Adnan Latif Hamid al-Suwaydawi al-Dulaymi (Arabic:عدنان لطيف حامد السويداوي الدليمي,‘Adnān Laṭīf Ḥāmid as-Suwaydāwī al-Dulaymī) (1965 – 8 November 2014), also known by hisnoms de guerreAbu Muhannad al-Suwaydawi,Abu Abdul Salem,[3] andHaji Dawūd was a top commander in theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the former head of its Military Council.[4]
Despite his senior position within the ISIL hierarchy, very little is known about al-Iraqi. He has been referred to as a "shadowy persona".[5] Al-Suwaydawi was a member of the Al-bu Swda clan of theDulaim, the largest tribe in Iraq'sAl Anbar Governorate. Al-Suwaydawi served under theBa'athist regime ofSaddam Hussein as a lieutenant colonel in the Iraqi Army.[6] He also operated in Iraq's Air Defense Intelligence.[7] According to Ahmed al-Dulaimi, the governor of Al Anbar Governorate, al-Suwaydawi graduated from the same military academy as future senior ISIL leadersHaji Bakr andAbu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi.[4]
An ISIL biography of Abu Muhannad al-Suwaydawi describes him as being "especially close toAbu Musab al-Zarqawi andAbu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi and says, "He and Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi were friends both in childhood and jihad". According to the biography, Abu Muhannad was present at both theFirst Battle of Fallujah and theSecond Battle of Fallujah during the occupation of Iraq. He was also responsible for planning the 2013Abu Ghraib prison break.[8] In 2007, al-Suwaydawi was detained by U.S. forces in Iraq atCamp Bucca. Following the deaths of Haji Bakr and al-Bilawi in 2014, al-Suwaydawi reportedly succeeded them as head of ISIL's military council.[4]
In November 2014, there were media reports that al-Iraqi had been killed in an Iraqi airstrike that reportedly also injuredAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi,[9][10] however this was not confirmed at the time.In May 2015, ISIL carried out a wide-scaleassault on Ramadi, capturing the city centre. The assault was named after al-Suwaydawi, who was described as having been killed in a US-led air strike.[11][12] Jihadists frequently name their military offensives after fallen leaders.[13]The Daily Beast reported that al-Suwaydawi was succeeded by senior ISIL figureAbu Ali al-Anbari.[14]
In October 2019, an article for the BBC claimed al-Suwaydawi was killed fighting on the front line in Syria by theSyrian Democratic Forces rather than a US airstrike.[15]
^Hassan, Michael Weiss (15 April 2016)."Everything We Knew About This ISIS Mastermind Was Wrong".The Daily Beast. Retrieved10 May 2016.al-Qaduli handled the intelligence services, or amniyat, in the country, and then in both Syria and Iraq after the killing of Abu Muhannad al-Suwaydawi, a former Saddamist
Colonel(until 2003)
