania trial in 1999. The Egyptian state used the trial to showcase its hardline stance against terrorism, sentencing many of the defendants to long prison terms or death. Given his prior death sentence in absentia, 'Uthman Saleh’s fate was already sealed.

In February 2000, he was executed in Egypt. His execution was part of a larger campaign by the Egyptian government to crush militant Islamist movements during a decade that had seen assassinations, bombings, and insurgent activity across the country.