Previous profiles of Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed members have primarily featured individuals with origins from outside the Yarmouk Basin in which the Islamic State-affiliate is primarily based. This point partly reflects the migration of Islamic State supporters from the wider Deraa and Quneitra areas to the Yarmouk Basin. However, there is still recruitment for Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed from the original home base localities of the Yarmouk Basin. The case of Abu Omar al-Muwahhid (Abu Omar the Monotheist) is one such example.
Abu Omar al-Muwahhid's real name is Hussein al-Kurdi. He was from the Yarmouk Basin locality of Jamla, which was the original home base of Liwa Shuhada' al-Yarmouk (the main group that became part of Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed in May 2016). It should be noted that al-Kurdi is only a minor family in Jamla, whose main families are al-Baridi and al-Samuri.
Abu Omar al-Muwahhid was born in 2001. His father worked as a truck driver for the baladiya (municipal office) in Jamla and died before the beginning of the Syrian civil war. Being too young to fight, Abu Omar al-Muwahhid did not join Liwa Shuhada' al-Yarmouk when it was initially established in the Yarmouk Basin area under the leadership of al-Khal. Instead, he remained as a civilian. However, one of his siblings (Muhammad) did join Liwa Shuhada' al-Yarmouk, and he may be involved with Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed to this day despite his denials of involvement.
 Abu Omar al-Muwahhid |
Abu Omar al-Muwahhid, who did not study beyond the level of secondary school, joined Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed some time after its formation. Though his exact birthday is not known, he would have probably been 15 years old when he joined the group. As in the Islamic State, 15 is usually the minimum age at which one can be considered to be an adult fighter.
Abu Omar al-Muwahhid's role in the organization was that of an ordinary fighter, though one source who knew him adds in particular that he worked in the use of ambushes against the enemy. He participated in the organization's February 2017 offensive against the rebels that led to Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed's capture of Sahm al-Jowlan, Jalin and other places.
However, he was subsequently wounded: either in fighting on the Heet front (according to my friend from Jamla, who knew Abu Omar al-Muwahhid) or the Jalin front (according to another source who knew him). In any case, the sources agree that he eventually died of his wounds around a year ago (c. March-April 2017). My friend from Jamla clarifies that Abu Omar al-Muwahhid was wounded with shrapnel in his head and that "he lived for a short time under supervision in the hospital" before succumbing to his wounds. The other source adds that Abu Omar al-Muwahhid was in a coma that lasted for around one and a half months. He would have been no more than 16 years old at the time of his death. Unsurprisingly, Abu Omar al-Muwahhid was never married.
Besides his brother Muhammad, Abu Omar al-Muwahhid apparently has three other siblings. One of those siblings- a brother called Fadi- works as a teacher for Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed in the realm of education.