Shahab al-Muhajir

rdf:langString Shahab al-Muhajir

rdf:langString al-Muhājir, i.e., 'The Migrant'

rdf:langString al-Muhājir, i.e., 'The Migrant'

rdf:langString Commander-in-chief of the Islamic State – Khorasan Province

rdf:langString present

rdf:langString April 2020

rdf:langString Shahab al-Muhajir (Arabic: شهاب المهاجر, romanized: ʾShahab al-Muhajirʿ) is an Islamist terrorist, serving as the commander-in-chief of the militant group the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS-KP or IS-K) since 2020. His real name is Sanaullah Ghafari. He is a citizen of Iraq according to an analysis by BBC News and Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). His nickname al-Muhajir means "The Migrant" in English. He also uses the alias Sanaullah al-Sadiq. When IS-K was established in Afghanistan, Hafiz Saeed Khan was its chief and his deputy Abdul Rauf Aliza, a former member of Taliban. The United States carried out airstrikes killing Aliza in 2015 and Hafiz Saeed Khan in 2016. In 2020, al-Muhajir was instated as its leader and head of operations of IS-K becoming its mastermind and main figure. He is also reportedly the first non-Afghan or non-Pakistani national to head the IS-K group. Formerly Shahab al-Muhajir was a mid-level Haqqani network commander (an Islamist militant group affiliated with the Taliban) and a member of Al-Qaeda before defecting and becoming the leader of the ISIS-K greatly opposed to the Taliban. After the 2021 Kabul airport attack masterminded by al-Muhajir, the Taliban announced that they would take every possible measure to capture him. On 21 December 2021, the United Nations Security Council ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee added al-Muhajir (under his real name, "Sanaullah Ghafari"), to their sanctions list. On 22 December 2021, the Council of the European Union followed the UN by adding al-Muhajir (under his real name, "Sanaullah Ghafari"), to their sanctions list.