) , birth_date= 1976 , death_date= November, or October 26, , birth_place=

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, death_place=

Abu Kamal Abu Kamal ( ar, أَبُو كَمَال, ʾAbū Kamāl) or Al-Bukamal ( ar, ٱلْبُوكَمَال, al-Būkamāl) is a city on the Euphrates river in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate of eastern Syria near the border with Iraq. It is the administrat ...

, image= , caption= , nickname= Abu Ghadiya ( ar, أبو غادية)
Abu al-Ghadia , allegiance=

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

, activityyears= , rank= , commands= , unit=

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI; ar, القاعدة في العراق, al-Qā'idah fī al-ʿIrāq) or Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia ( ar, القاعدة في بلاد الرافدين, al-Qā'idah fī Bilād ar-Rāfidayn), officially known as ''Tanzim Qaidat a ...

, battles=

Iraqi insurgency Iraqi insurgency may refer to: * Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011), part of the Iraq War ** Iraqi insurgency (2003–2006), 2003–2006 phase of the Iraqi insurgency ** Iraqi civil war (2006–2008), multi-sided civil war in Iraq * Iraqi insurgency (20 ...

, awards= , laterwork= Abu Ghadiya ( ar, أبو غادية) was an

al-Qaeda in Iraq Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI; ar, القاعدة في العراق, al-Qā'idah fī al-ʿIrāq) or Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia ( ar, القاعدة في بلاد الرافدين, al-Qā'idah fī Bilād ar-Rāfidayn), officially known as ''Tanzim Qaidat a ...

(AQI) militant and smuggler. The

United States Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an United States federal executive departments, executive department. The departme ...

claimed his real name was Badran Turki Hishan al-Mazidi ( ar, بدران تركي هيشان المزيدي) and that he was born sometime between 1977–1979 in

. However, other reports claimed that Abu Ghadiya was born in Damascus in 1976 and his real name was Sulayman Khalid Darwish ( ar, سليمان خالد درويش). He graduated from the Damascus University Dentistry School sometime during the 1990s, until he later went to Afghanistan and joined al-Qaeda.Abu al-Ghadia to Build on al-Zarqawi's Legacy in Iraq
Jamestown Foundation. He was primarily involved in the logistics of AQI's effort in Iraq and assisted in smuggling weapons, money and fighters across the

Iraq–Syria border The Iraqi–Syrian border is the border between Syria and Iraq and runs for a total length of across Upper Mesopotamia and the Syrian desert, from the tripoint with Jordan in the south-west to the tripoint with Turkey in the north-east. Des ...

. The US claimed he was targeted and killed, in a cross-border raid conducted by the U.S. military and possibly the Syrian government as well on October 26, 2008. However, an al-Qaeda in Iraq obituary released in August 2006 says that Abu Ghadiya was killed by the Saudi-Iraqi border sometime in November 2004. and the Syrian government protested the raid claiming, that it killed eight civilians. Journalists who reached the attack site reported claims by local people who said that the victims of the raid were all innocent civilians.

Role in Iraqi insurgency

According to the United States Treasury Department,

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ( ar, أَبُو مُصْعَبٍ ٱلزَّرْقَاوِيُّ, ', ''Father of Musab, from Zarqa''; ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh (, '), was a Jordanian jihadist who ran a t ...

appointed Abu Ghadiya the lead Syrian commander for AQI's logistics in 2004. After Zarqawi's death, Abu Ghadiya took orders from his successor,

Abu Ayyub Al-Masri Abu Ayyub al-Masri ( ; , ', translation: "Father of Ayyub the Egyptian"; 1967 – 18 April 2010), also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir

, either directly or through a deputy. Abu Ghadiya allegedly provided false passports, safe houses, weapons and money to militants on the Syrian side of the Iraqi border before the fighters would cross into Iraq.

Death

According to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Abu Ghadiya was killed in a 2008 raid by US special operations forces inside Syrian territory. However, the U.S. never produced Abu Ghadiya's body. Contradicting American claims, an AQI obituary of the militant which was released in August 2006 stated that Abu Ghadiya had died on the Saudi–Iraqi border sometime after the US–Iraqi offensive on Fallujah in November 2004.Profile: Abu Ghadiya
''British Broadcasting Corporation.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Ghadiya Members of al-Qaeda in Iraq Syrian al-Qaeda members People murdered in Syria Extrajudicial killings 2008 deaths 1978 births