Abu Humam al-Shami
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Abu Humam al-Shami
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|---|---|
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| Born | Syria |
| Died | 5 March 2015 Idlib, Syria |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  al-Qaeda(Late 1990's) |
| Service/ |
 al-Nusra Front(2012-present) |
| Rank | Military Chief of al-Nusra Front |
| Battles/wars | Syria
Lebanon |
Abu Humam al-Shami, (aka al-Suri, the Syrian), was the military chief of al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate al-Nusra Front.[1]
Early life
Little is known about al-Shami. He is believed to be of Syrian origin.[1]
He travelled to Afghanistan between 1998 and 1999 and is believed to have spent a year at Al Ghuraba training camp, run by Abu Musab al-Suri. He later attended al-Qaeda's Al Farouq training camp before receiving specialist training at the airport camp.[1]
He pledged allegiance to Osama Bin Laden and was placed in charge of Syrian jihadists in Afghanistan. He took part in al-Qaeda's battles at the time. Al-Shami was arrested and imprisoned in Lebanon for five years.[1]
Syrian Civil War
After his release from prison and the start of the Syrian Civil War, he joined al-Nusra Front and became the group's overall military chief.[1]
Relations with ISIL
In 2014, al-Nusra was engaged in hostilities with the break away al-Qaeda faction, ISIL. Al-Shami was said to have spearheaded efforts in order to negotiate a ceasefire. He met with one of ISIL emir Abu Bakr al Baghdadi's chief deputies. Baghdadi’s deputy supposedly told al-Shami that either ISIL will annihilate everyone else, or ISIL itself will be annihilated. When al-Shami suggested that their differences could be settled in a common sharia court, Baghdadi’s deputy replied that they will bring their disagreements to a sharia court when the fight to the death is over.[2]
The al-Nusra Front finally brokered a ceasefire with ISIL, when al-Shami met with Abu Omar al-Shishani, the Chechen ISIL commander. Before the deal could be ratified however, ISIL detonated a car bomb. The bombing presumably brought the peace process to a halt.[2]
Death
On 5 March 2015, Syrian state media claimed that al-Shami had been killed in a Syrian Army operation in the Idlib Province. However, other sources, including the SOHR, reported that al-Shami had been killed by a US-led Coalition airstrike.[3][4] His death was confirmed by al-Nusra Front.[5]
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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