Big news -- almost certainly true, but somehow not yet announced by the United States:
A prominent ISIS leader (so prominent he was strongly suspected be the yet unconfirmed new ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi) has been killed by a US drone in northern Syria.
#thread
A prominent ISIS leader (so prominent he was strongly suspected be the yet unconfirmed new ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi) has been killed by a US drone in northern Syria.
#thread
Abu Saad al-Shamali al-Shami Faiz Ukal al-Nuaymi al-Qurayshi, was killed in a drone strike earlier this week. He was traveling under a false name and ID for "Ahmed El Darwish" in areas controlled by the Turkish-backed rebels.
A gruesome video & picture exist but not for sharing.
A gruesome video & picture exist but not for sharing.
Abu Saad, a Syrian, is a KEY ISIS operative in Syria. He is said to have been jailed in the notorious prison of Sednaya before the Syrian uprising. He is also known for extreme views, even within ISIS, but was VERY close to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He was put in charge of Raqqa.
The most senior ISIS leader in Iraqi custody recently told @hushamalhashimi Abu Saad was the same as Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, or at least one of the only 2 likely names. This, if anything, indicates how important the person was.
cgpolicy.org/articles/inter…
More recent details below
cgpolicy.org/articles/inter…
More recent details below
Abu Saad al-Shamali actually comes from Qurashi origins, another reason why he might have been the new Isis leader. But this is not confirmed at all, it’s only telling how significant this targeting Isis. Interesting the US hasn’t claimed it yet. Besides the following details:
Before his (alleged) death, Abu Saad al-Shamali was the most senior ISIS “amni” (security apparatus leader), and his presence in northern Syria was likely part of ISIS trying to build networks there. Recall he’s Syrian, so it’s easy to mingle using fake IDs.
During ISIS caliphate, he served as the governor of Raqqa (another indicator of impritance). He was one of the last remaining close associates/aides of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
About 2 months ago, he was spotted by jihadist rival Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which tried to snatch him from the Syrian rebels when he was captured around Afrin; and again recently in Atmeh, but he escaped to the Turkish-controlled Euphrates Shield areas, where the US targeted him.
After leaving the Assad prison of Sednaya, he joined the Syrian jihadists after 2011. He was close to the Baghdadi-loyalist faction within Jabhat al-Nusra (now Hayat Tahrir al-Sham). He was sidelined or sacked by Jabhat al-Nusra for his views.
The marked is where he was first ambushed by HTS, not very far from the former stronghold of ISIS in 2013-2014 ad-Dana (also not far from where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was found & killed). The Kurdish area of Afrin is to the north, where ISIS members were recently targeted by the US
Re the place where the US targeted him, I don't have the exact location yet. But it is somewhere near al-Bab. This is quite interesting because ISIS members seem to be moving, underground, in the same areas they once controlled (in this case, last time in 2014). Not a good sign..
Interesting also: someone found the official records of his ID, which say his home address is in Dabiq. Sounds like the ghosts of ISIS, with all these same town names.
(The family details most likely belong to someone else, but he was clearly impersonating whoever that is.)
(The family details most likely belong to someone else, but he was clearly impersonating whoever that is.)
Also related:
• more ISIS activities in the north
• I previously reported the targeting of several ISIS members near Afrin
• sources tell me ISIS has some increased but unseen presence in the north lately
• ISIS this week killed a rebel SNA officer & targeted Turkish forces
• more ISIS activities in the north
• I previously reported the targeting of several ISIS members near Afrin
• sources tell me ISIS has some increased but unseen presence in the north lately
• ISIS this week killed a rebel SNA officer & targeted Turkish forces
This, for example, was confirmed by local media later. Note they also used fake IDs to move around
The Kurdish-controlled Manbij council reports 2 attacks presumably by ISIS in the area, accusing cells linked to Turkey. Manbij is a key area liberated and controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
manbijmc.org/archives/8289
manbijmc.org/archives/8289
The genius folks found it:
An ISIS official has been “arrested” by rival jihadist group HTS, which found “large amounts of explosives” to be used for making sticky bombs and also found ready bombs etc. In western Idlib. The statement says he’ll be referred to HTS courts. h/t @azelin
Confirming this ISIS official’s role as in charge of “armament” and a leader within the organization.
