Salahaddin el-Mahi (Jihadi Militant, Tunisia)

• Full name: Salahaddin Kasmi el-Mahi
• Pseudonym: N/a
• Alternatives: Salah al-Qassimi
• Location: Tunisia, Algeria
• Affiliation: Brigade of Uqba Bin Nafa’a [KUIN], Base Organization in the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM], fmr Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat [GSPC]

Salahaddin el-Mahi (°1984) was a jihadi from Algeria’s Annaba province. He joined the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat [GSPC; Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat] in 2002.¹ Mahi stayed with the group as it morphed into the Base Organization in the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM; Tanzim al-Qa’ida fi-Bilad al-Mahgreb al-Islami] and continued to fight in Algeria’s jihadi conflict until the mid-2010s.

From 2013 onwards, Mahi became increasingly involved with the AQIM’s Tunisian affiliate; the Brigade of Uqba Bin Nafa’a [KUIN; Katibat Uqba Ibn Nafaâ].² He reportedly oversaw training for the outfit’s recruits.³ Mahi officially joined the KUIN in March 2015 and went on to serve on the group’s leadership council.⁴ He also headed KUIN fighters on Mount Ouergha.⁵ Mahi was linked to a series of attacks and was blamed for pillaging homes of local residents.⁶ On Sep. 02, 2019, Tunisian security forces eliminated him during an operation in Hidra.⁷ KUIN chief Akrouf el-Bey and another senior leader of the group were also killed in the incident. At the time of Mahi’s death, the authorities had thirty outstanding warrants for his arrest.⁸