Bilal Abdul Kareem

Bilal Abdul Kareem
Darrell Lamont Phelps
Born
Darrell Lamont Phelps
NationalityAmerican, Syrian
CitizenshipUnited States, Syria
Occupation(s)Journalist and war correspondent
Employer(s)CNN, OGN (On the Ground News) TV
Known forSyrian Civil War journalism and allegedly being put in American Disposition Matrix

Bilal Abdul Kareem (born Darrell Lamont Phelps) is an American-born Syrian journalist and war correspondent covering the Syrian Civil War[1][2] who has worked with CNN.[3] He believes that he has been placed on the US kill list.[4] He claims to have survived five drone assassination attempts by the US military, which killed random civilians that were present nearby, including two attacks on vehicles he was traveling in, including one where the car he was sitting in was blown up by a missile shot from a drone.[5][6]

He has been criticized by some observers for a perceived alignment with jihadi fighters in Syria, with The New York Times reporting that Kareem was considered a "jihadist propagandist" to some.[1]

On August 13, 2020, it was reported that Abdul Kareem had been arrested by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham in Atme, northern Idlib.[7] After six months of detention, he was freed on February 17, 2021.[8]

He is married with 3 wives and has six children.[1][8][9]

  1. ^ a b c Hubbard, Ben (March 10, 2017). "Reporting From Syria, an American With a Point of View and a Message". The New York Times. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  2. ^ Stafford Smith, Clive (December 19, 2016). "Reporting from the ground in times of war". Al Jazeera. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  3. ^ Ward, Clarissa (March 14, 2016). "#UndercoverInSyria: Clarissa Ward reports from behind rebel lines". CNN. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  4. ^ Friedersdorf, Conor (June 18, 2018). "The American Who Says He's Been the Target of Five Air Strikes". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  5. ^ "How an American Citizen Ended Up on the US Kill List | Rolling Stone – YouTube". YouTube.
  6. ^ Khan, Zain (July 9, 2018). "Bilal Abdul Kareem : Who Escaped 5 US Drone Strike and Is on a US Kill List". The Siasat Daily. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  7. ^ "Journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem arrested by HTS in Syria's Idlib". Middle East Eye. August 13, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Areeb Ullah; Harun al-Aswad (February 18, 2021). "Syria: US journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem released by HTS after six months". Middle East Eye. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  9. ^ "@BilalKareem". Twitter. Retrieved June 16, 2023.