Djamel Okacha

Djamel Okacha
Nickname(s)Yahia Abou al-Hamman
BornMay 9, 1978
Reghaia, Algeria
DiedFebruary 21, 2019
Elakla, Tombouctou Region, Mali
Allegiance GSPC (1997-2007)
AQIM (2007-2019)
JNIM (2017-2019)
RankEmir of Katiba al-Mulathamoun (2000s)
Emir of Katiba al-Furqan (2009-2019)
Emir of the Sahara (2012-2017)
Second-in-command of JNIM (2017-2019)
UnitKatiba al-Mulathamoun (2003-2009)
Katiba al-Furqan (2009-2019)
Battles / warsLemgheity attack
In Amenas hostage crisis
Fall of Timbuktu (2012)
Battle of Ifoghas
Battle of Elakla 

Djamel Okacha, nom de guerre Yahia Abou al-Hamman, was an Algerian jihadist who fought in the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) and later Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). Okacha served as the commanders of Katiba al-Furqan and Katiba al-Mulathamoun within AQIM, and was appointed as the co-governor of Tombouctou Region during Ansar Dine's capture of the region during the 2012 Tuareg rebellion. Okacha was then appointed as the second-in-command of AQIM between 2012 and 2017, where he co-founded JNIM alongside Iyad Ag Ghaly and Amadou Kouffa. Okacha served as the second-in-command of JNIM until his death in 2019.