Militant Leadership Monitor – February 2015 Issue
The February 2015 issue begins with a brief on the three commanders of the the Free Syrian Army’s al-Jaysh al-Awal by Nicholas Heras. Saber Safer, Abd al-Latif al-Hawrami and Abu Hamza al-Nu’iymi lead roughly 10,000 fighters in the Dara’a and al-Quneitra governorates. This is followed with a glimpse of three militants from Tajikistan who fought with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria by Edward Lemon. Murad Batal al-Shishani then covers Shakir Wahib, a prominent Islamic State militant leader in Iraq’s Anbar Province. The inspiration behind the Charlie Hebdo attacks, Djamel Beghal, is then analyzed by James Brandon. Finally, Animesh Roul profiles Hafiz Saeed Khan, the leader of the Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan.