Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

In response he has said, "I think there’s something to be said that I did try to ingratiate myself in these circles to get information, I agree that that was unethical.” He has also defended himself in an article posted on his blog.

In January 2018, Jawad traveled to YPG-controlled areas of Syria, observing the graduation of units of the Syrian Border Security Force south of Hasakah and interviewing Nouri Mahmoud, the spokesman for the YPG, in Qamishli.

Jawad is the preeminent authority on the history of the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army. On 20 August, he revealed that "the group's internal security apparatus arrested multiple people in its area of control for having been in contact with me." One of his contacts was imprisoned between 23 May and 21 June 2018. Jawad asserts he is "deeply sorry that my interactions with people led to their arrests by JKBW."

In November 2017, Jawad published a friend's account of being sexually harassed by Tariq Ramadan. In the post, Jawad described Ramadan as "vapid and incoherent" and an "insincere hypocrite" and criticised Oxford University for employing him.

In 2014, Tamimi engaged in a number of interactions with supporters and members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant online. He has been criticized for appearing to provide rhetorical support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

On 14 July 2014, following these revelations, the website Bellingcat removed an article by Tamimi in which he defended the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, claiming it had no relation to al-Qaeda and that the rise of IS was a legitimate reaction to the "marginalization of Sunnis" and the 2013 Hawija clashes. Tamimi was banned from any further contribution to the site.

Aymenn Jawad (born 1996) is a British specialist on the Syrian Civil War, Iraqi Civil War and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.