Thread by @jenanmoussa

1/ EXCLUSIVE: I worked for last 3 weeks on this story about ISIS leader Amir al Mawla.

Until now not much is known about him but files shared with me by @CTCWP are a treasure trove.

Here is Al Mawla's identity card. And he isn't a Turkmen but an Arab.

2/ Already 12 yrs ago, in Jan 2008, U.S. forces in Iraq captured Amir Al Mawla in Mosul. Back then, Al Mawla worked with the ISI – the Islamic State of Iraq. The US army interrogated him extensively & wrote everything down in “tactical interrogation reports.”

@akhbar @CTCWP

3/ I now have 3 of these "tactical interrogation reports". The reports were first obtained by @CTCWP, who then shared them exclusively with me.

Because Al Mawla became 12 yrs later the head of ISIS, the interrogations with him from 2008 are now extremely relevant.

@akhbar

4/ The fact that until now not much was known about ISIS chief Al Mawla also makes these "tactical interrogation reports" extra important.

They contain a treasure trove of info. For instance, in it I found Iraqi ID card of Al Mawla which he carried when arrested.

@akhbar @CTCWP

5/ Acc to the interrogation reports, Amir Al Mawla (now the chief of ISIS) was born in Oct 1976.

Not in Tal Afar but in town of Mahalabiyah.

Al Mawla told his U.S. captors during interrogations that his ethnicity is “Arab”. This ends rumors that Al Mawla is an ethnic Turkmen.

6/ The fact that Al Mawla is an Arab was independently confirmed to me by a reliable source inside Mahalabiyah.

Acc to this source & to the ID card, Amir Al Mawla belongs to Al-Slibi tribe, which is a branch of the larger al Mawla tribe. Both tribes are of Arab origin.

7/ Already for over a century, al- Slibi tribe lives in parts of Iraq which are traditionally ethnic Turkmen, near Mahalabiyah & Tal Afar. So al-Slibi’s are close to the Turkman and speak fluent Turkish but are themselves Arabs. ISIS chief Al Mawla speaks both Arabic and Turkish.

8/ But there are many more details found in these interrogation reports from 2008.

For instance, back in 2008 Al Mawla (now the current chief of ISIS) had one wife and a son.

His wife’s name is: Isra Abd al Rahman Ali.

His deceased mother is named: Samira Sharif Abd al Qadir.

9/ When current ISIS chief Amir Al Mawla was arrested by U.S. troops in Jan 2008, he was the General Shari’i Amir for Mosul.

In 2007 he had become Mosul's deputy wali.

After long interrogations by U.S. forces, Al Mawla was handed over to the Iraqi government &later released.