Abu Azrael | |
---|---|
Birth name | Ayoub Falih Hasan Al-Rubayie |
Nickname(s) | Abu Azrael Angel of Death [1] Rambo |
Born | Sadr City, Ba'athist Iraq | April 26, 1978
Allegiance | Iraq |
Service/ | Popular Mobilization Forces |
Unit | Kataib al-Imam Ali |
Battles/wars | Iraqi insurgency (2003-2011) |
Ayoub Falih Hasan Al-Rubayie ( Arabic: أيوب فالح حسن الربيعي; born 1978), known by his nom de guerre Abu Azrael, is an Iraqi commander in the Kataib al-Imam Ali, an Iraqi Shi'a militia group of the Popular Mobilization Forces that fought the Islamic State in Iraq. He has become a public icon among Shi'a Iraqis, gaining a large following on social media. His motto and catchphrase is "Ella Tahin", literally meaning "until/into dust," interpreted to mean "grind you to dust."[ citation needed]
Abu Azrael was a member of Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, which fought against the U.S.-led Coalition forces during the Iraqi insurgency. [3]
Abu Azrael is a Shi'a Muslim who is a former university lecturer and a one-time Taekwondo champion. [4] According to an Iranian source, [5] reports from March 2015 claimed that Azrael is a father of five, and lives an "ordinary life" when not on the battlefield. [6]
Following incidents where he was filmed desecrating the corpses of IS fighters, [7] Azrael stated that he had been told by a senior imam in Najaf that he should pray for penance and "never do such a thing again." [8]
In October 2019, he was severely beaten unconscious by protesting Iraqis in Baghdad's Tahrir Square. [9]
In 2020, he was infected with COVID-19 and suffered lung damage. [10]
Abu Azrael fought against ISIS, although he has also fought against other[ which?] militant groups. By the spring of 2015, he had made front-page appearances on international news websites in England, France and the United States. [11]
He has received a medal of honor from the Representative of the Supreme Religious Authority Sayyid Ahmad al-Safi. [12]
In 2016, he was spotted on the battlefield in the Battle of Mosul. [13]
During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Abu Azrael claimed to have been near the Israel-Lebanon border, waiting for "any opportunity" to enter Israel. [14]