Abu Omar al-Muhajir is the former spokesman for the Salafi jihadist group Islamic State (IS),[1][2] from 10 March 2022 until his capture in April 2023 by the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).[3] He succeeded Abu Hamza Al-Qurashi in March 2022, and was replaced by Abu Hudayfah Al-Ansari in August 2023.[4][5]
History
Abu Omar al-Muhajir was announced as spokesman in an speech of Al-Furqan Foundation in March 2022, and he made three audio speeches in his tenure as spokesman for the Islamic State.
His speeches included:[6][unreliable source?]
- “Some Have Fulfilled Their Obligations [by Martyrdom]” - 10 March 2022
- “Fight Them, and God Will Punish Them At Your Hands” - 17 April 2022
- “And Hold Fast, All of You, to the Rope of God and Be Not Divided” 15 September 2022[7][unreliable source?]
Identity
Little is known about Abu Omar al-Muhajir. It was speculated by Yemeni journalist Mohammed Faisal on Twitter that he is Juma'a Al-Badri, a brother of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,[8] but this was never confirmed. Many analysts[who?] believed his accent to be Iraqi after analyzing his speeches.[citation needed] HTS did not present him before media after his capture nor comment on his capture.[3]
References
- ^ "In New Audio Message, ISIS Spokesperson Abu Omar al-Muhajir Calls for Attacks in the West". Flashpoint. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ "ISIS spokesman Abu Umar al-Muhajir calls on Muslims around the world to join the organization's ranks and criticizes other Islamist organizations". The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. 18 September 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ a b Baladi, Enab; Ibrahim, Hassan (28 September 2023). "Mystery circumstances surround al-Muhajir arrest by Tahrir al-Sham". Enabbaladi.net. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ Mroue, Bassem (3 August 2023). "The Islamic State group says its leader was killed by militants in Syria and names his successor". ABC News. Archived from the original on 5 August 2023.
- ^ "IS confirms leader Qurayshi's death and names successor". BBC News. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ "Abu Umar al-Muhajir Speeches". Kyle Orton's Blog. November 30, 2022.
- ^ Orton, Kyle. "Prison Breaks, Jihad in Africa, and Uniting the Sunnis: The Third Speech of Islamic State Spokesman Abu Umar al-Muhajir". www.kyleorton.com.
- ^ Faisal, Mohammed [@M_Faisal311] (October 16, 2022). "المتحدّثون الرسميّون لـتنظيم «داعش»! #ISIS" (Tweet) (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 December 2023 – via Twitter.