ELIMINATED
- Full name: Bilal el-Koubi
- Pseudonym: N/a
- Alternatives: Bilel al-Qubi
- Location: Tunisia, fmr Algeria
- Affiliation: Brigade of Uqba Bin Nafa’a [KUIN], Base Organization in the Islamic Maghreb
Bilal el-Koubi (°ca 1978) was a little-known Algerian militant who long fought with the Islamists in the country’s civil war before taking part in operations in Tunisia during the mid-2010s. He joined Algeria’s jihadi forces as a fifteen-year-old youth in 1993.1 No information is available on his activities in the country. Koubi eventually became a top aide to Abdelmalek Droukdel, the chief of the Base Organization in the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM; Tanzim al-Qa’ida fi-Bilad al-Maghreb al-Islami].2 He also developed ties to al-Qa’ida-affiliated elements in Libya.3
From 2014 onwards, Koubi regularly crossed into Tunisia to assist the Brigade of Uqba Bin Nafa’a [KUIN; Katibat Uqba Ibn Nafaâ].4 Koubi served as an intermediary between the AQIM and the KUIN.5 He was also involved in several KUIN operations, including the Feb. 18, 2015 attack on a police checkpoint in Boulaâba and the ambush of a customs vehicle in Bouchebka on Aug. 23, 2015.6 Koubi was also linked to the killing of three soldiers in an attack on a military vehicle on Mount Semmama on Aug. 29, 2016.7
In early 2018, Koubi was reportedly assigned to reorganize the KUIN by AQIM leader Droukdel.8 Tunisian security forces eliminated him during an operation on Mount Semmama on Jan. 20, 2018.9
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