Bastian Vasquez (9 April 1990 – 2015), also 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 ...

'' as Abu Safiyyah, was a Chilean-Norwegian jihadist who made prominent appearances in propaganda videos for the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 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 jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

(ISIL). He is presumed to have died in January or in April/May 2015, in a non-combat infighting incident.

Early activism

Born in

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

, Norway and of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an background, he was in a group of

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

singers. Vasquez joined the Norwegian Islamist group Profetens Ummah, reportedly recruited by Mohyeldeen Mohammad, after having converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

in his teens. He lived in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

where he frequented Salafi circles. He then joined ISIL and travelled 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 ...

in 2012. He was due to meet in court in 2013 for having uploaded a video on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

, for which he was charged with making threats against the Norwegian government and the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty king ...

ISIL propagandist

On 29 June 2014 Vasquez appeared as the presenter in an ISIL propaganda video released by Al Hayat Media Center and titled '' The End of Sykes-Picot'', where he is seen showing a group of captives in a building, after which the building was blown up with Vasquez seen laughing and praising

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

. He also appeared in a video where he described how he and others had killed Iraqi soldiers, and where a police station was blown up. Following the publication of the videos, he was charged under Norway's anti-terror laws and wanted through

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

, while his bank accounts were frozen. Although often described as having risen through the ranks in the leadership of ISIL, others have claimed that his role was limited to propaganda work. Vasquez is reported to have suddenly stopped all communications with people in Norway in January, or possibly in April/May 2015. He is presumed to have been killed as part of infighting in ISIL, with differing theories on the specific sequence of events. He could have been executed by ISIS after he had killed the son of

Arfan Bhatti Arfan Bhatti (born 9 August 1977) is a Norwegian Islamist activist and a leading figure of the Profetens Ummah. Early life Bhatti was born and raised in Oslo to parents of Pakistani origin from the city of Gujrat. He spent several years in Pa ...

, a leading figure in the Norwegian Islamist group Profetens Ummah, or killed while making bombs for ISIS in March 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasquez, Bastian 1990 births 2015 deaths Assassinated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members Converts to Islam Fugitives wanted by Norway Fugitives wanted on terrorism charges Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Norway Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members from Syria Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant propagandists Norwegian Islamists Norwegian propagandists Norwegian people of Chilean descent People from Skien Possibly living people

Early activism

ISIL propagandist

See also

References