"The suspected Al Qaida in Iraq sharia emir for Baghdad was killed March
26 during a joint security operation conducted in northern Baghdad," the
U.S. military said on March 27.
The U.S. military said Al Ani, also known as Sinan, was "believed to be
one of the primary approval authorities for AQI attacks and assassinations
in the Baghdad region." The statement did not elaborate.
Officials said Al Ani had been sought by Iraqi authorities for more than
a year. They said intelligence acquired by Iraqi security agencies resulted
in a raid of a suspected AQI hideout in Baghdad.
"The dead individual was later identified as the warranted AQI leader,"
the U.S. military said. "No additional individuals were killed or wounded
during the security operation."
The U.S. and Iraqi militaries have reported the capture of a string of
senior AQI operatives in 2010. Officials said the arrests have hampered
insurgency and crime operations in the Baghdad area.
On March 24, Iraqi security forces captured a suspected Al Qaida
operative in Faluja believed to have been a planner of a mass-casualty
attack in Baghdad in October 2009 in which 147 people were killed. The car
bombing targeted and destroyed three government buildings.
"Faluja SWAT confiscated multiple weapons and ammunition including
armor piercing bullets as well as passports, satellite receivers, license
plates, electronic circuits, a battery tester, a camera, various documents
and one Iraqi Army uniform," a military statement said.
