Bajro Ikanović (born 8 November 1976) is a

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

n Islamist, terrorist, and senior commander in the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. Ikanović was born in Hrnčići,

Bratunac Bratunac ( sr-cyrl, Братунац) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the municipality has a population of 20,340 inhabitants, while the town of Bratunac has a population of 8,359 inhabita ...

, eastern

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. Ikanović had previously been sentenced to eight years for terrorism offenses linked to the Bektašević case on 10 January 2007, which was reduced to four years on appeal on 21 May 2007. He was released from prison in 2011. According to the prosecution, " Mirsad Bektašević and Abdulkadir Cesur adthe intention of committing a terrorist act on the territory of BiH or some other European country…the aim of this attach icwas to force the Bosnian government or government of another state to withdraw their forces from Iraq and Afghanistan." Ikanović later took part in the Islamic State's operations. He was quoted in 2013 as saying that, by allowing jihad volunteers to leave

the Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, "your intelligence agencies made a mistake thinking that they would be rid of us, however, the problem for them will be the return of individuals trained for war.” According to the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

, Ikanovic has held various leadership positions within the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria over the past several years, including on the Shura Council in 2014. In December 2013,

Abu Omar al-Shishani Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili ( ka, თარხან ბათირაშვილი; 11 January 1986 – 10 July 2016), known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Omar al-Shishani () or Omar al-Shishani, was a Chechen- Georgian jihadist who ...

promoted Ikanović to head of the largest

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

military training camp in northern Syria. The State Investigation and Protection Agency opened an investigation against him on 10 June 2014 and the Prosecutor's Office submitted a report on the crime committed and the perpetrator due to the suspicion of having committed a criminal offense under Article 202d. CC BiH (Organizing and belonging to a terrorist group). He was reported in one source to have died in

back in March 2016. In May 2016, Bosnian media reported different 'unconfirmed information' by the Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency that he had been killed in

instead. As of 2024, his fate is unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikanovic, Bajro People from Bratunac 1976 births Possibly living people Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members from Bosnia and Herzegovina