Issam Abuanza

Issam Abuanza
Islamic State health minister
Personal details
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Military service
Allegiance	Islamic State

Issam Abuanza is the former Islamic State health minister of the Islamic State Health Service.^[1] A Palestinian with British citizenship,^[2] he is the first practicing National Health Service doctor known to have joined the Islamic State group.^[3] Concerning the death of Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh, he stated:^[4]

I would've liked for them to burn him extremely slowly and I could treat him so we could torch him once more

Abuanza, then living in Sheffield with a wife and two children, travelled to Syria alone in July 2014.^[5]

References

1. Skinner, Elizabeth; Robinson, Elizabeth; Baho, Sally (2021). "CTX, Version 11". CTX. 11 (2): 19. ISSN 2162-6421 – via Naval Postgraduate School.
2. Perraudin, Frances (2016-05-25). "Sheffield doctor who joined Isis sparks call for stronger border checks". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
3. "Meet the British doctor who left his hospital job to join the Islamic State". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
4. Hamilton, Fiona. "NHS doctor is revealed as an Isis fighter". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
5. Swann, Steve; Sandford, Daniel; Dalati, Riam (2016-05-24). "Islamic State group recruited practising NHS doctor". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2025-05-22.