| Iraq | ||
| Abu Ayyub al Masri in Iraq since 2002 for Al Qaeda | ||
| 2010-04-21 | ||
But here is one fact the press is not likely to trumpet: Abu Ayyub al Masri set up shop in Saddam's Iraq roughly ten months prior to the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. His presence there was tracked by the CIA. The agency was even concerned that al Masri and his al Qaeda compatriots might be planning terrorist attacks outside of Iraq from Baghdad. In his book, At the Center of the Storm, George Tenet details some of the evidence the CIA collected on the relationship between Saddam's Iraq and al Qaeda prior to March 2003. Tenet revealed that the agency, which was divided on the extent of the relationship, had compiled "more than enough evidence" connecting the two. In other words, contrary to what is now the conventional wisdom, there was a relationship between the Baathist regime and the jihadist terror network. The CIA just wasn't sure how close the relationship was. In particular, the CIA tracked Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who would go on to lead al Qaeda in Iraq, as well as an al Qaeda affiliate named Ansar al Islam (AI). Tenet says that AI established training camps in northeastern Iraq and as many as 200 al Qaeda terrorists relocated to the camps, which became a "hub for al-Qa'ida operations." | ||
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |||||
| CIA led mystery Syria raid that killed terrorist leader | |||||
| 2008-10-28 | |||||
A CIA-led raid on a compound in eastern Syria killed an al Qaida in Iraq commander who oversaw the smuggling into Iraq of foreign fighters whose attacks claimed thousands of Iraqi and American lives, three U.S. officials said Monday.
"It was a successful operation," a second U.S. official told McClatchy. "The bottom line: This was a significant blow to the foreign fighter pipeline between Syria and Iraq." A senior U.S. military officer said the raid was launched after human and technical intelligence confirmed that al Mazidih was present at the compound close to Syria's border with Iraq. "The situation finally presented itself," he said. The three U.S. officials, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity because the operation was classified, declined to reveal other details of the raid. A CIA spokesman declined to comment.
On Feb. 28, the Treasury Department announced a freeze on any U.S. assets belonging to al Mazidih and three of his associates, charging that they were smuggling "money, weapons, terrorists, and other resources through Syria to al Qaida in Iraq, including to (al Qaida) commanders." The Treasury Department announcement identified al Mazidih as a Sunni Muslim who was born in the late 1970s in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and was a lieutenant of al Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who was killed in 2006. He was believed to be living in the Syrian town of Zabadani. "Former al Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi appointed Badran (al Mazidih) as the group's Syrian commander for logistics in 2004," the Treasury said. "After Zarqawi's death, Badran began working for the new AQI leader, Abu Ayyub al Masri. As of late-September 2006, Badran took orders directly from Masri, or through a deputy. "Badran obtained false passports for foreign terrorists, provided passports, weapons, guides, safe houses, and allowances to foreign terrorists in Syria and those preparing to cross the border into Iraq," it said. "As of the spring of 2007, Badran facilitated the movement of AQI operatives into Iraq via the Syrian border. Badran also directed another Syria-based AQI facilitator to provide safe haven and supplies to foreign fighters," the Treasury said. "This AQI facilitator, working directly for Badran, facilitated the movement of foreign fighters primarily from Gulf countries, through Syria into Iraq." The Bush administration, which for years has expressed frustration over what it charges have been Syria's lackluster efforts to stop foreign Islamic fighters from crossing into Iraq, refused to publicly acknowledge the operation. It wasn't immediately clear whether an order that President Bush signed in July allowing U.S. commandos from Afghanistan to attack a suspected terrorist base in Pakistan also authorized cross-border operations in other countries. Pentagon officials were tight-lipped about the operation. But they were quick to defend the decision to cross the border, with one saying that if nations that sponsor terrorist networks won't go after them, "we will."
"The Americans do it in the daylight. This means it was not a mistake. It is by blunt determination," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Moallem charged Monday at a news conference in London. "For that, we consider this criminal and terrorist aggression."
The Iraqi government defended the raid. Government spokesman Ali al Dabbagh said that Syria had refused to hand over foreign fighters who'd taken refuge there after killing 13 Iraqi border guards. However, al Dabbagh said, a proposed accord governing the status of U.S. forces in Iraq "will limit this type of operation. It will limit the United States from using Iraqi land to attack others." This was a very special, five star operation. He literally got the Yamamoto treatment. | |||||
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| Iraq |
| Task Force 88 Scores Big In Iraq |
| 2008-08-25 |
| By Bill Roggio Coalition and Iraq forces captured Three Senior al Qaeda Killers in Iraq; These Big Shot Murderers were behind some of the deadliest violence over the past several years. Two of the men were detained during the past two weeks in raids by Task Force 88, the hunter-killer special operations teams assigned to dismantle al Qaeda's networks in Iraq. First The special operations teams captured Salim 'Abdallah Ashur al Shujayri during an operation on Aug. 11. Six days later, Ali Rash Nasir Jiyad al Shammari was captured. The locations of the raids were not disclosed by Multinational Forces-Iraq. Today, Iraqi forces announced the capture of Mahdi Mosleh al Djeheishi. [remember all 3 names as there will be a flash test later this semester] Shujayri and Shammari are senior al Qaeda in Iraq leaders and have been "assessed to be longtime members" of the group. Both men are Iraqi citizens, a senior US military intelligence official who wishes to remain anonymous told The Long War Journal. Shammari, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Tiba, was al Qaeda in Iraq's "senior advisor in Baghdad, providing guidance and targeting assistance to subordinates throughout the city," Multinational Forces-Iraq reported in a press release. He served as al Qaeda's leader in the Karkh district before being promoted to manage al Qaeda's overall terror campaign in Baghdad in early 2007. He provided operational and financial support to 15 terror groups operating in Baghdad. "He is alleged to have personally approved targets for car and suicide bombings targeting Iraqi civilians, intended to incite sectarian violence," the press release stated. [I hope the Iraqis use pliers on him!] In this capacity, Shammari directed the siege of Baghdad, which was facilitated by al Qaeda's control of critical regions in the outlying areas of Baghdad and neighboring provinces. Al Qaeda used attacks against civilian and sectarian targets as part of its strategy to fragment the military and government and draw the country in a wider civil war. Shujayri, who is also know as Abu Uthman, served under Shammari as the emir, or leader in Baghdad's Rusafa district. He had close connections to Abu Ayyub al Masri, al Qaeda in Iraq's emir, and other senior terror leaders. Shujayri directed suicide and car-bomb attacks against Iraqi civilians. [[Pleasant A$$HOLE] Shujayri was a member of an indigenous Iraqi Salafist terror group prior to joining al Qaeda in Iraq, the senior US intelligence official said. Osama bin Laden's sanctioning of Abu Musab al Zarqawi as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was crucial in bring Shujayri and other Iraqi Salafists into the ranks of al Qaeda. ............ Margaret Hassan was the Baghdad director of CARE International, a nongovernmental aide group. She was kidnapped in October 2004. Her body was discovered four week later in Fallujah, brutally butchered, with her throat slit and her arms and legs hacked off. In spite of the fact that these three al-Qaeda leaders could have safely released her in Baghdad. |
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| Iraq |
| Bill Roggio: Targeting al Qaeda in Iraq's network |
| 2007-11-13 |
| Guys' ugly mugs at Bill's site. US and Iraqi Security Forces are maintaining the pressure on al Qaeda in Iraq's network nationwide. October netted the highest number of senior terror leaders since the surge went into full effect in mid June. While the Iraqi and US forces have degraded al Qaeda's network inside Baghdad in the Belts, the terror group is attempting to regroup in the north and east. The daily raids conduct by Task Force 88, the hunter-killer teams assigned to dismantle al Qaeda's network in Iraq, have resulted in significant losses for the terror network. Forty-five senior al Qaeda in Iraq operatives were killed or captured during the month of October, said Colonel Donald Bacon, the Chief of Strategy and Plans, Strategic Communications at Multinational Forces Iraq said in an interview on November 13. Among those captured or killed include: 6 Emirs at the city level or higher in the AQI leadership structure, including the leader of Diyala province. 6 Geographical or functional cell leaders 14 Foreign terrorists facilitators. 3 Car bomb cell leaders. 6 Logistical support emirs. 8 Media / propaganda operatives. The numbers of senior al Qaeda operatives killed or captured have steadily increased since the surge kicked off in mid June, with 19 senior al Qaeda killed or captured in July, 25 in August, and 29 in September. Multinational Forces Iraq may be closing in on al Qaeda's top tier of leadership. Two of the cell leaders captured were members of Abu Ayyub al Masri's personal bodyguard. Al Masri is the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. "Draw your own conclusions" about the significance of these captures, Bacon said when discussing the detention of al Masri's bodyguards. "We think we're squeezing the, having success," in closing in on al Masri. In September, US forces captured Ali Fayyad Abuyd Ali, al Masri's father in law who was a senior advisor to senior al Qaeda in Iraq leaders, including al Masri. While Multinational Forces Iraq and the Iraqi Security Forces have had success against al Qaeda's network, the terror group has not been defeated. "Al Qaeda in Iraq has been hurt, but still has capabilities," said Bacon. "Al Qaeda has been weakened in Baghdad and the Belts, but is not defeated." Al Qaeda in Iraq is still "capable of conducting strikes but at a much reduced level." Al Qaeda is believed to be reorganizing in the northern and eastern regions in Iraq. "They are migrating to Mosul, the Hamrin mountains, Diyala to the east," said Bacon. "Ninewa province and Hamrin mountains" are the "two main areas" where al Qaeda is thought to be regrouping to continue its campaign. The Hamrin Mountains span Diyala, Salahadin, and Tamin provinces in the north. Multinational Forces Iraq and Iraqi Security Forces launched Operation Iron Hammer in the northern provinces of Ninewa, Tamin, Salahadin, and Diyala on November 5. |
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| Iraq | |
| Roggio on Muthanna | |
| 2007-10-03 | |
| Killed al Qaeda in Iraq operative sheds light on foreign influence In a press conference today, Major General Kevin Bergner, the spokesman for Multinational Forces Iraq, provided further evidence of al Qaeda in Iraq's foreign influence. Bergner highlighted the arrest of "Muthanna," al Qaeda's the emir of the Iraq/Syrian border. "During this operation, we also captured multiple documents and electronic files that provided insight into al Qaedas foreign terrorist operations, not only in Iraq but throughout the region," Bergner said. "They detail the larger al-Qaeda effort to organize, coordinate, and transport foreign terrorists into Iraq and other places." "Muthanna was the emir of Iraq and Syrian border area and he was a key facility of the movement of foreign terrorists once they crossed into Iraq from Syria," Bergner said. "He worked closely with Syrian-based al Qaeda foreign terrorist facilitators."
Muthanna was captured in early September. He was but one of 29 al Qaeda high value targets killed or detained by Task Force 88, Multinational Forces Iraq's hunter-killer teams assigned to target senior al Qaeda leaders and operatives. Five al Qaeda operatives have been killed and 24 captured. 5 Emirs at the city level or higher in the AQI leadership structure. 9 geographical or functional cell leaders. 11 facilitators who supported foreign terrorist and weapons movements. Four of the senior al Qaeda leaders killed during the month of September include: Abu Usama al Tunisi: The Tunisian born leader who is believed to be the successor to Abu Ayyub al Masri. Yaqub al Masri: The Egyptian-born leader who was in the inner circle with Zarqawi and then also in the inner circle of Abu Ayyub al Masri. He was a close associate of Ayman al Zawahiri. Muhammad al Afari: The Emir of Sinjar, who led the barbaric bombings of the Yazidis in northern Iraq. Abu Taghrid: The Emir of the Rusafa car bomb network. Also captured during the month of September was Ali Fayyad Abuyd Ali. "Fayyad is the father in law of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al Masri," said Colonel David Bacon, the Chief of Strategy and Plans, Strategic Communications, at Multinational Forces Iraq. Fayyad is a senior advisor to senior al Qaeda in Iraq leaders, including al Masri. | |
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| Iraq |
| Is the Surge Already Producing Results? |
| 2007-01-23 |
| By Jack Kelly Three interesting things have happened since President Bush announced plans to "surge" U.S. troops. First, al Qaida appears to be retreating from Baghdad. A military intelligence officer has confirmed to Richard Miniter, editor of Pajamas Media, a report in the Iraqi newspaper al Sabah that Abu Ayyub al Masri, the head of al Qaida in Iraq, has ordered a withdrawal to Diyala province, north and east of Baghdad. Mr. al Masri's evacuation order said that remaining in Baghdad is a no-win situation for al Qaida, because the Fallujah campaign demonstrating the Americans have learned how to prevail in house to house fighting, Mr. Miniter said. "In more than 10 years of reading al Qaida intercepts, I've never seen (pessimistic) language like this," he quoted his intelligence officer source as saying. Second, the radical cleric Moqtada al Sadr, whose Iranian-subsidized militia, the Mahdi army, is responsible for most of the assaults on Sunni civilians in Iraq, is cooling his rhetoric and lowering his profile. "Mahdi army militia members have stopped wearing their black uniforms, hidden their weapons and abandoned their checkpoints in an apparent effort to lower their profile in Baghdad in advance of the arrival of U.S. reinforcements," wrote Leila Fadel and Zaineb Obeid of the McClatchy Newspapers Jan. 13. Third, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is putting more distance between himself and al Sadr, upon whose bloc of votes in parliament he had relied for political support. Last Friday al Sadr ordered the 30 lawmakers and six cabinet ministers he controls to end the boycott of the government he ordered two months ago. AP writer Steven Hurst described this Monday as "a desperate bid to fend off an all out American offensive." Despite this, Mr. Maliki consented to the arrest that same day of Abdul Hadi al Durraji, al Sadr's media director in Baghdad. Mr. Sadr said Saturday some 400 of his supporters have been arrested in recent days. The first development is more of a problem relocated than a problem solved, because Baghdad's gain from al Qaida's departure will be Diyala's loss. A strategic withdrawal makes good sense from al Qaida's point of view. It's better to live to fight another day. The intelligence officer who was Mr. Miniter's source thinks Mr. al Masri is a more formidable opponent than was his predecessor, Abu Musab al Zarqawi who (ironically) met his end after an encounter with an F-16 in Diyala province. But leaving Baghdad gives the government and the Americans the opportunity to assert control in the contested neighborhoods, which will make it difficult for al Qaida to return. And because the media play up events in Baghdad more than events anywhere else in the country, it means al Qaida will be leaving center stage. The lowered profile of the Mahdi army will only be a problem postponed if decisive action isn't taken against al Sadr and his militia. "Mookie," as the troops call him, can only be relied upon to behave when he is terrified. So success hinges on the attitude of the Iraqi government. Mr. Maliki's turnaround on the Mahdi army "was puzzling because as late as Oct. 31, he had intervened to end a U.S. blockade of Sadr City, the northeast Shiite enclave in Baghdad that is headquarters to the militia," Mr. Hurst wrote. Two Iraqi government officials told him Mr. Maliki had dropped his protection of the Mahdi army because U.S. intelligence had persuaded him it was infiltrated by death squads, the AP reporter wrote. "Al Maliki realized he couldn't keep defending the Mahdi army because of the information and evidence that the armed group was taking part in the killings, displacing people and violating the state's sovereignty," Mr. Hurst quoted one of those officials as saying. But Mr. Maliki would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to have recognized from the get go that the Mahdi army is one gigantic death squad. I suspect Mr. Maliki is only seeing the light now because President Bush finally is applying some heat. Mr. Maliki has tried to walk a line between the Scylla of the Americans and the Charybdis of the Iranians, but the steps he's taking now will be difficult to retrace. "He knows that his personal risk increases with each Shiite militia commander he arrests, and eventually he will pass through a door through which he cannot return," said the Web logger Tigerhawk. Though they may turn out to be fleeting, the troop surge, though barely begun, already is producing beneficial results. Efforts to write it off in advance as a "failure" are, at best, premature. |
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| Iraq |
| Coalition forces turn over al-Qaida in Iraq leader (for hanging) |
| 2006-08-02 |
| Coalition forces announce theyve turned over to the Iraqi government an al-Qaida in Iraq leader that has admitted to conducting terrorist activity since 2004. The terrorist will now be prosecuted by the Iraqi government under the Iraqi justice system. The terrorist leader held multiple leadership positions within al-Qaida and was appointed by Abu Musab al Zarqawi and Abu Ayyub al Masri to two of the positions he held. At one time, he coordinated and oversaw the operations of five different terrorist cells at one time. The Iraqi admitted to coordinating over ten death squad attacks, personally participating in several of them, while he was a member of one terrorist cell. The cell targeted several innocent Iraqis including grocery store and butcher store owners. Another of the groups he led coordinated kidnappings and large scale bombings throughout Baghdad. He was captured in a raid in western Baghdad that resulted from intelligence gathered during the successful targeting of former al-Qaida in Iraq leader Zarqawi in early June. Iraqi and Coalition officials will continue to work closely to ensure the terrorist receives due process through the Iraqi justice system. |
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