APPREHENDED
- Full name: Samih-Eroh Guerrouj
- Pseudonym: Abu Hafs
- Alternatives: N/a
- Location: France
- Affiliation: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh]
Samih Guerrouj (°ca 1984) is a jihadi activist of immigrant descent from the northern French town of Thionville. As a young man, he was involved in drugs dealing.1 By the early 2010s, Guerrouj had become a devout Muslim. He advised young Muslims under his influence of taking up jihad and embrace martyrdom.2 At least four of them went on to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh; Dawlat al-Islamiya fi-Iraq wal ash-Sham]. He also declared allegiance to the DaIISh and contemplated going to Syria himself but never actually left France.3 Guerrouj propagated for the organization on social media which he also used to stay in touch with his recruits during their stay in Syria.4
French authorities began investigating Guerrouj after one of his associates returned from Syria in the summer of 2015.5 On Feb. 02, 2016, police arrested him in the city of Marseille.6 A court sentenced him to five years in prison for participation in terrorist activity on Mar. 12, 2019.7
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