Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Abdul Mohsen al-Zaghilani al-Taresh[1][2] or Abdul Mohsen Al-Dhufairi[3] |
| Nickname | "The Lion"[2] |
| Born | 1970s or 1980s |
| Died | 26 December 2016[4] |
| Allegiance |  Islamic State |
| Branch | Military of ISIL ISIL Media Council[6] |
| Years of service | ?–2016 |
| Rank | "Number two military commander" for ISIL operations in Syria[7] |
| Commands | |
| Battles / wars | War on terror:Military intervention against ISIL
|
| Spouse | Rahaf Zina[10][11] |
| Relations | Hussein Al-Dhufairi(possibly brother)[3] |
Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti (1970s/80s – 26 December 2016; bornAbdul Mohsen al-Zaghilani al-Taresh orAbdul Mohsen Al-Dhufairi) was a leading official of theIslamic State, serving as importantmilitary commander, recruiter and propagandist. Known for his command capabilities and popular among his subordinates, Abu Jandal was called "The Lion" among IS fighters and fought in several battles inSyria andIraq. By late 2016, Abu Jandal had become IS' second highest-ranking commander in Syria and ledthe defense of itsde facto capitalRaqqa against theSyrian Democratic Forces (SDF). He was killed by aUS airstrike on 26 December 2016.
Generally, relatively little is known about Abu Jandal.[12] His birth name has been reported as either "Abdul Mohsen al-Zaghilani al-Taresh"[1][2] or "Abdul Mohsen Al-Dhufairi".[3] He was born in the city ofal Jahra inKuwait, likely during the 1970s or 1980s, and was at some point influenced and radicalised byJihadist ideology. As result, he ventured to Syria, where he joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[2] Over time, he began to play an important role in recruiting new members for IS throughsocial media, appearing in propaganda videos and carrying out executions.[12] He was even appointed to a senior position on the IS Media Council.[6] In this way, he won considerable fame and many fans and followers in his home city Al Jahra.[2]
Sometime after joining IS,[2] he married the Syrian Jihadist Rahaf Zina,[10][11] though other reports stated that his wife was Iraqi.[2] The couple eventually had a son, Jandal, whereupon he adopted hiskunyaAbu Jandal al-Kuwaiti ("Father of Jandal, the Kuwaiti") asnom de guerre. He also rose in ranks as military commander, while becoming popular among subordinate IS fighters due to his reported modesty.[2] By July 2014, Abu Jandal served as a top commander of the Islamic State's 6,000-man-strongArmy of Hasakah,[1] personally leading the Knights Battalion.[2] Over time, he became a "troubleshooter" for IS, and the battalion under his command subsequently became known the "Rapid Response Battalion". In August 2014, Abu Jandal helped to brutally suppress theAl-Shaitat tribal rebellion,[9][8] and around September of that year, hefought inDeir ez-Zor.[2]
Between 2015 and 2016, Abu Jandal led various military operations in both Iraq as well as Syria,[7] and joined IS' War Committee.[4] In this capacity, he was involved in the planning and operation of suicidecar bombs,IEDs, andchemical weapons against the SDF,[4] and became closely associated withAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi[12] as well as IS's terror attack planners.[4]
By December 2016, Abu Jandal had risen to the second-most important IS commander in Syria,[7] and participated in anoffensive to retakePalmyra and its surroundings from the Syrian government. After this attack's success on 11 December, he was redeployed to Raqqa and appointed as chief commander for the defenses of the Islamic State'sde facto capital in face of the SDF-ledRaqqa campaign.[4][5][13] His most important task was protecting IS's supply routes to the northern frontlines andal-Bab in the west.[6] Abu Jandal consequently became crucially involved in thebattle for the strategic significant village ofJabar. IS troops who were probably under his command achieved a minor success during this battle when they surrounded and destroyed a SDF detachment in the village on 21 December, forcing the international SDF volunteer Ryan Lock to kill himself in order to not be captured.[6] Nevertheless, Jabar finally fell to the SDF on 26 December, whereupon Abu Jandal personally organized and led a large-scale counter-attack. In course of this assault, a US airstrike hit his convoy near the village, killing him and his bodyguards; the counter-attack subsequently failed.[4][5][13] Abu Jandal was in his thirties when he died.[citation needed]
According toCJTF–OIR, Abu Jandal's death was a heavy blow to IS, degrading "ISIL's ability to defend Raqqa and launch external operations against the West."[4] IS confirmed his death on 27 December and eulogized him in a video titled "Smashing the Enemies: Regarding the Results of the Army of the Islamic State Against the ApostatePKK on the Outskirts of the Wilayat [al-Raqqa]".[6]
After his death, his widow Rahaf Zina reportedly married Hussein Al-Dhufairi, who is possibly Abu Jandal's brother and another IS leader.[3][10][11][14] On March 25, 2017, Hussein Al-Dhufairi and Rahaf Zina were arrested by security forces inManila,Philippines. Soon after, Kuwaiti security officials executed two raids in Kuwait, arresting three additional family members of Abu Jandal, and seven other suspects. Kuwaiti officials said they found bomb-making equipment during the raids.[3][10][11][15][16]