BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has reported the killing of another senior Al
Qaida leader during the June offensive against the terror network.
Officials said American troops killed the commander of Al Qaida in
Mosul as he was reaching for his pistol. A statement said the so-called emir, identified as Khalid Sultan
Khulayf Shakir Al Badrani, was killed on June 25 in the northern Iraqi city.
Al Badrani was the ninth senior Al Qaida operative killed in Mosul
since May 29. Other slain leaders of the Mosul network were identified as
Kamal Jalil Bakr Othman and Aman Ahmad Taha Khazam Al Juhayshi.
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Officials said the U.S. military also damaged Al Qaida's recruitment
infrastructure. They cited the June 10 capture of Luay Rakan Aziz Mahmoud,
identified as chief of recruitment for the Al Qaida-aligned Ansar Al Sunna.
Al Badrani, also known as Abu Abdullah, was said to have been the chief
of the Al Qaida network in western Mosul. Officials said Al Badrani directed
suicide bombings, attacks on Iraqi and U.S. forces as well as abductions.
The military said U.S. soldiers opened fire during a raid of an Al Qaida
stronghold. Al Badrani was said to have been shot as he drew a pistol.
In 2005, Al Badrani was said to have facilitated the flow of weapons
and foreign fighters into Mosul for Al Qaida. Mosul has been cited by the
U.S. military as a major way-station for Al Qaida recruits from Syria to
Iraq.
Another detainee was identified as Rafi Khudir Mohammed Mustafa,
captured on June 4. Mustafa was said to have been a leading enforcer of the
Al Qaida network in Mosul.
