Khaled Sharrouf

Last updated

Khaled Sharrouf
Born23 February 1981
Auburn, New South Wales, Australia
Disappeared2015
StatusPresumed dead by drone strike or by airstrike
DiedPresumed 2015 or 2017
Syria
Citizenship Syria
Australia (1981-2017)
Known for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant member, 2012 Sydney protests
Movement Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Spouse Tara Nettleton (deceased)
Children5

Khaled Sharrouf (born 23 February 1981) was an Australian Jihadist who in 2013 travelled to Syrian territory to fight in the Syrian Civil War on the side of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Islamic State). Born in Sydney, Australia, in 2017 he was the first Australian dual-national to have his Australian citizenship revoked under anti-terror legislation passed in 2015. In 2014, he posted an image to the Internet showing his seven-year-old son holding the severed head of a Syrian soldier, an act that was widely condemned.

Contents

He was reportedly killed in June 2015, and again in August 2017, but his death has remained unverified. [1] [2]

Early life

Growing up in the 1980s, Sharrouf had a dysfunctional childhood, reportedly living a troubled youth filled with crime and mental illness. He was abandoned by his father for a period. During his teens, he both used and dealt drugs. He did not grow up as a practising Muslim. Jamal Rifi, a local GP, said that Sharrouf was initially diagnosed as having depression, but later believed that it was schizophrenia. [3]

Imam Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly described Sharrouf "as an empty vase, which could be filled with anything, and it was filled with rubbish ideology." [3]

In 2005, Sharrouf was arrested at his home in Wiley Park along with eight others during an Australian anti-terror investigation code-named Operation Pendennis. He was imprisoned for four years and released on parole in 2009 after a judge and psychiatrist "cautiously believed" that he would "abandon his radical beliefs." [4] [5] [6] [7] After his release from prison, Sharrouf was employed for some time by George Alex; Alex was later convicted of money laundering and tax evasion during this period. [8]

Sharrouf was involved in planning the 2012 Sydney protests regarding the film Innocence of Muslims . [9]

In Syria

Sharrouf travelled from Sydney Airport to ISIL-controlled territory on 6 December 2013 using his brother's passport. [10] He later joined the group in 2014. [11] His activities received wide coverage in Australia in August 2014 after he posted a photo of his son holding a severed head. The incident was condemned by Australian leaders and by the public. [12] [13] The incident raised concerns about Australian Muslims being recruited for terrorist activity abroad, and the possibility that the recruits would return to Australia and conduct attacks. [14]

Sharrouf was reported to have been killed on 19 June 2015 by a drone strike. [15] His death was not confirmed, and later reports suggested that he was still alive. [16] The Australian government was unable to confirm his death. [17]

With Mohamed Elomar, Sharrouf posted photographs of severed heads or dead and mutilated bodies. [18]

In February 2017, he was the first person to have his Australian citizenship revoked under new anti-terror laws passed in 2015. [5] [19] [18]

On 11 August 2017, he was reported to have been killed by a coalition airstrike while driving near Raqqa, Syria, along with two of his sons. [2] [20] When questioned, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton said that Sharrouf's death would be nothing to mourn. [18]

Personal life

Sharrouf was married to Tara Nettleton, an Australian woman. In 2014 she brought to the Islamic State their five children: Zaynab, Hoda, Abdullah, Zarqawi and Hamzah. [21] [22] In 2015, it was reported that Nettleton wanted to return with her five children to Australia. [23] According to a family friend, Nettleton died in 2015, which her mother, Karen Nettleton, learned about January 2016. Nettleton is believed to have died in Syria following complications from appendix surgery. [24] [25]

The two oldest boys, Abdullah and Zarqawi, began attending IS training camps. [26] They reportedly died with their father in the 2017 Raqqa airstrike. [27] Sharrouf's eldest daughter Zaynab was married to an ISIL jihadist at 13 years old and gave birth to a child at 14 years old. [21] The father was Mohamed Elomar, an Australian ISIS fighter and friend of her father. After Elomar was killed in an airstrike around 2015, Zaynab remarried another friend of her father and had another child. After the children were orphaned, they fled Zaynab's husband in Baghouz in March 2019. In April 2019, the Sharrouf children were reunited with their Australian grandmother in a camp in Syria, expressing the urge to return to Australia. The Australian prime minister Scott Morrison at the time said such an extraction was too dangerous, while the Australian Opposition Leader Bill Shorten called for the children to be allowed home. [28]

On 24 June 2019, it was reported that eight Australian children had been evacuated from a Syrian refugee camp, including three orphaned children of Khaled Sharrouf. The Australian government evacuated the children secretly while working with aid groups. [27] The eldest child had two children of her own, also evacuated. [27] Zaynab Sharrouf was also heavily pregnant at the time of the rescue, which took place on 23 June at 16:30 Australian Eastern Standard Time in Northern Syria. It was the "first organised return of Australians from the conflict zone." At the time, The Australian said that around 70 Australians were in refugee camps or detention centers in northern Syria. [29] Around 50 were women and children, many "sick and injured." [30] [31] [32] Officials said they would be psychologically analyzed before being brought to Australia and repatriated. [33] As of 2024, his fate and whereabouts remain unknown.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State</span> Salafi jihadist militant Islamist group

The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and by their Arabic acronym Daesh, are a transnational Salafi jihadist group. Their origins were in the Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah organization founded by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi in 2004. The organization affiliated itself with Al-Qaeda, so IS was originally a branch of Al-Qaeda and fought alongside them during the Iraqi insurgency. IS eventually split, and gained global prominence in 2014, when their militants successfully captured large territories in northwestern Iraq and eastern Syria, taking advantage of the ongoing Syrian civil war. Notorious for their perpetration of war crimes and extensive human rights violations, IS have engaged in the persecution of Christians, Mandaeans, Shia Muslims, and Sufi Sunnis, and published videos of beheadings and executions of journalists and aid workers. By the end of 2015, they ruled an area with an estimated population of 12 million people, where they enforced their extremist interpretation of Islamic law, managed an annual budget exceeding US$1 billion, and commanded more than 30,000 fighters.

Terrorism in Australia deals with terrorist acts in Australia as well as steps taken by the Australian government to counter the threat of terrorism. In 2004 the Australian government has identified transnational terrorism as also a threat to Australia and to Australian citizens overseas. Australia has experienced acts of modern terrorism since the 1960s, while the federal parliament, since the 1970s, has enacted legislation seeking to target terrorism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war and War in Iraq</span>

Foreign fighters have fought on all four sides of the Syrian Civil War, as well both sides of the War in Iraq. In addition to Sunni foreign fighters, Shia fighters from several countries have joined pro-government militias in Syria, leftist militants have joined Kurdish forces, and other foreign fighters have joined jihadist organizations and private military contractors recruit globally. Estimates of the total number of foreign Sunnis who have fought for the Syrian rebels over the course of the conflict range from 5,000 to over 10,000, while foreign Shia fighters numbered around 10,000 or less in 2013 rising to between 15,000 and 25,000 in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinjar massacre</span> Mass genocide and kidnapping carried out by ISIS

The Sinjar massacre marked the beginning of the genocide of Yazidis by ISIL, the killing and abduction of thousands of Yazidi men, women and children. It took place in August 2014 in Sinjar city and Sinjar District in Iraq's Nineveh Governorate and was perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The massacre began with ISIL attacking and capturing Sinjar and neighboring towns on 3 August, during its Northern Iraq offensive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War against the Islamic State</span> Military actions against the Islamic State

Many states began to intervene against the Islamic State, in both the Syrian Civil War and the War in Iraq (2013–2017), in response to its rapid territorial gains from its 2014 Northern Iraq offensives, universally condemned executions, human rights abuses and the fear of further spillovers of the Syrian Civil War. These efforts are called the war against the Islamic State, or the war against ISIS. In later years, there were also minor interventions by some states against IS-affiliated groups in Nigeria and Libya. All these efforts significantly degraded the Islamic State's capabilities by around 2019–2020. While moderate fighting continues in Syria, as of 2024, ISIS has been contained to a manageably small area and force capability.

The 2014 rescue mission in Syria was an American led effort to locate and rescue hostages being held by Islamic State (IS) forces. Plans to rescue the hostages were accelerated after the execution of journalist James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and Kayla Mueller by IS militants. A total of 14 hostages were held hostage by the IS at an undisclosed location. Though no soldiers were killed, the mission failed to locate and rescue the hostages.

Al-Hayat Media Center is a media wing of the Islamic State. It was established in mid-2014 and targets international (non-Arabic) audiences as opposed to their other Arabic-focused media wings and produces material, mostly Nasheeds, in English, German, Russian, Urdu, Indonesian, Turkish, Bengali, Chinese, Bosnian, Kurdish, Uyghur, and French.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Inherent Resolve</span> Military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the United States military's operational name for the international war against the Islamic State, including both a campaign in Iraq and a campaign in Syria, with a closely related campaign in Libya. Through 18 September 2018, the U.S. Army's III Armored Corps was responsible for Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF—OIR) and were replaced by the XVIII Airborne Corps. The campaign is primarily waged by American and British forces in support of local allies, most prominently the Iraqi security forces and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Combat ground troops, mostly special forces, infantry, and artillery have also been deployed, especially in Iraq. Of the airstrikes, 70% have been conducted by the military of the United States, 20% by the United Kingdom and the remaining 10% being carried out by France, Turkey, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Jordan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordanian intervention in the Syrian civil war</span> Ongoing military conflict between Jordan and the Islamic State

The Jordanian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War began on 22 September 2014, with airstrikes on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets, and escalated after the murder of Muath al-Kasasbeh, a Jordanian pilot who was captured by ISIL when his F-16 Fighter Jet crashed over Syria in early 2015. Though Jordan's strikes in Syria largely tapered off after December 2015, airstrikes have continued through February 2017, and Jordan has continued to support rebel groups in Syria and host military activities of other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the War in Iraq (2014)</span>

The Timeline of the War in Iraq covers the War in Iraq, a war which erupted that lasted in Iraq from 2013 to 2017, during the first year of armed conflict.

Tareq Kamleh is an Australian citizen who fled to Syria as a medical doctor to join the Islamic terrorist organisation ISIS, where he performed pediatric work in Raqqa, Syria, in the Islamic State Health Service. On 29 April 2015 Kamleh was brought to Australian Government and media attention for a propaganda video he posted from Raqqa. The recruitment video was titled “health services in the Islamic state”, and includes Kamleh, among other medical professionals, urging fellow Muslim ‘brothers and sisters’ to join the Islamic State. Kamleh is currently wanted by the Australian Federal Police in connection to crimes carried out in Raqqa. Tareq Kamleh's whereabouts are currently unknown, although it is presumed he is dead.

In early 2014, the jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant captured extensive territory in Western Iraq in the Anbar campaign, while counter-offensives against it were mounted in Syria. Raqqa in Syria became its headquarters. The Wall Street Journal estimated that eight million people lived under its control in the two countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yazidi genocide</span> 2014 ethnic cleansing and genocide campaign by the Islamic State in Sinjar, northern Iraq

The Yazidi genocide was perpetrated by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017. It was characterized by massacres, genocidal rape, and forced conversions to Islam. The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking people who are indigenous to Kurdistan who practice Yazidism, an Iranian religion derived from the Indo-Iranian tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liwa Zainebiyoun</span> Pakistani Shia militia

The Followers of Zainab Brigade, also known as the Zainebiyoun Brigade or Zainebiyoun Division, is a Pakistani Shia Khomeinist militant group actively engaged in the Syrian Civil War. It draws recruits mainly from Shia Pakistanis living in Iran, with some also Shia Muslim communities living in various regions of Pakistan.

Collaboration with the Islamic State refers to the cooperation and assistance given by governments, non-state actors, and private individuals to the Islamic State (IS) during the Syrian Civil War, Iraqi Civil War, and Libyan Civil War.

Mostafa Mahamed, known as Sheikh Abu Sulayman al-Muhajir is an Egyptian-born Australian Muslim who is a senior member of al-Qaeda's Al Nusra Front. He is from Sydney's southern suburbs now living in Syria. He is believed to be the highest ranking Australian member of al-Qaeda.

Zehra Duman is an Australian-born Turkish woman who travelled to Daesh territory where she married a jihadi fighter. Born in Melbourne, Duman is reported to have been a friend of Tara Nettleton and Khaled Sharrouf, who travelled from Australia to Daesh territory, with their five children, in 2014. Duman's online recruiting activities have been the subject of scholarly attention.

Mariam Dabboussy is an Australian woman who lived in Daesh controlled Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war</span>

Foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war have come to Syria and joined all four sides in the war. In addition to Sunni foreign fighters arriving to defend the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or join the Syrian rebels, Shia fighters from several countries have joined pro-government militias in Syria, and leftists have become foreign fighters in the Syrian Democratic Forces.

References

  1. ↑ Rachel Olding, David Wroe, Michael Koziol (16 August 2017). "Islamic State fighter Khaled Sharrouf and sons believed killed in Syria". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 22 February 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 Anna Patty (21 March 2016). "Khaled Sharrouf's daughter, Zaynab Sharrouf, tells of 'normal' life in Syria". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  3. 1 2 "The life and crimes of Australian jihadist Khaled Sharrouf". Radio National. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  4. ↑ Olding, Rachel (24 August 2014). "Terrifying legacy emerges from success of Operation Pendennis". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  5. 1 2 Maley, Paul (11 February 2016). "Khaled Sharrouf stripped of citizenship under anti-terror laws" . The Australian . Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "Khaled Sharrouf". Counter Extremism Project.
  7. ↑ "The Sydney suspects". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 November 2005.
  8. ↑ "'I love a cunning plan': How crime boss cut CFMEU-endorsed and tax-dodging deals". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 September 2024.
  9. ↑ "How the Hyde Park riot fired up two Australian Muslim terrorists, Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). 1 October 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  10. ↑ "Islamic State: Khaled Sharrouf passed airport checks, evaded authorities in less than two minutes". ABC News. 16 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "Australian National Security – Islamic State". Australian Government. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "Khaled Sharrouf's sister describes his actions fighting with IS as 'abhorrent'". smh.com.au. 2 October 2014.
  13. ↑ Maley, Paul (12 August 2014). "Jihad's 'child soldiers' spark calls for action on extremists". The Australian. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  14. ↑ Brendan Nicholson (17 July 2014). "Returned radicalised jihadis 'a significant risk', says ASIO". The Australian. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  15. ↑ Welch, Dylan (24 June 2015). "Khaled Sharrouf may have been targeted in drone strike months before his death, barrister says". ABC. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "Terrorist Khaled Sharrouf still alive after drone attack that killed Mohamed Elomar". news.com.au. News Limited. 28 June 2015. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  17. ↑ Ferrier, Tracey (30 April 2017). "Who is Khaled Sharrouf and is he alive?". NewsComAu. Australian Associated Press. Archived from the original on 3 May 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  18. 1 2 3 Benson, Simon; Maley, Paul; Bearup, Greg (additional reporting) (17 August 2017). "Aussie intel pinpointed Sharrouf for US strike" . The Australian (www.theaustralian.com.au). News Corp. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  19. ↑ Williams, Jacqueline (13 February 2017). "ISIS Fighter's Australian Citizenship Is Revoked Under Antiterror Laws". New York Times.
  20. ↑ Welch, Dylan; Dredge, Suzanne (16 August 2017). "Australian terrorist Khaled Sharrouf believed to have been killed in air strike". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  21. 1 2 Erin Marie Saltman; Melanie Smith (2015). 'Till Martyrdom Do Us Part' Gender and the ISIS Phenomenon (PDF). Institute for Strategic Dialogue. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  22. ↑ "Khaled Sharrouf, Australian Isis terrorist, killed in Syria – reports". The Guardian. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  23. ↑ McKenzie, Nick (27 May 2015), IS fighter Khaled Sharrouf's wife and children seek return to Australia, SMH
  24. ↑ "Tara Nettleton, widow of Australian Islamic State terrorist, dies in Syria". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  25. ↑ "Tara Nettleton, widow of Isis fighter Khaled Sharrouf, dies in Syria – reports". The Guardian. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  26. ↑ Welch, Dylan (24 June 2019), Sharrouf children among Australian orphans freed from Syrian warzone in secret rescue mission, United States: ABC, retrieved 24 June 2019
  27. 1 2 3 Australian children of IS militants rescued from Syria camp, United Kingdom: BBC, 23 June 2019, retrieved 24 June 2019
  28. ↑ Bourke, Latika (15 April 2019), 'When the hell are we getting back home': Khaled Sharrouf's children speak, Sydney, Australia: SMH, retrieved 24 June 2019
  29. ↑ Maley, Paul (24 June 2019), Terrorists' Aussie kids rescued from Syrian camp, Australia: The Australian, retrieved 24 June 2019
  30. ↑ Noyes, Jenny (24 June 2019), Sharrouf children to return to Australia after rescue from Syrian refugee camp, Sydney, Australia: The Sydney Morning Herald, archived from the original on 24 June 2019, retrieved 24 June 2019
  31. ↑ Hollingsworth, Julia (24 June 2019), Australian children of ISIS fighters rescued from Syria, United States: CNN, retrieved 24 June 2019
  32. ↑ Australia rescues children of dead IS fighters from Syria, Reuters: New Straits Times, 24 June 2019, retrieved 24 June 2019
  33. ↑ Australia rescues children of dead Islamic State fighters from Syria, CNA, 24 June 2019, archived from the original on 25 June 2019, retrieved 24 June 2019
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.