Overview

Bashar Khattab Ghazal al-Sumaidai is a senior ISIS leader, currently serving as the head of the ISIS judiciary.Sami Moubayed, “Who Will Replace the Slain Leaders of the Islamic State?,” European Eye on Radicalization, February 15, 2021, https://eeradicalization.com/who-will-replace-the-slain-leaders-of-the-islamic-state/. According to media sources, al-Sumaidai is high on the list of wanted terrorists by the Iraqi Army.“Who Will Replace the Slain Leaders of the Islamic State?,” European Eye on Radicalization, February 15, 2021, https://eeradicalization.com/who-will-replace-the-slain-leaders-of-the-islamic-state/. After the February 2022 death of ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, al-Sumaidai was considered a top candidate to be ISIS’s new emir.Hassan Hassan, “The Next Islamic State Caliph,” New Lines Magazine, February 16, 2022, https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-next-islamic-state-caliph/. However, a few months later on September 8, 2022, al-Sumaidai was arrested in a joint operation by Turkish security services and the Istanbul police.“Turkey Captures ‘Senior’ IS Leader Abu Zeyd: Erdogan,” Defense Post, September 8, 2022, https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/09/08/turkey-captures-is-leader/.

Al-Sumaidai is from the same tribe as Iraq’s current Sunni grand mufti, Mahdi bin Ahmed al-Sumaidi.Hassan Hassan, “The Next Islamic State Caliph,” New Lines Magazine, February 16, 2022, https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-next-islamic-state-caliph/. The Sumaidai tribe is concentrated northwest of Ramadi, Iraq, and traces its ancestry to Islam’s prophet Mohammad.“Who Will Replace the Slain Leaders of the Islamic State?,” European Eye on Radicalization, February 15, 2021, https://eeradicalization.com/who-will-replace-the-slain-leaders-of-the-islamic-state/. Before joining ISIS, al-Sumaidai reportedly was a member of Ansar al-Islam (AAI) in Iraq. The U.S. government designated AAI as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2004 because of its “close links to and support from” al-Qaeda.“Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Designation of Ansar al-Islam (Al), Redesignation of Three Others,” U.S. Department of State, March 22, 2004, https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2004/30649.htm. AAI initially trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and provided safe haven in Iraq for al-Qaeda leaders fleeing the country after the U.S. invasion in 2003. AAI has previously targeted Iraqi, U.S., and coalition forces in Iraq. Part of the group pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2014, but another faction within AAI has continued to fight against ISIS in Syria.“Iraqi Kurdistan profile – timeline,” BBC News, October 31, 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-15467672; “Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Designation of Ansar al-Islam (Al), Redesignation of Three Others,” U.S. Department of State, March 22, 2004, https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2004/30649.htm; Kathryn Gregory, “Ansar al-Islam (Iraq, Islamists/Kurdish Separatists), Ansar al-Sunnah,” Council on Foreign Relations, November 5, 2008, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/ansar-al-islam-iraq-islamistskurdish-separatists-ansar-al-sunnah; Thomas Joscelyn, “Ansar al Islam claims attacks against Iraqi military, police,” Long War Journal, June 20, 2014, https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/06/_operating_in_iraq_w.php.

Al-Sumaidai reportedly joined ISIS in 2013 when remnants of AAI relocated to Syria. As Islamist and jihadist groups began to dominate the insurgency across Syria, in June 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—then the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)—unilaterally declared a caliphate spanning across eastern Syria and western Iraq.“Who was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi?,” BBC News, October 28, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50200392. Al-Sumaidai quickly rose within the ranks of ISIS and eventually became a jihadist indoctrinator in Mosul, where he became close to Baghdadi. While in Mosul, al-Sumaidai reportedly preached at a religious center in Bab al-Jadid that educated ISIS preachers and judges. At some point following Baghdadi’s declaration of a caliphate in 2014, al-Sumaidai was appointed as ISIS’s chief judge in Nineveh, Iraq, specializing in murder or capital punishment cases.Hassan Hassan, “The Next Islamic State Caliph,” New Lines Magazine, February 16, 2022, https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-next-islamic-state-caliph/.

In 2016, while simultaneously serving as the “qadi al-dam”—a judge specializing in murder and capital punishment cases—al-Sumaidai became a member of ISIS’s executive body called the Delegated Committee. The Delegated Committee reportedly works together to rebuild the organization depending on security concerns.Feras Kilani, “A Caliph Without a Caliphate: The Biography of ISIS’s New Leader,” New Lines Magazine, April 15, 2021, https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/a-caliph-without-a-caliphate-the-biography-of-isiss-new-leader/; Hassan Hassan, “The Next Islamic State Caliph,” New Lines Magazine, February 16, 2022, https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-next-islamic-state-caliph/. In 2017, when ISIS was beginning to lose its territorial hold over Syria, al-Sumaidai reportedly left Syria for southern Turkey. In 2021, media sources alleged al-Sumaidai returned to Syria, reportedly to revitalize the movement and regain support for the group.Hassan Hassan, “The Next Islamic State Caliph,” New Lines Magazine, February 16, 2022, https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-next-islamic-state-caliph/. After al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S.-led drone strike in 2019, al-Sumaidai worked closely with Baghdadi’s successor, Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla a.k.a. Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, to reorganize the leadership of the organization.Feras Kilani, “A Caliph Without a Caliphate: The Biography of ISIS’s New Leader,” New Lines Magazine, April 15, 2021, https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/a-caliph-without-a-caliphate-the-biography-of-isiss-new-leader/; Hassan Hassan, “The Next Islamic State Caliph,” New Lines Magazine, February 16, 2022, https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-next-islamic-state-caliph/. After Quraishi’s death in early February 2022 in a U.S. airstrike, several analysts considered al-Sumaidai a top candidate to replace him because of his prominence in the organization, family lineage to the prophet Mohammad, and close relationship with the previous two caliphs.Hassan Hassan, “The Next Islamic State Caliph,” New Lines Magazine, February 16, 2022, https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-next-islamic-state-caliph/. On March 10, 2022, ISIS named Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi as its new leader.“Islamic state confirms death of its leader, names new chief,” Reuters, March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/islamic-state-confirms-death-its-leader-names-new-chief-2022-03-10/. ISIS did not release any further identifying details of Qurashi in its announcement.

A few months later on September 8, 2022, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan announced that Turkish security forces had arrested al-Sumaidai in a joint operation with the Istanbul police. Following the announcement, Turkish media stated that al-Sumaidai may indeed be Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, the new leader of ISIS, but no further confirmation was made on the claim. Turkish officials reportedly followed al-Sumaidai’s connections in Syria and Istanbul for a long time before acquiring intelligence indicating al-Sumaidai would enter Turkey illegally.“Turkey Captures ‘Senior’ IS Leader Abu Zeyd: Erdogan,” Defense Post, September 8, 2022, https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/09/08/turkey-captures-is-leader/.