Thread by @ToreRHamming

An interesting case is unfolding at the moment, revealing that a Dane (Danish-Lebanese) was heading the Islamic State's drone unit and a central figure in its amn khariji (external operations).

Here's a summary.

The man, Basil Hassan, has been a wanted figure in Denmark since 2013 when he attempted to assassinate a Danish Islam critic Lars Hedegaard and afterwards fled to Turkey where he was arrested. At some point, Hassan was released by the Turks and he entered Syria to join IS.

Once in the caliphate, Hassan was allegedly in charge of the Islamic State's drone program, katibat al-bara' ibn malik, which was intended both for reconnaissance and for military use.

The way it worked was that Hassan's accomplices in Denmark (perhaps other places as well) acquired the equipment, then sent it to another (known Jihadi figure) in Turkey who then transported it to Syria. Voila!

At this point, in 2013-14, the program was still under development, but it would later become prominent in the Islamic State's military warfare and propaganda efforts.

Hassan, who in on the US most wanted list, was most likely killed last year, but a court case is about to begin against his accomplices in Denmark. Hassan is also though to have played a central role in external ops, meaning terrorist attacks in the West, but that's another story

The story is remarkable for several reasons:
- It shows how transnational networks played a central role in developing IS's drone program and that the key logistics was centred around Denmark
- How FF contributed with valuable knowledge and network for the organization

- The drone program started to be developed as early as 2013 (receipts from 2013 found)
- How a foreigner extremely quickly rises to the top of a highly secret IS unit (probably because he was an engineer)