Overview
Waleed Jassem al-Alwani—known by his alias Abu Ahmad al-Alwani—is a senior member of ISIS.Isabel Coles and Ned Parker, “How Saddam’s men help Islamic State rule,” Reuters, December 11, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/mideast-crisis-iraq-islamicstate/. In November 2014, Alwani was reported to be the head of ISIS’s military council.Richard Barrett, “The Islamic State,” Soufan Group, November 2014, 31, http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TSG-The-Islamic-State-Nov14.pdf. He previously served as the council’s chief of staff, and before that, is reported to have overseen ISIS’s activities in Iraq’s Diyala province.“Exclusive: Top ISIS leaders revealed,” Al Arabiya, February 13, 2014, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2014/02/13/Exclusive-Top-ISIS-leaders-revealed.html;
Richard Barrett, “The Islamic State,” Soufan Group, November 2014, 31, http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TSG-The-Islamic-State-Nov14.pdf. During Saddam Hussein’s reign in Iraq, Alwani was reportedly a member of the Iraqi army.Richard Barrett, “The Islamic State,” Soufan Group, November 2014, 31, http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TSG-The-Islamic-State-Nov14.pdf.
Alwani was reported deceased by London’s Sun in February 2015.Rhodri Phillips and David Willets, “Half of I.S. chiefs are wiped out in air raids,” Sun, February 2, 2015, https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/22401/half-of-i-s-chiefs-are-wiped-out-in-air-raids/. However, in December 2015, Reuters named Alwani as a “senior officer” in ISIS and made no mention of his reported death.Isabel Coles and Ned Parker, “How Saddam’s men help Islamic State rule,” Reuters, December 11, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/mideast-crisis-iraq-islamicstate/.
Associated Groups
- Extremist entity
- ISIS
- Read Threat Report
- Type(s) of Organization:
- Insurgent, territory-controlling, religious, terrorist, violent
- Ideologies and Affiliations:
- Islamist, jihadist, pan-Islamist, Salafist, takfiri
- Position(s):
- Chief of General Staff
ISIS is a violent jihadist group based in Iraq and Syria. The group has declared wilayas (provinces) in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the North Caucasus. ISIS has also waged attacks in Turkey, Lebanon, France, Belgium, Iraq, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tunisia, and Kuwait.
Daily Dose
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On January 23, 2019, two car bombs exploded outside of a mosque in Benghazi, Libya, killing 41 people and injuring 80 others. No group claimed responsibility for the blast, but remnants suggested an ISIS affiliate was responsible.