Muhammad Ahmad ’Ali al-Isawi (; 1972/1973 - June 2018), known by the ''kunya'' Abu Osama al-Masri () was an

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism for modern, armed militant Political aspects of Islam, Islamic movements that seek to Islamic state, establish states based on Islamic principles. In a narrower sense, it refers to the belief that armed confrontation ...

and leader of the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

branch in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

, known as Wilayat Sinai.

History

Abu Osama is believed to have been born in North Sinai and grew up in Sharqiya in the

Nile Delta The Nile Delta (, or simply , ) is the River delta, delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's larger deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the eas ...

. His kunya means 'father of Osama, the Egyptian'. He was said to be 42 years old as of November 2015, making his birth year 1972 or 1973. He is reported to have been a clothing importer who studied at

al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

, a top

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

institution in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. In October 2014, he was believed to have traveled to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

with about 20 followers when security forces clamped down on militants after former Egyptian President

Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012 2013 Egyptian coup d'état The 2013 Egyptian coup d'etat or the Counter-revolutionary, Counter-revolution is an event that took place on 3 July 2013. Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a coalition to remove the democratically elected President of Egypt ...

. Abu Osama was a member of

Ansar Bait al-Maqdis Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (ABM; ), or Ansar Al-Quds (), was an Islamist jihadist, extremist militant group operating in the Sinai Peninsula from 2011 to 2014. Ansar Bait al-Maqdis was linked with al-Qaeda. It operated in Sinai, focusing its effort ...

, the previous name of the Islamic State's Sinai branch.

Islamic State in Sinai

For much of his time in the group he served as head media spokesman. In May 2015 a recording surfaced where Abu Osama called for attacks against Egyptian judges, saying: "It is wrong for the tyrants udgesto jail our brothers. Poison their food... surveil them at home and in the street... destroy their homes with explosives if you can." In November 2015, he became a person of interest in the downing of

Metrojet Flight 9268 Metrojet Flight 9268 was an international chartered passenger flight operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia (branded as Metrojet). On 31 October 2015, at 06:13 local time EST (04:13 UTC), the Airbus A321-231 operating the flight exploded ...

. He claimed responsibility, saying "We are the ones who downed it etrojet Flight 9268by the grace of Allah, and we are not compelled to announce the method that brought it down." He became leader of Wilayah Sinai in August 2016. An Islamic State - Sinai Province video titled "The Path of Rationality From Darkness to Light" announced that he was killed in June 2018 during an

airstrike An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

at an Islamic State location.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masri, Abu Osama al- Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members from Egypt Sinai insurgency Al-Azhar University alumni Leaders of jihadist groups Salafi jihadists 1970s births 2018 deaths Egyptian Islamists People from North Sinai Governorate Deaths by Egyptian airstrikes