Abu Azrael
| |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Ayoub Falih Hasan Al-Rubayie |
| Nickname(s) | Abu Azrael Angel of Death[1] Rambo |
| Born | (1978-04-26) April 26, 1978 (age 46) Sadr City, Ba'athist Iraq |
| 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 ISIS (ISIL) in Iraq. He has become a public icon among Shia's 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 ISIS The militants,[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 against ISIL.[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]
|
| |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
InIraq | |||||||
| People |
| ||||||
| Factions |
| ||||||
| Other personals |
| ||||||
| Media |
| ||||||
| Military activities |
| ||||||
| Related |
| ||||||
