Abu Ala al-Afri

Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, alternatively known Abu Ala al-Afri was the Deputy leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It is believed he had ascended to this position following unconfirmed reports of current leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi falling victim to an airstrike, leaving him unable to retain leadership of the group.

On May 14, 2014, al-Afri was listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S Treasury Department.

On May 5, 2015, the U.S. State Department announced a reward of up to US$7 million for information leading to al-Afri's capture or death.

The second-in-command of Islamic State (IS) was killed on May 13, 2015 in a US-led coalition air strike in northern Iraq, the Iraqi ministry of defence reported.

Biography

Abu Ala al-Afri is believed to have been born around 1957 or 1959 in Mosul, Nineveh. Speaking to Newsweek, Dr Hisham al Hashimi, an Iraqi government adviser, stated that "He was a physics teacher in Tal Afar, and has dozens of publications and religious (shariah) studies of his own. He is a follower of Abu Musaab al-Suri." He is also believed to be a an ethnic Turkmen.

Afghanistan, Iraq and al-Qaeda

Al-Afri was believed to have traveled to Afghanistan in 1998 and trained with al-Qaeda. It was here he was said to have earned the trust and respect of Osama bin Laden.

According to Newsweek, he left Afghanistan before returning to his native Iraq and joining al-Qaeda in Iraq under Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 2004. He oversaw the sharia authorities in northern Iraq and served as al-Zarqawi's local leader in Mosul.

When al-Zarqawi's successors, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri had been killed in a joint U.S-Iraqi raid in 2010, Al-Qaeda in Iraq (then known as the Islamic State of Iraq) had to choose a new successor. According to Al-Monitor, al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden wanted al-Afri to become the groups new leader and head of al-Qaeda operations in Iraq. Instead however, Haji Bakr, an influential member of al-Qaeda in Iraq and former colonel in the Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein, persuaded the ISI Shura Council to elect Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Syrian Civil War and ISIL

In early 2012, al-Afri was believed to have either escaped or have been released from prison in Iraq, before linking up with the Islamic State of Iraq and moving to Syria during the civil war that was occurring there.

In July 2014, The Telegraph revealed ISIL's cabinet of which it reported that al-Afri, named as Abu Suja in the report, was a "General coordinator for the affairs of martyrs and women" and a member of the War council. It was reported however that 'Abu Suja' has been killed in November 2014 by a U.S airstrike, making it unlikely that Abu Suja and Al-Afri are the same person.

Al-Afri is rumored to favor reconciliation with al-Qaeda and its affiliate in Syria Al-Nusra Front, after al-Qaeda removed ISIL from the group in early 2014. He is also said to prefer that the ISIL's leadership structure be composed half of Arabs and half of foreign members of the group, in contrast to the current dominance of Iraqi's in the ISIL hierarchy.

Deputy 'Caliph' of ISIL

In March 2015, it was rumored that current leader of ISIL, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had suffered injuries including spinal damage leaving him incapacitated. According to Middle-east analyst Hassan Hassan, al-Afri is believed to have then become the Deputy of ISIL, thereby replacing the Deputy of ISIL in Syria, Abu Ali al-Anbari, as al-Baghdadi's second-in-command. Before becoming al-Baghdadi's deputy, al-Afri was a key coordination link between al-Baghdadi and his inner circle and also his emirs in different provinces across the group's extensive caliphate in Syria, Iraq and Libya.

According to the New York Observer, al-Afri is described by people who know him as being dynamic, possesses operational experience and has very good contacts. It is reported that he is a charismatic preacher. But most importantly, al-Afri supposedly excels in battle strategy. That is where he made his mark both in al Qaeda and in ISIL. Hisham al-Hashimi, a senior adviser on ISIL to the Iraqi government, wrote of al-Afri “He is smart, and a good leader and administrator. If Baghdadi ends up dying, he will lead them.”