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.

(Rough translation of the testimony).

– My name is Naser Suleiman Qasim al-Jahmawi of Jordanian nationality. My father’s name is Suleiman. His name is on my passport. I am in Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed, the leader of the engineering squadron in the military division. Nidhal came to me in the base. He asked me saying: What are you intending to do, Abu Tahrir? I said: I am intending to go to the north to Iraq. He said to me: stay here with us and don’t go. In the coming days the area will change entirely. I spoke with him at length: what do you mean by these words? He said: By God we intend to hand over things to Sheikh Abu Obeida as the general amir, and many brothers in the north according to their request, I want to make sure this area avoids the bombing of the coalition aircraft. And Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed will withdraw from this area and it will return to the state it was in the days of Liwa Shuhada’ al-Yarmouk. I rejected this matter later he said: oh Abu Tahrir stay here with us, don’t go, the coming days will be better. I want to cause chaos in this area and explosions: I want this chaos so that I can take hold of security in the area entirely.

I rejected at first, later he said: I want you to place for me a mine on the Jamla-Abideen road. I will give you all the instructions. And you, if when we ask you oh brother, blow it up even if you blow it up in the air but make for me a disturbance in the area, this area. We want there to be caused in it a a security state of affairs so the security authority we want it to be entirely in our hands and Sheikh Abu Obeida will be the general amir for the area.

– And what would you receive?

– The position of military commander in the area. I agreed to this talk and it happened that on the evening of that day I went and dug a small hole and it is present now and I waited there for half an hour and nothing happened and I did not contact them and I returned to the base and I remained in the base for the time.

– Where is the site of the hole?

– It is nearer to Jamla than Abideen on the main road.

– And after the operation of the assassination of Abu Hashim: what happened?

– I don’t know by God about this thing.

(Rough transcript of the video)

– There was the Hezbollah group here who wanted to create sleeper cells here in the Yarmouk Basin area and give them aid and military support.

– Fine, with whom have they been in contact?

– They have been in contact with one called Muhammad Yasin Abu Sayfan.

– Muhammad Yasin Abu Sayfan: to whom did he come, I mean whom did the party contact saying that they wanted to offer support? Who would work on the assignments? Who would establish the cells?

– We are the ones who would establish the cells.

– Who? You Nidhal yourself and the group?

– I Nidhal, but in coordination with the general amir.

– With the general amir what did you coordinate?

– Handing over the aircraft- reconnaissance aircraft- in exchange for a financial sum of $1.5 million. The matter turned from a financial sum to an exchange, that there would be the withdrawal of the al-Hajar al-Aswad group in exchange for the aircraft as they would be secured a safe exit.

– So the amir only knew that there would be a swap or exchange: that the aircraft would be in exchange for the withdrawal or the matter of money.

– No, he also had news of the matter of the exchange and we would take money from them.

– But he did not know that you would establish cells here.

– No he knew, and he is the one who gave me the flashstick in which the names were.

– What names?

– The names of people whom he placed directly.

(Rough transcript of the video)

– The assassination of Abu Hashim, who had knowledge of it from the leaders?

– The six people aforementioned.

– Who are they?

– Qahtan, Nidhal, Abu Tahrir, Nadir al-Qaseem, Khalid al-Jamal, Abu Jandal.

– How many meetings did you have before implementing the operation?

– Not all the meetings were such that they were gathered together. For example I was with so-and-so and so-and-so and for example most of the meetings were in the presence of Nadir al-Qaseem, myself and Abu Obeida Qahtan.

– So you were making the plans and distributing the assignments to the rest?

– Yes.

– You mentioned the IEDs that came. How any IEDs did you receive?

– Seven IEDs.

– You distributed how many?

– I distributed two.

– To whom?

– One to Nadir al-Qaseem and the second to Khalid al-Jamal.

– And the rest are where?

– I have them hidden in the house.

– Where in the house?

– In the garden of the house.

– And what is with them?

– With them are the detonation devices.

(Rough transcript of the video)

– Nidhal, tell us about how the prisoners were allowed to escape from the prison. How did the operation happen?

– There was Khalid al-Jamal.

– Khalid al-Jamal: what was his capacity in the formation among you?

– A leader.

– A leader from the six aforementioned.

– He came to me and said there is a group who contacted me- the al-Maghrib group- for the escape of the prisoner.

– Who are the al-Maghrib group?

– The Jews. I said who is the prisoner? He said Ali Jad’a, an intermediary with them for the al-Haramain group from Heet. They wanted to see if they could get him out from the Dawa’esh: the one called Ali Jad’a. Yes Ali Jad’a, we can get him out no problem. Ali Jad’a, he had a companion with him who was Aamer Marhaj, so they got them out.

– But how was the escape operation done?

– I don’t have a review of it.

– But who was responsible for it?

– Those responsible for it were those who had the shift: one called Omran and the second called Noor.

– Okay, those are the ones entrusted with their escape.

– Those who had the shift.

(Rough transcript of the video)

– There was a project on the basis that we establish a border guards brigade with the Jordanian side, to control the area, from al-Mu’allaqa to al-Qusayr, the al-Wahda dam area, and during the discussions with them they informed us that there would be a humanitarian border crossing in service to the citizens of the Basin, and permitting the peoples to farm their lands in the Yarmouk Valley area.

– What did the Jordanian side present you?

– The Jordanian side until now did not present us anything but there was a project but there was the order to delay the matter because of the explosion that happened in Inkhil against the leadership of the Southern Front.

– What were they promising you?

– They were promising us to offer to the brigade 4 by 4 vehicles, with individual light weapons and a humanitarian crossing and a sum of $50,000.

– $50,000 monthly as salaries?

– Expenditures and salaries for the brigade.

– Which brigade is this?

– This brigade was formed under my name. There is no specified name, just border guards, but the brigade affiliated with me and the work entrusted to it.