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Tareq Kamleh | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985 or 1986 (age 39–40)[1] Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
| Other names | |
| Education |
|
| Alma mater | University of Adelaide |
| Occupation | Paediatric Doctor |
| Criminal charge | Terrorism |
| Criminal status | At large Possibly dead (unverified) |
| Spouse | Ariel Bradley |
Tareq Kamleh (born 1985 or 1986) is anAustralian citizen who fled toSyria as a medical doctor to join the Islamic terrorist organisationISIS, where he performed pediatric work inRaqqa, Syria, in theIslamic State Health Service.[4] On 29 April 2015 Kamleh was brought toAustralian Government and media attention for a propaganda video he posted from Raqqa. The recruitment video was titled “health services in the Islamic state”, and includes Kamleh, among other medical professionals, urging fellow Muslim ‘brothers and sisters’ to join theIslamic State.[5] Kamleh is currently wanted by theAustralian Federal Police in connection to crimes carried out in Raqqa.[6] Tareq Kamleh's whereabouts are currently unknown, although it is presumed he is dead.
Tareq was born in 1985 inPerth, Western Australia. His father was born and raised inPalestine, before migrating toAustralia. His mother was born inGermany, before migrating to Australia. She wasCatholic, prior to converting toIslam.[5] Tareq was an only child. As a child, Tareq Kamleh attended a local primary school in Perth. He was raised in Perth for most of his childhood. At 20, Kamleh travelled toNew Zealand to attendOtago University. Kamleh's goal was to get into the medicine school there.[7] Kamleh failed to proceed into Medicine there, and was dismissed as a ‘playboy’ who drank a lot. Tareq then leftDunedin to go back to Australia where he later joined theUniversity of Adelaide, graduating with aBachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 2010.[7]
Tareq Kamleh was known to peers as somewhat of a playboy in his youth. He had multiple romantic affairs and drank alcohol prolifically. Despite preaching to be an abiding Muslim, where it is prohibited and impure to consume alcohol, he drank regularly.[8] Kamleh was also somewhat of a ‘womanizer’ and had many different female partners.[9]
After graduating, Kamleh was assigned to the Women and Children's Hospital in the paediatric unit in February 2011. After two years, Kamleh transferred toMackay Base Hospital inQueensland from January 2013.[10] During this time, Kamleh also worked at Alice Springs Hospital. Kamleh was a registered doctor in Western Australia prior to 2015. Consequent to Kamleh's recruitment video posting for theIslamic state, the Medical Board of Australia confirmed on 21 June 2015 that it would be suspending the medical registration of Dr Tareq Kamleh. The board deemed this suspension was due to ‘manage serious risk to public health and safety’.[11]
Tareq Kamleh fled Australia in April 2015, flying toTurkey before crossing the border illegally intoSyria. This was first brought to Australian Government attention after Kamleh appeared in a recruitment video forISIS. ISIS used Tareq Kamleh in a recruitment video as a tool to recruit more western doctors and nurses to fight for their cause, one of ISIS main recruitment strategies.[12] Kamleh provided medical aid in the paediatric division in theRaqqa hospital, boasting a state-of-the-art facility in his recruitment video. Kamleh appeared in another video in 2017 with a long beard, a bulletproof vest on and an AK-47, fighting for the ISIS cause.[13]
After joining the organization, Kamleh used the nameAbu Yosef Al-Australie, aka Abu Yusuf. This name change was of cultural significance to Tareq Kamleh, protesting his Australian citizenship whilst converting to Islam to fight for ISIS. He was also nicknamedDr Jihad by the media.[14]
Consequent to fleeing Australia, Tareq Kamleh engaged in a relationship with Ariel Bradley. Bradley was an American woman who fledTennessee to fight for the Islamic state and was previously married to Yasin Mohammad, who was killed in an airstrike in 2015. Ariel Bradley and Tareq Kamleh got married after Mohammad was killed. Bradley believed it was her civic duty to marry an Islamic state fighter to support the cause.[9]
The Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a jihadist terrorist group with a violent agenda and ideologies. ISIS claims religious authority over Muslims,[15] and is the most successful terrorist organisation ever in attracting foreigners to join the ranks, thanks to their recruitment methods. ISIS will often look for foreigners whose ideologies can easily be exploited and manipulated, as well as foreigners looking for ego or adventure.[16] In Tareq Kamleh's case, ISIS effectively manipulated his religious beliefs and ego, attracting him to join the cause. ISIS also use foreign recruits in recruitment videos to attract more foreign fighters. Kamleh can be seen in a recruitment video, asking for his foreign Muslim "brothers and sisters" to join the cause.[5]
Syria is a country located in theMiddle East, neighbouring countries likeLebanon andIraq. Syria was also a stronghold for the ISIS terrorist organisation, which occupied about a third of its territory at its peak in 2017. ISIS forces had a headquarters located in Raqqa, the ISIS stronghold of Syria.[17] Raqqa was a strategic base for ISIS, occupying the northern parts of Syria and Iraq along a corridor fromAleppo, Syria to Diyala, Iraq.[18] When Kamleh fled Australia, he made his way to Raqqa to operate in the local paediatric hospitals.[13]
Kamleh reportedly kept a journal during his time in Raqqa, which was found during a gun fight in the city's west. The journal was retrieved by a British soldier during the raid of an ISIS safehouse and had Kamleh's name on it. The journal professed Kamleh's feelings about the war, claiming he was unhappy with ISIS refusal to support the orphanages with funding from the cause. Kamleh also complained in his alleged journal about his fear for the future of the caliphate due to animal abuse from other Jihadists.[13]
In September 2017, a U.S.-backed coalition ofSyrian Kurds and Arabs known as theSyrian Democratic Forces recaptured key locations within Syria, including Raqqa. This was the location Kamleh was reportedly killed during the air strikes. By October 2017, ISIS had lost 95% of its total territory, including its stronghold, Raqqa.[17]
Tareq Kamleh is currently wanted by theAustralian Federal Police for crimes of terrorism and faces up to 25 years in jail if he returns to Australia. An arrest warrant has been filed for Tareq Kamleh in Adelaide, Australia, claiming offences he apparently committed in Raqqa in 2015 after fleeing Australia, including joining and aiding a terrorist organization.[13]
Tareq Kamleh was reported to have died during the battle of Raqqa in September 2017, reported by multiple Islamic state fighters on their Twitter accounts. Whilst this death has not been confirmed by reliable sources, it was proposed he either died in the bombings of Raqqa in late 2017 or was taken prisoner by theSyrian Democratic Forces. This is less likely as his capture should have been reported on by now. Lastly, it is possible Kamleh fled Raqqa and is still at large. These three possibilities were reported by different Islamic state fighters.[19]In February 2025 Kamleh appeared as the mainn protagonist in a documentary [ZDF] while being imprisoned at the Military Basis of Syrian Democratic Forces in Hasaka with his face censored.