AT LARGE
- Full name: Abulilah Himich
- Pseudonym: Abu Suleiman al-Faransi, Habib Hamri, Abdel le Legionair
- Alternatives: Abd al-Ila Hamish
- Location: pos Iraq, pos Syria, fmr France
- Affiliation: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh], Lunel Network [FdL], fmr Army of Mohammed [JM]
Abdelilah Himich (°1989) is a Moroccan jihadi from France. His father was an imam. Born in Rabat, he grew up in the southern French town of Lunel after his family had emigrated during his adolescence.1 In November 2008, Himich joined the French Foreign Legion for which he served a tour in Afghanistan in 2009.2 Himich deserted from the army in September 2010 while on leave.3 He moved to a suburb of Paris where he briefly worked as a fitness instructor and got in touch with a Senegalese drug trafficker.4 On Dec. 13, 2011, police arrested him at a Parisian railway station while transporting cocaine from Amsterdam.5 Himich was sentenced to three years in prison on Apr. 19, 2013.6 He only spent five months behind bars.7 Following his release, Himich settled in Salon-de-Provence, near Marseille, and briefly worked as a security guard at a supermarket.8
In the winter of 2013, Himich became more devout and turned to Salafism. He went on to become a member of the infamous Lunel Network [FdL; Filière de Lunel].9 He is said to have been one its most influential associates.10 In February 2014, Himich and four other Lunelois Islamists traveled by car to Syria via Italy, Greece and Turkey.11 They joined the Army of Mohammed [JM; Jaish Mohammed] in the northern Syrian town of Azaz.12 A few months later, Himich and his companions followed the advice of FdL associate Hamza Mozli and defected to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh; Dawlat al-Islamiya fi-Iraq wal ash-Sham].13
Owing to his military experience, Himich quickly rose through the ranks to serve as the commander of a frontline unit.14 He became the de facto leader of the Lunelois contingent in the DaIISh and had his wife come over.15 Himich also developed close ties to the Clain brothers in Syria.16 By 2015, he headed a 300-strong brigade of foreign fighters.17 Himich was also rumored to have taken part in the execution of opponents of the DaIISh.18
Later in 2015, Himich was assigned to the external operations department of the DaIISh.19 He was allegedly involved in the planning of the devastating November 2015 attacks in Paris and the suicide bombings in Brussels on Mar. 22, 2016.20 American intelligence services have described him as one of the masterminds of the operations.21 French authorities have been reluctant to assign a leading role in the planning and execution of the attacks to Himich.22 On Nov. 22, 2016, the American government designated him as an international terrorist.23
Himich’s status and whereabouts are unknown since the DaIISh was pushed out of the city of Raqqa in the Fall of 2017.24 He is rumored to have either been demoted by the DaIISh or to have deserted the organization in the runup to the battle for the city.25
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