Name Abu al-Iraqi | Role Military Commander | |
 | ||
Allegiance Baathist Iraq (until 2003)
Al-Qaeda (2007–2013)
Islamic State of Iraq (2007-2013)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2013–7 November 2014) Service/branch Iraqi Army (1986-2003)
Military of ISIL (8 April 2013–7 November 2014) Rank Colonel (until 2003)
ISIL Emir of Latakia
(2012-January 2014)
ISIL Emir of Anbar
(January 2014-7 November 2014)
ISIL Military Chief
(4 June 2014–7 November 2014) Battles/wars 2003 Iraq War
Iraqi insurgency
Syrian Civil War
Battle of Aleppo (2012–present)
Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War
Military intervention against ISIL Died November 7, 2014, Mosul, Iraq Similar People Abu Bakr al‑Baghdadi, Izzat Ibrahim al‑Douri, Riad al‑Asaad, Nouri al‑Maliki, Muqtada al‑Sadr | ||
Adnan Latif Hamid al-Sweidawi al-Dulaimi (Arabic: عدنان لطيف حامد السويداوي الدليمي, ‘Adnān Laṭīf Ḥāmid as-Suwaydāwī al-Dulaymī), also known by his noms de guerre Abu Mohannad al-Sweidawi, Abu Abdul Salem, Haji Dawūd and Abu Ayman al-Iraqi, was a top commander in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the former head of its Military Council.
Biography
Despite his senior position within the ISIL hierarchy, very little is known about al-Iraqi. He has been referred to as a "shadowy persona". Al-Sweidawi was a member of the Al-bu Swda clan of the Dulaim, the largest tribe in Iraq's Anbar Province. Al-Sweidawi served under the Ba'athist regime of Saddam Hussein as a lieutenant colonel in the Iraqi Army. He also operated in Iraq's Air Defense Intelligence. According to Ahmed al-Dulaimi, the governor of Anbar Province, al-Sweidawi graduated from the same military academy as future senior ISIL leaders Haji Bakr and Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi.
A IS biography of Abu Muhannad al-Suwaydawi describes him as being "especially close to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi and says, "He and Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi were friends both in childhood and jihad". According to the biography, Abu Muhannad was present at both the First Battle of Fallujah and the Second Battle of Fallujah during the occupation of Iraq. He was also responsible for planning the 2013 Abu Ghraib prison break.
In 2007, al-Sweidawi was detained by U.S forces in Iraq at Camp Bucca. Following the deaths of Haji Bakr and al-Bilawi in 2014, al-Sweidawi reportedly succeeded them as head of ISIL's military council.
In November 2014, there were media reports that al-Iraqi had been killed in an Iraqi airstrike that reportedly also injured Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, however this was not confirmed at the time. In May 2015, ISIL carried out a wide-scale assault on Ramadi, capturing the city centre. The assault was named after al-Sweidawi, who was described as having been killed in a US-led air strike. Jihadists frequently name their military offensives after fallen leaders. The Daily Beast reported that al-Sweidawi was succeeded by senior ISIL figure Abu Ali al-Anbari.