News Digest

Abu Azrael: Iraq’s celebrity anti-IS fighter

Abu Azrael, Father of the Angel of Death, is the black-bearded, blade-wielding embodiment of the retribution many Iraqis want against the Islamic State. A Facebook page dedicated to the fighter from the Imam Ali Brigades Shiite militia has been “liked” more than 280,000 times. His catchphrase is “illa tahin,” meaning he will pulverise the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group until nothing but “flour” remains. There are also numerous images and comments praising the Baghdad native on Twitter.

I am probably in the spotlight because Almighty God made me successful in killing a number of dirty men, but all of the (fighters) are heroes.

Abu Azrael

Fans share photos of Abu Azrael, whose real name is Ayyub Faleh al-Rubaie, resting an axe on his shoulder or holding a sword. He is viewed as striking fear into IS, both by his appearance and actions. Such a response may be appealing to people who are angry at what IS has done in Iraq – millions displaced, thousands killed, women raped and sold into slavery. But one man serving as police, jury, judge and executioner is a recipe for the loss of innocent lives – especially in the chaos of war.