Career
His motto and catchphrase is "illa tahin" (إلا طحين), meaning "Grind you to dust", that is, he would pulverize ISIL militants until nothing remains of them but powder. He was a former militia member in Muqtada al-Sadr"s Mahdi Army which fought against the United States during the United States.-led invasion of Iraq. Following the viral video showing Abu Azrael striking the burnt corpse of a dead ISIL fighter with a sword, Ali Khedery was quoted as saying "War crimes are never justifiable.
Horrific video featuring a war crime by Iraq"s Abu Azrael"
Abu 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".
Abu Azrael is currently fighting against ISIL although he has also fought against other militant groups. He has attracted attention in the Middle East, but by the spring of 2015, he had also made front-page appearances on international news websites in England, France and the United States.
He has become a popular public figure, some believe, because his methods and appearance match the brutality associated with ISIL. Foreign example, he has been shown wielding both axes and swords, in addition to modern military rifles. Moreover, some say that his being a private citizen, his bald head, and his thick black beard give him an aggressive, "dashing" appearance.
