List of Islamic State members

This is a list of current and former members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its previous incarnations, including operating as a branch of al-Qaeda known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), from 2004 to 2006. Little is known about the leadership or members, as most use assumed names and many fight or appear in video with covered faces. Most of its members are former officers and soldiers of Saddam Hussein's regime after its collapse in 2003.

Former ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; mugshot by US armed forces while in detention at Camp Bucca in 2004

Leadership and branches

Current known personnel (in descending order by approximate rank)

Audio of Abu Hudhayfah Al-Ansari announcing death of Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi
  • Abu Hudayfah Al-Ansari (Arabic: أبو حذيفة الأنصاري) Iraqi spokesman since 3 August 2023, announced in a speech called So, Rejoice in the Bargain You have Contracted, and released by Al-Furqan Foundation. He replaced Abu Omar al-Muhajir as the spokesman of the Islamic State, who was arrested by Tahrir al-Sham. He announced the killing of the fourth Islamic State leader, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, announced Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi as his successor, and threatened to increase attacks after US withdrawal.
  • Abu Ali al-Tunisi, leader of manufacturing for ISIS in Iraq.
  • Omar al-Furkan, high ranking ISIL fighter. Candidate for 2nd ISIL Caliph. Member of ISIL's leading council.
  • Ayoub Rakawi, high ranking ISIL fighter. Member of ISIL's leading council. Candidate for 2nd ISIL Caliph following the death of Baghdadi.
  • Faysal Ahmad Ali al-Zahrani (born 1986), top Saudi oil official.
  • Abu Yusaf, senior security official, European.
  • Abu Muhammad al-Jazrawi, head of Hisbah. (Islamic religious police)
  • Abu Jandal al-Masri, Chief of Information in Raqqa, Egyptian.
  • Abu Suleyman al-Firansi - Moroccan, former soldier of the French Foreign Legion, worked with the Brussels Islamic State terror cell and is one of the suspected masterminds behind the November 2015 Paris attacks.
  • Fatiha Mejjati (born 1961), senior female commander, Moroccan.
  • Abu Ahmed (senior official interviewed by The Guardian)
  • Bajro Ikanović (born 1976), senior leader and trainer, active in Syria and Iraq (since 2013), Bosnian.
  • Zulfi Hoxha – "Abu Hamza al-Amriki" (born 1992), senior commander and recruiter, active in Syria and Iraq (since 2015), Albanian-American.
  • Ahlam al-Nasr, propagandist (poet by profession), Syrian.
  • Abdullah Al-Belgian, preacher and propagandist.
  • Mawlavi Habib Ur Rahman – successor to Qari Hekmat in the north of Afghanistan.
  • Abu Nuh – (ISIS figure)
  • Muhammad Yasin Ahram Pérez, known as Abu Lais Al Qurtubí, propagandist after the 2017 Barcelona attacks.
  • Abu Salman al-Andalusí, propagandist after the 2017 Barcelona attacks.
  • Abu Adam al-Australi, fighter, who is thought to be Mounir Raad.
  • Abu Laith al-Jazerwe, fighter.
  • Abu Salih al-Amriki is an ISIS fighter who urged to carry out attacks and vowed to raise the ISIS flag over the White House.

Foreign ISIL branches and governors of ISIL territories

Former leaders and senior personnel

Former leaders (in ascending order by date of capture or death)

Other former personnel

  • Abu Mansour (informal ambassador of ISIS in Turkey)
  • Abdul Hadi Daghlas (Al-Zarqawi's top Lieutenant, killed in 2003)
  • Abu Anas al-Shami (Strategist, and Al-Zarqawi's adviser, killed in 2004)
  • Abu Azzam (killed in 2005)
  • Abu Omar al-Kurdi (captured in 2005)
  • Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi (captured in 2006)
  • Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman (killed in 2006)
  • Hamid Juma Faris Jouri al-Saeedi (captured in 2006)
  • Abu Yaqub al-Masri (killed in 2007)
  • Haitham al-Badri (killed in 2007)
  • Khaled al-Mashhadani (captured in 2007)
  • Mahir al-Zubaydi (killed in 2008)
  • Mohamed Moumou (killed in 2008)
  • Huthaifa al-Batawi (killed in 2011)
  • Abu Usamah al-Maghrebi, (military commander, killed in March 2014)
  • Bilal Bosnić, (Bosnian Recruiter, captured in 2014)
  • Zakaryah Raad (1992-2014), fighter, died in June 2014 fighting with ISIL in the Middle East.
  • Salahedin Ghaitun, known by his nom de guerre Abou Tamima, fighter, died on 15 July 2014 from a gun wound in the head.
  • Abu Mosa, press officer, was killed on 22 August 2014 in an attack for al-Tabqa air base in Raqqa Governorate during the Syrian Civil War.
  • Douglas McCain (killed in August 2014)
  • Noureddine El Mejdoubi, known as Issa Abu, fighter, was arrested and imprisoned in Nanclares.
  • Hassan Saeed Al-Jabouri (replacement Mosul Governor, killed in 2014)
  • Abu Jurnas (Mosul Governor, killed in December 2014)
  • Bastian Vasquez, known by his nom de guerre Abu Safiyyah, propagandist, died between January and May in an infighting incident.
  • Jake Bilardi (killed in Iraq in 2015)
  • Ahmed al-Ruwaysi (killed in Sirte, Libya in 2015)
  • Maher Meshaal, also known as Abu Hajar al-Hadrami, Saudi nasheed singer killed in July 2015
  • Selim Suleiman al-Haram (a leader of Egypt branch, killed in 2015)
  • Yusuf al-Hindi (former ISIL leader in India, killed in 2015)
  • Junaid Hussain (recruiter and hacker, killed in August 2015)
  • Mohammed Emwazi, nicknamed "Jihadi John" (participant in beheading videos; killed on 12 November 2015 near Raqqa in a US air strike)
  • Ismail Omar Mostefai, Samy Amimour, Brahim Abdeslam, Bilal Hadfi, Ahmad Al Mohammad and M. al-Mahmod were the perpetrators of the November 2015 Paris attacks, who died the same day, on 14 November 2015.
  • Mohamed Hamduch, known as Kokito Castillejos, recruiter and fighter who died in Aleppo on 1 December 2015.
  • Waleed Jaseem al-Alwani – "Abu Ahmad al-Alwani", member of Military Shura, Iraqi, killed 27 December 2015.
  • Ubaydullah Hussain, (Norwegian Recruiter, captured in December 2015)
  • Muhammad "Bada" Sajid – (former Indian Mujahideen member, ISIS recruiter, killed in Syria in 2015)
  • Neil Prakash (Australian ISIS recruiter, captured in 2016)
  • Raphael Hostey (British recruiter and fighter, killed on May 5, 2016)
  • Ali Aswad al-Jiburi (member of Shura council, killed on May 18, 2016)
  • Abu al-Harith (Sudanese ISIS preacher and leader of Sirte branch, killed in Sirte, Libya in June 2016)
  • Abu Muhammad al-Furqan (ISIS information minister, killed in September 2016 in Raqqa)
  • Abu Walaa, (German propagandist, captured on November 8, 2016)
  • Abu Saifullah al-Shishani (died 21 December 2016) (Chechen ISIS suicide bomber who attacked ISF in eastern Mosul)
  • Abu Rumaysah (born 1983) (British fighter, possibly killed in 2017)
  • Abu Anas al-Iraqi, (Finance chief of ISIS, killed in a Delta Force raid at Dez ez-Zor in January 2017)
  • Ridvan Haqifi (1990–2017), commander and recruiter, active in Syria and Iraq, Kosovo Albanian. Killed on 8 February 2017.
  • Abu-Zakariya al-Britani, born Ronald Fiddler and also known as Jamal Udeen Al-Harith, was an ISIS fighter and suicide bomber who blew himself up in a village south of Mosul. He was previously freed from Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
  • Abu Umar al-Almani (1986-2017), commander and recruiter, German. Killed on 25 March 2017.
  • Hussein Al-Dhufairi, (senior Kuwaiti Leader, captured in Manila, Philippines on 6 April 2017)
  • Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, (Senior Indonesian Leader, killed in April 2017)
  • Abu Maliha al-Kanadi, suicide bomber from Canada who died on May 2017 in Ninawa Province.
  • Fawaz Muhammad Jubayr al-Rawi (Facilitator, killed in a US airstrike at Abu Kamal on 16 June 2017)
  • Sally-Anne Jones – "Umm Hussain al-Britani" (1968–2017), recruiter, British. Killed in June 2017.
  • Khaled Sharrouf, foreign fighter who was presumably killed in air strike on 11 August 2017.
  • Abdullah el-Faisal – propagandist and recruiter, Jamaican. Captured on 25 August 2017.
  • Yahya al-Bahrumi – (American fighter, killed in October 2017)
  • Akhmed Chatayev (1980–2017), trainer and organizer of activity against Russian diplomatic missions, Chechnyan. Killed on 22 November 2017 in Tbilisi by Georgian security forces.
  • Abu Natheer al-Muhajir – (deputy emir of the Salahuddin State, killed on 25 November 2017)
  • Denis Cuspert – "Abu Talha al-Almani" (1975–2018), German recruiter active since 2013. Killed in Gharanij, Syria on 17 January 2018.
  • "The Beatles", hostage torturers and executioners, British.
  • Ismail al-Eithawi – (Top aide to Baghdadi, captured in February 2018)
  • Mohammed Haydar Zammar (captured in March 2018)
  • Qari Hekmat – (High-ranking commander of IS's Afghan franchise in the northern province of Jowzjan, killed on 7 April 2018)
  • Nasser Abu Zaqul – (Central Sinai commander of the Islamic State, killed on 18 April 2018)
  • Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi – (Canadian IS recruit, returned to Canada in 2016)
  • Abu Huzeifa Al-Iraqi – (High-ranking IS commander, killed in April 2018)
  • Abu Walid al-Shishany – (close aid and right-hand man to Baghdadi, killed on 20 April 2018)
  • Qari Zahid – (Key Islamic State commander also known as Perai, killed on 24 April 2018)
  • Saleh Nasser Fadhl al-Bakshi – (senior Islamic State commander; also known as the "Prince" for the Aden area; killed on 28 April 2018)
  • Imad Jibar, fighter, was arrested in Turkey.
  • Bahrumsyah – (senior South-Asian commander and highest ranking Indonesian to fight with the IS; reported killed in April 2018)
  • Khaled al-Loweizi – (IS member, arrested on 3 May 2018)
  • Saddam al-Jammal – (Deputy ISIL governor of their Euphrates province, captured on 9 May 2018)
  • Mohammed al-Qadeer – (Top IS commander, captured on 9 May 2018)
  • Omar al-Karbouli – (Top IS commander, captured on 9 May 2018)
  • Essam al-Zawbai – (Top IS commander, captured on 9 May 2018)
  • Sharmeena Begum – (British fighter, Missing since June 2018)
  • Tareq Kamleh – (foreign recruiter, killed on 8 June 2018)
  • Mufti Nemat – (leading ISIL commander in northern Afghanistan, surrendered on 1 August 2018)
  • Mahad Moalim – (senior Islamic State commander in Somalia, killed on 23 October 2018)
  • Mark John Taylor – (foreign fighter from New Zealand, captured by Kurdish Forces in December 2018)
  • Christian Emde - (German Commander, killed in late 2018)
  • Mohammed Khalifa, Canadian propagandist who was captured in January 2019 and sentenced to life in prison
  • Shamima Begum – (British fighter, captured in February 2019)
  • Umm Hamza – (former Leader of Al-Khansaa Brigade, surrendered on 24 February 2019)
  • Akel Zainal - (Malaysian fighter, killed in March 2019)
  • Mullah Krekar, Norwegian recruiter and leader of Rawti Shax who was arrested on 16 July 2019)
  • Abu al-Ward al-Iraqi – (IS Oil Official, killed in raid in Deir al-Zour province on 14 January 2020)
  • Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, foreign fighter and recruiter who was captured in Almería, Spain on 21 April 2020 and died in prison. He planned to lead a terrorist cell in Europe.
  • Bilal al-Sudani (killed in northern Somalia on January 25, 2023)
  • Andre Richard Omer Poulin, known by his nom de guerre Abu Muslim, was a foreign fighter from Timmins, Ontario, who joined the fight in Syria in 2012 and recruited other jihadists.
  • Abu Muhammad al-Italy, who edited an article of Voice of Khorasan.
  • Kevin Chassin, known by the nom de guerre Abu Maryam al Faransi, militant who threatened France and died on a suicide attack in Iraq.
  • Abu Abdul Aziz al Faransi, ISIS militant who blew up himself in Haditha on 22 May 2015.
  • Muhammed Amin, oldest jihadist in ISIL and member of the uyghurs
  • Kujtim Fejzulai, known by the nom de guerre Abu Dagnah Al-Albany, ISIS sympathizer who carried out the Vienna attack on 2 November 2020.
  • Abu Obaida, also known as Abu Obeida, a senior ISIS leader who was the chief of the Hisbah patrol in Raqqa, and he was arrested on 18 August 2021 in Khalis, Iraq by Iraqi special intelligence.
  • Abu 'Uqayl from Singapore, also known as Megat Shahdan bin Abdul Samad (1978-2021),is an ISIS fighter who travelled to Syria. Internal Security Department said it is believed he was killed in a conflict zone.
  • Surat Gul, also known as Saifullah, Islamic State Khorasan leader killed on 11 February 2024 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-03-21 11:52 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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