Mourad Chaïeb (Jihadi Militant, Tunisia)

• Full name: Mourad Chaïeb
• Pseudonym: Abu Aouef, Abu Moujahed
• Alternatives: Murad el-Shayeb
• Location: Tunisia, fmr Algeria
• Affiliation: Brigade of Uqba Bin Nafa’a [KUIN]

Mourad Chaïeb (°ca 1975) is an Algerian jihadi who has been involved in militancy since 1992 when he joined the Islamist forces fighting in his country’s civil war as a teenager.¹ He eventually ended up as a member of the Base Organization of the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM; Tanzim al-Qa’ida fi-Bilad al-Maghreb al-Islami].² Chaïeb was sentenced to death in Algeria for his role in jihadi activities.³

In late 2012, Chaïeb joined Tunisia’s Brigade of Uqba Bin Nafa’a [KUIN; Katibat Uqba Ibn Nafaâ] which was headed by his brother Khalid Chaïeb.⁴ He was reportedly tasked with supervising the training of the group’s cadres.⁵ Chaïeb also acted as a senior commander for the KUIN on Mount Chaâmbi. He allegedly took part in the July 2013 attack on a military patrol in which eight soldiers were killed.⁶ In April 2015, Chaïeb organized an attack that killed four troops on Mount Mghila.⁷

Following the death of his brother in an operation by Tunisian security forces in March 2015, Chaïeb emerged as the new leader of the KUIN.⁸ Senior AQIM leader Djamel Okacha [aka Abu Yahya al-Hammam] allegedly supported his appointment to the position.⁹ His new role was only publicly acknowledged by the AQIM in May 2017.¹⁰ The local press suggested that Chaïeb was primarily focused on exacting vengeance for the death of his brother and the authorities warned Chaïeb might be planning attacks in the country’s capital.¹¹

In October 2016, a Tunisian court convicted Chaïeb for his role in the July 2013 attack on Mount Chaâmbi.¹² On Aug. 08, 2017, Tunisian security forces eliminated him during an operation.¹³