Haji Bakr
| Samir Abd Muhammad al-Khlifawi | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Samir Abd Muhammad al-Khlifawi |
| Nickname(s) | 'Knight of the Silencers' 'Lord of the Shadows' |
| Born | ca. 1958–1964 Iraq |
| Died | January 2014 (late fifties) Syria |
| Allegiance |
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2013-2014)
|
| Service/branch |
Iraqi Army (until-2003) ISIL military (8 April 2013-January 2014) |
| Rank |
Colonel (until 2003) ISIL Military Chief and overall leader of ISIL in Syria (April 2010-January 2014) |
| Battles/wars | |
Baathist Iraq (unknown-2003)
Al-Qaeda (2004–2013)
1991 Iraq War
2003 Iraq War
Iraqi insurgency
Syrian civil war
Samir Abd Muhammad al-Khlifawi, better known by the nom de guerre Haji Bakr, was a senior leader of the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), heading its Military Council and leading its operations in Syria, prior to his killing by Syrian rebels in January 2014. Previously a Colonel in the Iraqi Intelligence Service, papers found after his death indicated that al-Khlifawi played a key role in devising the plans ISIL used to conquer and administer territory in Syria and Iraq.
Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and overthrow of Saddam Hussein, al-Khlifawi had been an Iraqi Army colonel who had worked on weapons development and in the intelligence services of Saddam's Air Defense Corps. According to Iraqi journalist Hisham al-Hashimi, whose cousin served with Khlifawi, he was stationed for a period of time at Habbaniya Air Base. Iraqi Intelligence say that he joined al-Qaida in Iraq and took part in the Iraqi insurgency.
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