Tareq Kamleh


Tareq Kamleh is an Australian medical doctor who travelled to Syria to join Islamic extremist group ISIL to work as a Paediatric doctor. He first came to media attention in 2015 when he appeared in an Islamic State recruitment video in which he encouraged other doctors to join the cause. The video, originally titled "Health services in the Islamic state // mandate of tenderness," shows Kamleh speaking to the camera in an "Islamic State Health Service"-run maternity ward in Raqqa.
An arrest warrant was issued for Kamleh by an Adelaide court, citing alleged offences in Raqqa in April. Kamleh has said he will never return to Australia, and that he no longer considered himself an Australian citizen.

Early life

Kamleh's father grew up in Palestine and later moved to Australia. His German mother was Catholic but converted to Islam. His former "playboy" lifestyle is often mentioned in the media.

Medical career in Australia

Kamleh graduated from the University of Adelaide in 2010 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. He was contracted to Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide from February 2011 and started working at Mackay Base Hospital in Queensland from January 2013. He has also worked at a hospital in Alice Springs. He is a registered doctor in Western Australia, however, the Medical Board of Australia took regulatory action over his medical registration, which has been suspended as of 30 September 2015.

Report of death

In June 2018, several Islamic State fighters tweeted that Kamleh had been killed during the battle of Raqqa in September or October 2017.