View source for Abdul Rahman Ghaleb

{{Short description|Pakistani Islamic militant and head of ISIS–K}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| office              = 3rd [[Wali (administrative title)|Wali]] of [[ISIS-K|ISIS – Khorasan Province]]
| native_name         = عبدالرحمان غالب
| native_name_lang    = ps
| predecessor         = [[Abdul Haseeb Logari]]
| successor           = Abu Saad Erhabi
| term_start          = 27 April 2017
| term_end            = 11 July 2017
| birth_place         = [[Bajaur Agency]]
| death_place         = [[Watapur District]], [[Kunar Province|Kunar]]
| allegiance          = [[File:Tnsm-flag.svg|25px]] [[Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi ]] <small>(1992-2007)</small> <br> [[File:Flag of Tehrik-i-Taliban.svg|25px]] [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]] <small>(2007-2014)</small> <br> {{flagicon image|Flag of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.svg}} [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province|ISIS – Khorasan Province]] <small>(2014-2017)</small>
| battles             = {{tree list}}
*[[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]]
{{tree list/end}}
}}
{{moresources|date=February 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=February 2020}}
'''Abdul Rahman Ghaleb''' (1980s – July 2017), known as '''Abu Sayed Bajauri''' or simply '''Abu Sayed''', was a [[Pakistani]] Islamic militant who led the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province|Islamic State – Khorasan Province]] (ISIS–K). Abu Sayed should not be confused with the similarly-named ISIS–K leader who succeeded him, Abu Saad Erhabi.
==Islamic militancy==
Abdul Rahman Ghaleb was born in the 1980s in [[Bajaur Agency]], part of the [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas]] of [[Pakistan]]. In the 1990s, Ghaleb joined [[Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi]] (TNSM) and later fought alongside the [[Taliban|Afghan Taliban]] in [[Afghanistan]]. After the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, Ghaleb returned to Bajaur for Islamic studies and was promoted to be a [[qadi]] for TSNM. He was close to Mawlawi Faqir Mohammed, a TNSM leader, and joined the [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]] alongside him in 2007.
By 2011, Abdul Rahman served as the deputy to the TTP leader in Bajaur. He was falsely reported dead after a 2012 airstrike killed the TTP chief in Bajaur, Jamal Syed (better known as 'Dadullah').<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/426391/ttp-confirms-death-of-its-bajaur-chief/ |title=TTP confirms death of its Bajaur chief |first=Mureeb |last=Mohmand |date=26 August 2012 |access-date=3 July 2019 |newspaper=[[The Express Tribune]]}}</ref>
=== Islamic State ===
Dadullah was replaced by Abu Bakr as chief of Bajaur under the TTP, and when Abu Bakr joined [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province|ISIS–K]] in February 2014, Ghaleb followed. In late August 2016, Ghaleb was the emir for [[Nangarhar province|Nangarhar Province]] and reported to be a deputy of then-ISIS–K Wali [[Abdul Haseeb Logari]]. Ghaleb was a driving force behind the expansion of ISIS–K operations to [[Kunar province|Kunar Province]].
In April 2017, Ghaleb was interviewed by ISIS–K's Khilafat Ghag (lit. ''<nowiki/>'Voice of Khorasan''') Radio and stated that jihad will continue "until conquering the [[United States]], [[Sweden]], and [[Germany]], and converting its citizens to [[tawhid]]".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/another-iskp-leader-dead-where-is-the-group-headed-after-losing-so-many-amirs/ |title=Another ISKP leader "dead": Where is the group headed after losing so many amirs? |first=Borhan |last=Osman |date=23 July 2017 |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=[[Afghanistan Analysts Network]]}}</ref>
Serving only 2 months and 75 days before his killing in July 2017, Ghaleb has held the shortest tenure of ISIS–K walis. During his short tenure, Ghaleb oversaw few attacks by the group, all with relatively low casualty rates.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Terrorist attacks linked to ISIS–K under Abdul Rahman Ghaleb
!Country
!Date
!Location
!Description
!Dead
!Injured
|-
|{{flag|Afghanistan|2013}}
|3 May 2017
|[[Kabul]]
|A suicide car bomber detonated next to a convoy of [[NATO]] vehicles near the U.S. embassy in Kabul.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-06-18 |title=ISIS attack injures 3 US service members, kills 8 civilians in Kabul – ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-attack-injures-us-service-members-kills-civilians/story?id=47177635 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170618020442/https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-attack-injures-us-service-members-kills-civilians/story?id=47177635 |archive-date=18 June 2017 |access-date=2022-04-10 |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}}</ref>
|8 (+1)
|28
|-
|{{flag|Afghanistan|2013}}
|17 May 2017
|[[Jalalabad]], [[Nangarhar Province|Nangarhar]]
|Four civilians and two police officers were killed when ISIS-K militants stormed a TV station in Jalalabad. Two militants blew themselves up and the other two have taken hostages. They were later killed by the police.<ref>{{Cite news |last=hermesauto |date=17 May 2017 |title=ISIS assault on Afghan national TV and radio broadcaster leaves 6 dead, 17 injured |language=en |work=The Straits Times |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/heavy-fighting-erupts-as-gunmen-stage-attack-on-afghan-state-television-broadcaster |url-status=live |access-date=30 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430224610/https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/heavy-fighting-erupts-as-gunmen-stage-attack-on-afghan-state-television-broadcaster |archive-date=30 April 2018}}</ref>
|6 (+4)
|17
|-
|{{flag|Afghanistan|2013}}
|1 June 2017
|[[Jalalabad]], [[Nangarhar Province|Nangarhar]]
|A car bomb went off outside the airport in Jalalabad.<ref>{{Cite news |title=One Killed in Afghan Car Bombing Near Airport in Jalalabad |work=News18 |url=https://www.news18.com/news/world/one-killed-in-afghan-car-bombing-near-airport-in-jalalabad-1419035.html |url-status=live |access-date=30 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501004616/https://www.news18.com/news/world/one-killed-in-afghan-car-bombing-near-airport-in-jalalabad-1419035.html |archive-date=1 May 2018}}</ref>
|1
|5
|-
|{{flag|Afghanistan|2013}}
|30 June 2017
|[[Achin District|Achin]], [[Nangarhar Province|Nangarhar]]
|Seven civilians were killed and five others wounded when a bomb planted by ISIS-K militants blew up in the Achin district of Nangarhar province.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zarifi |first=Yousuf |date=July 2017 |title='Daesh bomb' kills 7 civilians in Nangarhar |website=pajhwok.com |url=https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2017/07/01/%E2%80%98daesh-bomb%E2%80%99-kills-7-civilians-nangarhar |url-status=live |access-date=30 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501004642/https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2017/07/01/%E2%80%98daesh-bomb%E2%80%99-kills-7-civilians-nangarhar |archive-date=1 May 2018}}</ref>
|7
|5
|}
== Death ==
Abdul Rahman Ghaleb was killed in a US strike on ISIS–K's headquarters in the [[Watapur District]] of [[Kunar Province]] on 11 July 2017 along with other key members of the group. In a statement to reporters, then-[[United States Secretary of Defense|US Secretary of Defense]] [[Jim Mattis]] explained "The significance is you kill a leader of one of these groups and it sets them back... it is obviously a victory on our side in terms of setting them back, it is the right direction." Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White remarked that Ghaleb's killing "will significantly disrupt the terror group's plans to expand its presence."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-islamic-state/head-of-islamic-state-in-afghanistan-killed-pentagon-idUSKBN19Z26G |title=Head of Islamic State in Afghanistan killed: Pentagon |date=14 July 2017 |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=[[Reuters]] |first=Idrees |last=Ali |editor-first=G |editor-last=Crosse |publisher=The [[Thomson Reuters]] Trust Principles}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=28 August 2018 |title=IntelBrief: The Cycle of Killing the ISIS leader in Afghanistan |work=[[The Soufan Center]] |url=https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-the-cycle-of-killing-the-isis-leader-in-afghanistan/}}</ref> [[John W. Nicholson Jr.|General John Nicholson]], commander of U.S. Forces – Afghanistan remarked "This operation is another success in our campaign to defeat ISIS–K in Afghanistan in 2017... Abu Sayed is the third ISIS–K emir we have killed in the last year and we will continue until they are annihilated. There is no safe haven for ISIS–K in Afghanistan."<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 July 2017 |title=GENERAL NICHOLSON STATEMENT ON THE KILLING OF THE THIRD ISIS-K EMIR BY U.S. AND AFGHAN FORCES IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS |url=https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PRESS-RELEASES/Press-Release-View/Article/1248227/general-nicholson-statement-on-the-killing-of-the-third-isis-k-emir-by-us-and-a/ |website=[[United States Central Command]]}}</ref>
Ghaleb's successor, Abu Saad Erhabi, was chosen quickly after and would serve until his killing in August 2018 in a combined raid by forces of the United States military and Afghan [[National Directorate of Security]] (NDS).<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 August 2018 |title=Head of Islamic State in Afghanistan killed, government says |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-attack/head-of-islamic-state-in-afghanistan-killed-says-government-idUSKCN1LB0BD/}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Islamic State – Khorasan Province|Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISIS–K)]]
* [[History of the Islamic State – Khorasan Province|History of ISIS–K]]
* [[List of terrorist incidents linked to Islamic State – Khorasan Province|List of terrorist incidents linked to ISIS–K]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members]]
[[Category:Leaders of Islamic terror groups]]
[[Category:People from Bajaur District]]
[[Category:Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]]
[[Category:Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan members]]
[[Category:Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Pakistan]]
[[Category:Pakistani Islamists]]
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:2017 deaths]]
[[Category:Assassinated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members]]
[[Category:Salafi jihadists]]
[[Category:21st-century Pakistani politicians]]