ELIMINATED
- Full name: N/a
- Pseudonym: N/a
- Alternatives: N/a
- Location: Sinai, Egypt
- Affiliation: Islamic State’s Province of Sinai [DaIWS], fmr Assembly of Monotheism and Jihad in the Sinai [JTJS]
Nasser Abu Zakul (°1968) was a little-known but influential jihadi from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Originally a shepherd, he joined the Assembly of Monotheism and Jihad in the Sinai [JTJS; Jama’at Tawhid wal-Jihad fi-Sina’a] in 2002.1 His role in the organization was unclear, but Abu Zakul was purportedly involved in preparations for the JTJS’ series of attacks against tourists in the Sinai.2 In the mid-2000s, a court sentenced him in absentia to ten years in prison.3 He managed to avoid capture and linked up with a group of criminals based on Mount Halal.4
Following the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, Abu Zakul consorted with former JTJS associates before he became a member of the Partisans of the Holy House [ABaM; Ansar Bait al-Maqdis].5 Abu Zakul later joined fellow ABaM operatives in pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh; Dawlat al-Islamiya fi-Iraq wal ash-Sham]. Over time, he became a senior leader of the Islamic State’s Province of Sinai [DaIWS; Dawlat al-Islamiya Wilayat Sina’a] and oversaw its operations in the center of the peninsula.6 Abu Zakul was eliminated in operations by the Egyptian army in mid-April 2018.7
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