ELIMINATED
- Full name: Mourad Ben Allala Gharsalli
- Pseudonym: Abu Baraâ
- Alternatives: Mourad Gharsallah
- Location: N/a
- Affiliation: Brigade of Uqba Bin Nafa’a [KUIN]
Mourad Gharsalli (°1987) was an influential jihadi from Tunisia’s Kasserine governorate. After he was freed from prison under a general amnesty following the 2011 Tunisian Revolution, Gharsalli reportedly traveled to Syria where he fought in the ranks of the jihadi forces before returning to his home country.1
Back in Tunisia, Gharsalli joined the Brigade of Uqba Bin Nafa’a [KUIN; Katibat Uqba Ibn Nafaâ] on Mount Chaâmbi, in the Kasserine governorate and began serving as one of the group’s commanders.2 Over time, he emerged as the top deputy of KUIN leader Khalid Chaïeb and eventually became the outfit’s second-in-command.3 Gharsalli was deeply involved in the group’s attacks against Tunisian security forces. He was linked to several of the KUIN’s high-profile operations, including the deadly July 2013 and July 2014 attacks on Mount Chaâmbi.4 Gharsalli also served as a key liasion operative between the group and senior al-Qa’ida-affiliated jihadis in Algeria and Mali, including Mokhtar Belmokhtar.5
Gharsalli narrowly avoided capture when Tunisian security forces raided his house in August 2014.6 He was eventually eliminated along with four associates in an operation by police forces in the Gafsa governorate on Jul. 10, 2015.7 Following his death, the Tunisian authorities had trouble identifying his corpse since it had fell hundreds of meters down a cliff after Gharsalli was shot.8 In November 2015, a Tunisian court posthumously sentenced him to life imprisonment on terrorism charges. At the time of the trial, the government had been unable to provide documents asserting his death.9
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