Syrian Civil War[9][10] Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili (Georgian: თარხან ბათირაშვილი[clarification needed]; 11 January 1986 – 10 July 2016), known by his nom de guerre Abu Omar al-Shishani (Arabic: أَبُو عُمَرَ ٱلشِّيشَانِيِّ, romanized: ʾAbū ʿUmar aš-Šīšānī)[11] or Omar al-Shishani, was a Chechen-Georgian jihadist who, as one of the Chechen mujahideen in Syria, served as a commander for the Islamic State, and was previously a sergeant in the Georgian Army.
In 2013, Batirashvili joined the Islamic State and rapidly became a senior commander in the organization, directing a series of battles and ultimately earning a seat on ISIL's shura council.
The US Treasury Department added Batirashvili to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists on 24 September 2014,[12] and seven months later the US government announced a reward up to US$5 million for information leading to his capture.
[3][17][18] Batirashvili grew up in the largely Kist-populated Muslim village of Birkiani, in the Pankisi Gorge in an impoverished region of northeast Georgia.
During his childhood, his father was rarely present, as he spent long periods of time working in Russia, and the children were mostly raised by their mother.
[20] According to his father, a young Batirashvili secretly helped Chechen militants into Russia and sometimes joined them on missions against Russian troops.
[4] After finishing high school, Batirashvili joined the Georgian Army and distinguished himself as master of various weaponry and maps, according to his former commander Malkhaz Topuria, who recruited him into a special reconnaissance group.
[4] According to the Georgian Defense Ministry, Batirashvili was arrested in September 2010 for illegal possession of weapons and sentenced to three years in prison.
In February 2013, together with the Tawhid Brigades and al-Nusra Front, they stormed the base of the Syrian Army's 80th Regiment, near the main airport in Aleppo.
[25] The group played a key role in the August 2013 capture of Menagh Air Base, which culminated in a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) driven by two of their members killing and wounding many of the last remaining Syrian Armed Forces defenders.
[29] Units under his command participated in major assaults on Syrian military bases in and around Aleppo, including the capture of Menagh Airbase in August 2013.
Batirashvili accused the men of embezzlement and stirring up the animosity of local Syrians against the foreign fighters by indulging in takfir—excommunication—against other Muslims.
[3][8] At the onset of 2014, Batirashvili was ordered to take over command of all ISIL forces in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate who were besieging the Syrian government soldiers stationed there.
[28] During this time, Batirashvili came to be known for using swarming and human wave tactics, most notably during the Siege of Menagh Air Base and Battle of Al-Tabqa airbase.
[41][42] On 12 March, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that Batirashvili had become clinically dead following the U.S. airstrikes, with the ISIL commander in a critical condition and unable to breathe without the use of life-support machines.
[51] On 19 July 2018, Turkish authorities announced that they captured five ISIL suspects on 4 July in Istanbul including Seda Dudurkaeva, wife of Batirashvili, whose father is Asu Dudurkaev of Chechen origin and clan Mulko/Chanti, a former Chechen minister, who was sacked by Ramzan Kadyrov from his position due to his failure to prevent his daughter from travelling to join her first husband, Hamzat Borchashvili,[52] in Syria.