Abu Ayman al-Iraqi

Abu Ayman al-Iraqi was ISIS’s military commander and the regional commander of Syria’s Latakia province.Mike Giglio, “A Late-Night Phone Call Between One of Syria’s Top Extremists And His Sworn Enemy,” BuzzFeed News, April 3, 2014, http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/a-late-night-phone-call-between-one-of-syrias-top-extremists#.wgA5eEyo8d;
Rania Abouzeid, “Inside the battle for Assad’s heartland,” Al Jazeera, August 28, 2013, http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/8/27/inside-the-battleforassadasheartland.html. According to some Syrian rebels, al-Iraqi was the third highest leader in ISIS’s Syria ranks.Mike Giglio, “A Late-Night Phone Call Between One of Syria’s Top Extremists And His Sworn Enemy,” BuzzFeed News, April 3, 2014, http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/a-late-night-phone-call-between-one-of-syrias-top-extremists#.wgA5eEyo8d. He was also a member of ISIS’s governing Shura council.Richard Barrett, “The Islamic State,” Soufan Group, November 2014, p. 30, http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TSG-The-Islamic-State-Nov14.pdf. Before his role in ISIS, al-Iraqi was detained at the U.S.-run Camp Bucca military prison in Iraq with other prisoners who would go on to form ISIS’s leadership.Mohammed Mahmoud Mortada, “The mysterious link between the US military prison Camp Bucca and ISIS leaders,” Al-Akhbar English, September 13, 2013, http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/21519. He had a reputation for carrying out “pathological violence.”Richard Barrett, “The Islamic State,” Soufan Group, November 2014, p. 32, http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TSG-The-Islamic-State-Nov14.pdf. Al-Iraqi was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Mosul, Iraq, on November 7, 2014.Ruth Sherlock and Magdy Samaan,“Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's close aide killed in US air strike,” Telegraph (London), November 9, 2014, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11219630/Islamic-State-leader-Abu-Bakr-al-Baghdadis-close-aide-killed-in-US-air-strike.html;
Alessandria Masi, “If ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Is Killed, Who Is Caliph Of The Islamic State Group?” International Business Times, November 10, 2014, http://www.ibtimes.com/if-isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-killed-who-caliph-islamic-state-group-1721638.

Because of his high leadership rank in the terror group, al-Iraqi did not release audio or video statements and was described as a “shadowy jihadi.”Mike Giglio, “A Late-Night Phone Call Between One of Syria’s Top Extremists And His Sworn Enemy,” BuzzFeed News, April 3, 2014, http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/a-late-night-phone-call-between-one-of-syrias-top-extremists#.wgA5eEyo8d. Noah Bonsey of the International Crisis Group said that among Syrian rebels and activists, al-Iraqi had “the worst reputation” of any ISIS commander during the group’s 2013 advance into Syria. He was reported to practice a “special brand a savagery,” murdering moderate Syrian rebel leaders in cold blood.Mike Giglio, “A Late-Night Phone Call Between One of Syria’s Top Extremists And His Sworn Enemy,” BuzzFeed News, April 3, 2014, http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/a-late-night-phone-call-between-one-of-syrias-top-extremists#.wgA5eEyo8d.

Al-Iraqi served as an intelligence officer with the rank of colonel in Iraq’s army under Saddam Hussein.M. Alex Johnson, “Key Players: Who’s Who in the Battle for Iraq?” NBC News, June 13, 2014, http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/iraq-turmoil/key-players-whos-who-battle-iraq-n130981. He was detained at the U.S.-run Camp Bucca prison in 2007 for three years. The exact dates and conditions of his internment are unknown.Mohammed Mahmoud Mortada, “The mysterious link between the US military prison Camp Bucca and ISIS leaders,” Al-Akhbar English, September 13, 2013, http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/21519;
“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. Following his release, he fought against the Syrian regime, recruiting fighters who formed ISIS.“Profile: The Rise of the Islamic State (IS),” tahrirsouri.com, July 12, 2014, http://tahrirsouri.com/2014/07/12/profile-the-rise-of-the-islamic-state-is/ (page discontinued). With ISIS’s official creation in April 2013, he became the terror group’s military commander and led numerous battles against government forces in western Syria. Rania Abouzeid, “Inside the battle for Assad’s heartland,” Al Jazeera, August 28, 2013, http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/8/27/inside-the-battleforassadasheartland.html.

Also Known As

Extremist entity
ISIS
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Type(s) of Organization:
Insurgent, territory-controlling, religious, terrorist, violent
Ideologies and Affiliations:
Islamist, jihadist, pan-Islamist, Salafist, takfiri
Position(s):
Former military commander; former emir of Latakia province, Syria; former governor of ISIS’s Anbar Province in Iraq - deceased

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.

  • Rhetoric

Apr. 2014

Accusing his Syrian rebel enemy of working with the West: “I am not saying that you have no relation to the revolution, but I am saying that you people have [foreign] friends, and you go to Turkey and sit there and listen to things that make God angry. You sit with godless and faithless people, and strange things occur.” (From a phone call between al-Iraqi and his enemy, a Syrian rebel commander) Mike Giglio, “A Late-Night Phone Call Between One of Syria’s Top Extremists And His Sworn Enemy,” BuzzFeed News, April 3, 2014, http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/a-late-night-phone-call-between-one-of-syrias-top-extremists#.wgA5eEyo8d.

Apr. 2014

“I might get hit by a mortar and be killed, and you might live longer than me, but remember my words. They [the West] will use you, and they will unite you with Bashar’s army, and with an interim government, and they will promise you seats in parliament, and such things — the same as they did with the Sunnis in Iraq. The West will sell you cheap. They sold your grandfathers and our grandfathers. And for hundreds of years the West has been controlling us, and they keep these tyrants over our heads. As if it were us who committed the al-Houla massacre, or did the chemical weapons attack, or raped the women in Bashar’s prisons. You forgot about Bashar, and now you came to fight us in earnest, and in the end, you and the [Alawites] will hug each other. You serve this project without knowing. Your army and Bashar’s army will unify to ‘counter terrorism’ — which is us. You will kill us and we will kill you. We have no other options — either you cleanse us or we cleanse you, because the decision is not yours.” (From a phone call between al-Iraqi and his enemy, a Syrian rebel commander) Mike Giglio, “A Late-Night Phone Call Between One of Syria’s Top Extremists And His Sworn Enemy,” BuzzFeed News, April 3, 2014, http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/a-late-night-phone-call-between-one-of-syrias-top-extremists#.wgA5eEyo8d.

Apr. 2014

“To me, Islam is higher [more important] than the Syrian people.” (From a phone call between al-Iraqi and his enemy, a Syrian rebel commander) Mike Giglio, “A Late-Night Phone Call Between One of Syria’s Top Extremists And His Sworn Enemy,” BuzzFeed News, April 3, 2014, http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/a-late-night-phone-call-between-one-of-syrias-top-extremists#.wgA5eEyo8d.

Apr. 2014

“All the lands that were once ruled by Islam are Islamic countries, and the people in these countries are Muslims. But the men ruling them are godless.” (From a phone call between al-Iraqi and his enemy, a Syrian rebel commander) Mike Giglio, “A Late-Night Phone Call Between One of Syria’s Top Extremists And His Sworn Enemy,” BuzzFeed News, April 3, 2014, http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/a-late-night-phone-call-between-one-of-syrias-top-extremists#.wgA5eEyo8d.

Apr. 2014

Asserting that Syrian rebels are American agents: “The West has understood the game. They won’t send anyone whose name is William or Benjamin. They’ll send people named Ahmed and Mohamed and Abdullah. The American soldier is expensive, so they will use people from among us — and this is the truth of the battle, they will use you — in the fight against us.” (From a phone call between al-Iraqi and his enemy, a Syrian rebel commander) Mike Giglio, “A Late-Night Phone Call Between One of Syria’s Top Extremists And His Sworn Enemy,” BuzzFeed News, April 3, 2014, http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/a-late-night-phone-call-between-one-of-syrias-top-extremists#.wgA5eEyo8d.

Apr. 2014

On Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “Yes, he is godless and an apostate. He does not rule in God’s name, but in the name of a fake constitution.” (From a phone call between al-Iraqi and his enemy, a Syrian rebel commander) Mike Giglio, “A Late-Night Phone Call Between One of Syria’s Top Extremists And His Sworn Enemy,” BuzzFeed News, April 3, 2014, http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/a-late-night-phone-call-between-one-of-syrias-top-extremists#.wgA5eEyo8d.

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On May 8, 2019, Taliban insurgents detonated an explosive-laden vehicle and then broke into American NGO Counterpart International’s offices in Kabul. At least seven people were killed and 24 were injured.

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