Abdul Nasser Qardash

Abdul Nasser Qardash عبد الناصر قرداش
Deputy to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's Caliph
In office 2016 – c. 2019
Preceded by	Abu Ali al-Anbari
Succeeded by	unknown
Emir of the Delegated Committee
In office 2016–?
Deputy emir of the Delegated Committee
In office 2014–2016
Governor of al-Barakah
In office 2014 – c. 2014/15
Personal details
Born	Tahah Abdel Rahim Abdallah Bakr al-Ghassani 1967 (age 56–57) Tal Afar, Iraq
Religion	Sunni Islam
Military service
Allegiance	Ba'athist Iraq (prior to 2003) Al-Qaeda (2003–2014)  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Branch/service	Military of ISIL
Years of service	2003–2020
Commands	Wilayat al-Sham[1]
Battles/wars	Iraq War Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013) Syrian Civil War Iraqi Civil War Iraqi insurgency (2017–present)

Abdul Nasser Qardash (Arabic: عبد الناصر قرداش;^[2] born 1967; sometimes identified as Abdel Nasser Qirdash or Kardesh, also known as Hajji Abdullah al-Afari) is an Iraqi militant who in 2019 was wrongly reported as the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). He was also nicknamed "The Professor" and "Destroyer".^[3] Qardash was a high-ranking and very influential member of ISIL with close connections to its first caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and tipped as a potential candidate for ISIL leadership succession. However days after the death of al-Baghdadi, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was ultimately chosen as the new declared leader of ISIL. Qardash was captured by Iraqi security forces in 2020.