Former DMX Tour Mate Turned ISIS Recruiter Killed by U.S. Airstrike in Syria
A former rapper turned ISIS recruiter was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Syria earlier this month, according to the New York Times.
Denis Cuspert, who performed under the name Deso Dogg, was a German rapper who toured with DMX in 2006. In 2010, he quit rapping and converted to Islam, becoming one of the more popular singers of Islamic devotional music. After a stint in Egypt, Cusbert moved Syria in 2012, where he joined ISIS in either that year (according to U.S intelligence or in 2014 (German intelligence).
“I can confirm that an Oct. 16 airstrike near Raqqah killed Denis Cuspert,” Elissa Smith, a Department of Defense spokeswoman, told the Times. “Cuspert was a foreign terrorist fighter and operative for ISIL who used social media to take advantage of disaffected youth and potential Western recruits.”
In a State Department release from February, Cusbert was described as a “foreign terrorist fighter” who appeared in several recruiting videos, including one in which he apparently held the severed head of a recently executed man.
Below, a video from Cusbert in happier times.
