A prominent leading figure in ISIS is hiding in a Turkish-controlled area in northern Syria:
He was the wali of Syria, Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Hamawi (Al-Saqa), during ISIS time.
Al-Saqa pledged allegiance to Jabhat al-Nusra at the very beginning of its establishment.
He was appointed as the emir of one of the guest houses in Hama countryside, and remained in his position until the dispute btwn al-Qaeda and ISIS. Then he went to Deir Ezzor to buy weapons for al-Nusra, where he met Abu Ali al-Anbari and secretly pledged allegiance to ISIS.
He returned to Hama, tried to seize the headquarters of Jabhat al-Nusra for ISIS benefit. He officially pledged allegiance to ISIS and was appointed as a security official of Hama, then as a governor. After ISIS withdrew from Hama, he headed to the governorate of Raqqa.
There he was appointed deputy emir of the Prisoners’ Commission. After the fall of Raqqa, he went to Deir ez-Zor and settled in Hajin town, where he stayed with many of ISIS fighters.
After the fall of Hajin, he entered the Euphrates Shield areas and was appointed Emir…of Aleppo as Abu Abdullah Al-Shamali. After the killing of Al-Sham wali Haj Hamid, he was appointed as the governor of Syria (Al-Sham).
Al-Saqa is considered one of the most important leadership figures of ISIS today.
