Al Qaeda in Iraq leader reported killed by U.S. forces
Troops came under fire while trying to arrest Mahir Ahmad Mahmud Zubaydi and returned fire, killing Zubaydi and his wife, the military says.
BAGHDAD — An Al Qaeda in Iraq leader suspected of executing a Russian official and orchestrating a recent wave of bombings in Baghdad has been killed by U.S. forces in a shootout, the military said Saturday.
Mahir Ahmad Mahmud Zubaydi and his wife were killed Friday when U.S. troops surrounded a building in an attempt to capture him in Baghdad's Adhamiya neighborhood. Security officials asserted that Zubaydi, also known as Abu Rami, was a leader in the insurgency behind near-simultaneous bombings at two Shiite mosques Thursday that killed at least 24 people and wounded dozens.
The death of Zubaydi "will send shock waves through Baghdad's terrorist bombing networks," U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll said in a statement. The military described Zubaydi as responsible for "all terrorist operations" in eastern Baghdad.
U.S. troops and coalition forces closed in on Zubaydi after receiving tips from insurgents in custody, the statement said. U.S. troops came under fire while trying to arrest him and, "acting in self-defense, coalition forces returned fire, killing Abu Rami and a female," the statement said.
The U.S. military charged that Zubaydi was a former member of Sunni Muslim militant group Ansar al Islam and had been responsible for bombings and other attacks in Baghdad for at least two years. He is alleged to have carried out the 2006 kidnappings and executions of four Russian embassy workers, including one who was videotaped allegedly being shot by Zubaydi himself.
The mosque bombings last week followed a significant drop in violence and raised concerns among Iraqi and U.S. officials about a possible reprise of sectarian bloodshed from Sunni insurgency groups targeting Shiites. The U.S. military has tried to ease tensions between the two sects, including the recent American-backed plan for the Iraqi government to absorb up to 100,000 Sunni fighters known as the Sons of Iraq.
Army Gen. Ray Odierno, the new U.S. commander in Iraq, told reporters in Diwaniya province that coalition forces have made "good inroads inside the network" behind the recent attacks. The general added, "I feel confident that we will continue to go after them and make it very difficult for them to continue."
jeffrey.fleishman@latimes.com
