Abu Usamah al-Maghrebi

Abdulaziz al-Mahdali (1986 - 16 March 2014), known as Abu Usamah al-Maghrebi, was a Moroccan senior military commander of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Abu Usamah al-Maghrebi
Personal details
Born	Abdulaziz al-Mahdali 1986 Fnideq, Morocco
Died	16 March 2014 (aged 28) Tel Jijan, Aleppo, Syria
Occupation	Military commander
Military service
Allegiance	Jabhat al-Nusra (2012-2013)  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2013-2014)
Battles/wars	Siege of Menagh Air Base 2013 Hama offensive

History

He was one of the first to join Jabhat al-Nusra, at that time operating in Syria as a front group for the Islamic State of Iraq. When the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was declared by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, he remained loyal to ISIL, despite being offered the position of overall military commander in Jabhat al-Nusra.

He led many successful battles against the Syrian government including that against Sheikh Suleiman base, or Base 111, in western Aleppo.^[1] He commanded the capture of Menagh Military Airbase as part of the Siege of Menagh Air Base along with nearby villages. He also led the 2013 Hama offensive and the battles in Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood of Aleppo in March 2013 in which rebels succeeded in taking parts of the district.^[2]

Death

He died in an ambush by Jabhat al-Nusra fighters loyal to Abu Mohammad al-Julani in the town of Tel Jijan in March 2014, after he traveled there to attempt negotiations with them. According to Omar al-Shishani, a fellow senior ISIL military commander with whom he was close, he was betrayed and killed by a man whose life he had previously saved. He said in an ISIL released eulogy for Abu Usamah saying "The gratitude to Abu Usamah from that man was treacherous murder. I swear by Allah you will be brought to task for this treachery". A video eulogy was published for him by al-Furqan Media Foundation in April 2014.^[3][4][5][6]

References

1. Roggio, Bill (10 December 2012). "Al Nusrah Front, foreign jihadists seize key Syrian base in Aleppo". Long War Journal. Public Multimedia Inc. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
2. Mroue, Bassem (30 March 2013). "Syrian rebels enter strategic Aleppo neighborhood". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
3. Crétois, Jules; Boudarham, Mohammed (29 May 2014). "Jihadists returning from Syria pose threat to Morocco". Al Monitor. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
4. Paraszczuk, Joanna (10 August 2014). "Umar Shishani Appears In New Al Hayat Media Video". Chechensinsyria. WordPress. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
5. Masbah, Mohammed (10 April 2014). "Moroccan Fighters in Syria". Carnegie Endowment. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
6. Roggio, Bill (10 April 2014). "Chechen ISIS leader slams Al Nusrah Front for killing Moroccan commander". Long War Journal. Public Multimedia Inc. Retrieved 14 January 2019.