Abu Suleiman al-Naser
أبو سليمان الناصر
War Minister of the Islamic State of Iraq
In office
April 18, 2010 – February 24, 2011
Preceded byAbu Ayyub al-Masri
Succeeded byHaji Bakr
Personal details
Born
Neaman Salman Mansour al-Zaidi
نيمان سلمان منصور الزيدي
Died24 February 2011
Hīt, Iraq
NationalityIraqi
Military service
Allegiance Al-Qaeda (unknown–2011)
Years of serviceUnknown–2011
Battles/warsIraq War

Neaman Salman Mansour al-Zaidi (Arabic: نيمان سلمان منصور الزيدي; died 24 February 2011), known as Abu Suleiman al-Naser (Arabic: أبو سليمان الناصر), was the military commander or "War Minister" of the militant group Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) during the Iraq War.[1]

Little is known about Abu Suleiman. He is said to have been born into an ethnic Turkmen family. He reportedly trained at a foreign fighter camp in Rawa, Iraq, which was raided by US forces in 2003 and imprisoned at Camp Bucca.[2] He succeeded Abu Ayyub al-Masri as Minister of War for the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) in April 2010, after al-Masri and ISI leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi were killed in an operation by US and Iraqi forces in Tikrit. Abu Suleiman's appointment was announced in a statement in which he used the nom de guerre Al-Nasser Lideen Allah Abu Suleiman (Arabic: الناصر لدين الله أبو سليمان), meaning "Defender of God’s Religion, Father of Suleiman".[3] He is reported to have been a detainee at Camp Bucca prison,[4] and served as the ISI's leader in Anbar Province under the nom de guerre Abu Ibrahim al-Ansari.[5]

Iraqi security forces claimed to have killed Abu Suleiman in February 2011, in the city of Hīt, west of Baghdad.[1] However, ISI denied that al-Naser was killed a month later.[6] Despite this, ISI spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani confirmed al-Naser's death in August 2011.[7] ISI also released a statement confirming al-Naser's death in August 2011.[8]

A report by Al Jazeera's Center for Studies, and an analysis of ISIL's leadership structure by a purported insider, also confirmed that Abu Suleiman had in fact been killed in 2011, and that following his death, the position of "War Minister" was replaced by a military council composed of former regime military officers under the leadership of Haji Bakr.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ a b "Iraqi forces kill al-Qaida 'war minister' in raid". The Washington Post. 25 February 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  2. ^ "Top 5 Islamic State leaders we must kill REVEALED". Daily Star. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  3. ^ "Al Qaeda in Iraq's security minister captured in Anbar". December 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  4. ^ "Photos of AQI's top 2 leaders". Long War Journal. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  5. ^ "اخبار العراق الان من السومرية نيوز". www.alsumaria.tv. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
  6. ^ "ISI Denies Death Of Its Minister Of War". Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  7. ^ The State of Islam Will Remain Safe
  8. ^ "Al Qaeda suicide bomber kills 28 Iraqis in attack in Baghdad mosque". The Long War Journal. 28 August 2011.
  9. ^ Hassan Abu Haniyeh. "Daesh's Organisational Structure".
  10. ^ Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi. "An Account of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi & Islamic State Succession Lines".
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