Posted on 12/29/2007 8:29:04 AM PST by Tennessean4Bush
Earlier this week, Multinational Forces Iraq confirmed the death of Abu Abdullah, who was described as a senior al Qaeda leader. Not only was Abu Abdullah a close associate of Zarqawi, the regional emir of the region between western Baghdad and Fallujah, the leader of the pro-al Qaeda elements of the Cubas tribe in western Baghdad and eastern Anabr province, and a commander of a terror network in Salahadin, he was a tactical commander behind one of the most high profile attacks in Iraq during 2005. Abu Abdullah also was an expert IED designer, funded attacks against Coalition and Iraqi forces and citizens, and acted as a foreign terrorist facilitator.
"We know he conducted, led and organized numerous terrorist acts," said Colonel Don Bacon, a spokesman for Multinational Forces Iraq in an email inquiry by The Long War Journal. Multinational Forces Iraq has "specific intelligence" tying Abu Abdullah to five attacks in the eastern Anbar region in 2005 and 2006.
The largest attack Abu Abdullah was involved with was the April 2, 2005 assault on the Abu Ghraib prison. "This was a complex attack," said Bacon. "Rocket barrages forced Marine guards to abandon a prison watchtower at the height of the precision-timed offensive, which employed mortars, rockets, ground assaults and a car bomb," the Washington Post reported days after the assault. US Marines repelled the attack with Apache gunships. The US military estimated the attacking force suffered over fifty casualties out of an estimated sixty attackers, including 10 al Qaeda fighters killed. Forty-four Marines and 13 prisoners were wounded during the battle.
Abu Abdullah was behind an IED attack against Coalition forces in Zaidon, attacked voters during the December 2005 election, assaulted the Karmah police station on December 24, 2005, and attacked the Iraqna cell towers in Abu Ghraib in September 2006. "We assess there are more" attacks, Bacon said.
The al Qaeda leader also played a major role in building IEDs and funding IED and small arms attack cells. Abu Abdullah "was known as an expert bomb and improvised explosive device maker," said Bacon. He "paid people to conduct attacks: 400 dollars to emplace an IED, 750 dollars to detonate an IED, 200 dollars to kill or kidnap an Iraqi supporter of Coalition Forces, and 10,000 dollars to conduct small arms attack against Coalition Forces."
Another of Abu Abdullah's roles was to act as a foreign terrorist facilitator, whose job is to get foreign al Qaeda fighters into the country and push them into the field to conduct terror attacks. "He was also a leader in the movement and utilization of foreign terrorists," said Bacon. "He would house and train foreign terrorists, and normally employed them as suicide car bomb drivers."
Abu Abdullah, whose real name is Muhammad Sulayman Shunaythir al Zubai, also led the pro-al Qaeda elements of the Zuba'a tribe in the eastern Anbar region. He was forced to leave Anbar in late 2006 "The area turned against him because of the violence he was fomenting in this area, and he was blamed for this violence," bacon said. "He left for his own safety." At the time, eastern Anbar province was one of the most dangerous regions in Iraq.
He fled to Salahadin province, where intelligence indicated "he was preparing to attack Concerned Local Citizens" just prior to being killed. "Attacking the Concerned Local Citizens has become an al Qaeda in Iraq priority recently, and Abu Abdullah was planning at least one of these attacks," said Bacon.
Coalition forces, likely Task Force 88, the hunter-killer teams assigned to track down al Qaeda in Iraq's senior commanders, killed Abdullah after attempting to capture him in the Samarra region on November 8. Abdullah and another al Qaeda operative fired on Coalition forces, and his car caught fire after Coalition forces returned fire. "Abdullah's car ignited, followed by secondary explosions caused by explosives in the car," said Bacon, indicating explosives were in the car.
Also see Senior al Qaeda leader killed in November raid from December 26 for more information on Abu Abdullah.
LWJ ping
Ouch
More Victories the Establishment Press have to ignore.
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
What a fabulous story. No wonder the drive-by media gives it so little attention.
Toady's lesson for the Jihadi, don't fire upon coalition troops from your POV...could be disasterous.
This cat was #3 on our list for a lo-o-o-ong time. Good hit!
What a let down. With that title I was hoping for the autopsy photos.
Hunter-killer teams. I love that term. I hope the fact that Abdullah was hunted and killed fills the other AQ leaders with terror.
The DNC has lowered their flag to Half Staffed over this great hero for their cause.
Pray for W and Our Troops
“Upon further review...Abu Abdullah is still dead.”
I am waiting for a New York Times editorial blaming us for killing this guy without a trial. The ACLU lawyers are probably working on this case already.
But I say, good job. Abu Abdallah, you are now officially a “good terrorist.”
That is one fine looking car!
Just what all these scumbags need to drive around in!
High regards to the folks in Task Force 88.
Who’s got that pic.they blowed up real good!
Call me crazy, but the overwhelming success of Petraeus's surge eventually has to cause the liberal establishment to face the facts (and report them.) Recall that Hillary Clinton, who, like her husband, tries to be on both sides of every issue, has been skewered by the left for her "yes" vote on the war. Obama brings it up every day, as Hillary tries to shy away from her vote, arguing that she was somehow "misinformed" or that if "she knew then what she knows now" (i.e., that Bush would have mismanaged the war so badly) she never would have voted in favor of it.
Flash forward a few months, when the republican candidate starts making political hay out of the huge success in Iraq which has stabilized the region, led to the annihilation of tens of thousands of terrorists, and brought a measure of peace, prosperity and democracy to a nation that had, until very recently, been ruled by a thugocracy which threatened the world and enslaved its own countrymen. If Hillary wishes to disassociate herself with a positive occurrence, it would be the first time a Clinton had ever done so.
The new media paradigm will be that the war was a success, and Hillary was a major backer.
My Post #17 should have been addressed to you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.