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Saddam al-Jamal | |
|---|---|
| صدام الجمل | |
| Born | Saddam Omar Yahya al-Jamal صدام عمر يحيى الجمل 1987 (age 38–39) |
| Years active | 2011–2018 |
Saddam Omar al-Jamal (Arabic:صدام عمر الجمل; born 1987) also known asAbu Ruqayya al-Ansari (Arabic:أبو رقية الأنصاري) is aSyrian jihadist militant of theIslamic State. He is known for taking part in the 2014 massacres of theAl-Shaitat tribe and for his involvement in the death ofJordanian fighter pilotMuath Al-Kasasbeh.[2]
He originally led theAllahu Akbar Brigade, a faction of theFree Syrian Army operating in theDeir ez-Zor Governorate with over 800 fighters. According toAl-Jazeera, "Jamal was not only the leader of a battalion but also a top FSA commander for the whole of Syria's eastern region encompassing theDeir ez-Zor Governorate." He led the Eastern Front of theSupreme Military Council (Syria). The Allahu Akbar brigade was a component of theAhfad al-Rasul Brigade.
On 16 December 2013, he appeared in a video titledRevealing the biggest conspiracy targeting the Islamic State, in which he announced that he had joined theIslamic State.[3]
The degree to which his decision to join the Islamic State was voluntary is disputed. Some characterize his defection as a form of "surrender" to the Islamic State after two of his brothers were abducted, his brother's house was bombed, and several of his combatants were killed. During this period, Jamal narrowly evaded an assassination attempt when a man detonated himself at his headquarters. Jamal established an Islamic State bank branch.
From 2014 onwards, he served as theIslamic State emir forAbu Kamal,Syria, which is his hometown.[4]
In September 2015, he was reportedly appointed as a deputy to Abu Firas al-Iraqi, the governor of the Islamic StateEuphrates province located on the border betweenIraq andSyria.
Saddam al-Jamal and four otherISIS commanders were apprehended by Iraqi forces on 9 May 2018 on theSyria-Iraq border.[5]