Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti

Early career under IS Generally, relatively little is known about Abu Jandal. His birth name has been reported as either "Abdul Mohsen al-Zaghilani al-Taresh" His most important task was protecting IS's supply routes to the northern frontlines and al-Bab in the west. Abu Jandal consequently became crucially involved in the battle for the strategic significant village of Jabar. IS troops who were probably under his command achieved a minor success during this battle when they surrounded and destroyed a SDF detachment in the village on 21 December, forcing the international SDF volunteer Ryan Lock to kill himself in order to not be captured. Nevertheless, Jabar finally fell to the SDF on 26 December, whereupon Abu Jandal personally organized and led a large-scale counter-attack. In course of this assault, a US airstrike hit his convoy near the village, killing him and his bodyguards; the counter-attack subsequently failed. Abu Jandal was in his thirties when he died. == Legacy ==

According to CJTF–OIR, Abu Jandal's death was a heavy blow to IS, degrading "ISIL's ability to defend Raqqa and launch external operations against the West." On March 25, 2017, Hussein Al-Dhufairi and Rahaf Zina were arrested by security forces in Manila, Philippines. Soon after, Kuwaiti security officials executed two raids in Kuwait, arresting three additional family members of Abu Jandal, and seven other suspects. Kuwaiti officials said they found bomb-making equipment during the raids. == References ==