Mullah Krekar

He is married and has four children.

Mullah Krekar was born as Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad in Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq, on 7 July, 1956. He received his early education in Iraq.

He studied at the Sulaimania College from where he graduated in Arabic Language in 1982. During the 1980s he started studying under Abdullah Azzam in Pakistan and completed a jurisprudence degree; Azzam was also a mentor to al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. It is also believed that he was involved with the Afghan jihad waged by the 'Afghan Arabs', who were led by Azzam.

He completed his PhD from the University of Sind in 1988 with his thesis on ‘The methodology of Da'wa in the story of Moosa (Moses)’. It is also believed that he met Osama bin Laden the same year.

After completing his education he returned to Iraq in 1988. Once there, he was assigned the responsibility of the military office of the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan (IMK).

He went to Norway as a refugee in 1991 and later also brought his family to the country. Over a period of time his wife and children were granted Norwegian citizenship though he himself was not granted the Norwegian citizenship.

He was appointed as the head of the IMK’s Military Wing in 1992 and the head of the IMK's office of Planning and Implementation, in 1995.

In 1997, the ‘Nida’ul Islam’ published an extensive interview in which Mullah Krekar described Kurdish political history and the basis of a new Islamic Movement. He also called for donations in support of the mujahideen.

During the 2000s he left Norway for a while after the 9/11 attacks and by 2002 he was reported to be back in northern Iraq. The same year, he became involved in planning the suicide bombings in Iraq.