Abu Luqman
| Abu Luqman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Ali Moussa Al-Shawakh 1973 (42-43) Raqqah, Syria |
| Nationality | Syrian |
| Other names | Abu Ayyub al-Ansari/Ali al-Hamoud |
| Occupation | Islamic militant |
| Years active | 2011-present |
| Known for | Member of Islamic State |
Ali Moussa Al-Shawakh, (born 1973) known by his kunya Abu Luqman, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari or Ali al-Hamoud,[1] is a Syrian man and the Islamic State governor of Raqqah, Syria as of July 2015. He used to be governor of Aleppo province.
History
Abu Luqman was born in as-Sahl village in Raqqah province. He studied law at the University of Aleppo. He is from the Ajeel clan of Raqqah. It is claimed he used to have a Sufi orientation because he followed Mahmud al-Aghasi (known as Abu Qaqa) who was the leader of Ghuraba al-Sham.
He was freed from Sednaya Prison, Damascus in the summer of 2011 by President Bashar al-Assad, at the outset of the uprising against the Syrian government.
Islamic State activity
According to Ibrahim Muslem, a human-rights activist quoted by The Wall Street Journal, "Abu Luqman decides who gets the oil". At Mr. Luqman's discretion, smugglers pay for fuel and load it into tanker trucks. Refined products from the Akrish refinery are driven more than 200 miles to Syrian villages near the Turkish border, according to Mr. Muslem.
Mohammed al-Saleh, a spokesman for the advocacy group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, quoted in the The Wall Street Journal, said Abu Luqman replaced several foreign generals with locals after the loss of the town of Tell Abyad.
He was also responsible for the execution of Abu Saad al-Hadram, Jabhat al-Nusra's commander for Raqqa province.[2]
2014
In early 2014, he was IS's chief interrogator in Raqqah province. As of April 2014, he was the IS emir of al-Raqqah province. In this role, he was the primary official responsible for appointing other IS amirs, distributing fighters among the various IS fighting fronts, and publicizing IS military operations. In mid-2014, he ordered the beheading of two hostages held by IS.
As of late 2014, he was a member of ISIL's eight-member governing council. His responsibilities for IS included frequently traveling across Syria to transfer IS prisoners. Also in late 2014, he changed his name when he was reported dead in the press as a security measure.
2015
In early 2015, he was a member of an IS governance council chaired by IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. As of early 2015, he was the senior figure in charge of IS detention of Western hostages.
In June 2015, he was the governor of Aleppo and the security emir for Syria responsible for foreign fighters. Previously as governor of Raqqah, he was responsible for executions. In July 2015, he was reappointed governor of Raqqa and was the de facto chief in Raqqah, overseeing security affairs. As of mid-2015, he was IS's overall security amir at a Raqqah detention facility holding more than 1,000 IS foreign recruits who had refused to fight.
US and UN sanctions
On 29 September 2015 he was added to the United States Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control Specially Designated Nationals List.[3]
The US Department of Treasury further describes his role, saying "Al-Shawakh is being designated for acting for or on behalf of ISIL, an entity designated pursuant to E.O. 13224. As of mid-2015, Syrian national al-Shawakh served as ISIL’s governor for Raqqah, Syria, after having served as ISIL’s senior security official for Syria and as governor in Aleppo, roles in which he directed combat assignments for foreign fighters. Al-Shawakh was in charge of ISIL’s detention of foreign hostages, and oversaw the appointment of other ISIL leaders. Al-Shawakh supervised security matters, including executions, interrogations, and transfers of ISIL prisoners, at an al-Raqqah detention facility used to hold foreign hostages and ISIL foreign recruits who had refused to fight. In mid-2014, al-Shawakh ordered the beheadings of two ISIL hostages. Al-Shawakh also served on a governance council chaired by ISIL leader and U.S. and UN-designated SDGT Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (AKA Dr. Ibrahim al-Badri)".[4]
He is also sanctioned by the United Nations who said, "Ali Musa al-Shawakh was listed on 29 February 2016 pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 4 of resolution 2161 (2014) as being associated with Al-Qaida for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of” the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), listed as Al-Qaida in Iraq (QDe.115)".[5]
References
- ↑ "The Islamic State's organizational structure one year in". 2 July 2015.
- ↑ "Profile: The Rise of the Islamic State (IS) · Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently". 10 January 2015.
- ↑ "Counter Terrorism Designations".
- ↑ "Treasury Sanctions Major Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Leaders, Financial Figures, Facilitators, and Supporters".
- ↑ "Ali Musa al-Shawakh - United Nations Security Council Subsidiary Organs".
- Thomas D. Williams (2015-05-12). "Power Struggle Rages over Al-Baghdadi's Successor as Head of Islamic State". Breitbart.
- Benoît Faucon and Ayla Albayrak (2014-09-16). "Islamic State Funds Push Into Syria and Iraq With Labyrinthine Oil-Smuggling Operation". The Wall Street Journal.
- Matt Bradley (2016-03-25). "Rift Grows in Islamic State Between Foreign, Local Fighters". The Wall Street Journal.
- Khaled Yacoub Oweis (2014-01-12). "Al Qaeda Syria unit executes dozens of rivals in Raqqa: activists". Reuters.