DECEASED
- Full name: Houssein Elouassaki
- Pseudonym: Abu Falluja
- Alternatives: Houssein el-Ouassaki, Houssain el-Wasaki
- Location: Syria, Belgium
- Affiliation: Support Front for the People of the Levant [JaNS], fmr Holy Warriors Consultative Council [MSM], fmr Shari’a for Belgium Movement [Sh4B]
Houssein el-Ouassaki (°ca 1991) was a senior jihadi operative from the Belgian town of Vilvoorde. He played a key role in establishing contacts between Belgian Islamists and jihadi forces active in Syria. Ouassaki joined the Shari’a for Belgium Movement [Sh4B] in the early 2010s. He attracted followers and became the de-facto leader of Sh4B’s branch in Vilvoorde.1 Ouassaki participated in the June 2012 Islamist riots in the Brussels’ suburb of Molenbeek during which he was arrested for assaulting policemen.2 In July 2012, a court sentenced him to community service for the incident.3
In September 2012, Ouassaki traveled to Syria and joined Amr al-Absi’s Holy Warriors’ Consultative Council [MSM; Majlis Shura al-Mujahideen] in the Haleb governorate.4 The Belgian jihadi soon became a trusted confidant of al-Absi.5 From Syria, he recruited dozens of jihadis from Belgium into the MSM’s ranks.6 Ouassaki was appointed to head the group’s foreign fighters branch and eventually commanded approximately 100 fighters.7 In that capacity, he was personally involved in the kidnappings of journalists and local Syrians.8 Ouassaki is also believed to have personally beheaded captives.9 He and his fighters furthermore raped women before killing them.10
Following the merger of the MSM into the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [DaIISh; Dawlat al-Islamiya fi-Iraq wal ash-Sham], Ouassaki broke ranks and joined the Support Front for the People in the Levant [JaNS].11 The move enraged his former comrades and rivals shot him to death in August 2013.12
Ouassaki was posthumously sentenced to twelve years in prison by a Belgian court in February 2015.13 His conviction was confirmed by an appeals court in January 2016.14
References