Overview

Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli—also commonly known as Abdul Rahman al-Sheijlar, Hajji Iman, Abu Ala Afri, and Abu Ali al-Anbari—was a senior ISIS leader and the reported planned successor to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. His identity has long perplexed authorities and media outlets, who have attributed to al-Qaduli a variety of backgrounds and aliases.—was reportedly ISIS's top financier and the planned successor to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.“ISIL Leader Al-Baghdadi Clinically Dead, Members Pledge Allegiance to Successor,” Fars News Agency, April 26, 2015, hhttp://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940206001017;
“Iranian media: ISIS leader declared ‘clinically dead’ by Israeli doctors in Golan,” Jerusalem Post, April 28, 2015, http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iranian-media-Islamic-State-leader-declared-clinically-dead-by-Israeli-doctors-in-Golan-399410;
Martin Chulov, “Isis leader incapacitated with suspected spinal injuries after air strike,” Guardian (London), May 1, 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/01/isis-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-incapacitated-suspected-spinal-injuries-iraq;
“Air raid ‘kills Islamic State’s No 2’,” BBC News, May 13, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32726646; Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister, and Michael Weiss, “Who might lead ISIS if al-Baghdadi dies?,” CNN, May 14, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/11/middleeast/isis-leadership/;
“Iranian media: ISIS leader declared ‘clinically dead’ by Israeli doctors in Golan,” Jerusalem Post, April 28, 2015, http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iranian-media-Islamic-State-leader-declared-clinically-dead-by-Israeli-doctors-in-Golan-399410; “Islamic State deputy leader ‘killed in Iraq air strike’,” BBC News, May 13, 2015,http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32726646; Tom Coghlan, “Isis deputy leader killed by coalition airstrike in Iraq,” Times (London), May 14, 2015, http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/iraq/article4439578.ece. On May 5, 2015, the U.S. State Department posted a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to al-Qaduli’s capture.“Rewards for Justice - Reward Offers for Information on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Terrorists,” U.S. Department of State, May 5, 2015, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/05/241912.htm. The reward was the highest for any ISIS leader after al-Baghdadi.Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister, and Michael Weiss, “Who might lead ISIS if al-Baghdadi dies?,” CNN, May 14, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/11/middleeast/isis-leadership/. On March 25, 2016, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced al-Qaduli's death as a result of a targeted airstrike earlier that week. According to the Department of Defense, U.S. military personnel had originally sought to capture al-Qaduli, but were ultimately forced to fire on his vehicle instead.Michael S. Schmidt and Mark Mazzetti, “A Top ISIS Leader Is Killed in an Airstrike, the Pentagon Says,” New York Times, March 25, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/26/world/middleeast/abd-al-rahman-mustafa-al-qaduli-isis-reported-killed-in-syria.html.

Numerous reports identified al-Qaduli as a former soldier in Saddam Hussein’s military. According to these sources, al-Qaduli joined the Iraqi jihadist group Ansar al-Islam following de-Baathification in 2003, but was reportedly ejected amid allegations of financial corruption. He subsequently joined al-Qaeda in Iraq—then led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi—where he rose in its ranks to his eventual senior position in ISIS.Siobhan Gorman, Nour Malas and Matt Bradley, “Brutal Efficiency: The Secret to Islamic State’s Success,” Wall Street Journal, September 3, 2014, http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-secret-to-the-success-of-islamic-state-1409709762;
“Inside the hierarchy of the Islamic State,” Ynet News, September 20, 2014, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4573040,00.html; Nour Malas, “Islamic State Second-in-Command Killed in Airstrike, Iraq Says,” Wall Street Journal, May 13, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-second-in-command-killed-in-airstrike-1431528722. However, ISIS pundits Michael Weiss and Hassan Hassan claimed al-Qaduli was a physics teacher and had been engaged in jihad since the 1980s. According to Weiss and Hassan, al-Qaduli left Iraq for Afghanistan in the late 1990s and returned to northeastern Iraq in 2000 to join the Iraqi Islamist group Ansar al-Islam. He then began an independent Islamist group called Tal Afar in 2003, and joined al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in 2004.Michael Weiss and Hassan Hassan, “Everything We Knew About This ISIS Mastermind Was Wrong,” Daily Beast, April 15, 2016, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/15/everything-we-knew-about-this-isis-mastermind-was-wrong.html. The U.S. Treasury claims al-Qaduli served as AQI’s representative to al-Qaeda’s senior leadership in Pakistan.“Treasury Designates Al-Qa’ida Leaders In Syria,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 14, 2014, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl2396.aspx.

Some ISIS militants reportedly believed al-Qaduli’s knowledge of Islamic law paled in comparison to that of other senior ISIS leaders, and that he acted mostly as a political “envoy” for the terror group.Siobhan Gorman, Nour Malas and Matt Bradley, “Brutal Efficiency: The Secret to Islamic State’s Success,” Wall Street Journal, September 3, 2014, http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-secret-to-the-success-of-islamic-state-1409709762. Al-Qaduli was believed to oversee ISIS’s general security, all the while preaching fervently against Yazidis and the Muslim Brotherhood, which he viewed as apostates.Michael Weiss and Hassan Hassan, “Everything We Knew About This ISIS Mastermind Was Wrong,” Daily Beast, April 15, 2016, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/15/everything-we-knew-about-this-isis-mastermind-was-wrong.html. He was reportedly responsible for organizing the rape of Yazidi women and overseeing the deportation of religious and ethnic minorities from ISIS’s territory. Al-Qaduli was also believed to provide council and funds toward launching attacks in the West.Maher Chmayteli, Isabel Coles, and Stephen Kalin, “Islamic State dealt hefty body blow with death of top aide: officials,” Reuters, March 26, 2016, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-syria-usa-idUSKCN0WS0FR.

Al-Qaduli’s name began to appear in the media in March 2015 following reports that al-Baghdadi had been injured or killed in a U.S. airstrike.“ISIL Leader Al-Baghdadi Clinically Dead, Members Pledge Allegiance to Successor,” Fars News Agency, April 26, 2015, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940206001017; “Iranian media: ISIS leader declared ‘clinically dead’ by Israeli doctors in Golan,” Jerusalem Post, April 28, 2015, http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iranian-media-Islamic-State-leader-declared-clinically-dead-by-Israeli-doctors-in-Golan-399410; Martin Chulov, “Isis leader incapacitated with suspected spinal injuries after air strike,” Guardian (London), May 1, 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/01/isis-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-incapacitated-suspected-spinal-injuries-iraq. At the time, al-Qaduli was identified as al-Baghdadi’s likely successor.

Iraqi political advisor Hisham al-Hashimi told Newsweek in April 2015 that “All the leaders of [ISIS] find that [al-Qaduli] has much jihadi wisdom, and good capability at leadership and administration.”Jack Moore, “ISIS Replace Injured Leader Baghdadi With Former Physics Teacher,” Newsweek, April 22, 2015, http://europe.newsweek.com/isis-replace-injured-leader-baghdadi-former-physics-teacher-324082. While little was known about al-Qaduli’s background, Newsweek alleged that al-Qaduli favored reconciliation with al-Qaeda and planned to fill ISIS’s leadership with equal numbers of Arab and foreign leaders.Jack Moore, “ISIS Replace Injured Leader Baghdadi With Former Physics Teacher,” Newsweek, April 22, 2015, http://europe.newsweek.com/isis-replace-injured-leader-baghdadi-former-physics-teacher-324082.

Al-Qaduli’s rhetoric and worldview is believed to have made an enormous impact on ISIS’s ideology and strategy.Michael Weiss and Hassan Hassan, “Everything We Knew About This ISIS Mastermind Was Wrong,” Daily Beast, April 15, 2016, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/15/everything-we-knew-about-this-isis-mastermind-was-wrong.html. His legacy is expected to live on in the terror group’s exploits. According to U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren, “[Al-Qaduli’s] experience and knowledge will be missed by [ISIS].”Maher Chmayteli, Isabel Coles, and Stephen Kalin, “Islamic State dealt hefty body blow with death of top aide: officials,” Reuters, March 26, 2016, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-syria-usa-idUSKCN0WS0FR.