MARTYRED
- Full name: Kévin Chassin
- Pseudonym: Abu Maryam al-Faransi
- Alternatives: N/a
- Location: Iraq, fmr Syria, fmr Morocco, fmr France
- Affiliation: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh]
Kévin Chassin (°1990) was a French member of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh; Dawlat al-Islamiya fi-Iraq wal ash-Sham] from the city of Toulouse. He was drawn to petty crime and used recreational drugs before converting to Islam in 2009.1 Chassin frequently fundamentalist mosques and quickly grew radical in his beliefs.2 He married a Moroccan woman and went to live with her in the North African country for some time.3
In May 2013, Chassin traveled to Syria and joined the jihadi forces in the country.4 He adjusted well to his new life as a militant.5 Chassin took part in frontline fighting, including against Kurdish forces during the Battle of Kobane in 2014 and 2015.6 At one point, he reportedly even commanded dozens of men.7 At the same time, Chassin was also very active on social media. He extolled the virtues of life as a jihadi and explained ways of joining the DaIISh to prospective fighters.8 In November 2014, Chassin was one of the French militants who were shown burning their identity papers and vowing never to return to their homeland in a propaganda video.9 He furthermore called upon Muslims in France to strike at home if they were unable to come to Iraq or Syria.10
In May 2015, Chassin detonated his massive truck bomb in a suicide attack on the barracks of a Shi’ite militia near Haditha, in Iraq’s Anbar province.11 His death was confirmed in a communiqué released by the DaIISh.12
References