ISIS appoints former al-Nusra commander as governor of Aleppo
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper cited sources on Sunday as saying that the Islamic State (ISIS) appointed former Jabhat al-Nusra commander Abu Dujana al-Jubouri as its new governor (wali) for Aleppo.
The report indicates that the appointment of Abu Dujana coincides with ISIS’ recent resurgence, marked by its claim of two attacks in Syria’s southern desert (al-Badiya) in Suwayda Governorate.
These are the group’s first publicly acknowledged operations in the area since the fall of the previous Syrian regime.
One of the attacks reportedly targeted the newly formed Syrian government forces, while the other struck the U.S.-backed Free Syria Army stationed at the al-Tanf base near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.
In late May, ISIS claimed responsibility for its first attack on the new Syrian government forces, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.
The group stated that one person was killed and three members of the Free Syria Army’s Division 70 were injured when their patrol was hit by a remotely detonated landmine.
Abu Dujana, a Syrian national from Aleppo, is married to an Iraqi woman. He fought in Iraq until 2009 before returning to Syria, where he spent two years imprisoned in Saydnaya.
He later held senior positions in Jabhat al-Nusra’s training camps before defecting to ISIS in 2014.