Fadel Ahmed Abdullah al-Hiyali (died 18 August 2015), better known by his
noms de guerre Abu Muslim al-Turkmani ( ar, أبو مسلم التركماني), Haji Mutazz, or Abu Mutaz al-Qurashi,
was the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
(ISIL) governor for territories held by the organization in
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 ...
. He was considered the ISIL second-in-command (along with his counterpart
Abu Ali al-Anbari, who held a similar position in
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 ...
); he played a political role of overseeing the local councils and a military role that includes directing operations against opponents of ISIL.
His names were also spelt Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali, and Hajji Mutazz.
Biography
An ethnic
Turkmen
Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to:
Peoples Historical ethnonym
* Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages
Ethnic groups
* Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...
born in
Tal Afar
Tal Afar ( ar, تَلْعَفَر, Talʿafar, ) is a city in the Nineveh Governorate of northwestern Iraq, located 63 km (39 mi) west of Mosul, 52 km (32 mi) east of Sinjar[Nineveh Governorate
Nineveh Governorate ( ar, محافظة نينوى, syr, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܐ, Hoparkiya d’Ninwe, ckb, پارێزگای نەینەوا, Parêzgeha Neynewa), also known as Ninawa Governorate, is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an ...]
, al-Hiyali was an Iraqi Army Colonel under
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
.
According to documents discovered in Iraq, al-Hiyali was a lieutenant colonel in the Iraqi military's intelligence unit
Istikhbarat
The Iraqi Directorate of General Military Intelligence (DGMI) ( ar, Mudiriyyat al-Istikhabarat al-'Askariyya al-'Amma) was the military of Iraq, military intelligence service of Iraq from 1932 to 2003.
Its responsibilities included: "1) tactical ...
(Directorate of General Military Intelligence), who also spent time as a Special Forces officer in the
Special Republican Guard right up until the US-led
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
.
[ He also fought in the ]Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
prior to his dismissal from the Iraqi Army after US forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
arrived, and later joined Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
insurgents to fight the Americans. He was later made the deputy leader of ISIL in Iraq on 8 April 2013. Like other ISIL leaders, al-Turkmani spent time in a US prison in Iraq, specifically Camp Bucca. He once practiced a moderate form of Islam.
However, according to an obituary for deputy leader Abu Ali al-Anbari published by ISIS after his death, al-Hiyali had actually been radicalized and recruited by al-Anbari who had been preaching Islamic extremism in and around Tel Afar in the mid to late 1990s. The biography states that al-Hiyali had renounced his belief in Ba'athism and loyalty to Saddam Hussein, leaving the Iraqi army and joining Abu Ali al-Anbari's organization, Ansar al-Islam, providing important logistical aid and training to jihadist networks. This would mean that al-Hiyali was a jihadist long before the US-led invasion of Iraq. This close association between Abu Ali al-Anbari and al-Hiyali would endure during their jihadist career, with Abu Muslim joining Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (which subsequently became 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 ...
) around 2003 when Al-Qaduli ( Abu Ali al-Anbari) did so after spending time with 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 ...
.
He oversaw ISIL-designated governors in various cities and regions of Iraq, including identified shadow governors in areas that ISIL did not control, but had aspirations over. "I describe Baghdadi as a shepherd, and his deputies are the dogs who herd the sheep (ISIL members); the strength of the shepherd comes from his dogs." said Hisham al-Hashimi
Hisham al-Hashimi ( ar, هشام الهاشمي; 9 May 1973 – 6 July 2020) was an Iraqi historian and researcher in security and strategic affairs and extremist groups, and a specialist on the subject of the Islamic state and its supporters. He ...
, a security analyst who had access to documents discovered which provided details on al-Hiyali.
In a June 2015 article in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', al-Turkmani was said to have been the head of ISIL’s military council. He reportedly led the council of six to nine military commanders who directed the terrorist group's military strategy, according to Laith Alkhouri, a senior analyst at Flashpoint Global Partners.
Al-Hiyali was at the forefront of the genocide against the Yezidi people including the enslavement of the women and girls, personally raping captives and executing prisoners despite pleas for mercy.
There were erroneous reports of his death in airstrikes on 7 November 2014 and again in December 2014. This was believed to have been due to a case of mistaken identity and his death was not confirmed by ISIL.
Al-Turkmani was killed by a US drone strike while travelling in a car near Mosul, Iraq on 18 August 2015. His death was confirmed by ISIL official spokesman and senior leader Abu Mohammad al-Adnani
Taha Sobhi Falaha ( ar, طٰهٰ صُبْحِيِّ فَلَاحَةٍ, Ṭāhā Ṣobḥī Falāḥa; 1977 – 30 August 2016), known as Abu Muhammad al-Adnani al-Shami ( ar, أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْعَدْنَانِيُّ ٱلشَ ...
in an audio recording posted on jihadist websites in October 2015. He was succeeded as the ISIL leader in Iraq by Abu Fatima al-Jaheishi
Ni'ma Abd Nayef al-Jabouri ( ar, نعمة عبد نايف الجبوري), known by his nom de guerre Abu Fatima al-Jaheishi ( ar, أبو فاطمة الجحيشي) or Abu Fatima al-Jiburi, was initially in charge of the ISIS operations in south ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkmani, Abu Muslim al-
2015 deaths
Iraqi Turkmen people
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members from Iraq
Iraqi Ground Forces officers
Genocide perpetrators
Iraqi rapists
Members of al-Qaeda in Iraq
Prisoners and detainees of the United States military
Iraqi prisoners and detainees
Deaths by United States drone strikes in Iraq
Deaths by airstrike during the War in Iraq (2013–2017)
Year of birth missing