Alleged Baghdad Bomb Mastermind Killed

U.S. Military Says Al Qaeda In Iraq Leader Dies In Firefight

(CBS/AP)  The U.S. military said Saturday it has killed an al Qaeda in Iraq leader suspected of masterminding one of the deadliest attacks in Baghdad as well as recent bombings and the 2006 videotaped execution of a Russian official.

American troops also killed the man's wife after a firefight as they tried to capture him Friday in the northern neighborhood of Azamiyah in Baghdad, the military said.

Mahir Ahmad Mahmud al-Zubaydi, also known as Abu Assad or Abu Rami, allegedly directed the insurgent cell believed to be responsible for nearly simultaneous car bomb and suicide attacks Thursday, according to the statement.

Iraqi police and hospital officials have said some two dozen people were killed in Thursday's attacks targeting two Shiite mosques in Baghdad.

The victims were attending prayers marking Eid al-Fitr, the religious holiday that comes at the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

Those attacks and others during the Islamic holy month have raised fears that al Qaeda in Iraq is trying to provoke Sunni-Shiite reprisal killings as U.S.-led forces begin to draw down.

Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Shiites were "showing very much restraint" and promised to continue targeting the insurgent network.

"I think we've made some good inroads inside of the network that was doing this," he told reporters today.

Al-Zubaydi was one of the most senior insurgents to be killed by U.S. forces as they seek to shore up recent security gains that have driven the level of violence to its lowest point in more than four years.

His death will be a major blow to al Qaeda in Iraq even as the group's recruiting efforts have been "severely curbed" by a decision by many Sunnis to join forces with the Americans in the fight against it, military spokesman Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll said.

"His removal from the AQI network will send shockwaves through Baghdad's terrorist bombing networks," Driscoll said in the statement.

The military also blamed al-Zubaydi for several car bombings and mortar attacks in Baghdad's main Shiite district of Sadr City in 2006 and 2007, including a series of blasts that killed more than 200 people on Nov. 23, 2006.

That was one of the deadliest attacks to strike the Iraqi capital amid rampant sectarian violence and attacks against U.S. forces.

Al-Zubaydi also was believed to have planned and participated in abductions and videotaped executions, including one in which he was seen shooting one of four kidnapped Russians, according to the statement.

The Russian embassy workers were abducted in June 2006 after an attack on their car in Baghdad's Mansour neighborhood. They were later killed, along with a fifth Russian.

The military also said al-Zubaydi was reportedly responsible for a May 1 car bombing that killed a U.S. soldier in Baghdad, as well as attacks in Salahuddin and Diyala provinces to the north of the capital.

The military said al-Zubaydi was originally a member of the Sunni insurgent group Ansar al-Islam and joined al Qaeda in Iraq in 2004.

He was the terror network's military "emir" in eastern Baghdad "before taking over responsibility for all terrorist operations there this year," the military said.

The statement said the information about al-Zubaydi came from detained insurgents.

On Friday, U.S. troops came under fire after surrounded a building that was said to be housing al-Zubaydi in Azamiyah, a mainly Sunni neighborhood in northern Baghdad.

"Acting in self-defense, coalition forces returned fire, killing Abu Rami and a female," the statement said. Tech. Sgt. Chris Stagner, another U.S. military spokesman, said the woman was al-Zubaydi's wife and was not a suspect.

The American troops then evacuated several children from the house before destroying ordnance inside in a controlled detonation that set fire to the building, the military said, adding it evacuated surrounding buildings as a precaution while the blaze was extinguished.


Kurds' Cross-Border Attack Kills 15 Turks

Turkey's military says 15 of its soldiers have been killed in an attack by Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq.

The military says the overnight battle in southern Turkey involved heavy weapons fired by the rebels at a Turkish military outpost in Aktutun.

The private TV station CNN-Turk says the Turkish military fought back, killing 23 Kurdish rebels.

Turkey's military confirmed in a statement that its soldiers returned fire, killing some rebels, but said it could not immediately say how many.

It appeared to be the deadliest attack by Kurdish rebels against Turkey's military in several months. The rebels, based in south Turkey and north Iraq, have been fighting for autonomy since 1984.


Poland Ends Military Role In Iraq

Poland has marked the end of its military mission to Iraq with a ceremony at its main base south of Baghdad.

Poland is one of several countries in the U.S.-led coalition to withdraw from Iraq.

The White House has said the withdrawals don't mean international support is dwindling but that security gains and increasingly capable Iraqi forces are letting outside forces do more with less.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq Gen. Ray Odierno says there's still work to be done.

He told reporters after Saturday's ceremony in Diwaniyah that "to go back to complete normalcy it's gonna take awhile."

Poland sent combat troops into Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition and had 2,300 troops deployed there at its peak. That has been reduced to about 900, who are being pulled out this month.

[oldwhiteguy1]

America, you have to know WE are in trouble...
Under the Republicans (and their base, the Conservatives-a bunch of old white folk), our great nation has stumbled. Wars on 2 fronts AND they poke russia, iran and north korea with pointed sticks and tongues.
They refuse to accept that ''other countries'' may have an opinion, a request or something nice to say. We have become the ''school yard bully'' that EVERYONE despised. We had better learn to talk to the world. We are a part of the global economy. A butterfly flaps its wings in Japan and nature ripples its way to New York. There are simply not enough dollars (or rubles, yen, whatever) in the world to ''satisfy'' everyones cravings. THUS, parts of the world get left out. Darfur, Congo, New Orleans-we''re a little short this month. Sorry.
In the Republicans'' view, the world prospers and they make billions. They then, ''trickle down'' the wealth...you can fly MY plane, you can sit my kids, you can iron my shirts, you can shine my shoes...
AND I''ll go to work today, lay off thousands of hard working Americans, ship their real jobs over seas, take the credit, give them the blame, I''ll collect my 37 million dollar ''golden parachute'' and land at another American industry and do the same...This way there''s a steady supply of Americans willing to sit my kids and shine my shoes, in attempt to keep their homes!

[moscow22]

finally they got him
and my Russia will get the rest.
it is a promise since it is a operation of honor.

[guadalcanal3]

StopSocialis...I agree.

[toolmangler-2009]

Isn''''t it funny, that whenever we kill ANYONE, they are called a "leader" or "senior member"?
Posted by hungry1968-1 at 01:51 PM : Oct 04, 2008



Thats because all Muslim adult males are considered leaders and all women are considered cattle (or is that ''chattel''?) All male citizens are considered in the military by the religious hierarchy. That is why we can only kill citizens never soldiers (militants)

[glenda743]

Surely you gest.....Barack Hussein Obama said there were no al Qaeda in Iraq... Are you saying the messiah has lied to us again??????

[glenda743]

Surely you gest.....Barack Hussein Obama said there were no Al Quida in Iraq... Are you saying the messiah has lied to us again??????

[toolmangler-2009]

Shouln''''t you "KNOW" before KILLING
someone or is that being
old fashioned?
Posted by ajaxtheleast at 12:52 PM : Oct 04, 2008




O.J. Simpson ''Allegedly'' killed his wife and her boy friend. He also ''Allegedly'' kidnapped some thieves but today he was convicted so now he actually did it.

[chris32324]

maybe for the next war the u.s. will start,and the u.n. will finish,the u.s. might really train an infantry instead of sending in kids will lots of guns and no guts or brains to actually fight instead of killing without haveing a clue who.

[bailmeout1]

Which means it''''s possible that we just
killed two Iraqi citizens.
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Posted by ajaxtheleast at 12:52 PM : Oct 04, 2008

I honestly do not see a problem here......

[ajaxtheleast]

This Iraqi "news" was in the planning

for this election from years back.

Killer-type GOP-nominee-electing-stuff here.

And now nobody gives a damm.

"Aledged"??,,,killed his WIFE because
HE was "aledged"??.

Which means it''s possible that we just
killed two Iraqi citizens.

Shouln''t you "KNOW" before KILLING
someone or is that being
old fashioned?

[bailmeout1]

I would just say "Anyone that wants to be a martyr line up here"

[bailmeout1]

That whacko in Iran is the best thing ever! He will do something to tick of Isreal and Isreal will of course (they dont worry about being politically correct) take them out. Then when other other nutcase (my God told me to kill you) muslims try some chit, we can waste them all.

[swwils]

They need to get rid of everyone of those crazy radical ***********.Kill them all and let God sort them out.DE OPPRESSOR LIBER Iraq,That''s what we use to do to 3rd world nations.s all Army we also said Semper Fi,because we we''re,and still are.10th group and all you brother''s watch each other''s back''Those Al-qaeda,and Taliban are like roaches.That is why we are probably going to have to neutron their a.s.s.es before it is over.Iran ,Israel can un-leash the fury on them we can handle Pakistan,Afghanistan,and Russia if need be,Freedom alway''s prevail''s.

[gce65]

Another one or two killed, only a few million to go?
Doing this stupid body count strategy is only Pentagon public relations. The only reason any terrorists are in Iraq is because the US is there. Most are just insurgents--there IS a big difference--who want the US out.
Same in Afghanistan, same in Pakistan, same in any other Muslim country.

[bailmeout1]

American troops also killed the man''s wife after a firefight as they tried to capture him Friday in the northern neighborhood of Azamiyah in Baghdad, the military said.

Great!!!!! No future "pilots" from her!

[bailmeout1]

Dies in FIREFIGHT. ooooohhhhhhh Thats nice! I like that! No virgins for him.

[occams_taser]

"Al Queda mastermind" is seven of the top eight fastest growing job categories in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan these days. (The other is mortician)

[waterboard]

just amazing how some people actually have the intelligence to type words but have no idea what they are saying


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Posted by ainttaken

Please Explain? Do you have actual intelligence that Al-Qada is NOT popping up in Iraq?

[waterboard]

Afganistan, the war America should have fought and finished...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by onemoretim


Afghanistan -- The war that American and allied troops continue to fight the Taliban and insurgents coming over from Pakistan.

Iraq -- Where American and Iraqi troops continue to capture and/or kill Al-Qada thugs that are supposed to be in Afghanistan according to the dummy liberals, but yet, they keep popping up in Iraq for some reason.....

The dummy liberals and foreign internet posters.....

They just dont see the light.