Noureddine Hamecha (Jihadi Militant, Belgium)

• Full name: Noureddine Hamecha
• Pseudonym: N/a
• Alternatives: N/a
• Location: Belgium
• Affiliation: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh]

Noureddine Hamecha (°1983) is an Algerian Islamist militant and long-time resident of Belgium where he racked up convictions for armed robbery, extortion and drugs offenses.¹ Upon his release from prison in 2013, Hamecha turned to Islamism. Belgian authorities flagged him as a radicalized Muslim in 2014.²

In the following years, Hamecha tried to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant [DaIISh; Dawlat al-Islamiya fi-Iraq and the Levant] in Syria on three occasions.³ In one instance, he had convinced a minor girl to marry and accompany him to the country.⁴ In March 2016, the girl tried to stab her parents after they refused to let her go.⁵

At the same time, Hamecha helped the jihadi cause from Belgium. He actively raised funds among DaIISh supporters throughout Europe.⁶ Hamecha also provided logistical support to European jihadis traveling between Syria and the continent.⁷ He furthermore helped Syrian-based Islamist fighters in their search for European Muslim brides.⁸ Within a few years, Hamecha had established contacts with DaIISh loyalists in Europe, Turkey and the Middle East.⁹

In the summer of 2016, Hamecha began making plans to attack NATO’s military headquarters in Hainaut.¹⁰ Upon learning that he was trying to procure weapons, Belgian authorities moved against Hamecha.¹¹ In July 2016, police raided eight premises in Liège and around Mons.¹² Hamecha, his brother and five other people were apprehended.¹³ Hamecha’s associates were all released shortly afterwards.¹⁴

On Jun. 29, 2018, a court sentenced Hamecha to a ten-year prison term and stripped him of his Belgian nationality.¹⁵ Appeals judges increased his sentence to seventeen years in January 2019.¹⁶