Native name ابو عزرائيل Rank Commander Birth name Ayyub Faleh al-Rubaie | Nickname(s) Angel of Death Role Armed force officer | |
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Service/branch Popular Mobilization Forces Born 1978 (age 43 years), Baghdad, Iraq Similar Qasem Soleimani, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Abu Omar al Shishani Profiles | ||
Vardaat abu azrael iraq s anti isis fighter
Ayyub Faleh Hassan al-Rubaie (Arabic: أيوب فالح حسن الربيعي), known by his nom de guerre Abu Azrael (Arabic: أبو عزرائيل, literally "Father of Azrael"), also known as the "Angel of Death" (Arabic: ملاك الموت), is a commander of the Kataib al-Imam Ali, an Iraqi Shi'a militia group of the Popular Mobilization Forces that is fighting ISIL/ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) in Iraq. He has become a public icon of resisting ISIL in Iraq among Shia Iraqis with a large following on social media. His motto and catchphrase is "Ella Tahin" (Arabic: إلّا طحين), literally meaning "Until/into dust" interpreted to mean "Grind you to dust."
Contents
- Vardaat abu azrael iraq s anti isis fighter
- Meet Abu Azrael Iraqs Rambo the most renowned fighter in Iraq
- Personal life
- Criticism
- Public image
- References
Abu Azrael was a former militia member in Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army which fought against the United States during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Meet Abu Azrael, ‘Iraq’s Rambo’, the most renowned fighter in Iraq
Personal life
Abu Azrael is described in various sources as a Shia who is a 40-year-old former university lecturer and a one-time Taekwondo champion, although other sources dispute that and suggest that this back-story may be fabricated. According to an Iranian source, he has a master's degree in physical education.
Reports from March 2015 claimed that Azrael is a father of five, and lives an "ordinary life" when not on the battlefield.
Criticism
Following the viral video showing Abu Azrael striking the burnt corpse of a dead ISIS fighter with a sword, Ali Khedery was quoted as saying "War crimes are never justifiable. Horrific video featuring a war crime by Iraq's Abu Azrael". Abu Azrael later said that the victim was a foreign fighter.
Abu Azrael stated that he had been told by a senior imam in Najaf that he should pray for penance and "never do such a thing again".
Beside this, on the 31st of May 2017, a video show Abu Azrael fire the beard of a corpse with a lighter, laughing, and spitting at him. while it goes on fire.
Public image
Abu Azrael is currently fighting against ISIS although he has also fought against other militant groups. He has attracted attention in the Middle East, but by the spring of 2015, he had also made front-page appearances on international news websites in England, France and the United States.
He has received a medal of honor from the Representative of the Supreme Religious Authority Sayyid Ahmad al-Safi.
In 2016, he was spotted in the battlefield in the Battle of Mosul.