Career
His names were also spelt Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali, and Hajji Mutazz. An ethnic Turkmen born in Tel Afar, Nineveh Province, al-Hiyali was an Iraqi Army Colonel under Saddam Hussein. According to documents discovered in Iraq, al-Hiyali was a lieutenant colonel in the Iraqi military's intelligence unit Istikhbarat (Directorate of General Military Intelligence), who also spent time as a Special Forces officer in the Special Republican Guard right up until the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq.
He oversaw ISIL designated governors in various cities and regions of Iraq, including identified shadow governors in areas that ISIL does not control, but has aspirations over. "I describe Baghdadi as a shepherd, and his deputies are the dogs who herd the sheep (ISIS members), the strength of the shepherd comes from his dogs." said Hisham al-Hashimi, a security analyst who had access to documents discovered which provided details on al-Hiyali. In a June 2015, New York Times article, al-Turkmani was said to have been the head of ISIL’s military council.
He reportedly led the council of six to nine military commanders who directed the terrorist group’s military strategy, according to Laith Alkhouri, a senior analyst at Flashpoint Global Partners. He was killed by a US-led drone strike near Mosul in Iraq on 18 August 2015. His death was confirmed by ISIL official spokesman and senior leader Abu Mohammad al-Adnani in an audio recording posted on jihadist websites in October 2015.
There had previously been erroneous report of him having died on 7 November 2014. This was believed to have been due to a case of mistaken identity. Major media outlets had reported that al-Turkmani was killed in an early November or early December 2014 airstrike.
Twitter accounts connected to ISIL were publicly mourning the death of Mr. Turkmani, who had effectively governed ISIL territory in Iraq." The terrorist group did not confirm his death at that time.
