Abu Muslim al-Turkmani

Abu Muslim al-Turkmani—born as Fadel Ahmad Abdullah al-Hiyali—was ISIS’s Deputy of ISIS-controlled territory in Iraq.Nick Thompson and Atika Schubert, “The Anatomy of ISIS: How the ‘Islamic State’ is run, from oil to beheadings,” CNN, last updated January 14, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/18/world/meast/isis-syria-iraq-hierarchy/. According to the U.S. government, Turkmani was also a member of ISIS’s Shura Council, and oversaw the movement of weapons and people between Iraq and Syria. Both the White House and ISIS confirmed Turkmani’s death in an August 18, 2015, U.S. airstrike near Mosul, Iraq.“Statement by NSC Spokesperson Ned Price on the Death of ISIL Deputy Leader Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali,” White House, August 21, 2015, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/08/21/statement-nsc-spokesperson-ned-price-death-isil-deputy-leader-fadhil;
“Abu Muslim al-Turkmani: from Iraqi officer to slain ISIS deputy,” Al Arabiya, December 19, 2014, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/profiles/2014/12/19/Abu-Muslim-al-Turkmani-From-Iraqi-officer-to-slain-ISIS-deputy.html;
Luis Martinez, “3 Senior ISIS Leaders Killed in US Airstrikes in Iraq,” ABC News, December 18, 2014, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senior-isis-leaders-killed-us-airstrikes/story?id=27700324.

Turkmani was previously a lieutenant colonel in the Iraqi military’s intelligence core, and served in the Senior Special Forces under Saddam Hussein.Ruth Sherlock, “Inside the leadership of Islamic State: how the new ‘caliphate’ is run,” Telegraph (London), July 9, 2014, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10956280/Inside-the-leadership-of-Islamic-State-how-the-new-caliphate-is-run.html. He reportedly practiced a moderate form of Sunni Islam.Ruth Sherlock, “Inside the leadership of Islamic State: how the new ‘caliphate’ is run,” Telegraph (London), July 9, 2014, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10956280/Inside-the-leadership-of-Islamic-State-how-the-new-caliphate-is-run.html.  Following de-Baathification in 2003, Turkmani joined Sunni Muslim insurgents in fighting American troops stationed in Iraq.Siobhan Gorman, Nour Malas and Matt Bradley, “Brutal Efficiency: The Secret to Islamic State’s Success,” Wall Street Journal, September 3, 2014, http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-secret-to-the-success-of-islamic-state-1409709762 He was detained at the U.S.-run Camp Bucca in Iraq in the mid-2000s,“Who runs the militant group Islamic State?,” Reuters, October 4, 2014, http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/10/04/uk-mideast-crisis-is-penpix-idUKKCN0HT04O20141004;
Terrence McCoy, “How the Islamic State evolved in an American prison,” Washington Post, November 4, 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/11/04/how-an-american-prison-helped-ignite-the-islamic-state/. after which he joined al-Qaeda in Iraq, the predecessor to ISIS.“Statement by NSC Spokesperson Ned Price on the Death of ISIL Deputy Leader Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali,” White House, August 21, 2015, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/08/21/statement-nsc-spokesperson-ned-price-death-isil-deputy-leader-fadhil.

As ISIS’s Deputy in Iraq, Turkmani directed the group’s Iraq operations and oversaw ISIS’s twelve Iraq-based governors, responsible for the terror group’s finances, weaponry, and legal issues.Nick Thompson and Atika Schubert, “The Anatomy of ISIS: How the ‘Islamic State’ is run, from oil to beheadings,” CNN, last updated January 14, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/18/world/meast/isis-syria-iraq-hierarchy/. Turkmani was credited by the White House for planning ISIS’s capture of Mosul, Iraq, in the summer of 2014.“Statement by NSC Spokesperson Ned Price on the Death of ISIL Deputy Leader Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali,” White House, August 21, 2015, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/08/21/statement-nsc-spokesperson-ned-price-death-isil-deputy-leader-fadhil. Following his death, he was reportedly succeeded by Abu Fatima al-Jaheishi.Tom Vanden Brook and John Bacon, “U.S. can’t confirm reports Islamic State leader killed,” USA Today, June 14, 2016, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/06/14/us-cant-confirm-reports-islamic-state-leader-killed/85859086/;
“Statement by NSC Spokesperson Ned Price on the Death of ISIL Deputy Leader Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali,” White House, August 21, 2015, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/08/21/statement-nsc-spokesperson-ned-price-death-isil-deputy-leader-fadhil.

Also Known As

Extremist entity
ISIS
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Type(s) of Organization:
Insurgent, territory-controlling, religious, terrorist, violent
Ideologies and Affiliations:
Islamist, jihadist, pan-Islamist, Salafist, takfiri
Position(s):
Former deputy of ISIS-controlled Iraq - deceased

ISIS is a violent jihadist group based in Iraq and Syria. The group has declared wilayas (provinces) in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the North Caucasus. ISIS has also waged attacks in Turkey, Lebanon, France, Belgium, Iraq, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tunisia, and Kuwait.

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