Islamic State of Iraq Ramping Up Propaganda Campaign Featuring Foreign Fighters

 

The re-birth of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and its spread across central Iraq has led it to increase its propaganda. One avenue it is taking is featuring foreign fighters that have died for it. While the vast majority of the organization is Iraqi a steady flow of other nationalities are now joining its ranks once again. Their most infamous use is for suicide bombings, but it appears that many are now serving as regular gunmen for ISIS. Case in point, on May 5 the Iraqi Security Forces clashed with a number of Islamic State fighters in northern Hillah in Babil, and claimed that it killed 12 of them including one Moroccan and one Libyan. There have been other similar reports in the Iraqi press. The point of highlighting these men is to portray ISIS as the vanguard of the jihadi movement. It is trying to argue that it must be the leading group in the world because so many foreigners are joining its cause. The following are pictures of foreigners that have died for it posted on the Internet by ISIS and its supporters, which were collected by researcher Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi.

Abu Shayma al-Magrebi, from the Maghreb region of northern Africa, who was killed in Salahaddin (via Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi)

Abu al-Qa’qa the Tunisian killed in suicide attack in Hit, Anbar (via Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi)

Ibrahim Al-Suhaim suicide bomber killed in attack upon army base in Fallujah (via Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi)

Malik al-Tashani from Libya who died as a suicide bomber (via Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi)

Abu Hajar the Libyan died as a suicide bomber in assassination attempt on Salahaddin governor (via Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi)

SOURCES

AIN, “12 ISIL killed in northern Hilla,” 5/5/14