Bastian Vasquez (9 April 1990 – 2015), also known as Abu Safiyyah, was a Norwegian jihadist who made prominent appearances in propaganda videos for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). He is presumed to have died in January or in April/May 2015, in a non-combat infighting incident; another source, '' Verdens Gang'', says that he "lost his life in March 2015, while working with the production of bombs for IS".

Early activism

Born in Skien, Norway and of Chilean background, he was in a group of hip hop singers. Vasquez joined the Norwegian Islamist group

Profetens Ummah Profetens Ummah ( en, "The Prophet's Ummah", ar, أمة النبي) is a Salafi-jihadist Islamist organisation based in Norway. Since its emergence in late 2011 the group has become notorious for its vocal demonstrations, as well as statements ...

, reportedly recruited by Mohyeldeen Mohammad, after having converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

in his teens. He lived in Barcelona where he frequented Salafi circles. He then joined ISIL and travelled to

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 ...

in 2012. He was due to meet in court in 2013 for having uploaded a video on YouTube, for which he was charged with making threats against the Norwegian government and the King of Norway.

ISIL propagandist

On 29 June 2014 Vasquez appeared as the presenter in an ISIL propaganda video released by

Al Hayat Media Center Al-Hayat Media Center is a media wing of the Islamic State. It was established in mid-2014 and targets international (non-Arabic) audiences as opposed to their other Arabic-focused media wings and produces material, mostly Nasheeds, in English ...

and titled ''The End of Sykes-Picot'', where he is seen showing a group of captives in a building, after which the building was blown up with Vasquez seen laughing and praising

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

. He also appeared in a video where he described how he and others had killed Iraqi soldiers, and where a police station was blown up. Following the publication of the videos, he was charged under Norway's anti-terror laws and wanted through Interpol, while his bank accounts were frozen. Although often described as having risen through the ranks in the leadership of ISIL, others have claimed that his role was limited to propaganda work. Vasquez is reported to have suddenly stopped all communications with people in Norway in January, or possibly in April/May 2015. He is presumed to have been killed as part of infighting in ISIL, with differing theories on the specific sequence of events. Author Åsne Seierstad wrote in her book ''Two Sisters'' (October 2016) that Vasquez was executed by ISIS after he had killed the son of

Arfan Bhatti Arfan Qadeer Bhatti (born 9 August 1977) is a Norwegian Islamist and a leading figure in the Islamic State-affiliated group Profetens Ummah. Early life Bhatti was born and raised in Oslo to parents of Pakistani origin. He spent several years in ...

, a leading figure in the Norwegian Islamist group

. The Norwegian newspaper VG wrote that Vasquez was killed while making bombs for ISIS in March 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasquez, Bastian 1990 births 2015 deaths Assassinated ISIL members Converts to Islam Fugitives wanted by Norway Fugitives wanted on terrorism charges Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Norway Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members from Syria Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant propagandists Norwegian Islamists Norwegian propagandists Norwegian people of Chilean descent People from Skien Possibly living people

Early activism

ISIL propagandist

See also

References