Abu Musab al-Zarqawi | |
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أبو مصعب الزرقاوي | |
![]() al-Zarqawi in May 2004 | |
1st Emir of Al-Qaeda in Iraq | |
In office October 17, 2004 – June 7, 2006 | |
Preceded by | Position created |
Succeeded by | Abu Ayyub al-Masri |
1st Emir of Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad | |
In office 1999 – October 17, 2004 | |
Preceded by | Position created |
Succeeded by | Merger with al-Qaeda |
1st Emir of the Mujahideen Shura Council | |
In office January 15, 2006 – June 7, 2006 | |
Preceded by | Position created |
Succeeded by | Abu Ayyub al-Masri |
Personal details | |
Born | Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh أحمد فضيل النزال الخلايلة October 30, 1966 Zarqa, Jordan |
Died | June 7, 2006 Hibhib, Iraq | (aged 39)
Cause of death | Airstrike |
Nationality | Jordanian |
Children | 5 |
Military service | |
Years of service | 1989–2006 |
Rank | Commander |
Battles/wars | Soviet–Afghan War United States invasion of Afghanistan Iraq War |
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (Arabic: أبو مصعب الزرقاوي, ’Abū Muṣ‘ab az-Zarqāwī, Father of Musab, from Zarqa; English pronunciation (help·info); October 30, 1966[1][2][3] – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh (أَحْمَدُ فَضِيلِ ٱلنَّزَالِ ٱلْخَلَايْلَةَ, ’Aḥmad Faḍīl an-Nazāl al-Ḫalāyla), was a Jordanian Islamist jihadist who ran a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. He first travelled to Afghanistan in the 1980s to join the Afghan mujahideen and take part in the Soviet–Afghan War against the Soviet troops and later became known after going to Iraq following the US invasion and being responsible for a series of bombings, beheadings, and attacks during the Iraq War, reportedly "turning an insurgency against US troops" in Iraq "into a Shia–Sunni civil war".[4] He was sometimes known by his supporters as the "Sheikh of the slaughterers".[5]