U.S. forces kill Al Qaida bomber as he flees safe house
BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has reported the killing of a senior Al Qaida leader during
a June 5 operation in Baghdad.
The operative was said to have been the
commander of the Al Jamah area of Baghdad and a member of a vehicle-borne
improvised explosive device cell.
The operative was identified as Mohammed Mahmoud Abd Kazim Hussein Al
Mashadani, or Abu Abdullah. Officials said Al Mashadani was identified by
his associates detained during the raid, Middle East Newsline reported.
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U.S. forces were said to have located Al Mashadani's safe house. The
military said Iraqi and U.S. troops raided the building, and Al Mashadani
was killed as he sought to escape.
"A key link in the VBIED network has been removed," U.S. military
spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said.
Officials said the killing of Al Mashadani was enabled by increasing
cooperation from Iraqi Sunnis. They said the strongest resistance to Al
Qaida has been in the Anbar province, where Sunni tribes have become aligned
with the Baghdad government.
"The locals are standing up against Al Qaida and separating themselves
from them," U.S. chief military spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner said.
In a briefing on Wednesday, Bergner said Sunnis in the mixed Baghdad
neighborhood of Al Mayirah, themselves the victims of Al Qaida, were
cooperating with the central government. Bergner said Iraqi government and
coalition officials have been encouraged by the trend.
"We've seen the courage of the Iraqi people as they stand up to Al
Qaida," Bergner said. "The coalition forces have more troops going to more
places, making more contacts, and we are contesting places we haven't been
for some time. It's going to get harder before it gets easier."