Abu Tahsin al-Salihi (; 1 July 1953 – 29 September 2017) was an Iraqi veteran

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

. A volunteer in the Iraqi

Popular Mobilization Forces The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF; ), also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iranian-backed paramilitary umbrella group that operates within Iraq. Although formally and legally part of the Iraqi Armed Forces and reportin ...

, he is credited with killing over 384

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

members during the

War in Iraq (2013–2017) The War in Iraq (2013–2017) was an armed conflict between Iraq and its allies and the Islamic State. Following December 2013, the Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013), insurgency escalated into a full-scale war following Anbar campaign (2013–2014 ...

, receiving the nicknames "The Sheikh of Snipers" and "Hawk Eye." Consequently, he is considered one of the deadliest snipers in history. Before the

, al-Salihi was a soldier in the

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), also referred to as the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraq ...

and fought in the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

, the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

, the

invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, codenamed Project 17, began on 2 August 1990 and marked the beginning of the Gulf War. After defeating the Kuwait, State of Kuwait on 4 August 1990, Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq went on to militarily occupy the country fo ...

, the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, and the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. According to al-Salihi, in the Yom Kippur War he was part of an Iraqi brigade fighting Israeli forces in the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

. Around May 2015 al-Salihi joined the Popular Mobilization Forces and was stationed in the Makhoul Mountains in northern Iraq, armed with a Steyr anti materiel rifle. Al-Salihi began fighting ISIS at the Battle of Jurf Al Nasr. He was killed in action during the Battle of Hawija in September 2017. He was trained in his sniper skills by the

Russian military The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Ground Forces, Navy, and Aerospace Forces—two independent comba ...

Early life

Abu Tahsin al-Salihi was born Ali Jiyad Obaid al-Salihi () and was known by his

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

''The Hawk Eye'' or

teknonym Teknonymy (from 'child' and 'name') is the practice of referring to parents by the names of their children. This practice can be found in many different cultures around the world. The term was coined by anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor in an ...

''Abu Tahsin''. He was born in 1953, had eleven children, five girls and six boys. He was a

Shia Muslim Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

. He traveled to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

in the 1970s and worked many jobs there, two of which were being a shepherd of cows and camels. He had a French rifle to protect himself and with which he hunted rabbits, from this he gained knowledge in hunting and shooting.

Military career

Months before the

in the 1970s, he was nominated to travel to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to train in a course and took second place. The first war he fought in was the

in 1973, where he was stationed in the

with the 5th Mountain Brigade. The second war he fought in was the

Second Kurdish–Iraqi War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

in 1974. Following the outbreak of the War in Iraq in late 2013 and ISIL's Northern Iraq offensive, he joined the Sadr Brigade in the Popular Mobilization Forces where he participated in several battles that liberated several provinces in Iraq. However, he did not fit well in the Sadr Brigade, and he then joined the Ali Al Akbar Brigade which is where his skills began to show. He had 384 confirmed kills.

Death

According to the Popular Mobilization Forces spokesman, al-Salihi was killed in action after being shot in the face, supposedly by an enemy sniper, during the anti-ISIS offensive against

Hawija Hawija (, Al-Ḥawīja) is the central town of Al-Hawija District in the Kirkuk Province of Iraq, west of Kirkuk, and north of Baghdad. The town has a population of about 480,000 inhabitants. Hawija District has approximately 520,000 inhabitan ...

, Iraq. His funeral took place on 30 September 2017.

Legacy

In 2023, a statue of Abu Tahsin was erected in the city of

Nasiriyah Nasiriyah ( , ; , BGN: , ), also spelled Nassiriya or Nasiriya, is a city in Iraq, the capital of the Dhi Qar Governorate. It lies on the lower Euphrates, about south-southeast of Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. Its po ...

, Iraq.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salhi, Abu Tahsin al- 1953 births 2017 deaths People from Basra Iraqi military personnel killed in action Iraqi military personnel of the Iran–Iraq War Iraqi Shia Muslims Members of the Popular Mobilization Forces Military snipers Military personnel of the Gulf War Military personnel of the Iraq War Iraqi people of the Yom Kippur War People of the War in Iraq (2013–2017)

Early life

Military career

Death

Legacy

See also

References