Adnan Ismail Najm al-Bilawi Al-Dulaimi ( ar, عدنان إسماعيل نجم البيلاوي الدليمي, extra= 1971 – 4 June 2014), better known by the

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi al-Anbari ( ar, أبو عبد الرحمن البيلاوي الأنباري), was a top commander in the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...

and the head of its Military Council, prior to his killing by Iraqi security forces on 4 June 2014.

Biography

Al-Bilawi belonged to the Al-bu Bali clan of the Dulaim, the largest tribe in the Iraqi

Al Anbar Governorate Al Anbar Governorate ( ar, محافظة الأنبار; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, ...

. His tribe formed the nucleus of the resistance/insurgency against U.S. forces in Iraq. The Dulaimis returned to the armed insurgency in 2014. The governor of Anbar at the time, Ahmad Khalaf al-Dulaimi, claimed that he taught al-Bilawi when they were both at the Iraqi Military Academy. Al-Bilawi graduated in 1993 and went on to become an infantry officer in the Iraqi military, achieving the rank of captain. After the US-led

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including ...

, al-Bilawi joined

al-Qaida in Iraq Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI; ar, القاعدة في العراق, al-Qā'idah fī al-ʿIrāq) or Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia ( ar, القاعدة في بلاد الرافدين, al-Qā'idah fī Bilād ar-Rāfidayn), officially known as ''Tanzim Qaidat a ...

and worked closely with its then-leader,

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ( ar, أَبُو مُصْعَبٍ ٱلزَّرْقَاوِيُّ, ', ''Father of Musab, from Zarqa''; ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh (, '), was a Jordanian jihadist who ran a t ...

. According to an audio address by ISIS' official spokesman

Abu Mohammad al-Adnani Taha Sobhi Falaha ( ar, طٰهٰ صُبْحِيِّ فَلَاحَةٍ, Ṭāhā Ṣobḥī Falāḥa; 1977 – 30 August 2016), known as Abu Muhammad al-Adnani al-Shami ( ar, أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْعَدْنَانِيُّ ٱلشَ� ...

released on 11 june 2014, al-Bilawi was one of the founders of

Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad ( en, Group of Monotheism and Jihad), which may be abbreviated as JTJ or Jama'at, was a Islamic extremist Salafi jihadist terrorist group. It was founded in Jordan in 1999 and was led by Jordanian national Abu Musab al ...

and trained many jihadists during the insurgency. Najm al-Bilawi was detained by American forces in 2005 in

Camp Bucca Camp Bucca ( ar, سجن بوكا, Sijn Būkā) was a forward operating base that housed a theater internment facility maintained by the United States military in the vicinity of Umm Qasr, Iraq. After being taken over by the U.S. military (800th ...

. Al-Bilawi was one of the approximately 500 prisoners who escaped from

Abu Ghraib prison Abu Ghraib prison ( ar, سجن أبو غريب, ''Sijn Abū Ghurayb'') was a prison complex in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, located west of Baghdad. Abu Ghraib prison was opened in the 1950s and served as a maximum-security prison with torture, weekly exe ...

in July 2013, following a raid and mass jailbreak by members of the

. Following his escape, he became a member of ISIL's Military Council and had a major role in planning and leading the group's military offensive in

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

and

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

Iraq. Al-Bilawi was killed on 4 June 2014 in a raid by Iraqi security forces in Mosul. Following his death, a laptop belonging to al-Bilawi revealed high quality intelligence on the operations and leadership structure of ISIL. Al-Bilawi had been leading the planning for a military operation against Mosul, following his death ISIL launched the attack, resulting in their total seizure of the city by 9 June 2014. The attack was named the "Invasion of Asadullah al-Bilawi Abu Abdul Rahman" in his honour. His death was acknowledged by ISIL's official spokesman,

, in a June 2014 statement that praised his contributions to the group. He was reportedly succeeded by

Abu Muhannad al-Suwaydawi Adnan Latif Hamid al-Suwaydawi al-Dulaymi ( ar, عدنان لطيف حامد السويداوي الدليمي, extra=, ''‘Adnān Laṭīf Ḥāmid as-Suwaydāwī al-Dulaymī'') (1965 – 8 November 2014), also known by his noms de guerre Abu Mu ...

as leader of the ISIL Military Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilawi, Abu Abdulrahman al- 1971 births 2014 deaths Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members from Iraq Iraqi Ground Forces officers Prisoners and detainees of the United States military Iraqi escapees Escapees from Iraqi detention Members of al-Qaeda in Iraq