Nero Saraiva, commander of foreign terrorists in ISIS

Ahmed Adel

Kurdish forces in northern Syria announced on Monday the arrest of a Portuguese extremist named Nero Saraiva, who was based in London, and was involved in a number of terrorist cases related to kidnappings and the execution of Western hostages by the Islamic State terrorist organization in recent years.

Rise in organization

Nero Saraiva, born in Angola, is one of the most important foreign recruits in the ranks of the terrorist organization Daesh, and succeeded in the rise within the terrorist organization, until he became commander of the unit of foreign terrorists within the terrorist organization. He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, and obtained a qualification in civil engineering from the University of East London, after which he worked for a gas company before joining the terrorist organization Daesh.

The arrest of Nero came at the hands of the Kurdish forces; to put an end to a journey that lasted 7 years, starting from Walthamstu, northeast of London, and ended in the Islamic State. He married 5 women, and became the father of 10 children.

From football to terrorism

Nero, 33, is a former Roman Catholic who converted to Islam later before joining the terrorist organization Daesh. When he was in London, he has six friends. They all decided to join ISIS, and decided to travel to Syria in 2012; to join the terrorist organization.

While in the terrorist organization, Nero headed the Media Production Unit, which specializes in filming and directing films for the terrorist organization ISIS.

Nero, one of the most wanted by the Western security services since 2012; has been accused in many cases of kidnapping and executions, and perhaps the most prominent abduction of British war photographer John Cantley.

Commander of foreign terrorists

In 2014, after becoming commander of the European Fighters Brigade, he was found close to filming American James Foley, who was cut by ISIS terrorist John in front of video cameras.

Nero is paralyzed in the lower half of his body, after suffering a serious injury in one of the battles of the terrorist organization before the fall of the organization in the Battle of Bagos.

According to the British Sunday Times, Nero was interrogated by Western intelligence agents in July 2019. In investigations, they found that he had a lot of information about the Beatles Gang, a group known for its brutality, especially with the torture of prisoners, particularly in Raqqa. It was accused of killing and slaughtering 27 prisoners, including four journalists and two US photographers.