Like Nidhal al-Baridi, Abu Tahrir al-Urduni (Nasir Suleiman Qasim) was among those executed for supposed involvement in the assassination of Abu Hashim al-Idlibi, the first amir of Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed (JKBW). Also like Nidhal, Abu Tahrir was later exonerated of responsibility for the assassination of The video clip I uploaded is from the interrogations the group carried out with Abu Tahrir following the assassination of Abu Hashim. In sum, Abu Tahrir affirms in the video that he is of Jordanian nationality and commands the engineering squadron in the military section of JKBW. He says that Nidhal approached him and told him not to go ‘the north’/Iraq (i.e. to go to the areas under the control of the Islamic State, a point confirming the relations between the Islamic State and JKBW). Supposedly, Nidhal and others were planning to hand over control of the Yarmouk Basin area to Abu Obeida Qahtan, and JKBW would withdraw from the area and things would return to as they were in the days of Liwa Shuhada’ al-Yarmouk. As part of the supposed new arrangement, Abu Tahrir would receive the position of overall military commander. However, note that Abu Tahrir does not profess to know what happened following the assassination of Abu Hashim, though the supposed general idea was that he should play a role in creating chaos in the Yarmouk Basin area as part of the conspiracy.
For some context, note that Abu Tahrir was in Liwa Shuhada’ al-Yarmouk prior to the formation of JKBW in May 2016. It would appear that he had previously been involved in the Southern Front group called the Syrian Revolutionaries Front (SRF), which outlived the original Western-backed SRF of northern Syria that was destroyed by Jabhat al-Nusra and other groups in 2014. The southern SRF issued the following statement at the end of August 2015 to affirm that Abu Tahrir was no longer affiliated with the group.
“Southern Front
Syrian Revolutionaries Front
General Command
Monday: 31st August 2015
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Statement
Concerning news that has been circulated claiming that Abu Tahrir is a military commander with the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, we deny this and affirm the lack of truth of this news, and affirm that Abu Tahrir is not a member of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and is not affliated with any formation or group with us. And he was expelled more than a year ago, but he has constantly been trying to return on the basis of various pretexts, but he is not trusted in terms of security and we know he has more than one link. And it was clear here that he suffers from psychological illnesses.
We also affirm that all the military commanders in the Syrian Revolutionaries Front are of its sons and well known among the sons of Syria, and there is no non-Syrian member or commander.
General Command
Syrian Revolutionaries Front.”
A correspondent in Deraa for the pro-opposition outlet Enab Baladi affirmed that Abu Tahrir had participated in a number of battles in west Deraa countryside, including the assault on Tel al-Jumu’. The correspondent also claimed that Abu Tahrir was known for his strong links with the Jordanian intelligence.
As with the confessions of Nidhal al-Baridi, be careful about taking Abu Tahrir’s confession at face value (though it is clear he held the position he says he held in JKBW), particularly in light of the fact he was subsequently exonerated of responsibility for the assassination.
The Islamic State Archives 