Maher al-Agal (Arabic: مَاهِرُ ٱلْعَقَّالْ, romanized: Māhir al-'Aqāl; died 12 July 2022) was a top commander and leader for the Islamic State in Syria.[1][2][3] He was involved in aggressively developing ISIS networks outside Iraq and Syria, according to CENTCOM.[1][4][5] al-Agal was also a commander for Jaysh al-Sharqiyyah.[6][7]

History

Little is known about his life other then his military history.

He was a part of the Islamic State in Raqqa when the organisation still held that territory.[8] When he presumably rose the ranks, he was aggressively spreading ISIS networks outside of Iraq and Syria worldwide.[1][4][5]

Around 2020, al-Agal would be a member of Turkish-backed factions and would live in Afrin in northwestern Syria, where he would soon become a commander of a Syrian rebel group called Jaysh Al-Sharqiyyah.[8]

Death

At 12 July 2022, in Ghaltan village outside the town of Jindires, in northwest Syria, near the border of Hatay Province in Turkey, al-Agal was targeted by a US drone strike while riding his motorcycle,[9] along with an unidentified IS official who was his close affiliate.[3] The attack killed al-Agal and seriously injured the other IS official.[1] This attack took extensive planning for it to come out as an successful operation, without any civilian casualties.[10] The White House used al-Agal's death as an example that they don't need thousands of troops to get rid of threats in their country.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "US says it has killed ISIL leader in Syria". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  2. 1 2 Demirjian, Karoun; Fahim, Kareem (12 July 2022). "isis leader maher al agal killed washington post". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Reuters".
  4. 1 2 "ISIS leader in Syria killed in drone strike, says US military". The Independent. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  5. 1 2 "i24NEWS". www.i24news.tv. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  6. ↑ "Maher al-Agal: Islamic State leader in Syria killed in US drone strike". Sky News. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  7. ↑ "U.S. kills IS group leader in Syria in drone strike". Press Herald. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  8. 1 2 Peace, Rise to (2022-07-27). "What the Death of Maher al-Agal Means for the Future of the Islamic State". Rise to Peace. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  9. ↑ Ensor, Josie (2022-07-12). "Islamic State kingpin killed by US drone strike in Syria". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  10. ↑ "Strike conducted in Syria". U.S. Central Command. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
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