Al-Qaida leader killed in U.S. raid
BAGHDAD – U.S. forces raided a cluster of buildings and killed the chief propagandist for al-Qaida in Iraq, a key figure in the abductions of journalist Jill Carroll and slain peace activist Tom Fox, the military said Thursday.
A coalition of Sunni Arab insurgent groups that includes al-Qaida in Iraq confirmed the death of Muharib Abdul Latif al-Jubouri on its Web site, saying he had been “martyred” in a clash.
The raid near Taji, north of Baghdad, capped a six-day U.S. offensive, dubbed Operation Rat Trap, aimed at al-Qaida-related targets in several cities. U.S. officials recently have shifted blame for most of the country’s violence from Shiite Muslim militias to Sunni Muslim insurgents loyal to al-Qaida. They accuse the insurgents of stepping up their activities in hopes of fueling sectarian warfare and derailing a U.S.-Iraqi security plan.
Since the plan’s launch in mid-February, groups linked to al-Qaida have claimed responsibility for several high-profile attacks, including a suicide bombing that killed nine U.S. soldiers, and a blast that killed a lawmaker inside the Iraqi parliament building.
Violence struck the heavily fortified Green Zone, where the parliament is located, again this week when incoming rockets killed four civilian contractors, the U.S. Embassy reported Thursday.
The U.S. military spokesman, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, said al-Jubouri and four associates were killed when they resisted attempts by U.S. troops to detain them during a 2 a.m. raid Tuesday. Caldwell described al-Jubouri as a key player in the abduction of Carroll, a Christian Science Monitor reporter kidnapped in January 2006 and held for 82 days before being released.
“He was responsible for the transportation and movement of Jill Carroll from her various hiding places,” Caldwell said. “He was responsible for the propaganda and ransom videos.”
Al-Jubouri was believed to be the last person to have custody of Fox, who was kidnapped in November 2005 and discovered dead in March 2006.