Sumith Prasad
Paramount+ with Showtime’s documentary ‘The Honey Trap: A True Story of Love, Lies and the FBI’ chronicles the life of the rapper and the recognized terrorist Denis Cuspert, also known as Deso Dogg and Abu Talha al-Almani. From a very young age, he was influenced by gangsta rap, which reached the streets of Berlin from the United States. While emerging as a rapper, his attention also turned toward taekwondo, jujitsu, Thai boxing, and, eventually, mixed martial arts. However, Denis’ life turned around when he was drawn to Islamic militancy. He reportedly helped create the Salafist group Millatu Ibrahim, and after the organization was banned in Germany, he ended up in Egypt in 2012. Since then, until his death, he had been part of several militant organizations in the Middle East, serving as an infamous propagandist and a face of jihad.
Denis Cuspert Served as a Recruiter and Propagandist for the Islamic State
Denis Cuspert was born to Sigrid Cuspert and Richard Luc-Giffard, a Ghanaian national who was deported back to his home country not long after the former’s birth. He grew up under the care of his mother and American stepfather, Benjamin Cuspert, with whom he reportedly had a troubled relationship. After a turbulent childhood, he started seeking comfort and acceptance in Islam, which paved the way for his introduction to jihadist notions. Consequently, Denis decided to leave his home country to fight for the Islamic militant cause.
According to the United Nations, Denis Cuspert had a significant presence in Syria by at least August 2013. During the same period, he was part of Junud al-Sham, an organization involved in the Syrian civil war that fought against the government forces. When the group’s relationship with the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, deteriorated, the former rapper decided to join the latter Salafi jihadist organization. As per reports, he even took part in the infamous Battle of the Shaer gas field, which resulted in at least around 500 deaths. In addition to his participation in combat, Denis sang nasheeds — songs about Islam and its history — concerning jihad.
In no time, Denis became the face of the ISIS propaganda. He appeared in several videos released by the organization, as the documentary reveals, in which he welcomed the viewers to join him and his jihadist movement in Syria. Isabelle Kalbitzer, a spokesperson for the German intelligence agency Verfassungsschutz, stated that “he was something like a pop star of jihad.” Meanwhile, gruesome videos that placed him on Syrian battlefields started to surface. In a video recording published in November 2014, he reportedly appeared with a severed head. Another one allegedly showed him beating a corpse with a sandal. It was also in 2014 that Denis met and married Daniela Greene.
After arriving in Syria in June, Daniela returned to the United States in August, putting an end to her relationship with Denis. The former rapper remained with ISIS after her departure to continue to spread propaganda and recruit new members to the organization. These attempts to bolster ISIS paved the way for his identification as a “specially designated global terrorist” by the United States Department of State in February 2015. The department described him as a “willing pitchman” for the jihadist group’s “atrocities.” In the same month, the United Nations Security Council’s Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee added him to its sanction list.
Denis Cuspert Was Incorrectly Reported Dead Several Times
Between 2013 and 2016, the international press and media published several incorrect reports about Denis Cuspert’s death. In April 2014, numerous publications revealed that he was killed in a suicide attack launched by the Al-Nusra Front. According to the German newspaper Die Welt’s sources, the person who died in the attack was another militant with the same name, Abu Talha al-Almani, who was from Morocco rather than Germany. The sources also stated that the former rapper was in a different region away from the site of the suicide attack. The mistake was repeated in October 2015 when the United States Department of Defense announced that Denis was killed in an airstrike near the city of Raqqa in Syria.
A Raqqa resident claimed that Denis was murdered in a pickup truck by missiles launched by two coalition planes, as per a German terrorism expert named Florian Flade. However, in August 2016, the Pentagon retracted the announcement, stating that the Department of Defense’s “assessment was incorrect and Denis Cuspert survived the airstrike.” While the DoD didn’t reveal the specifics of the new information concerning the former rapper, Major Rankine-Galloway added that the country remained committed to targeting similar individuals who “plot, conduct, or inspire attacks against the West and our allies.”
Denis himself was aware of similar incorrect reports concerning his death. In 2013, while he was affiliated with Junud al-Sham, he sustained a severe head injury and was in a coma for nearly a week. After his recovery, he appeared in a video interview and stated, “Praised is Allah! According to the media, I have been murdered two or three times.”
Denis Cuspert Died in Syria in 2018
As per reports, Denis Cuspert was killed on January 17, 2018, during clashes involving anti-ISIS groups in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor. SITE Intelligence Group — a Maryland-based for-profit consultancy group that monitors jihadist organizations, broke the news, stating that the alleged pro-Islamic State Wafa Media Foundation announced the former rapper’s death with photos of his bloodied corpse. The SITE website published a blurred photo of the remains of the 42-year-old as well. “Despite there being previous reports of Cuspert’s death, this one seems more compelling: various details, photos, etc. Wafa Media’s report could very well turn out to be true,” Rita Katz, the head of SITE, shared through a social media handle.
Several experts have backed SITE Intelligence Group’s report about Denis’ death. Erasmus Monitor, a German blog that specializes in German Salafists and jihadists, was convinced about the information, as per VICE News. The New York City-based alternative media, citing a Twitter (presently known as X) account, added that a grenade killed Denis and his fellow militants after they were surrounded in a house while they were attempting to capture a village held by moderate rebels. However, there have also been skeptics who questioned the authenticity of the photos published by the Wafa Media Foundation.
Christoph Sydow, the Middle Eastern correspondent of the German weekly Der Spiegel, shared that Denis’ tattoo between the left thumb and index finger was not visible in the photos of his remains. VICE News also noted that the tear tattoo beneath the former rapper’s right eye was missing in the images published in relation to his death. Irrespective of these doubts and arguments, no credible evidence has surfaced since January 2018 that disproves the Wafa Media and SITE reports. Therefore, it is believed that Denis Cuspert died for good in 2018 after surviving numerous life-threatening attacks since stepping foot in Syria in the early 2010s.
Read More: Fared Saal: Where is the ISIS Member Now?
You must be logged in to post a comment.