Release A051026c
Foreign fighter facilitator targeted
Multi-National Force-Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Coalition forces conducted an air strike that hit a terrorist safe house and likely killed a senior al-Qaeda in Iraq foreign fighter facilitator in al Ushsh, near Qaim Oct. 26.
Intelligence sources indicate that Abu Du’a, who helped Syrians and Saudis enter Iraq to intimidate and kill Iraqi citizens, was in the house at the time of the strike. Du’a was linked to other al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists and foreign fighter facilitators in the al Qaim, Karabilah and Husaybah areas. Additionally, he was a known close associate of Ghassan Amin, the former al-Qaeda in Iraq, the Emir of Rawah, who was captured in May, 2005.
According to intelligence sources, Du’a was connected to the intimidation, torture and murder of local civilians in the al Qaim area. Du’a held religious courts to try local citizens charged with supporting the Iraqi government and Coalition forces. He would kidnap individuals or entire families, accuse them, pronounce sentence and then publicly execute them.
Additionally, Abu Du’a’s al-Qaeda connections extended to Syria and Saudi Arabia, where most of his foreign fighters were recruited. He set up and ran a system that funneled foreign fighters from Syria into the al Qaim area. These fighters were then sent to local terrorist cells where they were used to attack innocent Iraqi citizens and Iraqi Security and Coalition forces.
While Abu Du’a’s body has not yet been recovered, the air strike effectively destroyed the building he was believed to be in. The type of munitions used and the timing of the air strike mitigated the risk to civilians in the local area.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT MULTI-NATIONAL CORPS-IRAQ,
BY E-MAIL AT MNCI-PAO-VICTORYMAINJOC@IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL.
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