In the videos posted online by the Iraqi militant group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) all of the men executing Iraqi security forces have their faces covered. However, the man responsible for ordering the killings proudly appears unmasked.
Shakir Wahiyib, known as Desert Lion by those who follow him, stands out in the videos posted online.
According to the Daily Mail, Wahiyib came into the spotlight when a video of him and others were shown executing three Syrian truck drivers.
“He is the only one who kills without covering his face, and is working on declaring an Islamic state," a senior police in Iraq’s western Anbar province told The Telegraph.
There are also various sides of Wahiyib shown in a selection of pictures. In one picture, he is accepting a rose from a young boy, and in another he stands in front of a burning vehicle.
Jhadi forums online said Wahiyib was first arrested in early 2006 by US forces. However, he escaped from jail in 2012 when ISIS broke out prisoners in the town of Tikrit, the The Telegraph reported.
Wahiyib's and ISIS all have one goal in mind: a single Islamic state. In their journey to capture Baghdad, the group has seized cities along the way including Mosul, one of the largest cities in Iraq, and Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein.
According to The Washington Post, ISIS has recently captured Tal Afar, which is about 292 miles north of Baghdad.
Although Wahiyib's face is now known to the Iraqi government, the element of fear that he and his group uses still remains.