Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Friday, 27 June 2008 BBC

The US military in Iraq says a militant killed on Tuesday has been positively identified as the leader of al-Qaeda in the city of Mosul.

It said the man - identified by a pseudonym, Abu Khalaf - had co-ordinated and ordered many attacks.

He was shot dead by American troops during a raid on a building in Mosul.

US and Iraqi forces have been carrying out an offensive in the city for more than a month, in an attempt to drive out al-Qaeda in Iraq from Mosul.

The city, US and Iraqi officials say, is al-Qaeda’s last urban stronghold in Iraq.

Also on Friday, US military officials said the handover to Iraqi control of Anbar province, west of Baghdad, was being postponed.

A statement said the delay was because of forecasts for high winds and dust storms on Saturday, but no new date for the handover was announced.

The postponement came a day after a suicide bomb attack in Anbar, which killed at least 20 people, including a tribal leader and members of a patrol force opposed to al-Qaeda in Iraq.

From MNFI

Press Release A080626c-231
June 26, 2008

Al-Qaeda “emir” of Mosul identified

BAGHDAD – A terrorist killed during an operation June 24 in Mosul has been positively identified as al-Qaeda in Iraq leader of Mosul, Abu Khalaf.

Coalition forces killed the al-Qaeda in Iraq “emir” of Mosul as they continued to disrupt terrorist operations there. When they reached the target building, they engaged and killed one terrorist who was reaching for a pistol, one terrorist wearing a suicide vest, and one woman who tried to detonate the dead terrorist’s suicide vest. One of the dead terrorists was identified by his associates as Abu Khalaf, the targeted AQI leader of Mosul.

As Coalition forces were taking down the Mosul “emir,” they were also moving in on one of his suspected closest assistants, detaining him and uncovering more than $100,000 in U.S. currency.

At the time of his death, Abu Khalaf was the AQI Mosul “emir.” Abu Khalaf previously served as a deputy and Mosul Military “emir” to a close associate of the former AQI leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He rose through the ranks to become the overall “emir” of Mosul. During his reign as Mosul “emir,” Abu Khalaf reportedly met with senior AQI leaders in Mosul and Jazeera, coordinating and ordering dozens of attacks against Iraqi citizens, Iraqi forces and Coalition forces.

In addition, information gleaned from terrorists already in custody revealed that Abu Khalaf traveled much of the time with foreigners. This information became apparent after the second man who was wearing a suicide vest was identified by his associates as being Abu Khalud a Syrian. He is a long time close associate of Abu Khalaf.

“With the declining morale amongst AQI operatives, and paranoia within their ranks, Abu Khalaf’s death and loss of funds will severely impact their terrorist operations,” said U.S. Navy Lt David Russell, MNF-I spokesman.

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