Abu Maria al-Qahtani

Abu Maria al-Qahtani
Abu Maria al-Qahtani
أبو ماريا القحطاني
Personal details
Born	Maysar Ali Musa Abdullah al-Juburi; 1 June 1976; Mosul District, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq
Died	4 April 2024 (aged 47); Sarmada, Idlib Governorate, Syria
Manner of death	Assassination by suicide bombing
Alma mater	University of Mosul
Military career
Allegiance	Iraq (?–2003) Fedayeen Saddam; Iraq (2004) Federal Police; Al-Qaeda (2004–2017) ; Al-Qaeda in Iraq ; (2004–2006); Mujahideen Shura Council; (January 2006 – October 2006); Islamic State of Iraq (2006–2012); Al-Nusra Front (2012–2017); Tahrir al-Sham (2017–2023)
Years of service	2004–2023
Rank	Al-Nusra Front and Tahrir al-Sham commander
Battles/wars	Iraq Iraq War; Iraqi insurgency; Syria Syrian Civil War Inter-rebel conflict Deir ez-Zor clashes (2011–2014); Deir ez-Zor offensive; ; Daraa offensive (October 2014); Idlib offensive (2014); Idlib offensive (2015); 2017 Hama offensive; Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War Turkish military operation in Idlib Governorate; ; ; Lebanon Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Qalamoun offensive (May–June 2015); ;

Maysar Ali Musa Abdullah al-Juburi (Arabic: ميسر علي موسى عبد الله الجبوري; 1 June 1976 – 4 April 2024), also known as Abu Maria al-Qahtani (Arabic: أبو ماريا القحطاني), was an Iraqi Islamic militant who fought in the Iraqi insurgency and then the Syrian Civil War. He was a commander and Shura Council member in Jabhat al-Nusra.

Biography

Maysar Ali Musa Abdullah al-Juburi was born on 1 June 1976 in Al-Shura in the Mosul District of Nineveh Governorate, Iraq. Prior to the 2003 war, he was a student at the University of Mosul^[2] and a member of Fedayeen Saddam.^[1] After the fall of the Ba'athist government, he joined the Iraqi Police in Mosul but later left and was eventually arrested.^{[by whom?]} Following his release from prison in 2004, he joined the Al-Qaeda in Iraq organisation. While in Al-Qaeda in Iraq, he served as the head of the religious police.^[4]

Move to Syria

Al-Qahtani was sent to Syria with Abu Mohammad al-Julani in 2011 by ISI leadership on the orders of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and served on the Shura council of the newly formed Jabhat Al-Nusra organization which was the Syrian branch of the Islamic State of Iraq. While being a subordinate of ISI as it was the parent organization of Jabhat Al-Nusra he was a known vocal critic of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and made multiple attempts for the Al-Nusra Front to separate from ISI which caused a rift among members within Al-Nusra.^[3]^[5] While also advocating for a separation from ISI.^[6] While also advocating for a separation from not just ISI but Al-Qaeda as a whole he expressed dissatisfaction with fellow leadership in the Al-Nusra Front including Abu Mohammad al-Julani, it is also alleged he considered forming his own group.^[3] He was also known to be a supporter of Turkish operations in Syria even though the official stance of Tahrir al-Sham is against the intervention and he allegedly assassinated rival leaders in Tahrir al-Sham in an effort to support the Turkish operation.^[7]

Al-Qahtani was involved in infighting between factions^[2] as well as internal disputes in Al-Nusra itself, which caused him to later be dismissed from his position as general Sharia official in 2014 however he was still very influential and close to the leadership of Tahrir al-Sham.^[8]

In 2016, he was allegedly involved in the formation of Ahrar al-Sharqiya, which is a group composed of individuals exiled from the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, many of which were formerly fighters from Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra, the group took part in the Turkish military operation in Afrin.^[9] His involvement and affiliation with Ahrar al-Sharqiya is unknown and has been doubted by many observers and analysts. However, a commander in Ahrar al-Sharqiya, Abu Ishaq al-Ahwazi, praised Qahtani in a 2016 interview.^[10]^[11]

Al-Qahtani was jailed in August 2023 for alleged misuse of social media. He was released in March 2024.^[12]